Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – The Pulse Beneath
The voice faded, leaving only the faint echo of its resonance deep in Lin Xuan's bones. For a long moment he stood still on the roof of the parking structure, his silver-flecked eyes reflecting the shattered skyline. The slumbering heartbeat beneath the earth thrummed louder, matching the cadence of his own.
It called me by name, he thought, the whisper still lingering like a half-remembered dream. Or perhaps it spoke the Path itself. Heavenbreaker…
He inhaled deeply, drawing in the thick, metallic air. Somewhere far above, a flock of winged beasts circled, their silhouettes momentarily eclipsing the fractured moon. To the east, a new fire bloomed — the unmistakable trail of an atmospheric entry.
The vanguard was coming.
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I. Descending into the Pulse
At dawn, Lin Xuan gathered his disciples. Zhang Wei stood at their head, posture straighter than when Lin Xuan had first found him, the faint silver sheen in his eyes a mark of progress. Mei Yan and Luo Jin flanked him, both still bearing the wounds of their trial but alive — proof of their hardening.
"You've taken your first step," Lin Xuan said, his voice carrying effortlessly across the parking structure's dim interior. "But strength gained in battle must be tempered, or it will devour you."
Zhang Wei frowned slightly. "Tempered… how?"
"By the source of this world's power," Lin Xuan replied. "Beneath this city runs a river of Primordial Qi, older than the beasts and stronger than the invaders who come. We will descend to its heart."
Mei Yan hesitated. "You mean… deeper than the subway?"
Lin Xuan's lips curved faintly. "Much deeper. Where the pulse beats loudest."
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They set out before midday, threading through the labyrinth of tunnels until they reached a half-collapsed maintenance shaft that plunged into darkness. A faint, thrumming energy radiated from below, vibrating in their very bones.
Lin Xuan dropped first, landing lightly on a ledge far beneath the surface. The air here was thick and humid, saturated with the raw, unrefined essence of Primordial Qi. His disciples descended more cautiously, boots clanging against the rusted ladder.
"What is this place?" Luo Jin whispered, awe evident in his voice.
Lin Xuan's silver-lit gaze swept the cavern. "A scar," he said simply. "Something tore through the earth long before your kind walked it. The wound never healed, and the Primordial Qi bled into the void."
He knelt, pressing his palm against the rough stone. The pulse reverberated through the rock, deeper and stronger than ever. For an instant, the whisper returned — clearer this time, though still wordless, a resonance that spoke not in language but in will.
…Come…
Lin Xuan's lips curved into a sharp, cold smile. Soon.
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II. Baptism in the River
The disciples followed as Lin Xuan led them deeper into the cavern, eventually reaching an underground chasm where a river of liquid light coursed through the stone. It glowed with a muted brilliance, filling the air with the scent of ozone and metal.
"This is the Primordial Vein," Lin Xuan said. "Bathe in it, and your meridians will be remade. Survive, and your foundations will be tempered."
Zhang Wei stared at the river, then at Lin Xuan. "And if we don't survive?"
"Then the Vein will claim you," Lin Xuan said, his tone utterly matter-of-fact. "Strength is never given freely."
Without waiting for a response, he stepped into the river. The liquid Qi coiled around him like living chains, searing his skin before sinking into his body. Lin Xuan drew a slow breath, cycling the Primordial Ascension Codex. The energy burned through his meridians, testing their limits, but his Heavenbreaker Path drank deeply, refining and compressing the wild essence.
One by one, his disciples followed. Mei Yan collapsed almost instantly, her body convulsing under the onslaught. Luo Jin screamed, the sound echoing off the cavern walls, but held his ground. Only Zhang Wei stood silent, face pale but eyes alight with fierce determination.
Lin Xuan watched impassively. Good. Pain forges steel.
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Hours passed. When at last they emerged from the river, each disciple bore faint silver lines tracing their veins, marks of the Heavenbreaker Path's tempering. Zhang Wei collapsed to one knee, breath ragged, but there was strength in the set of his shoulders that had not been there before.
Mei Yan and Luo Jin lay unconscious, alive but scarred by the Vein's trial. Lin Xuan studied them briefly before turning his gaze inward. The river's essence still roared through his own meridians, each circuit of the Codex compressing his dantian further. He could feel the first barrier of his new Path trembling, ready to shatter.
Soon, he thought. This vessel will bear the true weight of my power.
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III. The Vanguard Arrives
They returned to the surface two nights later to find the city alive with fire. The alien vanguard had descended — sleek, predatory craft cutting through the night sky, their weapons reducing entire blocks to smoldering rubble.
The survivors huddled in the shadows of the parking structure, terror etched into every face. Lin Xuan stood at the roof's edge, silver-lit eyes reflecting the chaos below.
Through the Codex's heightened senses, he felt them — a dozen alien life-signatures moving with mechanical precision, their armor humming with the same twisted energy as the scout he had destroyed.
"Vanguard strike teams," Lin Xuan murmured. "Hunting patterns. They'll sweep the city until nothing remains."
Zhang Wei joined him, his newly tempered Qi flickering faintly. "Can we fight them?"
Lin Xuan's lips curved faintly. "We must. These invaders will not stop until this world's heart is theirs. But their technology… is flawed. Their strength is borrowed. Mine is not."
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IV. Clash of Paths
The first strike came at dawn. A team of alien soldiers swept into the parking structure, their movements inhumanly precise, weapons crackling with arcs of blue plasma. Lin Xuan stepped forward to meet them, Primordial Qi coiling around him like living flame.
"Stay back," he told his disciples, voice cold and absolute. "You are not ready."
The lead soldier raised its weapon. Lin Xuan moved.
In the span of a heartbeat, he was among them, his Heaven-Sundering Palm collapsing one soldier's chest in a spray of shattered alloy and bone. Another swung a plasma blade, but Lin Xuan caught the weapon with his bare hand, Primordial Qi flaring to absorb the strike before twisting, snapping both blade and wielder in a single fluid motion.
The remaining soldiers opened fire. Silver light flared as Lin Xuan swept a palm outward, a wall of condensed Qi erupting to intercept the barrage. The shockwave hurled the soldiers back, slamming them into concrete pillars with bone-crushing force.
When the dust settled, only silence remained.
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Lin Xuan turned, silver light fading from his eyes. His disciples stared, awe and terror mingling in their expressions.
"This is the power of the Heavenbreaker Path," Lin Xuan said. "What you saw is but the first step. One day, you will stand as I do — or perish trying."
Zhang Wei straightened, resolve hardening in his gaze. Mei Yan and Luo Jin exchanged glances, fear tempered by the faint spark of ambition.
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V. The Whisper Strengthens
That night, Lin Xuan knelt in meditation atop the roof. The Primordial Qi in his dantian had compressed to the edge of breakthrough, each circuit of the Codex a rising storm straining against its vessel.
And beneath it all, the heartbeat pulsed louder, no longer a whisper but a steady, resonant call.
…Heavenbreaker… come…
Lin Xuan's lips curved into a feral smile. Soon. When I do, this world's true power will be mine.
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End of Chapter 7.