...
"How many days has it been…?"
Tianyu wondered, dragging his feet forward, his legs felt heavy, his body sore, and every few steps a hidden trap would spring forth, forcing him to react, to defend, to survive.
"Tch, I'm not getting anywhere!"
Tianyu gritted his teeth and spread his Qi outward.
It crawled through the air and seeped into the ground, extending several meters ahead, searching, probing.
Nothing.
No people.
No buildings.
No landmarks.
Only a vast space, silent and infinite.
"Just where am I…?"
His thoughts began to spiral.
"Who was that man?
Why did he put me here?
What happened to everyone?
Why did Lin Feng transform like that…?"
"AHHHHH!"
Tianyu roared into the emptiness, his voice swallowed instantly as if the void itself refused to acknowledge him.
He walked for days, perhaps months, and the food inside his storage ring dwindled at a steady pace.
He tried everything.
Expanding his Qi further.
Launching blade attacks.
Nothing changed.
Eventually, exhaustion forced him to stop. He sat down, crossed his legs, and began circulating Qi, absorbing what little energy this place offered.
Days passed.
Then more days.
And in that endless repetition, Tianyu finally noticed something wrong.
Every attack he released returned to him twice as powerful.
Every strand of Qi he sent outwards.
Came back twice as dense.
Tianyu slowly opened his eyes.
This place was teaching him whether he wanted to or not; he was forced to adapt and grow.
…
After months of wandering the endless void, one truth became clear to him.
"If I want to leave this place… I must become stronger."
He exhaled slowly and came to a halt.
"No," he corrected himself. "I have to become the strongest. I'm tired of my life being dictated for me."
Instead of releasing his Qi recklessly, he sent it out in short, controlled bursts. The energy travelled through the void and, just as before, returned to him twice as dense.
Each time it came back, Tianyu absorbed it, refined it, and circulated it through his meridians. His internal energy grew steadily with every cycle.
Through this process, he began to grasp the true essence of his Qi.
Again and again, he repeated the process.
With each cycle, his Qi became smoother… purer… until it no longer felt like something external.
It felt like an extension of himself.
A thought crossed his mind.
"What would happen if I laced strands of my consciousness into my Qi?"
Carefully, he split a fragment of his awareness and embedded it within the energy before sending it outward.
In an instant, his perception expanded.
He felt himself travelling farther than ever before, seeing what he could not see with his eyes alone.
This place…
"This space is governed by its own. I wonder what happens if I try to learn."
Though his understanding remained shallow, Tianyu continued.
Hours passed.
Days.
Months.
Perhaps years.
Each time his Qi and soul energy returned to him, refined and strengthened, his power surged by leaps and bounds.
Through constant repetition, his comprehension of cultivation deepened.
Under normal circumstances, stabilising the Foundation Stage could take years. One had to refine Qi, expand the dantian, and overcome ten minor realms before advancing to the next major stage.
Yet within this strange void, it took Tianyu six months.
He didn't realise it himself at the time, but he had already far surpassed the limits of the Foundation Stage.
His dantian expanded naturally, his Qi stabilised effortlessly, and his realm advanced without resistance.
By the time his energy stabilised, Tianyu had already stepped into the Essence Development Stage, where Qi undergoes its first true transformation, condensing into Gang Essence.
When he sent his Qi outward once more It met resistance, something vast.
A presence like a great mountain, standing far ahead in the void.
"Huu…"
Tianyu exhaled lightly as he rose to his feet.
"I finally found something."
He leapt forward, sprinting toward it with blinding speed.
I've gotten stronger… haven't I?
He couldn't tell what realm he was in anymore, but he knew one thing with certainty.
The months he spent cultivating here had changed him completely.
As he reached the mountain, a sudden blinding light erupted before him.
After months of endless darkness, his senses were overwhelmed.
He felt himself falling.
When Tianyu opened his eyes again, his heart skipped a beat.
Familiar faces surrounded him.
All of them were bound and exhausted.
And standing before them was a man walking forward at an unhurried pace.
"You all did well this time," the man said.
His voice was calm, but each word carried crushing pressure.
"Is this an immortal…?"
Tianyu thought silently as the man approached.
"Welcome, little rabbits, to the Black Box." He spoke with a wide grin stretching across his face.
The man's face was sharp and bony, his features gaunt as if carved from stone. Long black hair flowed down to his shoulders, and he wore a simple robe tied loosely with a white rope around his waist.
"Take that. Wear it."
With a flick of his hand, black robes were tossed toward them. They floated through the air, landing neatly at everyone's feet.
The moment the fabric touched their legs, the restraints binding their bodies loosened.
Usually, one would think about running away, but the man exuded so much pressure that running felt like it was just courting death.
"This is just so odd. Why is he giving us these clothes?"
Tianyu inspected the robe carefully, though faintly he could tell that arrays had been drawn on them.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Yue Xing.
He was bloodied and bruised, and his normal cocky façade was gone now; his face was hardened.
"He must have had a rough time as well…"
Tianyu clenched his jaw.
"But as long as he's here, I still have a chance to find his father.
They'll come looking for him, I'm sure of it.
And by then… I'll be strong enough to kill him."
"Hah! What are you waiting for?"
The man's voice boomed again, carrying terrifying authority.
"Do you not know how to wear clothes? Strip and put those on."
The pressure behind his words slammed into the group. One boy immediately foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
"Tsk."
The man clicked his tongue.
"Bo, you brought trash here." He turned his face to meet Bo, who was casually leaning against a pillar, eating some snacks.
He flicked a finger.
The boy burst into black flames, his screams cut short as his body turned into ash.