Morning had not yet broken when Li Yao stirred from a restless sleep. His brows were faintly furrowed, his face pale with exhaustion. Despite lying in bed for hours, true rest had eluded him. The night had been spent lost in thought- replaying every screen, every prompt, every possibility the Heavenly Observation System had shown him the night before.
Still, even with weariness clinging to his limbs, he rose from the bed well before the first dao bell rang across the Embercloud Sect. The air was crisp, dew still clinging to the leaves outside his cottage, and a faint spiritual rhythm flowed through the mountain valleys. It was during this fragile hour, before the sun crested the horizon, that spiritual energy in the world seemed to flow more freely. The elders often said that cultivating at dawn brought clearer perception and smoother qi flow, and Li Yao had begun to notice the truth in their words.
He settled into his lotus position and began his daily cultivation. Warm spiritual essence gathered around him, drawn into his dantian by the slow revolutions of the Emberheart Nourishment Sutra. The fire spiritual root within him stirred, absorbing energy at a steady but not extraordinary pace.
After an hour, he exhaled slowly and opened his eyes.
"Let's see how far I've come."
He willed the system to show his current status.
[Host Status:
Name: Li Yao
Age: 13 years
Spiritual Roots: Mid-grade Fire Spirit Root [+]
Constitution: Human Mortal Body [+]
Cultivation: Qi Refining Early Stage (1st Stage) [+]
Cultivation Sutra: Emberheart Nourishment Sutra [+]
Intent: None]
He pressed the [+] beside his cultivation stage.
[Qi Refining Early Stage]: The first of the four stages in the Qi Refining chapter of the cultivation journey. All cultivators must take this step to begin their cultivation journey. Qi Refining 1st Stage: 25 / 100
Li Yao nodded to himself. In a month, he had refined twenty-five strands of spiritual qi- a modest amount. It was a pace befitting someone with a mid-grade spirit root and no external resources. But compared to his peers, it was clearly lacking. Many disciples from noble backgrounds or cultivation clans had already reached the second stage or higher, supported by cultivation-enhancing pills, elemental spirit stones, and specialized tutors.
Still, Li Yao held no resentment. His path would be slower, but it would also be steady and more importantly, he had something no one else did.
He summoned the system interface again and selected the new feature: Heavenly Fortuitous Encounters.
[Heavenly Fortuitous Encounter:]
▸ Low Grade – Available
▸ Mid Grade – Unlocked at Foundation Establishment
▸ High Grade – Unlocked at Golden Core Realm
Only the lowest tier was currently accessible. Curious, Li tapped on it.
[Low Grade Fortuitous Encounter requires 10–99 Observation Points.]
[Current Observation Points: 5.6]
He sighed and looked to the corner of his room, where a small pouch held his remaining spirit stones- just two left. With some hesitation, he shook his head.
"Not yet," he murmured. "I'll wait until next month."
He could already feel the value of Observation Points. With enough, the system could provide powerful insights, warnings, and possibly even the means to alter fate. He needed to be strategic. Those remaining spirit stones would stay with him, just in case.
And so, another month passed in the slow rhythm of outer sect life.
Li Yao's days were filled with routine: tending to the herb gardens under Senior Brother Wei's guidance, attending lectures at the Hall of Outer Doctrine, and cultivating during the quiet moments before dawn. His reading had improved significantly, thanks to Instructor Ping's firm but patient guidance, and he could now read basic manuals and sutras without issue.
He was beginning to enjoy the simple rhythm of this life, though he never forgot the truths of this world.
This was a cultivation sect- strength ruled everything.
Without power, he was a leaf in the wind.
On the first day of the next month, the bells rang to signal the distribution of monthly resources. Li Yao once again found himself at the end of a long line winding toward the Outer Pavilion. The sun was warm overhead, and the scent of fresh herbs and distant incense drifted through the mountain air.
While waiting, he overheard murmurs from nearby disciples.
"Did you hear? Yan Mu's already at the fifth stage of Qi Refining! Only four months, and he's that far along!"
"What about Lan Yue? She's not just cultivating- she's drawing Grade-1 talismans! She reached the fourth stage last week, and her talismans already have spiritual response!"
Li Yao's fingers tightened slightly, but he didn't let envy take root. He was no stranger to hardship, nor to walking alone. Instead, their words served only to sharpen his resolve.
When it was finally his turn, he accepted the small pouch from the Outer Pavilion elder and returned to his cottage.
Ten spirit stones- low-grade, of course, but precious to someone like him.
He sat cross-legged and placed the stones before him. Then, one by one, he began to sacrifice them to the system.
[Do you wish to sacrifice this low-grade spirit stone for Observation Points?][Equivalent Value: 0.7 Observation Points][Confirm: Yes/No]
"Confirm."
Each time, the qi within the stone was drawn into the center of his forehead, vanishing into the point between his brows. The stone itself, rather than becoming spent and inert like a normal used spirit stone, shattered into dust and disappeared completely.
It still amazed him. Normally, used spirit stones could be resold at a fraction of their original cost. They reabsorbed spiritual energy over time and were highly recyclable. But the system's absorption left nothing behind. It was as if the stone had never existed.
When he sacrificed the seventh stone, the system chimed.
[Congratulations, host, for surpassing 10 Observation Points.]
[Observation Points: 10.5]
[Host now qualifies for a Low-Grade Fortuitous Encounter insight.]
[Do you wish to spend 10 Observation Points to receive insight into a Low-Grade Fortuitous Encounter?]
Li Yao's breath caught in his throat.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
His thumb hovered over the system prompt. He hesitated, but only for a heartbeat.
"Proceed," he said aloud.
[Confirmed. 10 Observation Points consumed.]
[Delivering insight into Fortuitous Encounter...]
The screen blurred for a moment, as if the system itself were peering through the veil of destiny.
Then it cleared.
[Insight: The Forgotten Herb
Location: North Herb Field
Estimated Danger: Low]
Li Yao blinked. The North Herb Field,
That was within walking distance- barely an hour's walk. He passed it every few days while delivering herbs to the outer apothecary hall. There were rumors it had once been used to cultivate spirit herbs, but had since been abandoned due to poor soil quality. No one paid it any attention anymore.
And yet... the system claimed a fortuitous encounter lay there.
His heart thudded with cautious excitement. A forgotten herb. No details, no name, no clear reward. Just a location- and the knowledge that something valuable was hidden in plain sight.
This was the system's first true gift.
Not a future promise. Not a feature locked behind cultivation realms he hadn't reached. But something real, immediate, and within reach.
He looked down at the remaining five spirit stones. Perhaps it was time to begin relying on something more than slow, solitary cultivation.
He clenched his fists.
"This is it."
For the first time since arriving at Embercloud Sect, he didn't feel like a leaf blown by the wind.
He was walking a path of his own now.
One revealed by the heavens.
He looked out the cottage window. Dawn was breaking again, bathing the mountains in golden light.
And in the distance, beyond the outer gardens and silent pathways, the forgotten herb waited.
He would go. Not recklessly, but prepared. There was danger, yes, but the system had labeled it 'low.' He would take that gamble.
For once, the heavens had whispered.
And he had heard them.