More than ten months had passed.

  The mountain, once a place of fear and mystery, had become Wu Shen’s home. His days followed a strict routine—training, meditating, and seeking harmony with the world around him in the morning and hunting in the evening and he spent the nights, talking about his daily life as a human before he came to the mountains and met Ling Hua.

  However difficult that may sound, the days he spent were mostly pleasant, apart from the daily visit to the farms to watch over his siblings' lives.

  He spent hours within the dense forests, attempting to wield Spirit Resonance, feeling the pulse of nature through the flow of Qi. Most days, he failed.

  But today was different.

  Wu Shen sat on a moss-covered stone, surrounded by the sounds of rustling leaves and whispering winds. His breaths were long and controlled, his fingers brushing against the damp soil as he reached out—not physically, but through something deeper.

  A single leaf trembled, then detached from its branch. Instead of falling, it floated, dancing in the air as though obeying his silent command. He was controling the winds.

  His eyes flickered open, and a slow grin spread across his face. "Heh… finally."

  He stood, stretching his limbs, the excitement barely contained. "Ling Hua is going to be so pissed I took this long… but wait till you see how I finally mastered it."

  He then stood at a peak looking down at the village, "I am nowhere near strong enough to face Wei and his guards though". A mist of anger engulfed him

  With a renewed confidence, he started his descent toward the village, unaware of the storm brewing below.

  A few hours earlier

  Deep within the village, a meeting was taking place. The town hall was filled with the elites of the village—wealthy landowners, warriors, and elders—all gathered under the flickering glow of lanterns.

  A hooded figure sat among them, his voice smooth as silk yet laced with dark intent. "A serpent sleeps atop the mountain. A monster, wounded and ripe for the taking."

  "A serpent?" one of the village warriors scoffed, gripping the hilt of his blade.

  The stranger chuckled. "Not just any serpent. Its blood grants strength beyond mortal men. Its scales can forge weapons that will never break."

  Murmurs of excitement rippled through the crowd. Serpent blood—near-immortality. Power beyond belief.

  "I've heard of this... In the northeast, a man named Fuxi has long been said to appear with a serpentine body and near-immortality! Legend has it that he gained these abilities after receiving a dragon's blood as a gift from the heavens."

  Everyone looked at each other.

  Then village chief leaned forward. "You claim it is weak? How can we be sure?"

  "Because something has already wounded it," the stranger replied. "Something greater. And now it is dying."

  The greed spread like wildfire.

  "If the rumors are true… imagine the power it holds!" one villager exclaimed.

  "A single drop could make us stronger than an army!" another added.

  The hooded figure grinned widely and said, "Then I shall share my weapons with you. Your regular wooden clubs won’t even scratch it."

  At his signal, a worker dragged forward a sack and opened it, revealing spears tipped with gleaming black metal.

  "Ohh… I’ve never seen anything like this," one villager murmured in awe. "But why are you helping us?", Master Wei asked.

  The hooded figure’s expression darkened. "Let’s just say… it’s an abomination that should not exist. And I cannot defeat it alone haha."

  "Then we move right away, We cannot let such a monstrosity dwell near our village"

  Back in the present.

  Wu Shen had just arrived in the village to retrieve his clothes and check on his siblings, when he caught snippets of conversation drifting from a group of villagers gathered near a well.

  "I still can’t believe it. A true serpent?" one man muttered.

  "Not just any serpent," another replied in hushed excitement. "They say it was gravely wounded in battle, and its blood can grant immense strength and extend life."Wu Shen furrowed his brows, intrigued. A serpent?

  "And its scales," an older man added, his voice filled with greed, "can forge weapons that never break."

  "They say its atop the mountain in a cave besides a lake"

  A chill crawled up Wu Shen’s spine.

  "The chief and the elites left hours ago," a woman whispered. "By now, they might’ve already killed it."

  The realization struck him like lightning. His body tensed, his breath hitched.

  His blood ran cold.

  His heart stopped.

  Then, without hesitation, he ran.

  "No, this can't be happening"

  When Wu Shen finally reached the peak, the air was thick with the scent of blood and smoke. His breath hitched as his eyes locked onto the sight before him—he was too late.

  Ling Hua lay motionless upon the earth, her once-pristine golden-white scales soaked in crimson. Spears impaled her massive form, her breath ragged, her mighty wings tattered. She had not even fought back.

  Wu Shen’s knees buckled.

  "No… no, no, no…"

  His voice was barely a whisper, shaking with disbelief.

  A cruel laugh shattered the silence.

  "Well, look who it is."

  Master Wei smirked, stepping forward. "The rat that escaped. Did you think you could outrun your past?" He nudged a bloodied spear with his boot. "It seems fate had other plans."

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  Wu Shen barely heard him. He stumbled forward, pressing his forehead against Ling Hua’s massive snout, his hands trembling.

  "Why… why... why didn’t you change into your human form? They wouldn’t have found out… you wouldn't have-"

  A weak chuckle escaped her lips. "I already had my days numbered, my child… It takes too much Qi to hold my human form… and I did not wish to waste my last moments pretending."

  Her golden eyes softened as she looked at him, her frail body then pressed against Wu Shen, her voice weak but filled with warmth.

  "I have lived too long, Shen… I once believed I had everything, that I deserved everything. I got conceited and the heavens punished me for it. But then, in the midst of the chaos... I met you…"

  Wu Shen’s breath hitched, his fingers trembling against her bloodstained scales.

  "I know we have only known each other for almost an year... but for someone dying like me.. It was an eternity-" Ling Hua spat blood

  Wu Shen’s voice trembled. "Stop talking! Just tell me how to fix this… Tell me… how… You can roar at me all you want after—but listen to me this one time... please, tell me!"

  Ling Hua’s lips curled into a faint smile as she weaved her head.

  "My child, you were never mine by blood, but in my heart, you will always be my son."

  Her voice wavered, "I once wanted to own the heavens… but now… I would give anything—everything I have—just to spend more time with you, my child." Ling Hua grinned with a tear rolling down her eye "What good is heavens when I have you"

  Tears streamed down Wu Shen’s face. "Please tell me… please…"

  Ling Hua spat blood but still had the same serene, knowing smile she always had.

  "Promise me, my child… Lend your hand to those in need, but never grant forgiveness where it is undeserved. Mercy is a gift, not an obligation. I once believed otherwise… and it led me to ruin. The world will try to shape you, bend you to its will—but do not let it steal who you are. Stand firm in your convictions, for they will be your shield when all else falls away."

  Her claws trembled as she reached for him, her lips parting, her final words escaping in a whisper.

  "If you could call me—"

  "MOTHER!"

  Wu Shen’s scream tore through the heavens, raw and filled with grief. The earth itself trembled, as if mourning with him. A golden light erupted, rippling outward, shaking the mountains to their core.

  Ling Hua’s eyes widened slightly—then softened with pride.

  Then,

  a voice cut through the moment, followed by claps echoing within the cave.

  "What a touchy moment"

  "But this won’t do… this won’t do at all."

  A shadow descended from the sky, blotting out the moon like an ominous specter. Chiyou had arrived.

  His presence was suffocating, a dark tide of malevolence that seemed to pull at the very air. His frame was broad, his posture unwavering, clad in black robes engraved with ancient symbols that pulsed with a deep crimson glow. His face, partially obscured by a twisted mask, revealed piercing blood-red eyes that shimmered with an unsettling hunger.

  Ling Hua's eyes gleamed with anger, "So it was you"

  Chiyou let out a menacing laugh, "Haha, Did you think you could run away from my master?" His grin twisted into something far more sinister as he curled a lock of his hair around his finger. "I was given a command—to follow you to the very depths of hell if I must."

  Twin weapons gleamed in his hands—massive curved blades, their edges tainted with an eerie, pulsating aura. The same cursed metal that had impaled Ling Hua’s body. Wisps of dark energy, the color of dried blood, slithered along the weapons like living tendrils, feeding off the suffering in the air.

  Wu Shen rose to his feet, his face a mask of unreadable calm. Yet, anyone who dared meet his gaze would see the storm brewing within—this was no ordinary foe for him. This was his archnemesis.

  "Was it you behind all of this?"

  Chiyou chuckled, "And what if i was?"

  "I.. will make you pay for this"

  Chiyou exhaled slowly, tilting his head as if studying Wu Shen, amusement flickering across his expression. "Huh? Haha! A mere boy like you…? Interesting."

  With a flicker of movement, he lunged—his speed inhuman, his aura a wave of suffocating darkness.

  His dark robes billowed. Blood-red energy pulsed from his blades, thick with an ominous aura. Blood Qi

  Wu Shen barely had time to react before agony erupted in his stomach—Chiyou’s blade had already sliced through him.

  "Hah! Too weak If you ask me" Chiyou sneered.

  Wu Shen collapsed, blood pooling beneath him. "Ugh"

  "Shen!" Ling Hua’s voice trembled with rage and sorrow. "You"

  Chiyou chuckled darkly, the sound laced with menace. "I know what you were trying to do… Did you think we would just sit back and let you form a bloodline pact here."

  A cruel laugh rumbled from Chiyou’s chest as he tugged at his hair, stepping closer to the massive dragon with an ominous grin. " That's the brat you chose right? Too bad it’s already too late. After you fall, I’ll make sure that brat suffers through the very depths of hell before he breathes his last."

  A weak, almost mocking laugh escaped Ling Hua’s lips.

  Chiyou’s brow furrowed in confusion. "Huh? What's so funny?"

  Ling Hua’s smile deepened, her gaze unwavering. "Too late… Yes. But not for me. For you."

  A surge of azure energy exploded from Chiyou's back, crackling through the air.

  His eyes widened in shock as he turned. There, amidst the chaos, lay Wushen's battered form, his body enveloped in a fierce glow of azure flames. The flames flickered and twisted, their heat both fierce and gentle, as they seared over his wounds, causing them to tremble and heal of their own accord.

  Chiyou’s eyes narrowed. "You bit—"

  Before he could finish, Ling Hua’s body began to glow, her form fading into golden ether. The energy surged forward, wrapping around Wu Shen’s forearm, forming a coiling dragon insignia.

  The black spears impaling her fell, clattering onto the earth like lifeless twigs.

  Chiyou turned back toward Wu Shen—

  But Wu Shen was already there. Staring at him

  With a cold, emotionless gaze, his palm struck Chiyou's ribs with a force that seemed to shake the very earth beneath them. In an instant, a torrent of energy, shaped like a twisting dragon, erupted from his hand, sending Chiyou flying through the air, his body hurtling off the mountain’s edge like a ragdoll.

  As he was falling off the cliff,

  "Shen, was it?!" Chiyou’s grin spread wide, his eyes burning with fury. With a primal roar, he screamed into the abyss, "THIS ISN’T OVER! You better count your days, you bastard!"

  And with those words, he vanished.

  The pressure emanating from Shen's attack was enough to knock back everyone else to the ground. Elites looked at Shen terrified.

  But then,

  Wu Shen dropped to his knees, tilting his head back to the sky, and let out a scream so raw, it almost was heard as a roar, so filled with grief and fury, that the very air trembled. "AAAHHHH!"

  His voice, hoarse from crying, carried a weight that made the onlookers shudder. "Why has this land always taken from me?! What have I done to deserve this punishment?! If this is my fate…"

  -A massive sigh

  Silence fell. A stillness, thick and suffocating, settled over the battlefield. Wu Shen remained kneeling, his head now bowed, his hair hiding his face as tears dripped onto the bloodied ground.

  Then, his voice came again, but quieter, colder.

  "I will bare my fangs at such fate… I will take everything from this land—its people, its food, its shelter. If something is taken from me, I will take from the land even more."

  He lifted his head, eyes dark with determination, as he turned toward Master Wei. He rose to his feet, his movements slow, deliberate, like a storm about to break.

  Every elite, including Wei, instinctively took a step back, fear creeping into their expressions.

  Wei was the one to speak first, " Wh-What do you think you are doing? Yo-You think you will get away with this ?"

  Then Wu Shen disappeared

  In Wei's eyes, The world started tilting upside down,

  "Hu-Huh?"

  Wu Shen was standing behind him,

  While his head rolled away

  A silence fell in the room,

  "H-how could you --Master Wei was"

  Screams from the elites followed but none dared to run away.

  As they started stepping back,

  Shen's eyes met with theirs,

  "No need to be afraid… I haven’t taken anything from you… Yet."

  "Release my siblings from his farm"

  Master Wei's attendant stammered, his confidence crumbling. "B-but…"

  Wu Shen took another step forward, his gaze piercing. With one step he was already standing besides the attendant "If you want to keep your head on your shoulders, you will listen."

  Absolute Authority

  This is what they all felt that day. The lands which had yet to see a ruler were ruled by the elites till now. With the resources they had, they assumed none of their actions could have any consequences.

  What brought an end to that was a display of power unbending to the resources they had.

  The power to rule this land.

  Wei's attendant paled before quickly barking out orders. Within moments, Wu Shen’s siblings were freed.

  Wu Shen clenched his fist and raised it high. "From this moment onward, I will step on this land, and wherever I step, shall be united under my name."

  All the elites had no more doubts in their minds.

  They cleared the pathway, bowing their heads as Shen walked out.

  And from that day, not many knew of the name Wu Shen.

  Whoever knew of his name would call him:

  Shennong, The Yan Emperor.

  His siblings, Ba Shu, Yu Lan, and Little Mu, were later ordained as generals of his growing army, their loyalty unwavering.

  It was also Shennong, who later discovered the shamanic path as we know of today.

  Shennong and Chiyou would meet again—but that.... was a story for another time.

  The golden glow of the past faded, and the crackling of the campfire filled the silence. The weight of the story still lingered in the air. The wind carried the soft sounds of night, broken only by a few muffled sobs.

  A loud sniffle. Then the sound of someone blowing their nose against a cloth.

  "Come to think of it…" Sobs "Wasn’t he an orphan?" Blows nose "Ling Hua was always the only mother to him…" Sobs

  Juwon turned toward the source of the noise, his lips twitching in amusement as he saw Yan Huai rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his robe. "Didn’t take you for a cry-baby, Huai. Btw since when were you here?"