Some say that all life is born equal. They are wrong.
Race alone is enough to determine one's future. Would you say the life of a cow is the same as the life of a human? Such a claim is the greatest lie. Nature is never equal—that is why it is balanced. You cannot be both.
Even within the same race, individuals are never equal.
Some inherit the fruits of generations of hard work. Others are born with nothing.
The same truth applied to her. She was born with a so-called "curse," but in the eyes of the world, it was a gift. To keep balance, the drawback was cruel.
This was why heroes in stories always faced hardship.
To overcome themselves, and to overcome the world.
"But the hardest obstacle will always be the average ones who look up to them."
Not only did he feel pity, but also a sliver of condolence for her.
He was someone who understood the weight the chosen carried, and the resentment of those who were not gifted.
The world always forced heroes to act—not because they chose to, but because expectation was placed upon them. And even after the goal was achieved… it never truly ended.
A system of civilization that built upon expectation on expectation.
To think people must become good, to force a king to be benevolent, to hope general is a strong warrior, that is the world and way of civilization.
That why he destroyed it all.
Wu Han took a deep breath and released it slowly, calming himself. As memories of his own past surfaced, human emotion stirred again from deep within.
"Let's see the fruit of your clan's labor, shall we?"
He changed the subject and led her toward the cauldron chamber.
The place was dark and dull. Aside from the two statues, which seemed more decorative than functional, the only thing that could be called beautiful was the dragon's head carved into the ceiling.
Surrounding it were countless arrays engraved into the stone. With a single glance and a sweep of his divine sense, he understood their structure.
Each line flowed like a river; each node was like a dam, and all of them converged at the dragon's eyes.
And the water they carried was not water at all.
It was pure Qi, condensed into majestic droplets—each one equal to one hundred spirit stones.
The liquid lingered within the dragon's eyes. Wu Han calculated at once.
"One drop every seven days."
He then looked into the cauldron below. Only a shallow layer of liquid remained at the bottom. Subtracting the time since the last visit, the result was obvious.
The previous visitor had taken everything.
"Your father is a very greedy man," Wu Han said lightly.
To think that someone as serene as Luo Chen had swallowed every stored droplet instead of saving them for emergencies was more amusing than shocking.
He had ignored the instructions in the map entirely and used them all at once
But who could blame Luo Chen? These droplets were treasures.
Not only was their density extremely high, but they were also far easier to absorb and manipulate.
Unlike spirit stones, which had to be digested and broken down before they could be used, these droplets were already refined and ready for immediate consumption. Their quality far exceeded Wu Han's expectations of what this treasure would be.
At first, he had only thought of using this reservoir of Qi to slowly form his own Dao seed. But with material of this purity, he would need only a single moment to create one.
"You want to create a Dao seed, don't you?" Luo Lan said. Seeing his eyes light up, she immediately understood his intention. She knew how sturdy his body had become—refined to nearly the same level as her own tempering, without any side effects.
By all accounts, he should already be at the seventh stage, unless he was deliberately waiting for something.
"Smart," Wu Han said approvingly.
"I can teach you how to create a Dao seed," Luo Lan offered.
"Go on," he said, then reached deep into his consciousness and drew out the memories he had absorbed from a disciple of the Flaming Cloud Sect, searching through them.
"The way to create a Dao seed," Luo Lan explained, "is to temper your mind toward the path you choose. I chose the Dao of Ice, to control the yin within my body. I learned how to manipulate temperature and the principles behind it."
She opened her palm. A snowflower bloomed above it—delicate like a piece of art, yet carrying the weight and density of an avalanche.
This was the power of a Dao seed: control over the path one chose to follow.
"So that's how it is," Wu Han said as he opened his eyes. Her explanation matched the memories he had seen. This world's method of mastering a single path was indeed straightforward.
But it was also limiting.
Magic had eight schools, four core elements, hundreds of paths, and thousands of possible combinations.
Which was why—
This method was not enough.
"Let me see the finished one," Wu Han said, extending his hand to Luo Lan.
She looked at it for a moment, then hesitantly took his hand. A spark rushed through her body, mind, and soul.
This was nothing like before. Last time, he had only examined her on the surface. Now, he was reaching deep into her very being. If he went any further, it would become true soul-searching.
Wu Han passed over her Yin physique and looked deeper, noticing many things at once.
First, her Yin constitution was the least remarkable of her gifts. Her eyes possessed vision far beyond that of ordinary humans, nearly a thousand times sharper, and her sensitivity to Qi was just as extraordinary.
That explains why she notices lies so easily.
He went deeper still. Luo Lan felt something crawling beneath her skin, but she endured it and did not resist.
Wu Han searched for a long while before he finally found it.
At the center of her dantian was a tiny, glass-like marble.
A core.
"Hm… ah, so that's what this is," Wu Han murmured, a strange smile forming on his lips.
As the name suggested, Foundation Establishment required one to build a foundation. Anyone could do it with enough resources, but an empty foundation without a design was nothing more than barren ground—useless.
This tiny glass-like sphere deep within the dantian acted as a conduit and a center of growth for a cultivator. It explained the difference between cultivators and mages.
Mages, at a certain stage, required what they called a magic circuit—a special artificial nervous system implanted into the body. It was created outside and then inserted, which meant it could be inherited or stolen, but it would never truly fit.
This seed, however, was created by the cultivator themself.
Tailored to their own body. Tailored to their own future.
A true foundation of what they would become.
"Hahahaha…" Wu Han began to chuckle. Then the sound broke loose.
"HAHAHAHA!!"
Luo Lan stiffened. "W-What do you mean?"
Confusion crept into her voice. Then fear.
"You," Wu Han said, eyes burning, "and everyone born with bodies like yours… you grow up in rich lands, surrounded by energy, able to cultivate without ever bleeding for it."
His laughter twisted into something bitter and thrilled at the same time.
Do they have any idea how much pain I endured to carve out a magic circuit of that quality!?
He clenched his fist.
"You form it naturally, inside your own body, in the comfort of your home."
For a moment, his expression darkened.
"But those changes now."