Night descended, and a damp mountain breeze brushed his face.
Lin Ye dragged his weary body through the towering ancient forest. His chest still throbbed, his spiritual energy roiled, and the restlessness in his blood had yet to subside; if he met another strong foe now, escape would be unlikely.
By a stream he finally found a natural cave. Hidden behind vines and dead branches, it was well concealed, dry inside, and spacious enough for shelter.
He sat cross‑legged, drew a deep breath, and began guiding the still‑unruly energy within.
“Trace toxins detected in host. Spend 10 evolution points to purge?”
Startled for a moment, he answered without hesitation: “Yes.”
A cool current flowed through his meridians like spring water, scouring bruises and latent poisons with icy clarity. Heat and dull pain faded; relief spread across his features.
Clenching a fist, eyes shining, he thought:
“This system can do more than strengthen me—it can heal and cleanse. It’s my greatest leverage for turning the tables.”
Firelight flickered inside the cave. Leaning against the rock wall, Lin Ye stared at the dancing flames, mind far from calm.
Images of overseers brandishing whips, numbed slaves, and the instant his fist shattered a throat all surged back like a tide.
Jaw tight, he muttered:
“I remember every face… every scream in that mine.”
“I won’t just run away, won’t scrape by to live.”
“I’ll go back—make them pay in blood, one by one.”
Yet he knew he was still too weak.
That tiger had nearly broken him with a single blow; and the power behind the mine was far more than one beast.
“I must grow—grow so strong that my name alone makes them tremble.”
To heal and eat, Lin Ye began ranging the woods near the cave. He gathered edible fruits, trapped small animals, bathed in the stream, slowly restoring himself.
One evening he noticed odd signs at the foot of a cliff.
Deep claw marks gouged the rock; the wall bore long slashes, nearby trees lay snapped and charred—as though a fierce battle had raged.
He knelt, touched the prints, brows furrowing.
“This aura… like that tiger’s, but… older, wilder.”
Closing his eyes, he felt a faint resonance in his veins—a pulse calling, as if from kin.
“Could an even greater beast dwell here—or something tied to my blood?”
His heart pounded.
He had never known his origins, raised in the mines like livestock. Now, with blood awakened and body altered, these beastly traces seemed a thread leading to his true past.
“Maybe… my destiny doesn’t end here.”
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