Li Feng knelt in the center of an ancient training array etched with symbols of wrath, betrayal, and flame. Ghost Hand hovered nearby, floating incense in a bowl filled with soul-sap and beast marrow.
“You sure your mind can take it?” the rogue cultivator asked.
“This cultivation method doesn’t forgive doubt.”
“I don’t doubt,” Li Feng said. “Not anymore.”
The array ignited beneath him.
[System Initiating: Crimson Spine Art Cultivation Cycle – Stage 1]
– Channeling Wrath-based Qi
– Core Stability: 11%
– Side Effect Detected: Emotional Feedback Loop
– WARNING: Past Trauma Surfacing
Images assaulted him—rapid, burning.
Yu Xuan, smiling as he shattered Li Feng’s core.
The Sect Master, turning away. “He’s no longer useful.”
The cliff, the fall, the silence, the rebirth.
He screamed—but it wasn’t pain. It was fire.
[Trait Awakening: Indomitable Resentment – Lv.1]
– Reduces mental backlash during emotional cultivation
– Unlocks Qi flow through damaged channels
– Grants +15% Qi efficiency when reliving betrayal
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Blood oozed from his fingertips. Veins turned black then gold as the forbidden Qi surged.
Ghost Hand raised a brow.
“He’s really doing it. Most go mad by this point…”
“More…” Li Feng growled. “Push harder!”
The system pulsed red.
[Wrath Ascension Activated – Core Ignition Phase]
– Pain Threshold Surpassed
– Qi Compression Rate Increased by 200%
– Skill Fusion Possible: Wrath Qi Engine + Crimson Spine Art
Fusion Success!
New Skill: “Ashen Core Furnace – Lv. 1”
– Generates temporary Qi bursts under rage
– Can overclock a technique beyond its tier once per battle
– Drawback: Massive spiritual recoil
A blast of crimson Qi erupted around him. The floor cracked.
Ghost Hand stumbled back, shielding his eyes.
When the light faded, Li Feng stood.
His body steamed, his gaze sharper, wilder. His aura was no longer that of a cripple—it was of a cultivator reborn in hatred.
“Congratulations,” Ghost Hand said. “You’ve ignited your core. But it didn’t heal…”
“It changed,” Li Feng replied. “It learned to burn instead of flow.”
[System Update: Li Feng – Level 5]
– Qi Capacity: +8
– New Passive: “Scorch Veins” – converts physical pain into Qi
– Martial State: Unstable Ascendant
– Next Goal: “Field Test – Kill or Be Killed”
Ghost Hand handed him a black talisman.
“There’s a trial happening soon—Blood Moon Arena. They allow non-sect cultivators. You’ll be tested by fire.”
Li Feng took the talisman, grinning.
“Good. Let them come. The more they try to break me…
…the faster I rise.”
End of Chapter 5