Rain continued to fall from the sky.
Cold water soaked into Lin Yuan's clothes, sliding down his neck and arms, but he no longer felt the biting chill from before. His body was still lying at the bottom of Falling Stone Mountain, surrounded by broken rocks and mud, yet something inside him had clearly changed.
He was alive.
That simple fact felt unreal.
Lin Yuan lay still for a long time, breathing slowly, listening to the rain hit the ground around him. His heart beat steadily in his chest, no longer weak or fading. Each breath entered his lungs smoothly, without the sharp pain that had nearly torn him apart earlier.
"Did… I really survive?" he whispered.
When he tried to move his fingers, they responded.
Slowly.
Stiffly.
But they moved.
This alone shocked him.
He clearly remembered the feeling of his bones breaking as he fell. He remembered the crushing pain when his body hit the ground. That kind of injury should have left him unable to move, even if he somehow survived.
Yet now, although his body felt sore and heavy, it was not broken.
Before he could think further, a translucent panel appeared in front of his eyes again, floating quietly in the rain.
[Emergency Recovery Complete]
[Host condition stabilized]
[Remaining injuries: Minor]
Lin Yuan stared at the words.
"They're… gone?" he muttered.
He slowly raised his arm in front of his face. His sleeve was torn, and dried blood covered his skin, but when he touched his arm, he could not find any broken bones. The pain was dull, like the soreness after intense labor, not the agony of shattered limbs.
"This system…" Lin Yuan whispered.
He still did not fully understand what the system was, but one thing was clear—it had saved his life.
As if responding to his thoughts, the panel changed again.
[Host: Lin Yuan]
[Age: 18]
[Status: Mortal]
[Cultivation: None]
[Physical Condition:]
[Body severely weak due to long-term neglect]
[Meridians underdeveloped]
[Qi capacity: Zero]
Lin Yuan frowned slightly.
"So even now… I'm still weak," he said quietly.
That made sense.
Even though his injuries had healed, his body had always been that of a mortal. For years, he had been denied resources, denied training, and denied proper nourishment. Compared to true cultivators, his body was fragile.
Another line appeared.
[Recommendation:]
[Begin Body Cultivation]
[Reason: Current body cannot withstand Qi]
Lin Yuan stared at those words for a long moment.
Body cultivation.
He had heard of it before.
In cultivation stories told by elders, body cultivation was a path where cultivators strengthened their flesh, bones, and blood before focusing on spiritual energy. However, most people ignored this path because it was painful and slow, and required extreme endurance.
For normal people, body cultivation was inefficient.
But Lin Yuan was no longer normal.
"Begin body cultivation…" he murmured.
He clenched his fists slowly.
"If my body is weak," he said softly, "then I'll strengthen it."
"I've already lost everything. Pain doesn't scare me anymore."
He made his decision.
"I'll do it."
The moment his thoughts settled, the system responded.
[Basic Body Tempering Manual detected]
[Source: Mortal Training Archive]
[Quality: Low]
[Ten-Thousandfold Amplification available]
[Confirm absorption?]
Lin Yuan's eyes widened slightly.
Even he knew what a "basic" manual meant.
It was the lowest kind of training method—something even servants used to strengthen their bodies slightly. In the past, the Lin Family had given such manuals to guards and laborers, not cultivators.
Yet the system did not seem to care.
Lin Yuan took a deep breath.
"Confirm," he said.
[Manual absorbed]
[Ten-Thousandfold Amplification activated]
The moment the confirmation completed, Lin Yuan's entire body stiffened.
Heat exploded inside him.
It was not a gentle warmth.
It was violent.
It felt as if fire had been poured directly into his veins.
"Ah—!"
Lin Yuan cried out as pain surged through his body. He could clearly feel his muscles tightening and compressing, as if invisible hands were squeezing them again and again. His bones began to vibrate, producing faint cracking sounds beneath his skin.
This pain was far worse than falling from the mountain.
That pain had been sudden.
This pain was slow.
Endless.
Lin Yuan collapsed back onto the ground, his fingers digging into the mud. His teeth clenched tightly as his body trembled uncontrollably.
"I won't… stop…" he gasped.
Inside his body, changes continued.
His bones grew denser, layer by layer, as if impurities were being crushed and expelled. His muscles reorganized themselves, becoming tighter and stronger. Even his blood seemed to heat up, flowing faster and carrying strange dark substances toward his skin.
Black filth began to seep out from his pores, mixing with rainwater and dripping onto the ground.
The smell was unpleasant.
But Lin Yuan did not care.
He focused on breathing.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
He remembered how his father had once told him, "Endurance is also a kind of strength."
That thought kept him going.
The pain lasted for a long time.
So long that Lin Yuan lost track of time.
When it finally began to fade, his entire body felt heavy, like it was filled with lead. He lay there, panting, rain falling on his face, unable to move even a finger.
Then, the system spoke again.
[Body Tempering complete]
[Amplification: 10,000×]
[Body Cultivation Realm achieved:]
[Perfect Foundation Body Tempering]
[Results:]
[Bone density increased massively]
[Muscle strength increased massively]
[Recovery speed increased]
[Body purity: High]
Lin Yuan's chest rose and fell as he stared at the panel.
"Perfect… foundation?" he murmured.
Even without fully understanding what that meant, he could feel the difference.
Slowly, he pushed himself up.
His arms trembled slightly, but they did not fail him.
He sat up.
Then, after a moment, he stood.
The ground beneath his feet cracked softly.
Lin Yuan froze.
He looked down.
The stone beneath his foot had a clear footprint pressed into it.
His eyes widened.
"Did I do that?" he whispered.
He raised his hand and clenched it into a fist.
The feeling was different.
His body felt solid.
Stable.
Powerful.
Not like before, when he always felt weak and tired.
Lin Yuan took a careful step forward.
Then another.
His movements were steady.
He laughed quietly, rain mixing with the sound.
"So this… is strength," he said.
He slowly lifted his head and looked up at the dark sky, rain falling onto his face.
"They threw me away because I was weak," he said calmly.
"Then I'll become strong."
"So strong that no one will ever decide my fate again."
As thunder roared above Falling Stone Mountain, Lin Yuan turned his body toward the path leading down the mountain.
And took his first real step forward.