The outer courtyard of Azure Heaven Sect was crowded.
Stone tiles spread wide beneath the open sky, polished smooth by generations of disciples who had come and gone. Incense smoke drifted lazily from the direction of the main hall, thin and faint, carried by the mountain wind. The afternoon sun hung high, yet the atmosphere felt heavy, as if something unseen pressed down on everyone present.
At the foot of the grand stone staircase, a single youth knelt.
His name was Qin Yuan.
He knelt straight, his back upright, his knees firmly planted against the cold stone. His hands rested calmly on his thighs. His fingers did not tremble. His breathing was steady.
He did not look like someone awaiting judgment.
He looked like someone who had already accepted it.
Before him stood three elders of Azure Heaven Sect.
Their robes were sky blue, embroidered with cloud patterns that symbolized their authority within the sect. Each of them stood calmly, yet the pressure radiating from their bodies made it difficult for ordinary disciples to breathe. This was the difference between cultivators and those still struggling at the bottom.
Beside Qin Yuan stood a young disciple holding the spiritual testing crystal.
The crystal still glowed faintly, its light unstable, flickering like a dying flame. The disciple's face was pale. His grip was tight, as if the crystal might fall from his hands if he loosened it even slightly.
"Report the result," Elder Lu said.
His voice was calm, almost indifferent. Yet the moment the words left his mouth, all whispers in the courtyard vanished.
The testing disciple swallowed.
"Qin Yuan's spiritual root is cracked," he said. His voice wavered slightly. "His Qi circulation is unstable. There is severe leakage. The damage cannot be repaired."
The words echoed through the courtyard.
Silence followed.
A heavy silence.
Some disciples widened their eyes, though not in surprise. Others lowered their heads, hiding faint smiles. A few shook their heads, already losing interest, as if the matter had been decided long ago.
Elder Lu nodded slowly.
"As expected."
Just two words.
Yet they carried finality.
Qin Yuan remained still.
He had heard this judgment before. Not once. Not twice. Many times. Ever since he had entered Azure Heaven Sect three years ago, his cultivation had been slow. Painfully slow. No matter how hard he trained, no matter how many hours he spent circulating Qi, it never stayed.
His Qi leaked away.
Like water through cracked stone.
"A defective spiritual root," the second elder said coldly. His gaze did not linger on Qin Yuan for long. "With such a foundation, he is unqualified to receive sect resources."
"That much is obvious," the third elder replied. His eyes, however, did not leave Qin Yuan's body. They moved slowly, carefully, as if examining an object. "But his physique is unusual."
That sentence caused a subtle stir.
Several disciples exchanged glances. Even the testing disciple raised his head slightly in surprise.
Qin Yuan lifted his gaze.
His eyes met Elder Lu's.
In that instant, understanding dawned.
He would not be expelled.
If he were truly worthless, the sect would have discarded him long ago. Azure Heaven Sect had no shortage of failed disciples. Those without value were sent away quietly, forgotten just as easily.
But Qin Yuan still had value.
His spiritual root was broken, but his body endured. He survived training methods that left others injured. He recovered from wounds that should have taken weeks in only a few days.
That endurance was rare.
That endurance could be used.
"Qin Yuan," Elder Lu said. His expression was calm, his tone gentle, almost kind. "The sect is still willing to give you a chance."
A few disciples straightened unconsciously.
"From today onward," Elder Lu continued, "you will assist in cultivation research."
Research.
The word sounded refined. Respectable.
But every disciple present knew what it truly meant.
Experiments.
No one volunteered for research. Those assigned to it rarely returned the same. Some came back weakened. Some crippled. Some did not return at all.
Qin Yuan lowered his head.
"Thank you for the elder's mercy," he said.
His voice was steady. Too steady.
Soft laughter rippled through the crowd.
To them, Qin Yuan was nothing more than defective trash. Trash that could still be squeezed for a little more value before being thrown away.
Night fell.
The moon rose high above Azure Heaven Sect, casting pale light across rooftops and stone paths. The sect, usually lively with the sounds of cultivation and discussion, grew silent.
Qin Yuan was led away.
Two figures walked ahead of him. He followed without resistance.
They did not bind his hands. They did not threaten him. There was no need.
Qin Yuan did not ask where they were going. He did not ask why.
Questions had long since lost their meaning.
They passed beyond the disciple quarters, beyond the outer training grounds, until even the lanterns grew scarce. The mountain wind grew stronger, colder, yet strangely hollow, as if it carried nothing within it.
At the very edge of Azure Heaven Sect, they stopped.
Before them lay a chasm.
Moonlight could not reach its depths. Darkness swallowed everything below, deep and absolute.
The wind rising from the abyss was not cold.
It was empty.
"This is the Black Abyss," Elder Lu said casually, as if introducing an ordinary place. "It has existed since ancient times. A dumping ground for the sect's failures."
Qin Yuan stepped closer to the edge.
He looked down.
There was no bottom.
No reflection.
No sound.
Only darkness.
"Enter," Elder Lu said.
There was no anger in his voice. No cruelty.
Only indifference.
Qin Yuan did not hesitate.
He stepped forward.
His body tipped into the void.
The world vanished.
Wind rushed past him, yet he heard nothing. Sound disappeared. Light faded in an instant. His senses blurred, as if existence itself was being stripped away.
Time lost meaning.
There was no up.
No down.
Only falling.
As consciousness drifted, a single thought surfaced in his mind.
So this is how it ends.
Yet within the endless darkness, something stirred.
A presence.
A whisper that did not come from above or below, but directly from within his mind.
"At last," the voice said softly, with a trace of satisfaction. "Someone who is cracked."
Qin Yuan's thoughts froze.
Before he could respond, before he could even form a question, the darkness surged.
And swallowed him completely.
End of Chapter 1