Unparalleled Under The Heavens

The Qinghe Mountain Sect rested in the southern reaches of the Great Ming Dynasty.

Qinghe was one of the mid-tier sects in the empire—not powerful enough to influence court affairs like the Four Great Sects or Seven Grand Sects, but respected enough to deter lesser sects or forces.

Its domain stretched over dozens of miles. Mortal villages existed in scattered pockets around the base of the mountain, with the nearest one—Yunshui Village—a 1-hour journey on foot.

The Great Ming Dynasty officially sanctioned the existence of cultivation sects, even offered tax exemptions and land rights—but only as long as the sects stayed out of politics and There was no chaos in the mortal cities.

Li Fan descended past the edge of the registered district, where the vegetation lessened and gave way to well-paved roads.

After an hour of walking, Li Fan was now dae away from the sect grounds.

Ahead of him, the first rooftops of Yunshui Village came into view—smoke curling from chimneys, fields stretching out in neat rows, and the faint hint of livestock around.

Li Fan paused at the edge of the slope and narrowed his eyes.

This was it.

The mortal world—where cultivators were both feared and revered.

Li Fan adjusted his robes and took another step forward. Though he looked like a dusty young man with a cheap sword, here, down the mountain, he was something else entirely.

A cultivator.

Even a low-ranked one like him.

Among mortals, that title carried weight.

He was something close to a god.

Cultivators didn't answer to village laws. If a mortal struck one, it was punishable by death. If a cultivator struck back? At most, they'd be given a warning—if anyone dared to interfere at all.

Li Fan had seen it firsthand before. Three years ago, during his first trip to the village as part of a delivery team, one of the older outer sect disciples had gotten drunk and smashed a shopkeeper's stall in a temper.

The village chief had rushed out with apologies and even offered his daughter as compensation.

And that disciple had only been at Stage 4.

To mortals, Qi was sacred. Those who had it were walking legends.

It wasn't uncommon for villagers to offer food, gifts, or even lodging for free just to curry favor with a sect member.

As Li Fan approached the village, he slowed his steps, observing quietly from behind a large tree. The sight was familiar—women washing clothes by the river, children herding goats, a few farmers guiding oxen through their fields.

He spotted a group of men hauling firewood, laughing about something.

He saw the butcher's stall, the open-air teahouse, and the small herbal shop with its green banner swaying in the breeze.

A simple life.

One he used to envy in his past life.

Now, it felt even distant.

A thick swath of woodland lay to the west of the village. Mortals stayed clear of it except for hunters and the rare herbalist, mostly because of the terrain. 

The trees were dense, the trails narrow, and the occasional wild animal had a habit of appearing.

But that was exactly why Li Fan had come.

He wasn't about to test his blade on someone's livestock. It would've been easy to take from the village. A pig here. A chicken there. No one would dare stop him.

But that wasn't who he was.

Li Fan quietly made his way to the forest.

Now, nestled beneath the canopy of whispering trees, Li Fan drew a steady breath and stepped deeper into the forest. The shadows thickened as he moved off the trodden paths, branches brushing his robes, pine needles crunching softly underfoot.

A little while later, a narrow trail of overturned soil and snapped ferns caught his attention.

A boar trail.

Li Fan's paidef.

Wild boars were dangerous to mortals. But to him? At Stage 3, he didn't even need to use a skill to kill it. 

They were the prey.

Li Fan crept forward, ears tuned to the quiet rustle of the forest. Then, he heard it. The grunt of a heavy beast, the sound of something rooting through the underbrush up ahead.

He didn't hesitate.

Slipping between trees, he kept low until the boar came into view—a large, mud-caked beast snorting near a shallow patch of earth. Its tusks glinted faintly in the morning light.

It didn't notice him.

Li Fan didn't bother drawing his sword.

Instead, he pressed his feet into the soil and surged forward, his hands forming seals.

Stone Palm.

The Qi flowed instantly. His body responded with speed and grace far beyond what he'd been capable of before. In a flash, he was upon the beast.

The boar's head rose.

Too late.

CRACK!

His palm slammed into its skull with a wet, echoing thud—Qi-enhanced force driving straight through the thick bone. The creature gave a single jerking squeal before collapsing sideways, limbs twitching.

Dead in one blow. He didn't even break a sweat. 

Li Fan stood over the corpse when suddenly—

> [You have gained 4 EXP.]

His heart skipped.

It worked.

Four points. It didn't look like much… but it was proof that EXP came from killing.

Li Fan immediately called out his status panel.