The cave was filled with the stench of blood and ozone smoke. Li Chen knelt amidst the wreckage, his shaking hands wrapped tightly around the **Húnjīng Shí** crystal. The golden veins of the crystal throbbed like a secondary heartbeat, scorching his hand. In front of him, the nine-tailed fox—**Xuě Húlí**—trembled like a spirit, her mercury eyes keen enough to flay his spirit.
*"Pathetic,"* she scoffed, encircling him. Frost trails streamed off her tails. *"You smell of mourning. Mourning is weakness. Weakness kills."*
Li Chen remained silent. Ash dusted his robes, the ash that had originally been plum blossoms, homes, *humans*. The pendant of his sister chilled on his chest, the chain broken.
Xuě Húlí's muzzle split into a grin. *"But death… can be useful."*
---
### **The First Lesson**
The fox wasted no time.
She forced him to climb the shattered mountain, its slopes now jagged teeth biting into a smoke-choked sky. His hands bled, staining the rocks, but Xuě Húlí hissed: *"Faster. Or I'll carve your bones into tools."*
At the peak, she made him meditate in the eye of a snowstorm.
*"Feel the **húnlǐ**,"* she commanded. *"The soul-force in all things. Even rot has power."*
Li Chen shivered, his breath frosting. He closed his eyes—and saw flames. Mother's body. Father's burning journal. Mei's smile as the cave collapsed.
*"Concentrate, idiot!"* Xuě Húlí's tail struck his face, opening a cut. *"Your tears won't melt the Empire."*
By morning, he'd called up a flicker of golden light—a tendril of energy that died as fast as it appeared.
*"A candle in a hurricane,"* the fox taunted. *"But candles burn things too."*
---
### **The Wound That Would Not Heal**
Days passed in a blur. Xuě Húlí's training was merciless:
- **Dodged** shards of ice she flung like blades.
- **Punched** rocks until his fists cracked.
- **Breathed** thin, poisonous air until his lungs chorused.
In the evening, visions of the crystal tormented him.
*Progenitors in armor of starlight, battling shadows with fangs.
A treason—a disciple in Imperial black, stabbing a blade into the heart of his master.*.
A voice: "The Húnjīng Shí chooses the unbroken."*
Li Chen awoke gasping, the crystal burning feverishly on his skin.
*"You're dying,"* Xuě Húlí said one evening, her snout an inch from his. *"The relic's power is devouring you whole. But don't worry—I'll enjoy your shrieks."*
---
### **The Bandits**
They appeared at sunset—tattered survivors turned scavengers. Six men armed with plasma rifles and avaricious eyes.
*"Lookie here,"* their leader drawled, aiming at Li Chen's chest. *"A rich brat with fancy jewelry."*
Xuě Húlí materialized, her form translucent. *"Kill them,"* she purred. *"Or I'll let them skin you."*
Li Chen froze. These weren't Imperial soldiers—just desperate, broken people.
*"Mercy is a luxury,"* the fox spat. *"You have none."*
The bandit fired.
Instinct overrode. Li Chen's hand flashed out, the crystal blindingly bright. Golden light flashed out, cutting the plasma bolt in two. The bandit howled as the energy came back, scorching his gun—and his arm.
*"Monster!"* another cried, running away.
Li Chen looked down at his smoldering palm. The Húnjīng Shí's veins had progressed to his elbow.
Xuě Húlí laughed. *"Now you see. Power is pain. Pain is power."*
---
### **The Pact**
That evening, Li Chen hacked out a grave for the bandit chieftain. No name, only a rock inscribed with plum blossoms.
Xuě Húlí stood there, looking puzzled. *"Sentimentality won't bring your village back to life."*
"I understand," he spoke softly. "But I shall not become *them*."
The fox's ears twitched. *"Naive. But funny."* She laid an imaginary paw across his chest, and the crystal's sear grew stronger. *"Fine. I'll shape you into a blade—but you'll hurt for each lesson."*
Li Chen stared back at her. "Do it."
Training resumed.
---
### **The Horizon Calls**
Weeks later, Xuě Húlí led him to a cliff overlooking the dead valley. The sky churned with storms, but beyond the clouds—**stars**.
*"The Empire's capital lies there,"* she said, pointing to a distant constellation. *"A thousand planets grovel at its feet. You'll need an army to scratch it."*
Li Chen's hand clenched Mei's pendant. "I don't desire an army. I desire *them* to burn."
The fox smiled. *"So let's begin small. There is a rebel camp in the **Wasteland of Screams**. They will perish without a commander."*
"And you believe *I* can command?"
*"No."* Her gaze sparkled. *"But you can fake… until the fiction becomes reality."*
A ship descended—jagged, old, its hull scarred with Progenitor runes. Xuě Húlí's ship.
"First lesson in conquest,"* she said, slipping aboard. *"Never let them see you bleed."*
Li Chen followed. Behind him, the wind spread ash and dead petals.