Xuan Mansion, Sunlight City, Frostviel Kingdom.
Moonlight filtered softly through the wooden slats of the room's window, casting a silvery veil over the young man seated within.
Chu Xuanyan sat quietly, the pale glow illuminating the contours of his exceptionally handsome face—still tinged with the softness of youth. Beneath finely shaped brows, a pair of crystal-blue eyes shimmered like frozen lakes reflecting the midnight sky, calm yet unknowably deep.
He possessed the kind of face that made people pause, drawn in by its handsomeness.
His fingers absently traced the edge of a book about star beasts—the very one he'd been poring over in recent days. He seemed to be in a daze.
"An Empty Astral Palace, huh?" he muttered.
"Heh... How ridiculous." A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
In this world, Stars was the foundation of cultivation. Astral Stars.
Unlike the cultivation novels he'd devoured back on Earth—full of dantian, meridians, spiritual roots, or martial spirits—this world relied solely on Astral Stars to harness power.
"The reality is really different sometimes," he mused, his gaze distant.
There were many different types of Astral Stars, but most could be roughly categorized into three types: Elemental Stars, Beast Stars, and Spiritual Stars.
Elemental Stars referred to the various elements that filled heaven and earth, such as water, fire, wind, or thunder and so on.
As for beast Stars? They refer to the astral beast blood infusing with various humans bloodlines—giving birth to beast Stars.
Spiritual Stars, on the other hand, could be offensive, defensive, or even supportive—capable of empowering allies for short bursts of time.
In general, all three—elemental, beast, and spiritual—could be roughly divided into nine different grades, each representing the innate quality and potential of the astral stars.
Normally, when a human reaches the age of teen, a cavity known as the Astral Place, a sphere-shaped structure, would appear within their body. Once it manifested, their unique Astral Star would awaken within it—elemental, beast, or spiritual.
Cultivators would then use their Astral stars as a foundation, drawing on the world qi of the world, refining it into a force simply known as starforce.
For example, a fifth-grade Silver Ape Beast star within an astral core. This beast star specialized in granting tremendous strength, and when combined with one's own formidable resonant power, it was capable of unleashing truly destructive levels of force.
And this is where Chu Xuanyan's problem lay.
It had been nine and a half years since he came to this world.
"More precisely, since my memories returned at age seven… nine and a half years ago." He was sixteen and a half now.
At first, he had been thrilled beyond belief. After all, he had been given a second chance at life—after dying tragically.
"Yeah, you heard that right. I died. Tragically, even. And now here I am, in a fantasy world—a cultivation world this time. A cliché situation".
"You'd think I have some dogshit luck, right? After all, I got reincarnated into a freaking cultivation world. You'd think I'd get a golden finger—a system, an ancient powerhouse inheritance, or a cheat ability, right?"
"Wrong. what i got was Just a cosmic middle finger."
"heh, It's far crueler than you can imagine. I am currently facing the most cliché situation imaginable—labeled as a cripple. Yeah, you heard me. A cripple. No talent, no power, no future. Tch... it's vexing."
"And to think... I had plans. So many damn plans."
After coming to this world, he thought he was ready. He'd read hundreds of cultivation novels. He knew the tropes, the rules:
Stay low-key.
Don't provoke young masters.
Avoid mysterious beauties with tragic pasts.
So when his memories returned, he threw himself into studies—languages, theories, cultivation basics, beast classifications etc.
He prepared. He waited.
After all, he knew what this world could offer. He wasn't going to waste this second chance.
But when the day finally came… he hadn't expected that.
He was declared a cripple. Someone with an Empty Astral Palace. The words struck harder than any blade.
It was an unexpected, brutal blow.
In that moment, the world seemed to collapse around him. Everything he had built, hoped for, and prepared crumbled into nothing. It felt as if fate itself was mocking him—playing a cruel joke just to watch him fall.
"I got reincarnated into a cultivation world, memories intact, thinking this was my real chance."
"But no."
"I turned out to be a cripple. No system. No cheat code to save me from this miserable situation."
"If that's not fate playing with me, then what the hell is?"
His gaze drifted to the description of a Sixth-Grade Earthen Serpent, but the words barely registered.
The reason he was considered a cripple was painfully simple—his Astral Palace had appeared, just like everyone else's, but no Astral Star had manifested within it. It was completely empty.
Cases like this were incredibly rare, and generally referred to as having a Empty Astral Place. Since he had no Star to serve as a foundation for drawing and refining energy from the natural world, it was impossible for him to cultivate. Hence, a cripple.
Even Sunlight Academy got involved—at the request of his foster mother.
"Yeah, foster mother. You heard that right. I'm adopted."
"I know, I know—probably another classic cliché setup, right? The protagonist with mysterious origins, abandoned by their 'real' parents for some bullshit reason, only for them to turn out to be some ancient powerhouse."
And that little pagoda existence? Yeah... it definitely supports that theory.
Anyway—where was I? Right.
Even the Academy conducted countless tests to uncover the reason behind his Empty Astral Palace. After all, his foster mother was a highly respected figure in the kingdom, and because of her, the high-ranking members of the Academy had placed immense hope in him. Some believed he would eventually attend Sagecrest College—the most prestigious institution in the entire Frostviel Kingdom. Thus, they did everything they could to "fix" him.
But in the end... nothing.
No results. No answers. No hope.
Most in this world, when faced with an Empty Astral Palace, would give up. Resign themselves to mediocrity. Fade into irrelevance., would resign themselves to mediocrity.
But not him. He was from Earth. Anyone who had devoured hundreds of cultivation novels would know better than to despair just because the world called you a cripple.
If fiction had taught him anything, it was this:
"In the world of cultivation, anything is possible."
He rolled up his sleeves and got to work—digging into secret studies with a relentless obsession. He scoured every manual, every ancient scroll he could get his hands on, observing body structures, meditating under moonlight like a lunatic—hoping that some miracle will happen.
So he chased after the miracle he hoped was out there.
But no.
Nothing happened.
Or rather—deep down, he had always known... nothing would.
After all, how could the heavens be so kind to him ?
It was all just his wishful thinking.
The sheer irony of it all made him laugh.
"Speaking of which, should I just accept the little pagoda's offer?"
A moment of hesitation flickered across his face. But only for a moment.
Then, his eyes hardened.
"No. Not yet… Just a little longer. I should wait and see if a miracle will happen—after all, a little more patience means nothing now. And if it doesn't work…" He exhaled. "Then it won't be too late to accept its offer."
With that, Chu Xuanyan slumped into his chair, shoulders loosening in a sigh—equal parts weariness and quiet anticipation.