NOVEL WEB Chapter 2 - Sea of Runes
Riding on the massive rune train bound for home, Lu Lixing gazed out the window at the swiftly passing urban sprawl, a hint of bewilderment creeping into his eyes.
His confusion stemmed not from severing ties with Sha Xiufen, but from the uncertainty of how to enhance his abilities enough to secure a university spot before the college entrance exams loomed.
In a day's twenty-four hours, aside from three for sleep, Lu Lixing devoted ten to work and another ten to cultivation, leaving just a single hour for meals and rest. This rigorous routine had persisted for two and a half years, yet the adage ‘the early bird catches the worm' seemed to falter in his case. The strides he made in ten hours of diligent cultivation paled in comparison to what his classmates achieved in two, not to mention the prodigies in the elite class.
Most would have abandoned cultivation and resigned themselves to their lot, but Lu Lixing was cut from a different cloth. Emerging from the slums, he understood that mastering cultivation was his sole avenue to alter his destiny. Surrender was not an option; he was resolute in his pursuit.
Previously, Lu Lixing had allocated the lion's share of his cultivation resources to Sha Xiufen, sparing only a scant amount for his own use. Now that Xiufen no longer required his contributions, the resources at his disposal each month had significantly increased. With this newfound wealth of resources, he was certain his strength would surge in a short span.
Mulling over his cultivation prospects, Lu Lixing instinctively reached into his frayed canvas bag, withdrawing a quaint, palm-sized bronze box. Clutching the box, brimming with ancient charm, a wave of relief washed over him; he had nearly parted with this treasured family relic that had been his companion since childhood.
He had once intended to sell the bronze box to repay Xiufen's generosity and boost her chances of entering one of the prestigious Big Six. But with their connection severed, there was no longer a reason to let go of the box.
“Old pal,” he murmured to the box, “today, you were almost sold. After all these years, you remain a mystery to me. What secrets do you hold within?”
Lu Lixing spoke to the bronze box under his breath. Out of the blue, he caught a glimpse of a golden light fleeting across its surface. Doubting his own eyes for a moment, he was brought back to reality when the massive rune train came to a gradual halt, and the sound of the station announcement filled his ears. His stop had arrived; it was time to disembark.
He gave the unaltered bronze box one last glance before tucking it back into his waist pouch and stepping off the rune train onto the slum's solitary platform.
Inhaling the slum's distinctively sour stench, a slight look of contentment crossed Lu Lixing's face. It wasn't a penchant for self-punishment that brought this on, but a pure comfort with the slum's polluted air—it felt like coming home.
Lu Lixing's abode was a modest two-story structure close to the platform. The first floor served as his living quarters, while the second was his place of cultivation.
Dinner time had come, yet Lu Lixing felt no urgency to eat. His plan was to ascend to the second floor, immerse himself in rune meditation, and only after two hours of cultivation would he sit down for his meal.
The so-called cultivation room on the second floor was nothing more than a dilapidated futon and a worn rune chandelier—simplicity at its finest. Lu Lixing settled onto the futon, casually placing his waist pouch beside him, ready to slip into a meditative trance. That's when a soft golden glow began to emanate from the pouch, reminiscent of a tiny sun trapped inside a bag, radiating intense heat.
Staring at the luminous pouch, Lu Lixing's eyes widened in astonishment. As he reached out to investigate, the tattered pouch disintegrated into fine dust, revealing the bronze box within.
The intense golden light was beaming from the box itself!
The light grew stronger and more abundant, eventually shaping itself into a golden door as tall as a man right before Lu Lixing. The bronze box had transformed into the door's frame, exuding a profound, ancient vibe, like a colossal beast from the depths of antiquity slowly stirring from its slumber.
As Lu Lixing grappled with his astonishment at the bronze box's transformation, the bronze door radiating golden light suddenly unleashed a powerful suction, pulling him through its threshold!
“Where am I?”
Lu Lixing found himself adrift in an infinite expanse of stars, with a massive continent floating before him. Countless stone pillars rose from its surface, each inscribed with intricate and mysterious runes that exuded an aura of ancient desolation.
The sight of the seemingly infinite stone pillars and runes left Lu Lixing dumbfounded. In his seventeen years of life, he had never witnessed such a majestic spectacle. The innumerable golden runes before him appeared to merge into a vast ocean, bobbing and weaving with a heart-pounding force.
Without warning, the towering stone pillars on the continent began to crumble, and the endless runes cascaded down like leaves in the wind. The power they harbored, akin to wild beasts breaking free from captivity, erupted with a cataclysmic fury that shattered the continent to its core.
As the continent fell apart and the stone pillars met their end, the golden runes, having unleashed their unparalleled ferocity, slowly started to fade away. In the brink of their extinction, a small bronze box emerged from the debris. In a flash, it transformed into a colossal bronze door, exerting a fierce pull on the cosmos, drawing in all the floating runes and with them, the silhouette of Lu Lixing.
Boom!
Time lost all meaning until a thunderous noise jolted Lu Lixing awake, his consciousness resurfacing. His body lay afloat like driftwood on the sea, carried by the current. The sight of the ocean beneath him, a boundless sea composed of countless golden runes, left him utterly astonished. .c(o)m
In that instant, Lu Lixing's mind seemed to detonate like a supernova, waves of information crashing into his thoughts without end. Overwhelmed by the deluge, he lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, the Sea of Runes beneath him transformed into gentle streams, infusing Lu Lixing's body with their essence, as if the world's most potent elixir was revitalizing his every sinew and bone.
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