The bell of dawn tolled three times across the mountain.
Each strike rolled like distant thunder through the valleys of Black Tortoise Ridge, startling flocks of spirit cranes into the sky. Mist clung to the stone steps that wound upward toward the gates of the Azure Cloud Sect, and beneath that mist, figures in gray robes hurried with lowered heads.
Among them walked Lin Yue. His robe was faded. His belt cord frayed. On his sleeve, the insignia of an outer disciple had long since begun to peel.
The mountain air was cold enough to sting the lungs, but he did not shiver. He had learned long ago that discomfort was a luxury.
Above him, suspended between twin peaks, hovered the colossal formation disk of the Azure Cloud Sect. It rotated slowly, lines of light threading between its edges like a web spun by heaven itself. Spiritual energy descended from it in shimmering strands, nourishing the inner courtyards, the elders' residences, and the training fields reserved for the talented.
None of it lingered long where he walked.
Outer disciples lived at the foot of the mountain. Talent flowed upward. So did fate.
"Move faster, trash."
The shove came without warning. Lin Yue stumbled half a step before regaining balance. The disciple who had pushed him, a broad-shouldered youth named Zhao Kuan, sneered openly.
"Today is the Spirit Root Assessment for promotion into the inner sect," Zhao Kuan said, adjusting his sleeve. "Try not to embarrass us again."
Lin Yue said nothing. Zhao Kuan's laughter was loud enough to draw glances. Three years. Three years since Lin Yue had been brought here, found half-dead at the edge of a ruined village and deemed to possess "barely acceptable" spiritual roots. Three years of carrying water, chopping spirit wood, cleaning alchemy furnaces.
Three years of being called trash.
He had attempted to gather qi like the manuals instructed. He had failed.
The energy that flowed through others slipped through him like smoke through cracked stone. But something else remained.
When lightning struck the mountain during summer storms, when the protective formation sparked and trembled beneath heaven's fury, Lin Yue felt warmth in his bones. Not pain. Warmth. He never told anyone.
The bell rang a fourth time. They had reached the assessment platform. It was a wide stone terrace carved directly into the mountain face. At its center stood a towering crystal pillar, clear as still water. Spiritual inscriptions glowed faintly along its surface, shifting in complex patterns.
An elder in white robes stood beside it. His hair was silver, his expression indifferent.
"Name. Step forward. Place your hand upon the Spirit Testing Pillar. Channel qi." The line moved quickly. One by one, outer disciples placed trembling palms against the crystal.
Colors flared within it green, red, blue signifying wood, fire, water affinities.
Murmurs followed. "Three-grade wood root."
"Mid-tier fire." "Barely passable." Occasionally, the crystal flared brightly, and an elder would nod. "Promoted."
When Zhao Kuan stepped forward, the pillar lit in a bright red blaze. "High-tier fire root," the elder announced. "Inner sect probation." Zhao Kuan smirked as he stepped aside, glancing at Lin Yue.
Then it was his turn. "Lin Yue." He stepped forward. The stone beneath his feet was cold.
He placed his palm against the crystal. Closed his eyes. And tried, as he always did, to draw qi from the air. Silence.
The pillar remained dull. A murmur rippled through the gathered disciples. "Again," the elder said flatly. Lin Yue inhaled. Reached inward. There, deep in his meridians, something flickered—not qi, not warmth, but a faint, dark pulse. He tried to push it upward.
The moment it touched the pillar The crystal flickered black. Just for an instant. Then it returned to transparency. The elder's brows knit together. "Defective spiritual circulation," he pronounced. "No measurable affinity."
A few disciples snickered openly. Zhao Kuan laughed loudest. "Three years and still useless." The elder waved a sleeve dismissively. "Next." Lin Yue removed his hand. For a brief moment, he thought he saw something deep within the crystal like a thin crack spreading across unseen depths.
But when he blinked, it was gone.
He stepped aside. The assessment ended shortly after. By midday, announcements were posted. Those promoted would ascend the mountain. The rest would remain below.
Lin Yue returned to his quarters a narrow stone room shared with three others. His bedding was thin. The window, cracked.
Outside, clouds gathered. A storm brewed beyond the peaks. He sat cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes. If he could not absorb qi like others, he would endure.He slowed his breathing. Listened.
At first, only silence. Then A distant rumble.
Thunder. His heart quickened. The storm rolled across the sky as if summoned by unseen will. Wind howled down the mountainside, rattling shutters, sending disciples scrambling for cover.
Lightning struck the upper formation.
The protective array flared in brilliant gold, deflecting most of the force. But not all.
Tiny arcs of residual lightning scattered downward like dying sparks. One struck the outer courtyard. Another hit a stone lantern, shattering it. And one One struck the roof of
Lin Yue's quarters. The room exploded in light. Pain lanced through him as the ceiling splintered, debris falling in a rain of stone and wood. His fellow disciples screamed and fled.
Lin Yue could not move. Lightning coursed through him not searing, but seeping.
Into his bones. Into his marrow. It did not burn. It sank. Deep. His vision went white.
Then black. He fell backward onto the broken stone floor.
When he awoke, the storm had passed.
The room was in ruins. Smoke drifted through shattered beams. His body felt heavy. He sat up slowly. No burns marked his skin. But inside He felt it. A vibration. Faint. Rhythmic.
Like distant thunder echoing through hollow caverns.
He raised his hand. Tiny arcs of black lightning flickered across his fingertips before fading. His breathing grew uneven.
This was different from before. Stronger.
He closed his eyes and looked inward.
His meridians, once faint and brittle, now shimmered with dark threads. Not qi. Something denser.
He focused. The vibration intensified.
A pulse radiated from deep within his spine, spreading outward through his limbs.
He exhaled slowly. And for the first time in three years He felt power respond.
Footsteps thundered outside.
An elder burst into the ruined quarters, robes fluttering. "What happened here?" His gaze landed on Lin Yue. On the broken ceiling.
On the scorched beams. Suspicion flickered in his eyes. "Did the lightning strike you?"
Lin Yue hesitated. "Yes." The elder stepped closer, placing two fingers against Lin Yue's wrist.
Spiritual sense flowed through him. The elder's frown deepened. "No spiritual qi."
He withdrew his hand. "Lucky you survived."
Lucky. Lin Yue lowered his gaze. "Yes, Elder."
The elder waved for disciples to clean the damage.
"You will compensate for repairs with labor."
Of course. The elder turned to leave. But as he stepped outside High above the mountain, beyond mortal sight The formation disk flickered. For a single heartbeat. An invisible pulse traveled upward.
Beyond the clouds. Beyond the sky. Something vast stirred. A calculation adjusted. Probability shifted by 0.0003%.
A minor anomaly registered. Then dismissed.
Night fell. Lin Yue sat alone beneath the open sky, where the roof had been torn away. Stars burned cold overhead. He extended his hand again. Focused. This time, the black lightning formed more clearly. It did not lash outward.
It coiled around his bones. He felt no pain.
Only strength. He clenched his fist. The air cracked softly.
A thin fracture spidered across a nearby stone tile. His eyes widened slightly. This
This was not qi. It did not feel borrowed.
It felt Earned. Another rumble echoed in the distance. Not thunder. Something deeper.
He did not know that far beyond the mortal sky, within a realm unseen by even Immortal Emperors
A dormant consciousness turned slightly in its endless slumber. A thread of harvest had failed to return. Energy had been absorbed
But not transmitted upward. A minuscule loss. Insignificant. For now. Lin Yue exhaled.
For the first time since entering Azure Cloud Sect He smiled. Not with arrogance. Not with defiance. But with quiet certainty.
He was not talentless. He was simply walking a different path. Above him, the clouds parted briefly. A single star flickered Then dimmed.
And somewhere in the unseen heavens A record was amended. Anomaly Classification: Level 0. Observation: Passive.
Correction Required: No.
Yet.
—
End of Chapter 1