Qin Bing's private courtyard was a quiet, self-contained space with three rooms. One was her bedroom, another served as a pop-up office, and the third, once a meditation chamber, she had repurposed into a personal training room.
Her orders for Xiao Ke were simple and grueling. Starting tonight, he was to spend two hours in the courtyard practicing basic combat and killing techniques. After that, he was to lock himself in the training room for six hours to cultivate the Tiger Brave Art. "Physical conditioning and Origin Power have to be developed in tandem," she'd told him. "That's the only way to become a truly elite soldier."
There was a catch, though. Cultivating Origin Power through the Tiger Brave Art required absolute, uninterrupted concentration. Any disturbance could throw the energy into chaos, causing severe internal injuries—or in the worst cases, permanent damage.
Following her instructions, Xiao Ke drilled for two hours before heading into the training room. It was starkly empty, dominated by a large, calligraphed character for "Zen" on the wall. Two simple meditation cushions sat on the floor.
He settled onto one, crossed his legs, and followed the instructions from the manual, closing his eyes to cultivate the Tiger Brave Art for the very first time.
The Tiger Brave Art was the standard cultivation technique for the entire military, yet it manifested differently for everyone.
For some, their inner world would take the form of a vast lake. As they cultivated, droplets of energy would condense in the sky and fall into the water below. This was the "Water of Origin Power." As the lake filled, the cultivator could channel that power to ignite nodes along their Martial Meridians. Lighting up a single node meant leveling up. The ultimate goal was to ignite all twelve, reaching the pinnacle of a 12th-Rank General.
For others, their spiritual landscape might be a cavern where stalactites slowly dripped the same Water of Origin Power. The principle was the same: accumulate enough energy, and you could start lighting up nodes to increase your strength.
The point was, for every ten thousand practitioners, there were ten thousand different journeys, each with its own unique struggles.
Xiao Ke focused his mind, sinking deep into his spiritual world. He was stunned by what he found. It wasn't a lake or a cave, but a massive, towering mountain. It was an imposing, barren peak of jagged rock, without a single tree or blade of grass. And he was standing on a steep slope, halfway to the summit.
This is weird, he thought. Everyone else gets rain or dripping stalactites. I'm just… standing on a mountain. Where's my Water of Origin Power supposed to come from?
As if in answer, a deafening, thunderous roar echoed from the peak.
He looked up, and the color drained from his face. A colossal, perfectly round boulder had broken loose from the summit and was now hurtling directly toward him.
By the time he snapped out of his shock, it was already too late to dodge.
Pure instinct took over. With a guttural roar, Xiao Ke dropped into a lunge, braced his hands, and met the crushing weight of the boulder head-on.
The impact sent a sickening crackle through the bones in his arms, nearly shattering them. The shockwave traveled through his limbs and slammed into his chest, leaving his organs feeling like they'd been thrown in a blender. He barely suppressed the urge to vomit blood.
Somehow, miraculously, he held it. He had stopped the boulder with nothing but his own body.
But he was on a steep, unforgiving slope. The boulder's immense weight bore down on him, a relentless, crushing pressure. If his focus wavered for even a second, if his strength gave out, it would roll right over him and continue its journey to the base of the mountain.
He was locked in a deep lunge, his hands shaking as he supported the thousand-pound weight. The agony was immediate and overwhelming.
Within seconds, sweat beaded on his forehead.
Drip.
The first drop fell to the ground, and something bizarre happened. Instead of soaking into the rocky soil, it remained on the surface, a perfect, glistening bead, as clear as a dewdrop.
What the…?
Xiao Ke, who had been desperately trying to figure out a way out of his impossible situation, was momentarily distracted by the strange droplet.
Then came a second, and a third. The sweat poured from him, each drop landing and merging with the others, slowly forming a small, shimmering pool.
It clicked. This was his Water of Origin Power.
A wave of excitement washed over him, quickly followed by a tide of despair. He remembered Qin Bing saying that for everyone else, cultivation was a peaceful, meditative process. They just had to clear their minds, and their spiritual worlds would passively generate the energy for them.
But him? He had to sweat it out in his own personal hell, literally. It meant his path would be infinitely harder, infinitely more painful than anyone else's.
The realization was a gut punch. It was like being the one kid in class who had to study ten times harder than everyone else just to get the same grade.
But as frustrated as he was, Xiao Ke didn't let himself give up. Growing up in the refugee camps had taught him two things: first, that "fair" was a word that didn't exist in the real world, and second, that while plenty of people work hard, the only way to get ahead is to work harder than all of them.
So he held on. He held on even as his body screamed in protest, even as his arms felt like limp noodles, even as his entire frame trembled on the verge of collapse. His clothes were soaked through as the crystal-clear drops of Origin Power fell, one by one, pooling at his feet.
Just a little longer.
Keep holding.
I can't do it. But I have to. Push.
Just a few more seconds.
It's not enough. A few more.
These thoughts became his mantra. He'd felt like he was at his breaking point hours ago, but each time, he managed to trick himself into holding on for just a little longer. Without even realizing it, six hours had passed.
Ding!
A clean, metallic chime resonated through the air. It was Qin Bing, who had been standing guard outside, striking a bronze gong. It was the only sound that could safely rouse a cultivator from their trance without scrambling their Origin Power.
Xiao Ke's eyes fluttered open. He was back in the training room, and his real body was just as drenched in sweat.
Qin Bing looked at him, puzzled. "Cultivation is supposed to be as peaceful as meditation. You look like you just fought a war. Why are you soaked?"
Xiao Ke forced a weak, wry smile. "Honestly, sir? I have no idea."
"Lighting the first node is usually the easiest part," she said. "Most people manage it on their first day and become a First-Rank Soldier. You've produced your Water of Origin Power, so give it a shot. Try to light up the first node now."
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Alright."
He closed his eyes again, but this time he didn't enter his spiritual world. Instead, he focused inward, searching for the Martial Meridians inside his body, preparing to channel his newly formed energy.
As he focused, he discovered something new. He could still sense the twelve nodes of his meridians, but now he was also keenly aware of every single bone in his body. All 206 of them were mapped out in his mind's eye.
What's this about?
Shaking off the confusion, he focused on the task at hand: lighting up that first node. Success would officially make him a First-Rank Soldier.
He tried to guide the pool of Origin Power with his will, aiming for the first point on the meridian path. But his control was clumsy, amateurish. He overshot, and the energy accidentally flooded one of his lumbar vertebrae instead.
Instantly, the bone flared with light. While the other 205 bones and all twelve meridian nodes remained dark, that single piece of his spine pulsed with a brilliant, silver glow.
What just happened? You're supposed to light up the meridian nodes. How did I light up a bone?
He opened his eyes. Qin Bing was looking at him expectantly. "Well? Did you do it? Is the first node lit?"
Xiao Ke shook his head. "No. I... I accidentally lit up one of my vertebrae instead."
Qin Bing stared at him for two full seconds before her face hardened. "Listen, Xiao Ke," she said, her voice laced with disappointment. "I said most people succeed on their first day, but plenty don't. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and it's certainly no reason to make up ridiculous stories. Lighting up bones? I've only ever heard of Origin Power activating meridian nodes. You can't just invent things. It sounds like you're trying to defy the laws of nature."
"But I—" Xiao Ke started, desperate to explain.
She cut him off, already convinced he was spinning a tale to save face. "Enough," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "It's four in the morning. Go get a couple of hours of sleep. With the zombie horde looming, you need to be ready to fight at a moment's notice."
She turned and left with a yawn, leaving Xiao Ke stewing in his frustration. She didn't believe a word he said.
As he pushed himself to his feet, he felt an undeniable surge of raw power. It seemed to come from nowhere.
Strength comes from the core, from the lumbar spine, he thought, a wild idea taking root in his mind. Did lighting up that vertebra actually make me stronger?
The thought was both thrilling and terrifying. If other cultivators could only light up their meridians, but he could light up all 206 of his bones in addition to his meridians… what did that mean for his future?
Perhaps, he realized, his arduous path had a reward of its own.