The moment Long Yan opened his eyes, he wasn't in his bed.
He stood inside a vast circular hall of mist and stone. The walls curved outwards in all directions, yet he couldn't see where they ended. Soft light filtered down from a sky he couldn't locate—like dawn trapped beneath glass.
Twelve doors stood equidistant around him.
Each was immense—ten times his height—and carved from a different material. One rippled like liquid fire. Another shimmered with frost. Some pulsed faintly, and others stood dormant. But the door closest to him drew his eyes first.
It was ancient and etched with swirling patterns of bark and vine, flower and fruit. Faint green light bled from its seams.
He stepped forward.
The dragon ring on his hand pulsed.
A shimmering projection appeared before him.
[Spirit Hollow Core Access – Initializing…][Error: Cultivation Level Inadequate.][Limited functions unlocked.]
A second projection appeared above a circular stone platform that had risen from the floor. Inside it, a square of rich black soil—no larger than a dinner table—rested in the center of the chamber.
It pulsed once.
Then a new message blinked into view.
[Spirit Hollow: Tier 1 – Dryfield]– Farm Plots Available: 10 (Unclaimed)– Infusion Required: Wood-Elemental Qi– Energy Circulation: Manual only– Expansion: Locked – Requires Door Access
Long Yan blinked. His mind raced. A farm? Inside a ring?
A realm of soil and stone that lived inside this dragon-shaped artifact?
Was this some lost treasure? A cultivation tool? Why had it chosen him?
He walked toward the soil patch. It radiated warmth—not just physical, but something deeper. It welcomed him.
He dropped to a knee and touched it.
Something passed between them. A faint hum of connection.
Almost instinctively, he inhaled and focused. He had never been able to circulate Qi like the others. All his life, spirit-sensing crystals stayed dim in his hand.
But now—now, something clicked.
A weak stream of Qi sparked to life within his chest. Barely a trickle. But it moved.
Wood-element. Gentle. Subtle. But real.
He guided it into the soil.
The earth glowed faintly green.
[Infusion Complete – 1 Unit of Wood Qi][Spirit Hollow Activation Confirmed][Farming System: Online]
The soil shifted. A second platform rose beside it, displaying a list:
Available Crops:– Common Greenleaf (1 Spirit Dew/day)– Spirit Wheat (Minor Qi Recovery)– Bitterroot Bud (Used in basic alchemy)
He stared.
He could plant spirit herbs?
In a world where spirit food and pills were worth more than credits, this wasn't a gift—it was power.
But there was more.
Above the twelve doors, glowing text materialized.
[Twelve Pillars of Inheritance – Dormant]– Access Requires Elemental Qi Resonance + External Infusion– Door One: Spirit Hollow – Farming Subdomain Active– Expansion Cost:– 5 Spirit Crops Grown– 1 Qi-Rich Resource (e.g. Beast Core, Spirit Dew)
He frowned.
So if he grew crops here—if he fed the land—it would grow in turn.
And maybe… unlock more.
Before he could experiment, the vision faded. The hall dissolved into mist, and the sky split apart.
He gasped awake in his bed, drenched in sweat.
The room was quiet.
The orphanage creaked.
But the ring remained on his hand.
Still warm.
Still pulsing.
And something had changed inside him.
He could feel it now—barely, but it was there. Qi. Real spiritual energy.
It might not have been enough to shock a spirit crystal or duel another student, but it was his.
And it was growing.
He threw on his jacket and quietly slipped out into the courtyard, walking until he reached a small patch of dry soil behind the storage shed.
It was ignored by everyone. Forgotten.
Perfect.
He knelt and reached into his pocket, pulling out an old tea seed he'd scavenged weeks ago from the academy's compost. It was brittle. Dry.
But something told him it would grow.
He focused, drew in his Qi, and activated the ring.
The world around him dimmed for a heartbeat.
And in the next blink, he stood once more within the ring's world.
His first Spirit Plot waited, black and fertile.
He planted the seed, buried it gently, and pressed his palm to the soil.
Qi flowed.
Slow. Weak.
But steady.
A moment passed. Then another.
A sprout pushed through the surface.
A green leaf unfolded toward the misty sky.
[Crop Grown: Spirit Tea – Rank 1 Herb]– +2 Wood Qi Recovery upon use– Growth Time Reduced by Ring Affinity: 20%
A message blinked above the field:
[1/5 Required Crops Grown for Expansion]
Long Yan smiled.
He didn't know who he really was.
He didn't know where the ring came from.
But for the first time in years, he had purpose.
He had power.
And this was only the beginning.