Chapter 66 - 54 : A New Sense (1)

Chapter 66: Chapter 54 : A New Sense (1)

The road toward the city was more familiar than Ethan expected. He had walked it before. He knew the uneven stones beneath the dirt, the places where roots pushed through the path, and the sections where the forest thinned enough for sunlight to fall directly across the road. Yet something about the journey felt different now. Not because the road had changed.

But because he had.

He walked at an ordinary pace, his dark robes moving gently with each step. The forest was quieter than the city, though it was never truly silent. The sound of leaves rustled overhead. Of small insects movements through the grass. Occasionally, a bird called from somewhere among the branches. Ethan heard all of it.

But he was beginning to notice something else. Something he had noticed earlier, a faint presence.

He slowed.

His eyes moved toward the bend in the road ahead. There was nothing there. At least, nothing he could see. Then the sensation became slightly clearer. Something living was approaching.

Ethan waited.

A few breaths later, a man appeared around the bend carrying a bundle over one shoulder. Ethan raised an eyebrow. He had sensed him before seeing him. He continued walking. The man passed without paying much attention to him. Ethan glanced back only after the distance between them had increased.

Interesting.

He hadn’t heard the man’s footsteps until he was much closer. Yet his blood had announced his presence beforehand. Ethan smiled faintly. He continued down the road. A little farther ahead, he felt another presence.

Then another.

This time there were several of them. Ethan looked toward the trees beside the road. A small merchant group soon emerged from between them, leading two pack animals loaded with sacks. He hadn’t seen them yet. But he already knew they were there. The sensation wasn’t visual.

It didn’t paint an image inside his mind. He couldn’t see their faces. He couldn’t identify their clothing. He couldn’t tell what they were carrying. He simply felt several distinct points of living presence moving toward him. The realization was strangely satisfying.

Ethan’s lips curved slightly.

He had discovered something new. Again, the sensation was becoming easier to recognize. Every living body seemed to carry something within it. Something his newly transformed body could perceive. He wondered whether a stronger cultivator would produce a stronger sensation.

The thought entered his mind. He immediately stopped himself. That was a question for later. He didn’t have enough evidence. He was not one to turn a possibility into a conclusion. For now, he simply observed.

The merchant group passed.

Ethan continued walking. Another person approached. Then two, then several more. Each time, he noticed them a little before they appeared. It was almost entertaining.

Unknowingly, Ethan found himself enjoying one of the changes brought by his transformation without immediately trying to dissect it. It was like discovering he had an additional sense organ.

A strange one.

A useful one.

And entirely his own. He wondered how far it could reach. Then he deliberately pushed the question aside. There was no need to test everything at once, he had time.

The road gradually became busier and the forest around him began to thin. The distant sounds of human activity slowly replaced the quiet of the wilderness. A cart rolled somewhere ahead. He heard the creaking of wooden wheels. Someone shouted to an animal. A pair of travellers spoke as they walked. The sounds were ordinary. Both familiar and comforting, in a way. He had spent enough time away from the city that returning to its noise felt almost nostalgic. Then his new sense caught up with him. It started with one presence then three, six and before he knew it was everywhere.

Ethan’s steps slowed.

He hadn’t expected the difference to be so dramatic. The farther he walked, the more living presences appeared around him. They were faint at first, then clearer. A person walking behind him. Someone approaching from the side. An animal somewhere beyond a wall of trees. Two cultivators farther ahead. A group of merchants coming toward the city.

He could feel every single one of them. Not perfectly, nor equally but enough. He frowned. The sensation was beginning to interfere with his thoughts.

He focused on the road.

Then another presence appeared. His attention shifted. He tried to ignore it. Another appeared, then another.

His brows drew together.

It was becoming difficult to decide what deserved his attention. He continued walking. The city gates were visible now.

Large stone walls rose ahead, surrounded by the movement of people entering and leaving. The road widened and with it came more voices that filled the air. The smell of dust mixed with cooked food, animal sweat, old wood and the faint smoke of roadside stalls.

The city was alive. And for Ethan it as if someone turned on the lights in a dimed room, and he could feel every bit of that light.

His pace slowed.

He stopped.

For a moment, he simply stood there. Something pressed against the inside of his head. Not pain.

Not exactly.

More like pressure. A strange heaviness behind his eyes. Ethan closed them. The sensation did not disappear. If anything, it became more noticeable. There were just too many. He could feel people moving around him.

One passed on his left. Another approached from behind. A cultivator stood near the gate. Someone inside the city moved past an alley. An animal shifted somewhere nearby. The individual sensations overlapped. His mind instinctively tried to acknowledge each one. That was the problem.

He opened his eyes.

A passerby glanced at him strangely. Ethan noticed. The man looked away after a moment and continued walking. Another person looked at him, then another. Ethan remained still for a few breaths. He took a slow breath through his nose.

Then another.

The pressure eased slightly. Not because the sensation had disappeared. Because Ethan had stopped trying to process everything. He looked at the city gate.

"So that’s the problem."

His voice was barely audible. The ability itself wasn’t overwhelming. His lack of control was. Ethan stepped forward again. He deliberately focused on the sensation of his own breathing. Like the sound of footsteps, the weight of his robes. The warmth of the sunlight against his skin. The presences remained. But they became less prominent.

Interesting, he thought.

He entered the city. The familiar streets greeted him with noise. Never before has the city felt so crowded. Merchants called out from stalls. Wooden carts rolled across the road. Someone was arguing over the price of vegetables. A child ran past carrying something wrapped in cloth before an older woman called after him. The smell of steamed buns drifted through the street. Somewhere nearby, meat sizzled over a fire. A rat darted from beneath a wooden platform, crossed the edge of the road and vanished between two buildings.

Ethan noticed it.

Not because he saw it first but Because he felt its blood. His eyes shifted toward the narrow gap. The rat disappeared from sight. Yet for a moment, Ethan could still sense it moving.

He could be a great rat catcher with this. He almost laughed.

Then the sensation of the crowd pressed against him again. He stopped near the side of the street.A hand touched his temple. He hadn’t realized he was doing it. His head felt heavy. Not painful enough to be dangerous.

Just irritating.

He stood there for several breaths. People passed around him. Some glanced briefly. Most didn’t care. To them, he was simply another strange cultivator standing beside the road.

Ethan lowered his hand. He needed to adapt. That much was obvious. He resumed walking. He hadn’t gone far when someone called his name.

"Ethan?"

He stopped, when he turned. A familiar face stood several steps away. Someone he had encountered before. Not a close friend. Not someone who knew him particularly well. But familiar enough to recognize him. One of the body tempering cultivators from the bandits eradication.

The man looked at Ethan for a moment. Then his expression changed slightly. His eyes moved over Ethan’s face.

His pale skin.

His long black hair.

His calm expression.

Then back to his eyes.

"You disappeared for a while."

Ethan gave a small nod.

"I had some things to deal with."

The man hesitated.

His gaze remained on Ethan. "You look..." Then he paused.

Ethan waited as his heart skipped a beat. The man’s brows furrowed slightly.

"...different."

Ethan’s expression didn’t change.

"Different?"

"Maybe it’s nothing."

The man looked at him again. "You look a little pale. Are you alright?"

Ethan glanced at his own hand. The skin did appear paler than before. He had already noticed. But seeing someone else notice it was different.

"I’m fine."

He gave a small smile.

"I spent too much time cultivating indoor."

The explanation was simple. The man seemed to consider it. Then his eyes lingered on Ethan for another moment. There was something puzzled in them. Almost as though he wanted to ask another question. But the two weren’t close enough for such a question to feel natural.

The hesitation disappeared.

"Well, as long as you’re alright."

"I am."

They exchanged a few more ordinary words before separating. Ethan continued walking. He didn’t look back. But his thoughts had become sharper. The man had noticed. Not what Ethan was. Only that something was different.

That was enough.

Ethan had no idea how the cultivation world would react to something different, something that looks like human but not human , a race that had never existed before.

There were strange bloodlines.

Unique physiques.

Ancient inheritances.

Unusual cultivation methods.

Being different was not automatically dangerous. But possessing something valuable without possessing enough strength to protect it was another matter entirely.

Ethan had no intention of testing that principle.