Ch 24: Cheon Dan's Truth -1

The vision shifted once more.

Feng Liang found himself standing on the edge of a rocky outcrop, overlooking a roaring waterfall that crashed down into a river below with unrelenting force.

Sitting beneath the cascade was Cheon Dan... his body muscular, bruised, and scarred from countless battles.

His once-short hair had grown long, flowing down his back in wild, dark waves that made him look untamed and primal, yet with an aura of quiet strength. Despite his fierce appearance, something felt terribly wrong.

Feng Liang frowned as he watched closely, trying to make sense of the scene before him. There was something... off. Cheon Dan's body, despite its visible physical strength and endurance, was strangely devoid of Qi.

There wasn't a single trace of spiritual energy coming from him. It was as if he were a mere mortal, yet Feng Liang knew better. He knew what the records said about Cheon Dan.

"How can this be?" Feng Liang muttered under his breath, confusion clouding his mind. The ancient texts clearly stated that Cheon Dan was born with a heavenly physique... one that allowed him to absorb and accumulate Qi at an extraordinary rate. That physique was what made him one of the most feared cultivators of his time.

Yet here, in front of Feng Liang's eyes, Cheon Dan sat beneath the waterfall, enduring its crushing force without showing even the smallest trace of Qi.

The young man had clearly trained his body to the brink of physical perfection... his muscles were thick and defined, his bruised skin evidence of countless battles... but there was no spiritual energy to be felt. No aura of cultivation surrounded him.

Feng Liang watched in silent confusion. Has he not unlocked his potential yet? Or is something preventing him from using his true power?

Cheon Dan remained seated beneath the waterfall, his face tense with concentration. The water continued to pound down on him, its unrelenting force making the air around them roar with a deafening sound. Every inch of Cheon Dan's body seemed to strain against the weight of the water, yet he stayed still, meditating in silence.

Minutes turned into hours, and Feng Liang could do nothing but watch. The young man was clearly enduring tremendous physical strain... his skin was bruised and raw from the constant pressure of the waterfall, and the dark circles under his eyes spoke of exhaustion. Yet, despite all his efforts, there was still no sign of Qi.

Time dragged on. Feng Liang had no idea how long Cheon Dan remained beneath the waterfall, but eventually, the young man's body began to tremble with fatigue. His once-rigid posture faltered, his muscles twitching uncontrollably. The strain of his training was beginning to wear him down.

Finally, with a grunt of frustration, Cheon Dan stood up, stepping out of the waterfall. His face was twisted with anger, his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles in his neck stood out. He walked slowly toward a clearing nearby, every step heavy with disappointment.

Feng Liang followed, his heart sinking as he watched his ancestor collapse onto the ground, his body slumped with exhaustion. Cheon Dan sat there, breathing heavily, his fists clenched tightly by his sides.

"I've been trying for so long..." Cheon Dan muttered, his voice raw with frustration.

"Day after day, year after year... I've trained, fought, and pushed myself to the edge... yet I still can't absorb a single speck of Qi."

He lifted his head, staring up at the sky with a bitter expression. His dark eyes, once filled with determination, now flickered with doubt and despair.

"I've fought beasts that could've killed me a hundred times over," Cheon Dan continued, his voice rising slightly.

"I've trained every inch of my body until it broke, but still... nothing. I can't sense anything. I can't feel Qi. I can't cultivate like the others."

Feng Liang's chest tightened as he listened to the bitterness in his ancestor's voice. So this is what he had gone through... all those years of struggle with no reward.

Cheon Dan gritted his teeth, his hands tightening into fists.

"I can't even go to any of the sects," he spat out, his voice shaking with anger.

"They would laugh at me. What good am I, with all this strength, if I can't sense Qi? How could I show my face in front of them like this?"

Feng Liang's eyes widened at that revelation. He couldn't go to the sects? The ancient records had never mentioned that. Why had Cheon Dan, with his natural talents, been unable to seek out guidance from the sects?

"Why couldn't he go?" Feng Liang whispered to himself, his mind racing with questions.

Before Feng Liang could think further, the peaceful quiet of the forest was shattered by a deafening roar... a sound so powerful that it seemed to split the very air in two.

The ground trembled violently beneath Feng Liang's feet, shaking the trees and sending birds scattering into the sky, their cries of panic lost beneath the sheer volume of the roar.

Cheon Dan's eyes widened in horror, his entire body going rigid. His breathing quickened as he scrambled to his feet, instinctively scanning his surroundings. The sound had come from deep within the forest, but even from this distance, Feng Liang could feel the overwhelming power behind it.

"What... what is that?" Feng Liang gasped, his voice trembling as he looked toward the horizon. The air itself seemed to thrum with energy, vibrating with a force that made Feng Liang's heart race.

Cheon Dan stood frozen for a moment, his body trembling with fear. But despite the terror that gripped him, something else flickered in his eyes... a burning curiosity. A desire to see what could have possibly made such an earth-shattering sound.

His body was shaking, but his soul was determined.

Without a second thought, Cheon Dan began to move. He forced his legs to carry him forward, first in a slow, stumbling run, and then faster, more sure-footed.

His body moved with a natural grace and agility, despite his lack of formal technique. He leaped from tree to tree, his movements fluid and precise, as though he had lived in this forest for years.

Feng Liang followed closely behind, his heart pounding in his chest. The sheer intensity of the roar still echoed in his mind, making his skin crawl with unease. Whatever had made that sound, it was unlike anything he had ever encountered before.

Cheon Dan raced through the forest with astonishing speed, weaving between trees and leaping over fallen logs with ease. His lack of cultivation techniques didn't seem to hinder him at all... his instincts and physical prowess were enough to carry him through the dense forest without faltering.

As they moved deeper into the forest, the ground continued to tremble beneath their feet, the shockwaves from the roar growing stronger. Trees groaned and swayed dangerously, and in the distance, Feng Liang could see the sky darkening as clouds gathered overhead.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of running, the source of the roar came into view.

Both Feng Liang and Cheon Dan skidded to a halt, their eyes widening in disbelief.

There, in the center of a massive crater, lay a creature of legend. Its enormous body sprawled across the ground, its black scales glistening in the dim light of the forest.

Blood pooled beneath it, seeping from deep gashes along its sides. Its once-proud head lay low to the ground, its glowing eyes dull with pain.

"A... a dragon," Feng Liang whispered, his voice barely audible over the pounding of his own heart.

"A black-scaled dragon..."

Cheon Dan stood frozen, his body trembling as he stared at the beast in awe and horror. The dragon's immense size was beyond anything either of them could have imagined... it dwarfed the surrounding trees, its tail stretching out like a mountain range. The air around the creature crackled with raw, untamed power, even in its weakened state.

Feng Liang's mind raced. A dragon... one of the ancient creatures said to have ruled the skies in the forgotten times. Beings of unimaginable power, who could level entire continents with a single breath. The records said they had gone extinct long ago.

Yet here one lay, broken and bleeding, its body crushed and torn.

Cheon Dan's breath came in shallow gasps, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and fascination. His fists clenched at his sides, his muscles tense, but his eyes... his eyes gleamed with something more. Curiosity. Wonder. And something darker... a hunger for the power that lay before him.

Feng Liang, too, was captivated by the sight of the fallen dragon, but his attention was quickly drawn to something else... someone else.

Floating above the dragon's broken body, suspended in mid-air, was a figure. A man, his presence so commanding that the very air seemed to bend around him.

His long, white hair flowed behind him like silk in the wind, and his piercing cerulean eyes glowed with an intensity that seemed to pierce through the world itself.

Feng Liang's breath hitched in his throat. The figure exuded an aura so overwhelming, so powerful, that it made the ground tremble beneath him. The man's expression was calm, almost indifferent, as he looked down at the dying dragon with cold detachment.

The man was floating... hovering effortlessly in the air, his arms crossed as he surveyed the scene with an air of superiority.

Feng Liang's heart pounded, his eyes wide with shock as he took in the sight of the man. He looked almost otherworldly, his expression calm and regal as he gazed down at the fallen dragon with a mix of indifference and superiority.

Feng Liang's breath hitched in his throat, his body trembling as a wave of recognition washed over him.

"Long... white hair... cerulean eyes..." he whispered, his voice barely audible. His chest tightened as the words slipped from his lips, his mind reeling. He had seen this before. This figure, this presence... it was far too familiar.

Suddenly, his head exploded with pain. His temples throbbed, the sharp sting of a migraine tearing through his skull. He clutched his head, gasping for breath as his vision blurred. The world around him began to distort, the edges of his sight fraying like the unraveling of a tapestry.