The streets were quiet, but Ren Wei's mind burned.
His body was still aching from the backlash, yet he refused to return to the hospital. The soft hum of neon signs, the faint thrum of distant cars — none of it touched him. He wandered like a ghost, following nothing but instinct.
> "The system won't help me this time. That's fine. Let it sleep."
He passed parks, shrines, construction sites... then stopped. Behind a crumbling temple wall, nearly devoured by moss and cracked concrete, stood a withered spirit tree. Ancient. Forgotten. Alive.
He approached it slowly. The air shimmered around its roots.
> "Still breathing? Just like me."
He knelt, placing his palm against its bark. Qi stirred, faint but rich.
> "They built towers around you… and still didn't feel your breath. You and I... we were both forgotten."
He sat beneath its limbs and began.
First: **"Bone Furnace Sutra"** — to ignite his marrow and temper the body.
Then: **"Empty Vein Breathing Art"** — to guide the Qi through damaged meridians.
The spirit tree responded. Roots pulsed. Qi flowed into him.
Pain followed.
His limbs trembled. Muscles spasmed. Vision blurred.
> "Let the flesh break. Let the Qi rebuild."
He endured.
> *Ding!*
> **Qi Refinement Level 2: Achieved**
> *Stat Points Allocated: +1 Physical Resistance, +2 Soul Endurance, +2 Qi Circulation*
He exhaled slowly, but didn't smile.
> "It's not enough. I want more."
*Ding!*
**Main Quest Updated: "Rise Without Shadow"**
– Prove yourself as a cultivator without external power
– Reward: Hidden Physique Unlock (???)
**Side Quest Completed: "Breathe Alone"**
– First Qi breakthrough without assistance
– Reward: 1 Random Passive Skill
*Rolling...*
**Acquired Passive: \[Iron Blood Meditation]**
→ *Regenerate Qi and calm spirit faster while wounded.*
A teenager walked past the old temple gate without a glance.
To the world, Ren Wei was invisible.
But beneath the spirit tree, Qi gathered.
The roots pulsed.
And in the silence… something began to grow.
The first rays of dawn spilled across the city.
As Ren Wei opened his eyes, the sky had turned amber. Morning joggers began to stir, the world returning to its cycle.
Not far from the temple ruins, a small martial family practiced in silence: an elderly man, his granddaughter, and two well-dressed security guards. Their movements were graceful — like Tai Chi — but with true Qi ripples.
Ren Wei noticed them.
They noticed him.
The old man paused, narrowing his eyes.
> "The spirit tree… it's responding again?"
His granddaughter tilted her head, curious.
> "Who is he, Grandpa?"
> "No one… or perhaps, not yet."
They didn't approach. They simply watched — quietly — as Ren Wei sat cross-legged beneath the tree, cloaked in its Qi.
---
> *Ding!*
> **Spiritual Root Cleansing +10% Applied**
> *Root Purity: Upgraded from 'Broken' to 'Low Mortal Grade'*
A pulse ran through his body. His veins shimmered faintly — and for a moment, the spirit tree leaned toward him as if breathing him in.
He closed his eyes again.
Suddenly, a vision struck him —
**Burning stars. Collapsing realms. His body broken in the void. A final roar before silence.**
> "I stood before the Dao.
> And it crushed me."
He gasped and returned to the present.
> *Ding!*
> **Side Quest Unlocked: "Name the Nameless"**
> – Imprint a Cultivation Technique to your soul.
> – Time Limit: 3 hours
> – Reward: 1 Skill Evolution Token
A translucent menu opened in his mind, showing fragments of scriptures from his past life — forbidden, broken, powerful.
He didn't hesitate.
> **Selected Cultivation Technique: "Heaven-Flaying Vein Scripture"**
> *"You gave me broken roots? Then I'll rip yours out."*
The spirit tree shuddered.
Qi surged inward. The technique etched itself into his veins like molten iron.
From behind the wall, the old man's expression shifted.
> "...This boy doesn't walk the path of heaven. He walks against it."
The morning moved on.
But beneath the surface — a rebellion had begun.