Chapter 2

"Kai Xuan, wake up." A familiar voice echoed in his ear, and even his body seemed to be gently pushed.

Rong Kai Xuan's consciousness gradually coalesced, as if slowly surfacing from deep water, leaving him momentarily dazed.

Seeing his son awake, Rong Yi Yang let out a sigh of relief, but then his face turned stern as he said, "Kai Xuan, why did you fall asleep here?"

"Asleep?" Rong Kai Xuan looked around, dumbfounded, and the scene before he lost consciousness flashed through his mind.

He was absolutely not asleep; he had been knocked out effortlessly.

"Ah..." Rong Kai Xuan's eyes suddenly widened, and he let out a deafening, heart-wrenching scream.

Rong Yi Yang's outstretched hand paused in mid-air, and he shuddered involuntarily, startled by his son's expression.

"You, what's wrong with you?"

Rong Kai Xuan leaped to his feet, his eyes darting around, filled with extreme fear.

"Father, where is that man? Didn't you see him?"

"What... man?" Rong Yi Yang asked, utterly confused.

"It was an old man, a blood-soaked old man." Rong Kai Xuan gestured with his arms: "This old man was very strange. His body was covered in blood, and it seemed he had been slashed, so everything below his chest... was gone."

As Rong Kai Xuan spoke, his urgency grew, but when he mentioned the last part, he involuntarily slowed down, his tone becoming uncertain.

Without a body below the chest, could he still be considered alive?

Rong Kai Xuan had never experienced such a thing, and though he was young, he knew the basic facts.

Rong Yi Yang's facial muscles twitched violently. He lowered his head and looked at the ground for a long time before saying slowly, "Kai Xuan, are you sure the old man was bleeding?"

Rong Kai Xuan nodded vigorously. Although he couldn't see the old man's face clearly, the intense, almost tangible smell of blood left a deep impression on him.

Rong Yi Yang's mouth twitched, and he sighed deeply, saying, "Kai Xuan, it's all my fault."

"What?" Rong Kai Xuan's eyes widened in surprise. What did this have to do with his father?

"Son, you are still young, but I forced you to凝聚真气, putting too much pressure on you." Rong Yi Yang said guiltily, "Alas, I didn't expect that you would even start having hallucinations now."

Rong Kai Xuan opened his mouth, wanting to tell his father that he definitely encountered such a strange... living dead person, who knocked him out.

However, seeing the environment around him, which showed no trace of blood, and his father's worried face, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Kai Xuan, come with me. Go back and have a good sleep." Rong Yi Yang patted his son's shoulder hard and said, "From today on, you are not allowed to practice boxing anymore. Hehe, let's just live a normal life here as a family."

"Father, but your wish..."

Rong Yi Yang raised his hand, stopping his son's unfinished words. He sighed, "I've thought it through. What does it matter to be a boxing master or a martial artist? Nothing is more important than our family being together." He smiled with a hint of satisfaction, "Unfortunately, I only realized this now."

Rong Kai Xuan's lips trembled slightly. He felt a surge of indescribable warmth in his chest, making it hard to express. For some reason, seeing his father's current appearance made him very sad, even to the point of wanting to cry.

But he had been trained by Rong Yi Yang from a young age to be a man who doesn't cry, so he took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions.

Rong Yi Yang smiled and held his son's hand, and the two of them walked back to the estate.

This estate was one of the Rong family's properties. For the vast Rong family, it was just a remote, insignificant place. Many direct descendants, unable to cultivate true energy, were often sent to shops or such estates.

Except for a few who could rise again through hard work, most lived mediocre lives, detached from the family's mainstream, and lived out their days here.

Rong Yi Yang had always harbored resentment, but today, after being frightened by his son, he truly let go of his grudges.

That evening, the three of them sat together, enjoying a warm and harmonious night.

Rong Kai Xuan's mother was surprised that her husband no longer urged their son to practice evening exercises, but her keen insight noticed that the father-son relationship seemed to have become much closer.

For a housewife whose life revolved around her husband and son, nothing could be more delightful than this.

The warm moments always seemed to pass quickly.

As night fell, although Rong Kai Xuan was reluctant to leave, he bid farewell and returned to his room.

Although their branch of the family had fallen, Rong Yi Yang was still a direct descendant of the Rong family and held a supreme position in the estate.

So Rong Kai Xuan had his own room.

Lying in bed, Rong Kai Xuan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Every time he closed his eyes, the terrifying scene would instantly appear in his mind.

However, he now believed his father's reasoning. This incident never happened; it was just a hallucination caused by the immense pressure he had been under.

A person would die from the intense pain of losing their body below the chest. So, he could not have seen such a person.

Shaking his head, Rong Kai Xuan sighed deeply, patting his head as if trying to drive the terrifying scene from his mind.

But he soon realized that this only made his head ache, with no other effect.

Just as he was at a loss, his eyelids suddenly twitched.

He suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something indescribable in his head.

It was a feeling that couldn't be put into words, but it was very real.

In the center of his forehead, it felt as if there was a mysterious flow of energy. The presence of this energy made his head feel slightly swollen.

He rubbed his forehead with his hand, as if trying to confirm whether this energy really existed.

Unfortunately, it was just a feeling. Without splitting his head open to investigate, he couldn't find anything. And he doubted that even if someone really split his head open with an axe, they would find anything strange.

Blinking his eyes, he felt an inexplicable worry.

Such a sudden change would scare an adult to death, let alone a boy not yet fifteen. If he could accept it without any reaction, that would be truly unbelievable.

"Come out, come out," he closed his eyes and muttered, "I'm not a fun place, the outside world is much more interesting, come out."

This was his subconscious attempt, as if trying to lure the mysterious energy out of his mind.

However, he didn't realize that his unintentional action seemed to be quite effective.

Slowly, the energy in his mind began to move. Although the movement was slight, Rong Kai Xuan, who was closely monitoring it, was overjoyed.

He never thought he could actually control this energy.

"Come out, come out, come out quickly."

He mumbled, clenching his fists tightly. His nails dug deep into the flesh of his palms, but he was oblivious to the pain, as all his attention was focused on one point.

Perhaps because of his wholehearted call, the energy in the center of his forehead finally began to move.

It rotated in his forehead, generating momentum, and slowly penetrated through his brow.

Although Rong Kai Xuan wished this strange energy would leave his body quickly, the way it left through his brow almost scared him to death.

If a hole opened in a person's brow, could they still survive?

However, to his relief, he felt no discomfort even after the energy left.

It was as if there was a passage in his brow that allowed the energy to flow out.

After a moment, the energy in his forehead completely dissipated. Rong Kai Xuan suddenly felt a strong sense of weakness, as if the loss of the energy had drained his spirit.

He stumbled and slowly sat down, breathing deeply to adjust.

After a long time, he felt a bit better.

Opening his eyes, he suddenly stared straight ahead, unable to look away.

In front of him, there was now a person.

Or rather, it wasn't quite a person, but a strange being with a human-like form.

It had no facial features but had limbs. Its skin was completely white, as if it had never been exposed to the sun.

Swallowing hard, Rong Kai Xuan did not rashly scream.

This wasn't because he was fearless, but because, for some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with this strange being.

It was a pure feeling. He felt very safe with this being, as if it was a part of himself, separated from him.

Rong Kai Xuan had no suicidal tendencies at all.

So, he felt very safe, extremely safe.

Lifting his head, he carefully examined the strange human-like being. After a while, he tentatively touched its body.

The touch felt very good, just like touching his own skin.

However, Rong Kai Xuan's face suddenly changed. He looked at his arm in shock, his face filled with disbelief.