---
🌌 Let Them All Envy Me"
The Rootless begins to shake the heavens… one stolen breath at a time.
---
Whispered Roots and Rising Flames
The sun hadn't yet risen, but the Ironroot Sect was already buzzing.
Disciples trained in formation across the outer training fields, their spiritual roots radiating flickers of power. Sword sparks flew, qi blades roared, and chants of power echoed like song.
But beneath that sound was another—a whisper.
> "Did you hear? Chen Gui's cultivation dropped two levels."
"He says a demon touched his root…"
"No—he says it was Fang Yun…"
Those words alone should've been absurd.
A Rootless harming a Sky-Rooted disciple?
Impossible.
Except now… Chen Gui walked with a limp. His qi was fragmented. His pride? Shattered.
And Fang Yun?
He swept the hallways silently as always, but his aura had changed. No longer dim. No longer forgettable.
It was wrong, and the others could feel it.
Their roots itched when he walked past. Their energy recoiled, like prey before a predator.
And envy—raw, instinctive envy—began to seep in.
> "Why does he have that presence?"
"He has no root. No clan. Nothing."
"Then why can't I stop looking at him?"
---
: The Challenge Bell Tolls
That evening, the Challenge Bell rang three times.
It was rare.
Disciples gathered in the Trial Ring, a stone coliseum at the heart of the sect. Hundreds stood in silence.
A challenge had been issued.
Not just any challenge—one to a ranked disciple.
Rank #97: Lei Shan, a bloodline cultivator from the Thunder-Blood Crane Clan, known for his speed and lightning-rooted qi.
And his challenger?
> "FANG YUN!?"
Gasps rippled like waves.
"Impossible—he's not even in the rankings!"
"Does he want to die!?"
"Wait... is this a joke? Is he possessed?"
Lei Shan stepped forward, surrounded by electric sparks.
He was tall, muscular, and crackled with power. His eyes were golden with arrogance.
"You're bold, dog," he said. "I'll enjoy silencing you permanently."
Fang Yun stepped into the ring, robes still frayed, eyes calm.
"I'm not here to silence," he said. "I'm here to make you scream."
The crowd howled.
But the inner sect elders watched in silence.
Especially Elder Lin Yue, who narrowed her eyes with interest.
> "This one… his soul scent is not mortal…"
---
Thunder vs. Void
The gong struck.
Lei Shan leapt forward in a flash, his body exploding into lightning.
Fang Yun barely moved.
A crack of thunder slammed into the platform—but Fang Yun was already gone.
Or rather—his body phased.
[ Mirror Pulse (Active) – 3 seconds remaining ]
[ Technique copied: Crane Step – Rank C ]
[ Speed: +280% temporarily ]
He dashed left—reappearing at Lei Shan's side and striking his back with black fire.
Lei Shan screamed.
> [ Devour Initiated ]
[ Root Fragment: Thunder Pulse (Rank C) absorbed – 8% ]
[ +1.3 Root Points ]
[ Envy Detected in observers – +0.2/hr Boost Initiated ]
The crowd gasped as Lei Shan staggered.
"Impossible—he's faster than Lei!"
"Wait… his technique! He's copying it!?"
Lei Shan growled, spinning, unleashing a Crane Talon Slash with full qi—
—but Fang Yun met it with a blackened mirror image of the same move.
The blades clashed—
Lei Shan's cracked.
Fang Yun's devoured it.
And Lei Shan collapsed.
> "W-Wait… not yet—"
"Let them all envy me," Fang Yun whispered, and drove his palm into Lei's chest.
Lei Shan screamed, root energy exploding around him—
Then stopped.
Dead silence.
Fang Yun stood over his twitching opponent.
> [ Victory Confirmed. Rank #97 obtained. ]
[ Mirror Pulse (Permanent Copy 11%) Unlocked ]
[ Rootless Dao Efficiency +2% ]
[ You are Envied by 67 Witnesses. ]
[ You grow stronger… ]
---
Chaos in the Halls
Sect halls buzzed with fury and fear.
A Rootless servant—now in the top 100?
It broke every rule of status and blood.
Elder Bai Xun pounded his palm through a stone table.
> "I warned them. I warned them this would happen."
But Elder Lin Yue only sipped her tea.
> "Or perhaps... this is exactly what the heavens intended."
The sect leaders convened in the Council of Five. Discussions began of "re-examining his status" or "purifying his soul."
But they knew—if Fang Yun defeated more ranked disciples, their own outer elders might start to be outclassed.
And if he ever made it to Core Disciple status?
The sect's foundation would shake.
-
Yan's Warning
That night, Fang Yun returned to the cave behind the waterfall.
He wasn't alone.
Yan was waiting.
This time, her tone was urgent.
> "You're moving too fast," she said. "You're drawing eyes from beyond the sect. Do you understand what the Rootless Path truly is?"
Fang Yun wiped blood from his mouth. "Power. Survival. Revenge."
"No," she said. "It's damnation."
She stepped closer, her violet eyes glowing.
> "A thousand years ago, the Rootless were exterminated. Not by cultivators. But by the heavens themselves."
Fang Yun froze.
"The Rootless Dao is not just forbidden. It is considered a flaw in reality. A path that leads to something the world is not allowed to hold."
> "What is that?"
Yan looked at him grimly.
> "A being without origin. Without fate. Without limits."
"Me," he whispered.
She nodded.
> "Yes. You are not bound by karma. You are not fated to die. And so, everything that is… wants you destroyed."
---
✅ Coming next :
A mysterious envoy from a forbidden sect challenges Fang Yun
Yan's past and connection to the Celestial Bloodline is revealed
Fang Yun devours a Qi Beast in front of a shocked crowd
The Rootless Dao evolves again, unlocking a legendary trait
A powerful elder tries to erase Fang Yun publicly — and fails