Chapter 3 — A Fragmented Soul
Chin Lin was three months old when he discovered it.
It happened by accident.
One quiet night, as cold wind slipped through the cracks of the Chin family's wooden house, Chin Lin drifted into a half-sleeping state. His breathing slowed. His thoughts loosened.
And then—
Something slipped.
Not his body.
Something else.
His awareness suddenly expanded.
The room did not disappear—but it felt distant, as if viewed through water. At the same time, he felt himself hovering slightly above his own crib.
…What?
Panic surged—but his scientist's instincts reacted faster.
This is not a dream.
He could still feel his body breathing below him.
Yet he was also not fully inside it.
"My soul," he realized slowly.
"It can… separate."
The moment the thought formed, pain followed.
A sharp, tearing sensation ripped through his consciousness—as if something vital was being stretched beyond its limit. His awareness snapped violently back into his body, and Chin Lin nearly lost consciousness.
[Warning: Soul Instability Detected]
His heart pounded.
So it's possible, he thought grimly.
But extremely dangerous.
Scarcity of Resources
Days passed.
The Chin family lived simply. Too simply.
Meals were thin rice porridge. Meat appeared only on rare occasions. Cultivation pills were nonexistent. Even basic Qi stones were treated as treasures to be locked away.
Chin Lin listened as his parents whispered at night.
"Our resources are running out."
"We can't afford another body-refining herb this year."
"If Lin has no talent…"
His mother would fall silent then.
Chin Lin understood.
This family cannot support cultivation properly, he concluded.
If I rely on them… progress will be slow.
That was when a dangerous idea formed.
Soul Experimentation
Late one night, Chin Lin focused inward again—carefully this time.
He did not pull his entire soul out.
Instead, he split it.
The pain was immediate.
White-hot agony surged through his consciousness, as if his mind were being torn along invisible seams. His vision fractured. Thoughts scattered.
He nearly failed.
But a fragment—small, unstable, incomplete—separated from the main body.
[Soul Fragment Detected]
[Stability: Low]
The fragment drifted weakly through the room.
Outside the house, behind a pile of firewood, lay a dead field rat—recently killed by the cold.
Chin Lin hesitated.
Ethically questionable, he admitted.
But necessary.
He guided the fragment forward.
The moment it touched the corpse—
Pain flared again.
Then—
Connection.
The rat's body twitched.
Not alive.
But not entirely dead either.
Chin Lin experienced two perspectives at once.
His infant body—weak, helpless.
And the rat's corpse—cold, stiff, fading.
[Temporary Soul Attachment Successful]
[Duration: Estimated 5 Hours]
[Stability: Unstable]
Five hours.
That was all.
Still—it was enough.
First Resource Points
Through the rat's body, Chin Lin felt residual Qi—thin and impure, but present. As the fragment absorbed it, the system reacted.
[Resource Acquired: Low-Grade Organic Essence]
[Resource Points +1]
Chin Lin's main consciousness trembled.
So this works…
But the cost was heavy.
The longer the fragment remained separated, the more unstable his core soul became. Sharp pulses of pain struck randomly, and his thoughts blurred dangerously.
When the fifth hour approached, cracks formed in the fragment's awareness.
Enough.
He pulled it back.
The reintegration was no gentler than the split.
Chin Lin screamed.
A real scream.
A Subtle Shock
His mother rushed in immediately.
"Lin!" she cried, lifting him from the crib. "What's wrong?"
His father followed, worry etched deep into his face.
"He feels… warmer," his father muttered. "And his breathing—it's steady, but strong."
Too strong.
Chin Lin's tiny body radiated faint warmth.
Unnoticed by mortals—but unmistakable to anyone sensitive to Qi.
His mother froze.
"…Did you feel that?" she whispered.
His father hesitated, then nodded slowly.
"Just for a moment," he said. "Like… Qi responding."
Impossible.
An infant had no cultivation.
And yet—
They said nothing more.
They held him tighter that night.
Cultivation Realms — First Understanding
As Chin Lin recovered, fragments of instinctive knowledge aligned with his reasoning.
Cultivation began with Mortal Refinement.
Tempering the body
Strengthening organs
Preparing vessels for Qi
Only after that came Qi Gathering—the first true step into cultivation.
Linear progression, Chin Lin concluded.
Skipping steps would lead to collapse.
The system confirmed it silently.
[System Note: Premature advancement increases failure risk.]
He checked his status.
Name: Chin Lin
Bloodline: None
Body Refinement: None
Soul Refinement: Minor Instability
Cultivation: None
Resource Points: 1
One point.
Earned at great pain.
Chin Lin felt no pride.
Only resolve.
"Five hours," he thought quietly.
"That's my current limit."
He closed his eyes.
"I'll improve it."