The leader of the street gang stepped forward, his arms crossed with an arrogant smirk playing on his lips. His black hair fell just above his icy blue eyes, which narrowed at Cael and Darek with open disdain.
"You lost boys strayed too far from your master's leash?" he sneered, his tone laced with venom. "This part of the outskirts isn't for pampered disciples."
Cael's fists clenched, his eyes narrowing. Beside him, Darek remained stoic, his cold gaze fixed on the one who dared insult them.
A few chuckles erupted behind the gang leader. Nine other street youths stood behind him, each marked by the roughness of alley life. They wore mismatched armor pieces, old talisman belts, and a few had cracked spiritual pendants tied to their waists. Their names were quickly learned earlier through short interactions: Fen, Grolla, Nark, Veyna, Igo, Tark, Rishan, Bella, and Thok.
The leader, known as Zerak, was notorious in the outer village zones. A mid-level Foundation Layer cultivator with a talent for spatial evasion techniques, Zerak's pride was fueled by his ability to humiliate outer sect disciples.
Darek stepped forward, his voice calm yet sharp as frost. "We're here for pills. Not to pick fights."
Zerak snorted. "Then crawl in, buy your pills, and crawl out. This place belongs to us."
One of the inner disciples, Renna, leaned closer to Cael. "Ignore them," she whispered. "Let's just get what we came for."
But it was too late.
"Heh," Zerak smirked, eyes flashing as his gaze fell on Cael's newly refined bone structure and spiritual energy. "That one… he's freshly refined. Look at him shine like polished jade. Let's test the goods."
Boom!
Zerak vanished.
In a blink, he reappeared before Cael, foot sweeping in a low arc.
Cael barely reacted in time—
Bang! He was flung back, slamming into the edge of a broken cart. Wood cracked. Dust billowed.
"Cael!" Darek shouted, eyes flashing with light as frost-blue energy coiled around his arms.
Zerak laughed. "Too easy."
Darek didn't reply. He moved.
Hiss!
The air turned cold as Darek closed the distance, palm infused with cold essence slamming toward Zerak's face.
Clang!
A barrier erupted—Zerak had prepared a defensive talisman. The two energies clashed violently, ice against spatial distortion.
The gang rushed forward, and chaos broke.
Cael coughed, pushing himself up. His vision blurred for a second, but rage burned through his veins.
"You shouldn't have done that," he growled.
As one of the gang members, Tark, lunged at him, Cael twisted to the side.
Thud! Tark's fist missed and Cael countered with a spinning kick.
Bang! Tark crumpled to the side.
Meanwhile, Darek found himself engaged with Bella and Rishan, the two gang members who used earth and wind techniques in tandem. He ducked, slid beneath Bella's sweeping legs, and struck Rishan square in the gut.
Boom!
But Bella's wind-infused strike caught his shoulder. Darek stumbled back, breath short. His eyes narrowed. He activated his Frozen Vein Pulse, and frost crawled down his arms.
"Enough!" he snapped.
In a flash, he unleashed his Glacial Palm Thrust.
Crack!
Rishan's barrier shattered, and the boy hit the ground.
Cael, now surrounded by three more, growled as fiery energy flared from his dantian. Ashen Flame Veins, newly awakened, responded to his pain.
"I said… back off!"
BOOM!
His punch ignited. Thok took it head-on.
BANG! He was flung back, crashing into a stone wall.
The scuffle raged for minutes more—until three shadows dropped from the rooftops, landing with crushing force.
CRACK!
The ground split. Energy radiated like a storm.
"Enough!" a commanding voice boomed.
The disciples' seniors—Mira, Jalen, and Torv—had arrived.
Zerak staggered back, cursing.
"Damn inner sect lapdogs!" he spat before vanishing into a spatial flicker, his gang limping away.
Mira walked over to Darek and Cael. Her brows were furrowed, but her tone was gentle. "Let's get you two home. You've done enough."
---
That night, under Eldrod's ancient roof, silence lingered.
Cael sat shirtless in the lotus position, bruises covering his chest and arms. The Spirit-Restoration Pill dissolved on his tongue, warm energy coursing into his meridians. Darek stood nearby, arms folded, watching him.
Eldrod sat by the corner, eyes half-closed.
"You've taken a step, boy," the old man said. "But that pain is nothing compared to what's ahead. Are you ready?"
Cael clenched his fists. "I am."
The pill's warmth intensified.
Buzz...
His veins lit up in soft red lines.
"Now," Eldrod murmured, "let your Qi spiral. Guide it through your inner gates. Let the pain come."
Cael screamed.
HISSS!
It felt like fire crawled inside his bones.
"Ahhh—dammit! It burns!"
"Good," Eldrod grinned.
The room trembled slightly as Cael's energy pulsed. Darek's eyes widened—he could feel it too.
BOOM!
The barrier broke.
Cael's aura surged. The Qi Awakening Realm - Third Layer.
The room returned to stillness. Cael exhaled heavily, his chest rising and falling.
Eldrod nodded. "From this point on… every step you take carves your place into the heavens."
Cael looked at Darek, a smirk forming despite the pain. "I won't be the weaker one next time."
Darek looked away, though the corner of his lip curved faintly. "We'll see."
---
Outside, under the night sky, another figure observed from the shadows. A low murmur escaped him.
"The boy is progressing too fast… the Council won't like this."
He vanished into the wind.