Shadow Cultivator

Li Yuan lay on the bed in the dimly lit room of the shelter, but sleep wouldn't come. It felt as though the system wasn't merely assigning him tasks—it was watching his every step. "Why me? What is the purpose of this system?" he wondered. These thoughts brought back memories of his past: countless sleepless nights in his world, trying to figure out why he couldn't find his place in life. He recalled evenings spent staring at a monitor, playing games to escape the emptiness. Now, in this strange world, instead of virtual quests, he had to fight for his life. Finally, deciding that fresh air might help, he got up and headed outside.

The village at night was silent. The wind rustled through the trees, and the faint glow of lanterns along the main street cast long shadows. Li Yuan stopped at the edge of the village, staring into the dense forest. For a moment, he thought he saw shadows moving between the trees. He squinted, but the movement vanished, leaving only a lingering sense of being watched. "This world is full of mysteries," he thought, returning to the shelter.

By morning, he had resolved that he could no longer put off questions about cultivation. Elder Hou-Zi was in his usual spot at the main square. The man, with his gray beard and stern gaze, sat at a table, observing the villagers.

"You're back, stranger?" he noted as Li Yuan approached.

"Yes. I want to learn about cultivation. How can I begin?" Li Yuan asked directly.

Hou-Zi studied him for a long moment, as if assessing the seriousness of his intentions.

"Cultivation isn't just a set of techniques," he began slowly. "It's a way to find balance between yourself and this world. Without harmony with the energy around you, all efforts are futile. You must feel the flows of energy and understand their nature."

He gestured toward the far corner of the square, where low stone steps stood among the trees.

"Start with meditation. Find a place where the world's energy is strong, and just listen. Don't try to force it to obey—you must become a part of it."

Li Yuan found a secluded spot among the trees. Sitting on the ground, he closed his eyes and tried to focus. At first, his thoughts raced, jumping from one question to another. "Why am I here? Why was I chosen by this system? What will happen if I can't cultivate?" At one point, he felt a faint chill on his skin, as though the air around him had shifted. But as soon as he tried to concentrate on the sensation, it vanished.

The system appeared before his eyes:

Hint: Only sincere seeking leads to answers.

Li Yuan opened his eyes, irritated. "Sincere seeking?" He didn't understand what that meant. He felt he genuinely wanted to cultivate, but the system seemed to be hinting at something deeper. "Maybe I'm searching for the wrong thing? Or perhaps my approach isn't serious enough?" he wondered, standing up. Before leaving, he paused for a moment, watching the sunlight filtering through the leaves, playing with the shadows.

Returning to the village, he noticed a guard at the gates he hadn't seen before. The man was solidly built, with a scar running across his left cheek. Around his neck hung a medallion engraved with intricate symbols. Li Yuan approached, and the guard cast him a wary look.

"That medallion… what does it signify?" Li Yuan asked, pointing at the ornament. The guard instinctively reached for the medallion, as if protecting it from prying eyes.

"It's a mark of the senior guards," he finally replied. "Only those who've proven their loyalty to the village wear it."

"Why these symbols?" Li Yuan persisted. The guard hesitated before answering.

"These medallions are tied to our legend. Long ago, a great evil threatened this place, and only the power of these symbols could protect us. One of my comrades, Yan Hao, wore a similar medallion. They say he once faced a creature from the Shadow Valley, and the medallion flared with bright light, driving it away. But after that, Yan barely survived. These symbols offer protection, but they also take something in return. For each bearer, the cost is different."

"And no one knows the price until it's too late?" Li Yuan pressed, trying to connect what he'd heard with his own questions about the system.

The guard frowned slightly.

"Sometimes it's life. Sometimes… it's the mind. But for us, the risk is always worth it. The village must endure."

The guard's words lingered in Li Yuan's mind. "The price…" The word echoed again, reminding him of the system's message.

That evening, back at his shelter, Li Yuan tried meditating once more. He chose a spot beneath a large tree with gnarled roots that seemed to offer him support. Sitting on the ground, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to focus. But his thoughts began to wander again. "Why can't I do this? Am I not trying hard enough? Or am I simply not suited for this?"

He inhaled slowly again, trying to shift his focus from his inner turmoil to the sensations around him. The silence was deceptive—through it came the subtle sounds of the night: the rustling wind, the faint crackling of tree bark, the chirping of insects. Li Yuan tried to concentrate on each of these sounds, imagining them becoming part of his internal rhythm. His breathing grew slow and deep. With each inhale, he felt his body gradually relaxing.

At some point, he felt a faint tingling in his palms, as if energy from the ground was rising through the tree's roots and flowing into his body. The sensation reminded him of the vibrations he'd felt when he first touched the activated crystal. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to disrupt the experience. The vibrations grew stronger, spreading from his palms to his forearms and beyond, enveloping his entire body.

"Breathe… just breathe," he thought, allowing the energy to flow through him. For a moment, images flashed before his mind's eye: waves of light crossing darkness and the same red symbols he had seen in his vision. They swirled in a chaotic dance, as if trying to communicate something to him. "What does this mean? Why does this come to me?"

When he opened his eyes, he looked at his palms, which emitted a faint golden glow. Warmth spread through his body, leaving behind a sense of lightness and strength. For the first time, he felt a real connection to this world.

"Energy… it's responding to me," he whispered. His breathing steadied, and his mind grew calm. He understood: this was only the beginning, but it was a genuine start. "This is just the beginning. The path ahead will be long."