"Ahh! Why can't I control my qi anymore?"
At Beast King Cliff, a young boy shouted in frustration. "The qi is still there, but it just won't move!" Sitting cross-legged, he repeated the breathing techniques his elder brothers had taught him since childhood. Yet, no matter how many times he tried, his qi remained locked within his energy core, refusing to circulate. It felt as if it had been sealed away.
"Does this mean I'll never be able to use qi again?" The boy clenched his fist in frustration and slammed it against the cliffside, causing the entire structure to tremble slightly.
"What's all the noise about so early in the morning?" A middle-aged man lying in a clear pool stirred awake.
Seeing the man rise, the boy stormed over, fury evident in his eyes. "Tell me! What's going on?" He grabbed the man by the collar and yanked him out of the water. "Why can't I use my qi? Did you do something to me?"
"Young one, don't be so impulsive. Let go."
With a faint pulse of energy, the middle-aged man sent the boy stumbling backward. The man leaned against the cliff and sat down, his expression calm and composed. "Not bad—your body has improved quite a bit. That strength is nothing to scoff at."
"Strength means nothing if I can't use my qi!" The boy glared at him, his voice trembling with frustration.
"Don't underestimate physical strength," the man replied. "If my limbs weren't crippled, I could rival even the strongest in the Dominion without using qi."
"Is that so?" The boy looked at him with suspicion. Although he guessed the man was a Dominion-level expert, defeating one with physical strength alone seemed hard to believe.
"Of course. If it weren't for my sturdy body, I, Xie Lun, would've been dead long ago."
"Xie Lun? You're the Beast King Xie Lun?" The boy's eyes widened in shock. This crippled man, poisoned and battered by fate, was one of the legendary Three Titans. "Forgive me for my earlier rudeness, senior," the boy said hastily, his demeanor changing completely. Growing up, he had heard countless tales of the Three Titans and revered them deeply. To meet one in person was beyond his wildest dreams. "I thought—"
"You thought what? That I'm some old madman, beaten down and running from my enemies?" Xie Lun chuckled bitterly. "It's funny how life works. Even those who stand at the peak can be reduced to this. I suppose I understand a bit of what Huan must've felt back then."
"Senior Beast King, why can't I use my qi anymore?" Despite his excitement, the boy's inability to wield qi still gnawed at him. After all, he had a pressing mission to find Dongfang Yifeng.
"Your body has undergone a cleansing from the Clear Ice Waters, and coupled with the unique energy field of Beast King Cliff, your energy core has been sealed temporarily. Naturally, you can't use qi here."
"What? Then how can I fix it?"
"Relax. Once you leave Beast King Cliff, the field won't affect you anymore, and you'll regain your abilities."
"But, senior, how were you able to use qi just now to push me back?"
"That's thanks to the benefits this cliff has granted me," Xie Lun explained.
"Benefits? What kind of benefits?" The boy's curiosity was piqued.
"Tell me, have you heard a voice in your mind?"
"Yes, I did. It told me to climb the cliff."
"Then that's your first task. The cliff has assigned you three challenges. Once you complete them, you'll be able to use qi here again."
"That's it? It doesn't sound like much of a benefit. I'd just be back to how I was before." The boy frowned, unimpressed.
"Patience," Xie Lun said with a mysterious smile. "When you finish all three tasks, you'll understand."
"Fine, I'll give it a shot. Climbing a cliff doesn't sound too hard. Without qi, I'll just need three days," the boy said confidently as he approached the base of the towering cliff, rolling his shoulders in preparation.
"Don't underestimate it. It took me a full year to reach the top," Xie Lun muttered under his breath.
The boy leaped upward, effortlessly scaling several meters in a single bound. His hands gripped the jagged rocks, his feet found firm footholds, and his body pressed tightly against the cliff face. Suddenly, an overwhelming force bore down on him. Unable to stabilize himself, he lost his grip and plummeted. He twisted midair and landed gracefully, his movement smooth thanks to his mastery of footwork.
"What was that? Where did that pressure come from?" he demanded.
"I told you, the energy field here is unique. It's weakest at the base of the cliff and strongest at the top. For every meter you climb, the pressure doubles. At the summit, you'll face a thousand times your own weight. You just leaped about five or six meters, so you were hit with five or six times your normal gravity. Naturally, it was hard to adapt," Xie Lun explained.
"A thousand times? That's insane! How can I possibly climb that high?" The boy was stunned. "Without qi, it's impossible! Even with qi, I wouldn't survive that kind of pressure!"
"You can do it if you take it slow, bit by bit. As I said, it took me a year. Or you could give up—no harm in that," Xie Lun said casually.
The boy fell silent, his gaze fixed on the seemingly endless cliff. **Give up?** He had rarely faced true adversity before, and walking away wouldn't cost him anything. Yet, deep down, something stirred within him. Looking up at the cliff piercing the clouds, he clenched his fists. "A year, huh? I don't have that kind of time. Three months. I'll conquer this cliff in three months."
Xie Lun watched the boy head back to the cliff with a faint smile. "Not bad. Surviving a fall from five times gravity without qi and still having the resolve to try again... Remarkable. He reminds me of him. I wonder what fate has in store for this boy."
The boy began his climb again, slower this time. He carefully felt the increasing pressure with every movement, stabilizing himself before moving further. By the end of the day, he had managed to reach a height of twenty meters, his body drenched in sweat and his arms trembling with exhaustion. Each step became a monumental effort. Finally, his grip faltered, and he plummeted.
This time, he was too drained to adjust his fall. As he hurtled toward the ground, a gentle energy field cushioned him, slowing his descent. Before he could hit the ground, he drifted into unconsciousness.
Xie Lun controlled the boy's fall with his qi and gently placed him into the Clear Ice Waters. "Rest well, kid," he muttered before closing his eyes and drifting into sleep.
The next morning, Xie Lun awoke to find the boy and his little dragon missing. "Did he really give up and leave?" Xie Lun scanned the area with his senses but couldn't detect the boy's presence within a thousand miles. "He's gone," Xie Lun sighed.
Suddenly, something flew out of the forest and landed before him—a freshly killed wild boar, its skull shattered by a single blow. Moments later, the boy emerged from the forest, his little dragon perched on his shoulder.
"Good morning, senior!" the boy called out cheerfully.
"You killed this boar? Without using qi?"
"Yep. Using qi would've given away my location," the boy replied, flexing his fist. The bath in the Clear Ice Waters had strengthened his body further.
Impressed, Xie Lun smirked. "Not bad, kid."
As the aroma of roasted boar filled the air, the boy stood at the cliff's base, determination burning in his eyes. "Today, I'll climb to one hundred meters."