Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"As for us humans... we are born lowly, and heaven and earth do not favor us. We cannot sense spiritual energy, nor can we use those powers."

"Why?" Li Yuan clenched his fists. "Why won't heaven and earth favor us?"

The old man shook his head and didn't say anything more; clearly, he didn't know the answer either.

That night, Li Yuan couldn't sleep.

He lay on the simple straw mat, gazing at the twinkling stars in the night sky through the cracks in the wooden hut.

He thought of Mu, who had died under the claws of the saber-toothed tiger; he thought of the unwilling looks in the eyes of his companions before they died; he thought of the children and the elderly in the tribe who had starved to death due to lack of food.

He didn't want to see such a tragedy happen again.

He wanted to change all of this.

The next morning, Li Yuan quietly left the tribe.

He didn't tell anyone where he was going, and with only a stone knife, a rope, and a leather bag filled with water, he embarked on an unknown journey.

He decided to seek an answer: how could humanity gain power?

He emerged from the vast primeval forest, crossed mountains, forded rivers, and traversed boundless grasslands...

During this time, he encountered many dangers, including running into ferocious bears, encountering wolf packs, being bitten by venomous snakes, and even falling off a cliff once.

Several times, he nearly died, but each time, he miraculously survived.

Along the way, he helped many people, witnessed too much suffering of the human race, and received help from many people, but his belief never died out; on the contrary, it became more and more steadfast.

Humanity must become stronger, otherwise, sooner or later, it will be completely eliminated by this cruel world.

Twenty years after leaving the tribe, Li Yuan had transformed from a strong young man into a weathered middle-aged man.

His face now bears several scars, and his temples are gray, but his eyes remain as bright as they were twenty years ago.

That year, he rescued an injured little demon in the swamp.

It was a small, snow-white fox whose hind leg was caught in a trap, and it was bleeding profusely.

When Li Yuan passed by, he did not intend to save it. The relationship between the demon race and the human race was not friendly. In many places, the demon race would even regard the human race as food.

But seeing the pleading look in the little fox's eyes, he softened.

Li Yuan helped it open the animal trap, bandaged its wounds with herbs, and shared some of his meager food with it.

After the little fox recovered from its injuries, it did not leave but stayed by his side.

Li Yuan gave him a name, Xiao Bai.

Although Xiaobai is a demon, it knows many things. It tells Yuan that the reason why the demon race can have great power is because they are born with the ability to sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and absorb the spiritual energy into their bodies through a special method, transforming it into their own power.

This method is called cultivation.

Hope ignited in Li Yuan's heart. He begged Xiaobai to teach him the cultivation method. Xiaobai hesitated for a long time, but finally agreed.

Because it knows that Yuan is a good person, and good people should be rewarded.

But despite trying for a long time, Yuan was unable to succeed.

It's not that his method is wrong, but that he can't sense the spiritual energy.

The omnipresent spiritual energy that Xiaobai spoke of was like an ethereal existence to him; no matter how hard he tried, he could not touch it.

He meditated and practiced breathing exercises every day according to the methods taught by Xiaobai, but his body remained empty and unchanged.

Gradually, he began to doubt whether it was really as the tribal elders said: that humans were born lowly, unfavored by heaven and earth, and could never gain power.

But he did not give up.

He kept trying, day after day, year after year. Xiaobai stayed by his side, encouraging him, comforting him, and helping him find various ways to sense spiritual energy.

Together they traversed countless mountains and rivers, visited many beings skilled in cultivation, and received the same answer: humans could never cultivate.

One day, they encountered a monster in the wasteland.

It was a fully grown iron-backed wolf, as big as a rhinoceros, with bloodshot eyes and drool dripping from its mouth. When it saw Li Yuan and Xiao Bai, it let out an excited roar and pounced.

Li Yuan wielded his stone knife, shielding Xiao Bai behind him, and engaged in a fierce battle with the Iron-Backed Wolf.

He was a skilled hunter, but he was getting old and his strength was waning. Although he managed to land several blows, the wolf's fur was as tough as iron, and the stone knife could not cause any real damage.

But every attack from the wolf left a deep wound on his body.

Just when he was about to give up, Xiaobai rushed up.

Its small body transformed into a white lightning bolt, lunging towards the wolf's eyes.

"Awoo!"

The wolf, having lost an eye to the goblin, howled in pain, violently shook its head, flinging Little White away, before opening its gaping maw and biting Little White in the mouth.

"noob--!"

Li Yuan let out a heart-wrenching scream and rushed forward like a madman, plunging the stone knife fiercely into the wolf's throat.

The wolf finally fell.

Li Yuan held Xiao Bai's broken body, knelt on the ground, tears blurring his vision.

Little White nestled in his arms, using its last bit of strength to rub against his hand before closing its eyes.

Why?

Li Yuan raised his head, looked up at the heavens, and angrily questioned, "Why can't humans cultivate? We are born inferior to others, why? Heaven and earth are so unfair!"

No one answered him.

On the wasteland, only the wind howled, as if lamenting for this desperate human being.

Li Yuan's injuries were too severe. He held Xiao Bai's cold body and collapsed into a pool of blood, his consciousness beginning to blur.

He felt his life slipping away, as if he could die at any moment.

In his final moments, many images flashed through his mind: wood and stone, his tribesmen who had died in the hunt, those he had helped, and his fellow humans struggling to survive in hardship…

A thought burned fiercely in his heart.

No, I can't die!

I must survive.

To become stronger.

We must protect them.

We must enable humankind to live with dignity in this cruel world.

This idea, like a seed, took root and sprouted in his heart, growing into a towering tree.

It transformed into a powerful belief that pierced his soul, his flesh and blood, and the unbreakable barrier between him and the world.

Then, he saw it.

Countless points of light floated around him, swirling around him and drilling into his body.

He suddenly realized that this was the spiritual energy that Xiaobai had mentioned. The existence that he had been unable to touch for decades was now surging towards him like a tide, surrounding him, kissing his skin, and flowing into his body.

He sensed it.

He finally sensed it.

Li Yuan lay on the ground, covered in blood, barely alive, but a smile appeared on his lips.

He survived.

He lived in front of Xiaobai's grave and spent three months learning cultivation on his own. He drew spiritual energy from heaven and earth into his body to temper his physical body, strengthen his soul, and heal his injuries.

When he emerged from the wasteland, he was no longer the human hunter who was at the mercy of others.

He returned to his tribe.

When they saw him return, the people in the tribe were stunned; they thought Yuan was long dead.

When they saw Li Yuan display his miraculous power, everyone knelt down and regarded him as a god.