The Council session had ended not with a threat, but with a promotion. Lu Chenge was now the First Rank Grand Elder, a position of immense power, and Azure Cloud Peak was flush with the resources of the entire sect. He had secured the perfect environment for accelerated cultivation.
Lu Chenge stood on his peak, watching Wei An practice her meditative pacing—a slow, deliberate walk that subtly shifted her position in reality—and Mu Yun practice condensing fiery spear tips from his molten Qi. His two disciples were flourishing, and his own Law of Incineration was stabilizing his Perfected Golden Core.
But the System was clear: The path to ascension lay in expansion.
🎯 The Search for Specialization
Now that he had unlimited access to sect records and scouting reports, Lu Chenge wasn't looking for just any outcast. He was looking for a specific, difficult-to-detect Essence that, once amplified, would grant him a corresponding, powerful return.
He utilized his Divine Soul Observation Art across the sect's general population reports. He wasn't interested in Fire or Time anymore. He sought a foundational, elemental gap in his power profile.
"I have the offensive power of Incineration and the unique perception of Time/Space through Wei An. I need Defense or Utility," he mused.
He scanned the discarded list of new aspirants, filtering for the most unusual failures. One name stood out: Jia Li.
[Target Identified: Disciple – Jia Li. Status: Physically Frail, Spiritually Blind. Spiritual Roots: Unobservable (Void Element). Compatibility: Extreme.]
Unobservable. Void Element. That was the key. Most cultivators were blind to roots that defied elemental categorization. The System, however, saw it clearly. A Void Element—the foundation of spatial power, transportation, and absolute defense.
Lu Chenge immediately made his way to the lowest training ground, a muddy field reserved for the completely talentless.
🧱 Contribution 5: The Unbreakable Defense
He found Jia Li trying, and failing, to lift a standard training weight. The girl was painfully thin, exhausted, and wearing robes that were far too big. Her peers ignored her.
When Lu Chenge approached, Jia Li instinctively tried to hide, shamefaced over her physical weakness.
"Jia Li," Lu Chenge's voice was gentle. "You are struggling with the foundations of strength. May I offer some assistance?"
She looked up, stunned that a Grand Elder would even acknowledge her. "Elder Lu... I have no spiritual roots. My body is weak."
Lu Chenge used his Divine Soul Observation Art. He saw no Qi in her body, but her skin itself seemed to absorb and dissipate the light around her—the subtle workings of the Void Element. She didn't need strength; she needed a conduit to control her innate defensive power.
Lu Chenge reached into his pouch and pulled out an object acquired during the Heavenly Sense Manual return: a small, intricately carved shield made of dark, swirling metal. It was the Unmoving Void Barrier Fragment, an artifact that taught the essence of absolute, non-reactive defense. Its value was staggering.
"Take this, Jia Li," he said, placing the cool fragment into her hand. "It is not a pill for strength, but an essence for understanding. It will show you how to harness the Emptiness inside you."
[Host Contribution Detected: 1 x Unmoving Void Barrier Fragment (Celestial Defensive Artifact).] [Contribution Essence: Absolute Defense and Spatial/Void Essence.] [Commencing 10,000-Fold Return…] [Return Acquired: 10,000 x Grand Cosmos Shield Techniques (Ultimate Defensive Manuals).]
The flood of defensive knowledge was immediate and overwhelming. Lu Chenge felt his spiritual body instantly absorb millennia of defensive strategies.
The primary amplification focused, logically, on his own Golden Core:
[Host has received 10,000X return of Absolute Defense and Spatial/Void Essence. Host's Perfected Golden Core Law is deemed Lacking in Protection.] [Host's Law of Incineration will now be paired with the Law of the Void. ] [Cultivation Advance: Host has mastered the Law of the Void (Initial Stage). Host's Golden Core is now fortified with a dual Law structure, granting the ability to create a passive, near-absolute Void Barrier defense around the self. Host is now capable of limited Spatial Transposition.]
Lu Chenge's core felt perfectly balanced: offensive fire, defensive void. He could incinerate everything, and nothing could touch him.
He looked down at Jia Li, who was staring intently at the dark shield fragment, a strange, swirling pattern of grey energy beginning to form around her frail body.
"Three disciples, three heavenly laws," Lu Chenge thought, exhilarated.
"Welcome, Jia Li," he said, offering his hand. "Let us return to the Peak of Destined Prodigies."