Wei Yuan stared at Lin Fan.
To the world, Lin Fan was a beacon—Heaven-Grade spirit root, righteous bearing, fate-soaked brilliance.
To Wei Yuan—
A walking calamity.
[Warning: Ripple Value Rising]
[Current Ripple: 0.12]
[The 'Protagonist' is attempting to alter your Fate Thread]
[If 'rescued', Ripple Value will permanently lock at 500.0 due to Destiny Core Association]
Five hundred.
Wei Yuan's heart sank.
At that point, I might as well announce my location to every demonic cultivator within a thousand miles.
"Brother Lin…" Wei Yuan wheezed, deliberately rasping like a rusted bellows. He smeared soot across his already filthy face.
"Your kindness… it's overwhelming. But you misunderstand. I've… found my calling here."
Lin Fan froze.
"Your calling?" he repeated slowly. "Here? In a waste pit?"
He gestured around them. Toxic fumes coiled lazily through the air. Failed pills hissed in bubbling sludge.
"Brother, look at yourself! These fumes could kill a spiritual beast!"
"Exactly!" Wei Yuan burst out, eyes wide—too wide. The manic gleam he'd practiced in the mirror shone perfectly.
"These fumes are the only thing keeping my meridians from rotting completely!"
Lin Fan blinked.
"What?"
Wei Yuan leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially.
"It's a rare method. Toxic Tempering. The poisons counteract the chaos in my shattered foundation. If I leave this place, the balance will break, and I'll—" he made an explosive gesture with his hands, "—detonate."
Silence.
Lin Fan hesitated. He had read countless ancient manuals. Hidden masters. Eccentric paths.
But Explosive Trash-Fume Tempering was new.
"But… the Elders said you were crippled."
"Elders?" Wei Yuan scoffed weakly. "What do they know of the Dao?"
He straightened slightly, eyes blazing with fervor.
"They see trash. I see enlightenment. Every failed pill is a lesson. Every scoop of slag is a step forward. Brother Lin—if you truly wish to help me—say nothing. If the Inner Sect learns I'm cultivating from waste, they'll tax me!"
[Ripple Value: 0.08 → 0.05 → 0.03]
Lin Fan stepped back.
In his worldview, geniuses were always misunderstood. True paths always looked ugly at first.
"I… I see," he said solemnly.
His gaze softened.
"You are refining the lowest to reach the highest. Brother… you are no victim. You are a pioneer."
No, Wei Yuan thought calmly.
I'm a man begging you to leave.
"I will respect your wishes," Lin Fan declared, thumping his chest.
"But take this. If your tempering ever fails—crush this jade. I will come, no matter where I am."
A glowing green jade slipped toward Wei Yuan.
[Warning: Protagonist's Token of Friendship Detected]
[Karma: Extremely High]
[Effect: Forced Summoning During Destiny Crisis]
Wei Yuan caught it—
—and immediately dropped it into the deepest pit of mercury waste beside him.
Sizzle.
"Oh no!" Wei Yuan wailed. "My hands! The poison—it claimed it! Brother Lin, the Heavens forbid our connection!"
Lin Fan stared as the priceless jade dissolved in seconds.
Then he looked at Wei Yuan's distraught expression.
"…Fate is fate," Lin Fan said gently.
"I will not interfere. But know this—I will never forget the man who sought the Dao in a garbage pit."
With a heroic swirl of his cloak—and the unmistakable air of having completed a character-development scene—Lin Fan departed.
[Ripple Value: 0.001 (Stable)]
[Reward: 'Will of the Shadow']
[Effect: +10% Stillness Essence Gain | Enhanced Fate-Seed Manipulation]
Wei Yuan slid down the wall of his shack, soaked in sweat.
"…That was worse than the Blood Fiend Cult raid."
Four months passed.
Ash. Pills. Silence.
At Qi Refinement Level Ten—Great Circle, Wei Yuan stopped.
One step remained.
Foundation Establishment.
But—
The Grotto opens in two months. Lin Fan is shining. Zhao Feng is training like a madman. If I break through openly, the spiritual resonance will light me up like a beacon.
He checked his reserves.
[Stillness Essence: 210]
[Query: Stealth Ascension]
[Solution: Void-Dampening Array]
[Cost: 200 Essence | Duration: 24 Hours | Radius: 5m]
"Purchase."
That night, three meters beneath his shack, Wei Yuan swallowed a Limit-Grade Foundation Pill.
The world remained silent.
No vortex. No resonance.
Only compression.
Pain.
Relentless pressure.
Stronger. Denser. If my foundation bends to fate, I die.
Six hours later—
A crystal pillar stood in his dantian.
[Foundation Establishment: Achieved (Early)]
[Lifespan +200 Years | Total: 378]
[Passive Unlocked: Eye of the Ripple]
Wei Yuan emerged—more powerful than ever.
Yet to the world?
Even more broken.
He activated Eye of the Ripple.
Lin Fan blazed like a sun.
[Danger Rating: 85% – Fatal Association]
The Grotto's location?
The horizon bruised purple.
[Danger Rating: 99.9% – Certain Death]
Wei Yuan nodded.
"Good."
When the bells rang and the sect departed, Wei Yuan stayed behind.
[Karmic Status: Isolated]
[Ripple Value: 0.00001]
[Special Reward: Scripture of the Silent Earth]
As the spirit boats vanished, Wei Yuan straightened his back.
The coughing stopped.
He turned—not toward treasure vaults—
—but the Discarded Records section.
Knowledge has no Ripple Cost…
if you read it quietly.