Thunder roared, shaking the wooden walls of the rickety shack until they groaned loudly. Zarox huddled in the corner of the room, clutching his knees tightly while his face turned deathly pale. All around him, dozens of cheap paper talismans bought from the black market were haphazardly plastered on the walls, the floor, and even the leaking thatched roof. To him, every heartbeat was a countdown to the death he hated with every fiber of his being."Don't take me now," Zarox whispered, his teeth chattering, his eyes darting wildly toward a small hole in the roof where raindrops were beginning to leak through. "I don't have life insurance yet, I haven't gotten my immortality pills, and I haven't even had a chance to taste the best fried chicken in this city! Don't die, Zarox! Don't!"The next crack of thunder boomed even louder, as if the heavens wanted to split the earth right over Zarox's head. The young man flinched, his trembling hand reaching for an old stick of incense wrapped in

The cold laughter vibrated in the narrow space of the kitchen, but before Zarox truly lost consciousness, he summoned the last of his strength, fueled by a surge of fear-induced hormones. He bit the hand choking him as hard as he could—right on the vein."Argh! You filthy rat!" The figure behind him screamed in pain and released their grip.Zarox collapsed onto the wooden floor, coughing violently as he inhaled as much air as possible. He didn't look back. His instinct screamed that this was the moment to run or die. With a speed he didn't even know he possessed—perhaps an effect of the spiritual rice earlier—he rolled behind a wooden workbench and grabbed his Aegis Cauldron.The figure stood tall. It was a senior disciple in a dull gray robe, his face hidden by a black veil. His eyes stared sharply at the rusted cauldron in Zarox's hand. "Give me that cauldron, boy. You have no idea what you're holding. That's no ordinary piece of junk.""It's a washbasin!" Zarox shouted, his voice p

Zarox crumpled the letter until it was shredded, his breath coming in short gasps like someone who had just finished a mountain marathon. "How could they know?!" he hissed, making sure his panicked voice didn't penetrate the thin wooden walls of the shack. He threw the scraps of paper into the small furnace, watching them char into ash in an instant.That morning, dawn broke with a reddish hue that, to Zarox, looked like blood spilled across the horizon. Without wasting time, he ran to the sect's scrap warehouse. With wild eyes scanning every pile of rusted iron and old armor, he finally found what he was looking for: five layers of thick leather armor rumored to be made from the carcasses of Iron Rhino monsters.Zarox put on all five layers of armor at once. The weight was extraordinary, nearly ninety pounds weighed down his small frame. He looked like a disproportionate, walking ball of leather. However, Zarox didn't care. Dignity was a luxury he couldn't afford with his life.As he

Zarox froze. The purple energy swirling wildly in his hand slowly faded, sucked back into the cauldron as if the object had a consciousness of its own that was reluctant to explode. He turned slowly, finding the figure of Elder Kael standing there, his eyes staring sharply with an aura of authority that made Zarox's knees go weak instantly."Let me go, Elder!" Zarox cried out with a trembling voice, trying to pull his hand from the senior alchemist's grip. "Them! They started it! They wanted to beat up an innocent servant disciple like me!"Elder Kael released Zarox's wrist, then observed the rusty cauldron, which was still hissing softly, with an unreadable expression. "A servant disciple, you say? What kind of servant disciple is capable of creating an energy anomaly of this magnitude just by manipulating basic light?""You just made a hole big enough to bury half of this dormitory."The rowdy crowd of outer disciples suddenly fell silent. Seeing Elder Kael's presence, they quickly

Zarox squeezed his eyes shut, hugging the Aegis Cauldron to his chest as if the piece of junk could be bulletproof. The sharp sword glided, slicing through the air with a deafening whistle. However, instead of piercing Zarox's chest, the blade slammed into the bronze cauldron's lid with a loud metallic clang. Sparks flew, sending Zarox tumbling backward until his back hit the alchemy table."Oh, thank goodness! This cauldron really is a top-quality product!" Zarox screamed in a high-pitched voice. He hurriedly crawled backward, knocking over a pile of potion bottles until they scattered everywhere.The Shadow Valley Sect Leader, a thin man in black robes that seemed to absorb light, was stunned for a moment. He saw his precious sword now had a small dent at the tip. "What piece of junk are you holding, boy?" he hissed with a tone full of rage.Zarox didn't wait to answer. He saw a golden opportunity while the man was still fixated on his damaged sword. Zarox wasn't thinking about high