Immortal Paladin

[POV: Ren Jingyi]

Deep in the forest, the wind whispered lightly through the canopy. Shadows swayed across the tangled underbrush, the silence broken only by the ragged breathing of a little girl with messy blond hair and blood on her lips.

“I’m going to shed my weakness…” Ren Jingyi murmured, bracing herself against a tree. Her small palm pressed against the rough bark for support. “I-I’m going to be the strongest…”

Her voice trembled, the pained expression on her face twisting as fresh blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. Her free hand tightened around the Wild Nature’s Bloom, a rare herb with three petals in blue, green, and red, radiating faint quintessence. The internal disciples had called it a priceless opportunity.

Ren Jingyi didn’t know what it could actually do… but she had decided it must help her cultivation. She desperately needed it to.

But she couldn’t consume it yet. Not without help from Master or Elder Da Ji. The refining process was beyond her limited knowledge. It annoyed her how she couldn’t even place the herb on her storage ring, because it might lose its efficacy.

She slid down the tree trunk until she was half-sitting, half-slumping. Closing her eyes, she circulated her qi through her meridians to stimulate her innate beastly regeneration. At the same time, she invoked her Mana Road Cultivation, pushing qi and mana to collide inside her body. The violent clash produced thin wisps of quintessence. They were dangerous, volatile, and barely manageable.

It hurt. A lot. But she forced herself to continue.

“I am so useless…” she whispered, fighting the urge to sob. Tears threatened to spill, pooling at her lashes.

She hated this feeling of weakness and helplessness. The feeling that she could not keep up with the others. To be happy, one must be strong. Her master taught her many things, but she understood this on her own.

Her fellow disciples were different.

Her Big Sis Gu Jie was only at a similar realm, maybe even slightly lower… yet Gu Jie possessed the terrifying Immortal Art, Destiny Seeking Eyes. A heaven-defying talent.

Lu Gao, once corrupted by demonic energy, now stood tall in Divine Transformation. He wielded the powers of Hell as if born for it.

Even that annoying brat Hei Mao, the Fourth Disciple, had sacred underworld training and clan abilities. And he was already an immortal!

And the Fifth Disciple, Yuen Fu… with his monstrous talent and terrifying martial instincts, he was already recognized as a future Martial Saint once he transcended mortality.

But her?

She was only Ren Jingyi.

“Why am I so weak…?” she whispered, gripping the Wild Nature’s Bloom so tightly her knuckles turned white.

A painful thought surfaced.

Her fellow disciples had all been “broken” once. In a way, they were crippled before. Afterward, they had awakened something special.

“Do I… do I need to cripple myself too?” she muttered, her expression wavering. “Maybe… maybe that way I can unlock some hidden talent…”

But then she paused.

“…Wait. Hei Mao wasn’t crippled. But he died once, and almost made it to the Wheel of Reincarnation.”

Her eyes widened slightly.

“Maybe if I die too… I can become stronger…”

Silence followed. The idea hung in the air was absurd, terrifying, and yet somehow logical in her desperate mind. Her chest tightened, tears spilling freely now. She hugged the Wild Nature’s Bloom to her chest and sank deeper against the tree.

“I’m so stupid…” she sobbed quietly, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

She stared at the herb again. Three vibrant petals glowing with soft aura, overflowing with potential. Her innate gift leaned toward good fortune; her divination techniques were surprisingly effective. She could feel that the bloom was precious… but raw consumption would likely kill her. It needed refinement.

And she needed guidance.

She needed strength.

Before she could gather her thoughts, a figure dropped from the branches above.

A woman in pristine white robes, a red waistband around her waist, and a cold sneer on her lips. Her presence exuded authority and arrogance.

“Well, well…” the woman drawled, brushing her long hair aside. “Annoying lowly beast… why do you have to make things so difficult for everyone?”

She stepped forward, eyes locked on the Wild Nature’s Bloom in Ren Jingyi’s trembling hands.

“You…” Ren Jingyi pushed herself upright, her legs trembling from the pain of the ambush. Her breath was shallow, but her gaze was firm. “Do you not have any shame?”

“Hah~! A mere beast dares talk about shame? You should be the one ashamed. Beasts are meant to be creatures of instinct, lowly things incapable of true thought. And you dare act like a human? Wear clothes? Walk on two feet?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Ren Jingyi retorted. “Should I call you a monkey, then, since you walk on two feet?”

The woman froze. Her eyes turned pale with offended shock.

Ren Jingyi’s heart hammered. Even with her earlier Blessed Regeneration and countless Cure spells she cast on herself, her injuries were still severe. Her healing speed was nowhere near what it should’ve been. It was far too slow for a beast. Every provocation she threw was like juggling swords while bleeding out.

But she wouldn’t be her master’s disciple if she didn’t know how to insult her enemies.

Her master was the world’s authority in pissing people off.

“No, I’m sorry,” Ren Jingyi suddenly added.

The woman frowned. “…What?”

“I think you’re more of a mantis,” Ren Jingyi said sweetly. “Since you look so ugly.”

The woman’s expression contorted instantly.

Ren Jingyi took a step back, raising her hands into an open-palm stance that radiated serene softness. A lie. A trap. Behind the false calm, she prepared a hidden skill. She remembered the endless bickering between Lu Gao and Yuen Fu over the nature of martial arts: Lu Gao said it was the art of hiding intent; Yuen Fu argued it was all about sharpness of execution.

She didn’t understand all of it, but she did understand how to hide traps.

Her master had drilled that part into her the hardest.

“Tch.” The woman summoned a pair of one-handed scythes from her storage ring. They were short, curved, and wicked. Fire wrapped the blades, crackling angrily. “I’m going to kill you, little girl.”

“Oh nice, now you really look like a mantis,” Jingyi said brightly, beckoning her with a ‘come at me’ gesture identical to her master’s. “Come at me, mantis! I’m gonna fold you!”

The woman’s face turned bright red. “My name is Tang Lang!”

Good. She was angry.

With Ren Jingyi’s Divine Sense, the next moment unfolded like a moving picture. Tang Lang kicked off the ground, leaping with explosive power. Two steps, and she was already in front of Jingyi, a blur of rage and burning steel.

“Mantis Style: Stalking the Grass!” Tang Lang shouted, her twin flaming scythes descending.

She was also still blushing furiously.

“Also I am not ugly!” she shrieked. “Lots of boys like me!”

Metal clashed on metal.

At the last second, Ren Jingyi clenched her small fists, her stance shifting into a rooted horse stance. Divine Flesh activated, her body strengthening internally. Her beast lineage responded, and shimmering golden scales rippled across her skin like armor.

And then she invoked her master’s technique.none of her peers had mastered, so deceptively simple it was terrifying.

“Reflect.”

The moment the scythes struck her scaled arms, the spiritual force behind the attack bent, and then snapped back toward the source.

A pair of sickening cracks echoed.

Tang Lang screamed as two identical scythe wounds burst open on her own shoulders, severing her tendons instantly. Her scythes clattered uselessly to the ground.

Ren Jingyi lowered her arms, panting softly.

“I know,” she said calmly, looking at the trembling woman. “Your face is pleasant to look at.”

Tang Lang’s eyes flickered with hope.

Ren Jingyi finished coldly:

“But did you know the inside is more important?” She tilted her head. “So yeah, no shit, you’re ugly as fuck in my eyes.”

“H-How?” Tang Lang gasped, her voice trembling as sensation drained from her limbs. She collapsed fully, her arms hanging uselessly by her sides.

Ren Jingyi steadied her breathing. The version of Reflect she used was still crude and unfinished. Her master could maintain that technique endlessly, turning every strike into a torment for the attacker. Compared to him, her version flickered like a candle in a storm.

But it still worked.

“I am not going to lose to the likes of you.” Her voice shook, but her spirit did not.

She pulled in a long breath, letting Divine Might coat her fist. With a final step forward, she drove a straight punch into Tang Lang’s jaw. A crack echoed, followed by silence as the woman slumped unconscious.

Ren Jingyi dropped to one knee. Her vision wavered. Her throat burned each time she inhaled. “Is it poison? Or maybe a curse…?”

She cast Cleanse, but her body remained weak and feverish. Something crawled under her skin.

A voice murmured near her ear. “Truly an incredible show of strength. What do you think of becoming my disciple?”

Her entire body froze.

She tugged her robes down her left shoulder, and nearly screamed. A swollen tumor clung to her flesh, pulsating like a living parasite. It had a face. It was small, with pale eyes and a wide mouth folded into a cruel smile.

With pure instinct and revulsion, Ren Jingyi grabbed the growth and tried to tear it off. Her nails dug in, but the thing wriggled and fused deeper until it merged with her hand.

“Eat the Wild Nature’s Bloom,” the tumor said cheerily. “I will help you refine it inside your dantian. You have a promising bloodline. I did not expect the turtle I nurtured to be killed by an external disciple. But that is what the exchange program is for! Finding bright talents and guiding them to the correct path!”

Ren Jingyi trembled.

“Get off me, you ugly thing!” she shouted. “I already have a master!”

“Don’t be like that, my disciple,” the tumor replied. It began sprouting hair, a crooked nose, and even wrinkles. “The Beast Court is far too small for one of your potential. Your technique fascinates me. With refinement, the Asura Golden Body would suit you perfectly—”

Ren Jingyi’s breath turned sharp.

Her instincts screamed.

Her eyes turned glassy as she made her decision.

She grabbed the infected arm, and ripped it off at the bone.

Blood sprayed across the roots beneath her. Fire ripped through her nerves. She clenched her teeth until they cracked, refusing to scream. Her lips trembled as she bit them to stay silent, tasting iron.

Her severed arm twitched on the ground, like a severed lizard tail. It swelled, bones popping, twisting into the shape of an old man. Bark-like wood spread across his limbs. Flowers blossomed where his eyes should’ve been.

The old man rose naked from the torn arm, his wooden body creaking. “A pity,” he said with an almost affectionate tone as he held the Wild Nature’s Bloom. “That the turtle I raised with such care was killed by you. But fate must be respected. The turtle was a test. You are the disciple destined for me.”

Ren Jingyi held her bleeding stump, her face pale but fierce. “Shut up… you ugly tumor bastard!”

“Oh my,” he murmured, stroking a flower growing from his cheek. “Such harsh words. I am hurt.” His voice hardened, like an ancient vine tightening around prey. “But it is a teacher’s duty to correct his disciple’s behavior.”

He stepped toward her. “So I shall do just that.”

Ren Jingyi was terrified, but she forced her expression to stay sharp. Her heart pounded so loudly she could barely hear her own thoughts, yet she refused to shrink. She didn’t know how strong the old man was, only that he was overwhelmingly stronger.

She didn’t care. She would fight anyway.

In a blink, he stood before her and gripped her throat. His fingers were cold and rough, like old bark.

“But truly?” he sighed. “Tumor? That ‘tumor’ was a secret technique I painstakingly crafted to share the divine flesh of an asura. With it, even untalented children can soar to the Ninth Realm. If you are compatible, immortality would not be a dream, little girl.”

“Get… your hands… away from me!” Ren Jingyi choked out. She clawed, kicked, and swung her remaining arm. Nothing worked.

“Do not resist.” His voice remained calm as he slammed her into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk. He forced her jaw open. “The Wild Nature’s Bloom contains the essence of an ancient immortal. I refined it further. You should feel honored.”

“I-I’m n-not… just some l-little girl…” she gasped.

The herb elixir touched her tongue.

In desperation, she remembered something ridiculous. Her master once used Divine Smite through his teeth in the fight, and it worked. At the time, she thought it was stupid.

Right now, it was her only choice.

She bit down with Divine Smite.

The old man hissed as two of his fingers snapped and bled sap-like fluid. “You dare.”

He formed a handsign, and the herb elixir shot down her throat like liquid fire.

“I will take my time teaching you proper discipline.”

Ren Jingyi’s instincts screamed. She turned into her beast form, a massive goldfish with shimmering scales, and activated Zealot’s Stride, propelling herself skyward in a streak of silver. She almost broke through the canopy, but the herb elixir churned violently inside her.

Her form twisted. Her bones shifted. Her scales peeled away. She shrieked as she lost control, shifting back into a human in midair, plummeting helplessly. She landed face-first in the grass.

Her body felt strange. It was older and taller.

A faint glow followed her breathing, brushing her skin with unnatural charm. She flushed in embarrassment and horror. She couldn’t even form clothing with her scales as her body wouldn’t respond.

“So disobedient,” the old man said as he approached leisurely. “You should feel honored. Humanity is the most superior race, and asura stand just beneath us. With the proper heart method, I could polish you to perfection. I considered rejecting you, but since the Bloom is already inside—”

Ren Jingyi trembled from disgust.

Her nails dug into her abdomen. Her breath trembled. Her mind went blank except for a single thought.

‘I want it out.’

With a brutal motion, she tore open her stomach.

Blood spilled across her legs. Her vision swayed. She reached into her own body with shaking fingers, searching through her intestines until she felt something warm and pulsing. She pulled it out, slick with blood.

The Wild Nature’s Bloom rested in her palm.

The old man’s face contorted in shock and fury. “What… What are you doing!?”

Ren Jingyi ignored him.

Her thoughts drowned in regret.

Was a herb elixir really that important? Was it worth this? Her fellow disciples had grown strong without relying on treasures like this. Yuen Fu, Lu Gao, Hei Mao, Gu Jie… they endured worse and still fought forward. Her master, too. His teachings were worth more than any herb.

She felt so stupid, childish, and greedy. She let the blood drip from her fingers and whispered, as if her master could hear her across worlds. Slowly, her body returned to its childish frame.

“I’m sorry… Master. This stupid disciple of yours bit more than she could chew.”

The old man snarled, spittle flying from his wooden lips. “Sorry? You!? After rejecting my kindness again and again, do you think a mere apology will save you!? Eat the herb, hurry! Before it loses its efficacy! If you do so, I might just forgive—”

“I am not talking to you.” Ren Jingyi’s voice was quiet, raw, and trembling, but her gaze was defiant.

The old man blinked, confused.

A voice answered her from behind.

“Righteous Challenge.” A blond boy with wolf-like ears stepped through the mist-drenched trees. “You did well, disciple.”

A halo of silver-gold formed above the old man. The same halo manifested above the boy. The air trembled as the divine rule took effect.

He wore the black robes of external disciples and a simple blue waistband, marking him as Fifth Realm. Yet in each of his hands hung limp bodies of internal disciples, unconscious and bruised.

The old man’s lips warped. “Little girl, you must have lost your mind. That is no ‘master.’ That is a child.” He lifted a finger at the boy. “Die.”

Roots surged from the earth like spears.

The boy exploded into a mist of blood.

Silence fell.

Ren Jingyi’s heart stopped, until the blood droplets froze midair and spiraled backward. Bones reformed. Flesh stitched together. Hair regrew. Clothing remade itself.

The boy took a step forward, whole again, his eyes burning with violent golden light.

“Such a waste of good quintessence,” he muttered, brushing off dust as if he hadn’t just died. He glanced at Ren Jingyi. “My disciple… you seemed unsure of your path before.”

He smiled, proud.

“But now I see you found it again. You’re right. You don’t need weird herbs.”

The old man trembled. “How dare you!? You know nothing, child—”

“Oh, I know plenty.” The boy tilted his head, voice dripping disdain. “Such as the lives you sacrificed for that herb. I thought your little ‘mountain’ of dead civilizations was disgusting enough, but this flower—this thing!?—takes the cake.”

The old man’s expression faltered.

The boy dropped the unconscious disciples he had been carrying, letting them hit the ground with a thud.

“I can hear the screaming trapped inside this flower,” he said as he crouched beside Ren Jingyi, inspecting the Wild Nature’s Bloom still slick with her blood. “I can almost see their faces.”

He laughed softly. It wasn’t a gentle sound.

“And believe me, it must be very bad if I can hear them. My origin isn’t even from the Ghost Path.” His eyes sharpened. “They’re begging me to kill you.”

“You know nothing!” the old man barked, panic creeping in.

“No,” the boy replied. “I know enough.”

He took the flower from Ren Jingyi’s shaking hand.

A whisper of qi flickered.

“Searing Smite.”

The Wild Nature’s Bloom incinerated in his palm, reduced to ash in less than a heartbeat.

The old man screamed, the forest trembling with his rage. His body creaked and split as massive wooden muscles erupted. His arms thickened like ancient tree trunks. His spine hunched as he grew and grew, towering over nine feet tall. Bark peeled open to reveal writhing roots pulsing beneath. His qi burst outward in violent waves of verdant energy that shook the trees and buckled the ground.

“Whoever you are…” His voice was a thunderous rumble. “I will make sure you pay for your transgressions.”

“That’s supposed to be my line,” her master said as he turned toward Ren Jingyi with a casual spin of his wrist. His golden eyes sparkled with mischief. “Hey, it’s been some time since this master taught you anything. I’m really impressed that you managed to manifest the ‘Reflect’ ability. I know I rarely teach you guys anymore, since you’re all so damned talented, but I think it’s about time I show you something.”

Despite everything, Ren Jingyi couldn’t help but grin. “Please, master! Teach me!”

“This little runt… is your master?” scoffed the old man. “Just what is your identity!?”

Her master dropped to the grass, lying down as if he intended to nap. “Yo daddy who left to buy milk,” he replied without opening his eyes. 

Ren Jingyi blinked.

As always, master had a way with nonsense.

The old man screeched, furious. “YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR ARROGANCE!”

He ripped an entire tree from the roots, refined it into a massive wooden club with a single wave of qi, and swung it down like a mountain falling from the sky.

“DIE, YOU INSIGNIFICANT BEASTS!”

“Divine Possession,” her master whispered. His soul sank into hers like sunlight pouring into water. “I can give you five minutes, disciple. Let loose.”

Ren Jingyi’s vision blurred with heat.

Her bones stretched. Her muscles expanded. Her childlike frame elongated into that of a young maiden. The divinity running through her veins set her blood ablaze, but unlike before, she felt no disgust.

She felt powerful.

With one hand, she caught the descending club.

Her delicate palm cracked, bone snapping instantly.

“Oh, this might be dangerous for the unconscious disciples around us,” master murmured inside her mind. “Let me adjust your Reflect ability.”

The club froze in her hand.

No shockwave spread outward. No tree shattered. No ground cratered. But the old man? He shot upward like a launched javelin, blasted into the sky by the reflected force.

Ren Jingyi murmured, “Blessed Regeneration.” Her bone snapped back into alignment, healing instantly.

Master continued, tone one of gentle lecture, “The ability ‘Reflect’ isn’t something I can just teach. It needs powerful innate defensive attributes. Even with Divine Flesh, you can’t use it effectively without severe drawbacks.”

His voice deepened, echoing from within her chest.

“Back home, you need high constitution stats to tank damage effectively. And Reflect is a passive ability, a stacking skill, so it’s honestly impressive you learned the fundamentals on your own.”

As the divine aura settled, the flames burning around her dissipated.

Her body emerged clothed in red and white robes, woven from her master’s pure quintessence, preserving her dignity. The transformation had finished.

Golden hair spilled in waves down her back, its tips shifting from orange to a fiery, vibrant red.

She looked nothing like the trembling girl from moments ago.

Above them, the old man finally stopped midair, panting, his wooden body cracked from the Reflection. Standing atop a hovering jade shield, he screeched: “INTRUDER! BROTHERS AND SISTERS, HELP ME DEAL WITH THIS INTRUDER AT ONCE!”

His voice echoed through the forest, demanding reinforcements.

“Master, this could be dangerous,” Ren Jingyi warned, her voice trembling though her new body radiated strength.

But her master only laughed, mocking danger itself. “So, you don’t want that five minutes anymore?”

Ren Jingyi froze.

She looked at her hands. Her frame was that of a young maiden, not the small child from minutes ago. She could feel her blood burning, her meridians pulsing with divine force.

She could finally let loose.

If more enemies came, master would deal with them. He always did. He frankly hated reckless large-scale moves, but he was never afraid of consequences. Meanwhile, she…

She had always been left behind.

Every time her master and fellow disciples embarked on dangerous missions, she stayed home, and she hated it. Now, real danger stood before her. It was tangible, murderous, and monstrous. This was her chance.

“I will fight!”

But even so, fear crept into her heart. This was enemy territory. Cultivators were everywhere. And even the unconscious disciples around them, bad intentions or not, didn’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire.

“Calm down, disciple,” her master said. “Didn’t you forget where we are? It’s the forest.”

Ren Jingyi blinked.

The disciples who were scattered around earlier were gone. The forest was… empty. She felt the pulse of life around her, the soft breathing of branches, and the hidden eyes among roots.

Of course!

Wu Chen. The forest itself was her body. No one could enter without her knowing, and no one could leave without permission. That was how Ren Jingyi knew that no reinforcements would come for the miserable old man, idly hovering above her and waiting.

“Master, this state… is it Divine Transformation?” Ren Jingyi asked.

“Nope.” Her master popped the ‘p’ with a lazy tone. “Your compatibility with the Animal Soul is just that good. But the way you are now? You still can’t win.”

Ren Jingyi’s stomach tightened.

“I did tell you I’d show you your potential. You know the words. Speak them, and they will become reality.”

She looked up at the hovering old man, who waited smugly atop his jade shield, unaware he was already trapped. Her lips curved into a feral grin, one hungry for victory.

“I know the words, master.”

Her qi erupted, blazing in furious waves.

“Animal Path: King of the Wild.”

The world trembled.

Flames spiraled around her, exploding outward like a volcanic bloom. Her bloodline twisted, rewritten by divine force, beastly instinct, and raw desire. Her skeleton cracked and reformed with sickening, empowering pops. Her spine extended. Her ribs expanded. Her veins glowed molten gold.

Wings burst from her back, unfurling with a thunderous snap. It was draconic, massive, and glowing red-gold as if forged from the sun.

Golden scales crawled across her skin in elegant patterns, shimmering like living armor. Her pupils slit into reptilian lines, predatory and cold. Her robes shifted, absorbing scales until she wore an armor-like priestess mantle of red and gold.

Twin horns spiraled from her temples, obsidian at the base and shining crimson at the tips.

Her arms and legs reshaped into draconic gauntlets and greaves. They were elegant, deadly, and claw-tipped. Finally, a sinuous tail tore free, long and powerful, its tip burning like a comet in red and gold.

She roared, and the forest roared with her.

The old man’s face twisted. “Arrogant beast! I will have to put you in your place!”

“Nervous, aren’t you?” Ren Jingyi asked sweetly. “Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.”

After all…

She had to savor her five minutes.

With a powerful beat of her wings, she vanished.

“Zealot’s Stride.”

She streaked across the sky and closed the distance instantly.

“Searing Smite.”

She summoned the Accursed Whip from her storage ring. It burst into divine flame the moment her fingers touched it. She lashed it out, wrapping it around the old man’s waist and yanking him downwards as holy fire scorched his bark-flesh.

“Here’s more blessings!” Ren Jingyi shouted.

She coated her fist with Blessed Weapon, Divine Might, War Smite, and punched him across the face with enough force to break mountains.

“Also, eat shit!”