Vampire Progenitor of the Immortal World

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: First Blood

The man in front moved first. Ethan stepped back. The dao cut through the space where his chest had been. Too fast. Not impossibly fast, but practiced. Ethan raised his own blade and struck toward the man’s shoulder. The man twisted away, and Ethan’s blade passed across empty air. Another attack came from his left. Ethan turned. Steel struck steel. The impact traveled through his arm and forced him half a step backward. His eyes narrowed. Four people. He could not watch all of them at once. The thought came quickly. He needed space.

Ethan pushed forward instead of retreating. His shoulder slammed into the nearest man, sending him stumbling sideways. Ethan immediately stepped through the opening and moved toward the trees. He didn’t try to defeat them. He was looking for a way out. The men followed. Ethan glanced over his shoulder. The path behind him was narrowing. That was bad.

He turned sharply and moved between two trees. One man followed him in. Ethan waited until the man was close, then stepped aside and struck the man’s weapon arm. The man cried out and dropped his blade. Ethan didn’t stay to finish him. He ran.

"Don’t let him escape!"

Ethan’s heart beat harder. He pushed through the trees and reached the edge of the clearing again. His horse was still there. Good. If he could reach it, he could leave. He took two steps before a figure appeared in front of him.

Ethan stopped.

The older man stood there. The man’s sword was already raised.

"You really thought we’d let you run?"

Ethan said nothing. He shifted his weight.

The man attacked.

Ethan blocked. The blow was heavier than he expected. His wrist bent. Another strike came. He moved aside. Another. He blocked again. The third strike caught his sleeve and tore through the cloth. Ethan felt the edge touch his skin.

He retreated. His breathing had changed. This was not like training. There was no clear pattern he could rely on. Every movement carried weight. Every mistake could hurt him. The man attacked again. Ethan stepped back too quickly. His heel caught a root. His balance broke. For one terrible moment, he was exposed.

The sword came down.

Ethan threw himself sideways. The blade struck his upper arm instead. Pain exploded through him. He landed hard against the ground. His fingers loosened around his dao. The man stepped forward.

Ethan stared at the blade, then at the man’s face. For the first time since the fight began, a cold thought entered his mind.

I could actually die here.

His hand trembled. Only slightly. He noticed it. That frightened him more than the blade. Ethan forced his fingers closed around the handle.

Not now.

He would think about it later.

The sword came again. Ethan rolled away. The blade struck the ground. He pushed himself up and swung. The man blocked. The impact made Ethan’s wounded arm burn. The older man kicked him in the chest. Ethan flew backward and struck a tree. Air left his lungs. He dropped to one knee.

The other three were closing in. One of them had recovered. Another held his weapon with both hands. The Body Tempering cultivator was among them. Ethan noticed the difference immediately. That man had barely moved during the fight. He had been watching. Waiting. Now he stepped forward.

Ethan’s stomach tightened. The man’s presence wasn’t overwhelming. But something about the way he stood was different. Stable. Controlled. Experienced.

Ethan rose slowly. He looked around. Four men. The path blocked. Trees behind him. His horse out of reach. No clean escape. He had been careful. He had watched them. He had avoided unnecessary risks. And yet he had still ended up here.

That was the lesson.

Being careful did not mean being safe.

The first man attacked again. Ethan blocked. The second came from the side. He twisted. The blade passed across his back. A third strike came. Ethan caught it with his dao. The pressure forced him downward. His knees bent. He pushed back. His muscles strained. For a moment, neither side moved.

Then Ethan shoved the man away. His strength surprised the attacker. The man staggered. Ethan immediately stepped forward and struck him across the chest. The man flew backward and crashed into the dirt.

Ethan stared.

He had done that.

Not through skill.

Through strength.

The realization lasted only a moment. The Body Tempering cultivator was already in front of him.

Ethan raised his dao.

Too slow.

The man’s weapon struck his side. Ethan felt the impact before the pain came. He staggered. The man attacked again. Ethan barely blocked. The force sent him backward. His wounded arm was becoming useless. His breathing came in short bursts.

He needed distance.

He moved toward the trees. The cultivator followed. Ethan suddenly turned and kicked loose dirt into the man’s face. The man flinched. Ethan ran. Not toward the horse. Away from the clearing.

He heard footsteps behind him. He pushed harder. His body was becoming heavy. His blood felt hot.

Then the blade struck his back. Ethan fell forward. His dao slipped from his hand. For several seconds, he could hear nothing except his own breathing. He tried to move.

Pain answered.

He rolled onto his side. The cultivator approached. Ethan looked at the man. The man’s sword rose. Something inside Ethan went cold. He didn’t want to die.

Not here.

Not like this.

His fingers dug into the earth.

Then he felt it.

Warmth.

Deep inside his body.

A familiar sensation.

Blood Tempering.

It began as a faint heat. Then it spread. Ethan’s heart beat once. Hard. His blood seemed to surge through his body. The pain remained. The wounds remained. But his muscles tightened. His fingers closed around the dao.

The cultivator’s sword descended.

Ethan moved.

The blade missed his chest. Ethan rolled beneath the strike and came up beside the man. He struck. The cultivator blocked. Ethan struck again. The cultivator stepped back. For the first time, surprise appeared in his eyes.

Ethan didn’t give him time to recover. He pressed forward. One strike. Two. Three. His movements were still rough. Still inexperienced. But his body was stronger than before. And now he understood something.

He didn’t need to fight like the man.

He only needed one opening.

The cultivator attacked. Ethan blocked. Pain shot through his wounded arm. His grip nearly failed. He changed his stance. The next strike came. Ethan moved inside it. His shoulder struck the man’s chest. The cultivator staggered. Ethan twisted.

His dao struck.

The man fell.

Silence returned to the clearing. Ethan stood there. His chest rose and fell. His hands were shaking badly now. The warmth inside his blood was fading.

The remaining two men looked at him. Neither moved. Ethan looked at them. For a moment, he wondered if they would run.

They didn’t.

One charged.

Ethan barely raised his weapon. Their blades collided. Ethan’s strength was still there, but the exhaustion had caught up with him. The man pushed forward. Ethan stepped back. Another strike. He blocked. Another. He blocked again.

Then the man overextended.

Ethan saw it.

He moved aside.

The man’s momentum carried him forward. Ethan struck. The man fell. The last one hesitated. Ethan looked at him. Neither spoke. Then the man turned and ran.

Ethan watched him disappear between the trees. His first thought was to let him go. His second thought stopped him. He knows what happened here.

Ethan tightened his grip. He couldn’t leave another loose end. He followed. The man wasn’t fast enough. Ethan caught him before he reached the road. The struggle was short.

When it ended, Ethan remained standing for a few seconds. Then his legs weakened. He dropped against a tree. His entire body was trembling. This time, he didn’t stop it. He looked at his hands. They were shaking.

He had killed people. He had nearly died. And if that strange warmth had not appeared when it did, he might have been lying among them.

Ethan closed his eyes. He forced himself to breathe. Fear could wait. Pain could wait. He had work to do.

First, he searched the bodies. He took the money. Nothing strange. Nothing he couldn’t understand. He examined the weapons but left most of them where they were. He didn’t know enough about them to decide which were worth carrying, and he had no desire to fill his hands with unfamiliar objects.

Then he noticed something small beneath the Body Tempering cultivator’s clothing. A dark piece of cord. A symbol had been worked into it. Ethan studied it. He didn’t understand it. He almost took it.

Then he stopped. If I don’t know what it is, I don’t need it. He left it.

Ethan looked around the clearing. The bodies were a problem. Leaving them in the open would invite questions. He forced himself to move. Slowly, painfully, he dragged the bodies away from the main path and into the deeper trees. He covered the most obvious signs of the struggle with loose earth, fallen branches and disturbed leaves.

He did not pretend he could erase everything. He simply made it harder for someone passing by to immediately notice what had happened.

When he finished, his legs were barely holding him. Ethan returned to his horse. He rested his forehead against its neck. The animal shifted but remained calm.

"Not yet," Ethan whispered.

He could not ride back like this. He needed somewhere to recover. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere no one would ask questions.

As Ethan looked toward the road, one truth settled heavily in his mind. The world outside was not dangerous simply because someone might be stronger than him. It was dangerous because one mistake could be enough. And he had just learned that lesson the hard way.

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