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### **Chapter 5: Baptism by Fire and Water**
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#### **1. Awakening in the Crucible**
Chen Zhen woke to birdsong.
Sunlight streamed through the open windows of a sparse bamboo shack, painting golden stripes across a floor of polished river stones. His body felt *alive*—muscles humming with unfamiliar vitality, lungs drawing in air so rich it bordered on intoxicating. A moan of relief escaped him before he could stifle it.
Across the room, Shanggu Julong snorted into his teacup. *"Eloquent as ever, I see."*
Chen flushed, scrambling to sit up. The shack was simple: a bed of woven reeds, a hearth crackling with blue-tinged flames, and walls lined with shelves holding unmarked clay jars. Through the windows, he glimpsed a meadow dotted with crimson wildflowers and, beyond it, a mountain stream glinting like liquid silver.
*"Where…?"*
*"My sanctuary,"* Julong said. *"A pocket between realms. You've slept three days."*
*"Three—?"* Chen's protest died as a rancid stench assaulted him. He gagged, clutching his nose. *"What is that?!"*
Julong grinned. *"You."*
Chen looked down. His skin was slathered in a black, tar-like sludge. The bedsheets beneath him were ruined, the reeds smoldering where the substance had dripped.
*"Impurities,"* Julong said. *"Your world's poisons—processed foods, smog, weakness. My elixir purged them. Now go bathe. You reek of mortality."*
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#### **2. The Stream's Secret**
Chen sprinted for the stream, the two-hundred-yard distance vanishing beneath his feet in seconds. He plunged into the icy water, scrubbing furiously with handfuls of sand. The sludge peeled away, revealing skin that glowed faintly—a side effect of the merged souls or Julong's elixir, he couldn't tell.
The water itself was a revelation. Each droplet tingled against his skin, seeping into his pores with a warmth that sharpened his senses. Driven by thirst, Chen cupped a handful to his lips—
*"One sip. No more."*
Julong stood on the bank, arms folded. Chen hesitated, then drank.
Fire exploded in his throat.
The stream's energy surged through him—not the gentle flow he'd expected, but a torrent. The dragon's wisp in his dantian stirred, channeling the influx into his meridians. Lightning scored his veins, burning away residual filth. Lou Tian's dormant phoenix flame followed, knitting the micro-tears left behind.
By the fourth sip, Chen's dantian pulsed like an overinflated balloon. Julong yanked him from the stream by his hair. *"Greedy fool. This isn't your *void world*—here, even water bites."*
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#### **3. The Weight of a New World**
Julong tossed Chen a set of robes. They looked innocuous—linen dyed deep indigo, trimmed with silver thread—but weighed more than a car.
*"Spirit-beast hide,"* Julong said as Chen staggered. *"Three hundred kilos. Consider it motivation."*
Chen's legs shook, but the energy in his dantian braced him. *"Why?"*
*"Your world coddles weakness. Here, strength is *clarity*."* Julong gestured to the meadow. *"One hundred laps. Finish by dusk, or skip dinner."*
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#### **4. The First Trial**
The first lap nearly broke him.
Every step sank into the earth, the robes chafing his raw skin. But as Chen pushed, the souls stirred:
- **Shanggu Feng's Voice** (a growl in his spine): *"Pathetic. You're *dragging* your feet!"*
- **Lou Tian's Whisper** (a flicker behind his eyes): *"Breathe through the soles. Let the earth lift you."*
Chen obeyed Lou Tian. His next step lightened.
By lap thirty, he'd found a rhythm: inhale the energy-rich air, let it fuel his muscles, exhale doubt. By lap seventy, Shanggu Feng's lightning crackled in his periphery, goading him faster.
At dusk, Chen collapsed at Julong's feet, sweat-drenched but grinning. *"Done."*
Julong tossed him a bowl of stew. *"Eat. Tomorrow, we begin *real* training."*
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#### **5. The Banquet of Consequences**
The stew tasted like heaven—savory, spicy, alive. Chen devoured three bowls before noticing Julong's smirk.
*"What?"*
*"You've ingested enough spirit-boar essence to kill a lesser mortal."*
Fire erupted in Chen's gut. His dantian swelled, threatening to rupture.
Julong hauled him outside. *"Cycle it. Now."*
Chen knelt, recalling Julong's earlier lesson: *Inhale through the meridians, exhale through the pores.* But the energy raged, uncontainable—
*"Let go,"* Lou Tian whispered.
*"Control it!"* Shanggu Feng roared.
Chen *pushed*.
A shockwave tore from his body, flattening the meadow's flowers. When the dust cleared, Julong stood over him, amused.
*"Crude, but effective. Tomorrow, you'll learn precision."*
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#### **6. The Nexus's Whisper**
That night, Chen dreamed of the shattered amulet.
Its shards hovered in a starless void, humming with dissonant power. Shanggu Feng's voice echoed: *"Destroy it!"* Lou Tian's counter: *"Claim it!"*
A shadow moved behind the shards—a figure with Julong's eyes but a stranger's face. *"Balance is a lie,"* it hissed. *"Choose a side, or *be* chosen."*
Chen woke to Julong shaking him. *"Up. The Lou Clan's scouts are near."*
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#### **7. The Edge of Survival**
Julong led Chen to the sanctuary's border, where the meadow met a fog-shrouded forest. The air buzzed with tension.
*"They've tracked your energy,"* Julong said. *"Today, you learn to fight."*
He snapped his fingers. A stone golem emerged from the earth, runes glowing on its chest.
*"Survive until noon."*
The golem charged.
Chen reached for the dragon's lightning—
*"No!"* Lou Tian hissed. *"Fire first. Burn its joints!"*
Chen's palm blazed crimson. The golem's knee melted.
Shanggu Feng snarled. *"Finish it!"*
Chen obliged, crushing its core with a lightning-wrapped fist.
Julong nodded. *"Adequate. Now, ten more."*
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###
As Chen battled the tenth golem, a talisman-clad arrow struck the shack's roof. Lou Tian's voice hissed in warning:
*"Scout's mark. They've found us."*
Julong vanished, leaving Chen alone with the golems—and a choice: flee or fight.
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