I sat back on the edge of my creaking bed, my breath coming in ragged hitches. The adrenaline from the fight was fading, leaving behind a deep, throbbing fatigue. My golden eyes drifted to the severed door, then back to the notification lingering in my peripheral vision.
'System,' I thought, 'show me the rewards.'
A new window flickered in front of me.
[New Martial Art Acquired: Flash Step]
* Rank: High-Mortal Rank
* Type: Shadow-Assassin / Movement Art
* Description: A technique designed for those who strike from the dark. It allows the user to traverse from Point A to Point B almost instantaneously, creating a momentary lapse in the enemy's perception.
* Unique Trait: Silent Void — While performing a Flash Step, the user's presence, Qi signature, and even the sound of their movement are entirely concealed.
* Limitation: Strictly short-range. Effectiveness drops drastically beyond twenty meters.
'A shadow-assassin technique,' I mused, a cold spark of interest lighting up my eyes. 'In my past life, the most dangerous enemies weren't the ones with the heaviest shields, but the ones you never saw coming. This is the perfect complement to the Star-King's raw power.'
I tapped the screen, looking for a way to improve it. As I did, a new informational block appeared.
{System Note: Proficiency Levels}
Every Martial Art Technique integrated by the System follows five stages of mastery:
* Entry: You know the movements, but they are clunky and lack power.
* Accomplished: The technique becomes fluid. Speed and power increase.
* Master: The technique's unique traits (e.g., Silent Void) begin to manifest consistently.
* Perfection: The technique becomes second nature. Resource consumption is halved.
* Unity: You and the technique are one. You can modify or combine it with other arts at will.
"And how do I accelerate this?" I asked.
{Usage of System Points (SP):}
* Host currently possesses 25 SP.
* System Points can be infused into any Martial Art to instantly bridge the gap in experience and muscle memory.
* Current Cost: 5 SP per Proficiency Level for High-Mortal Rank techniques.
I didn't hesitate. "Infuse 20 SP into Flash Step. Reach 'Perfection' level."
--
Day One
The moment I confirmed the transaction, a surge of cold, silver energy rushed from the System into my legs and spine. My muscles twitched, expanding and contracting as if they were being rewoven. Images of a shadow flickering through a battlefield burned into my mind.
I stood up and focused on a spot near the dead spirit tree in the courtyard.
Zip.
I didn't feel myself move. One moment I was by the bed; the next, I was standing ten meters away. There was no sound—not even a breeze.
'Impressive,' I thought, though my head throbbed. 'But it drains my Qi rapidly. At 3rd Stage Body Tempering, I can only use this seven or eight times before I'm empty.'
I spent the rest of the day alternating between the Star-King Breathing Technique to replenish my Qi and practicing the physical transitions of Flash Step. I needed my body to keep up with the System's "Perfection" level knowledge.
--
Day Two
By the second day, word of the Matriarch's decree had reached my ears through a terrified young servant who had dropped off a tray of actual food—rice and clean meat—before scurrying away as if I were a ghost.
The Blood Awakening Ceremony.
They wanted to put me on a stage to either humiliate me or execute me. I spent the entire day pushing my limits. I wasn't just using Flash Step to move; I was using it to dodge imaginary strikes, weaving between the overgrown weeds without disturbing a single leaf.
Under the Eye of Insight, I watched my own Qi flow. I saw the flaws in my transitions and corrected them. My Chaos Meridian pulsed greedily, absorbing the ambient starlight as the sun set, fueling my relentless training.
--
Day Three
On the final day, I stopped the physical training. I sat in the center of the Desolate Courtyard, the shattered door a reminder of where I started.
I checked my status one last time.
[Status Window]
* Name: Yin Shen
* Cultivation: Body Tempering (6th Stage - Peak)
* Techniques: • Star-King Breathing (Divine - God Tier)
• Flash Step (High-Mortal - Perfection)
* Skills: Eye of Insight [Level 1 (Peak)]
* System Points: 5
I felt a presence at the gate. It wasn't the arrogant clinking of Yin Jian or the mocking laughter of Yin Hua. It was the heavy, rhythmic thud of armored boots.
A squad of family guards stood there, led by a man with a scar running down his cheek. He looked at the ruined door, then at me. His eyes flickered with a brief moment of confusion before hardening.
"Yin Shen," the captain announced, his voice devoid of respect. "The Blood Awakening Ceremony begins in one hour. The Matriarch and the Council of Elders await."
He pulled a pair of heavy iron shackles from his belt. "You can walk there on your own feet, or we can drag you. Elder Feng's orders."
I stood up slowly. The silver hair that reached my waist caught the morning light, and my golden eyes burned with a calm, terrifying intensity. I didn't look like a cripple. I looked like a blade that had finally been unsheathed.
"Keep your chains, Captain," I said, walking past him without a second glance. "I've been in chains for nineteen years. Today, I think I'll try walking as a free man."
As I stepped out of the Desolate Courtyard, I felt the eyes of the entire estate on me. The "Trash" was going to the Main Court.
I didn't care about their whispers. My past life taught me one thing: in the face of absolute power, words are meaningless. Today, the Yin family wouldn't hear my voice. They would feel my Willpower.
--
As I stepped beyond the boundary of the outer estate, the scenery shifted from decaying wood to polished white jade. The air grew thicker with spiritual energy, a luxury reserved for the Inner Family. As I walked, I recalled the fundamental structure of power in Chinxong. In this world, the gap between stages wasn't just a number—it was a chasm of existence.
The Eight Realms of Mortal Ascendance.
According to the records burned into Yin Shen's memory, there are eight known stages a cultivator must climb before they can even dream of touching the "Immortal" threshold:
* Body Tempering: Strengthening the flesh, bones, and organs to house Qi.
* Qi Condensation: Drawing spiritual energy into the meridians to circulate it.
* Foundation Establishment: Building a "Spirit Sea" in the dantian to store massive amounts of Qi.
* Core Formation: Condensing the Spirit Sea into a solid, revolving golden core.
* Nascent Soul: Shattering the core to give birth to a spiritual avatar within the soul.
* Soul Transformation: Transcending the physical body to allow the soul to interact directly with the world.
* Spirit Severing: Cutting away one's mortal attachments to align with the Laws of the World.
* Dao Manifestation: Merging one's own will with the Great Dao to control the environment.
I'm currently at the 6th Stage of Body Tempering. Most of my siblings were in the late stages of Qi Condensation. As I turned a corner toward the Azure Lotus Pavilion, the temperature suddenly plummeted. Frost crept along the jade railings, and the very air seemed to crystallize.
Standing by a frozen pond was a woman draped in white silk, her back to me. Her hair was as dark as a moonless night, contrasting sharply with the pale aura of cold radiating from her.
Yin Xue. The Third Sister.
Unlike the boisterous Yin Jian or the vocal Yin Hua, Yin Xue was a silent glacier. My instincts screamed at me to stop. I activated my Eye of Insight, pushing my vision to its limit to gauge her.
As my gaze touched her, a sharp pain lanced through my skull. It felt like trying to look directly at a blizzard.
{Warning: Target's Cultivation is significantly higher than Host's! Data extraction is causing mental strain!}
{Triggering emergency evolution... Analyzing Host's persistence... Success.}
{Ding! Eye of Insight has reached Level 2!}
The red warning blurred and vanished, replaced by a clarity so sharp it made my eyes water. The world didn't just look sharper; I could see the flow of the cold Qi around her, tracing the paths of her internal energy like glowing veins of ice.
[Eye of Insight - Level 2]
* Enhanced Perception: Can now see through Basic-tier concealment and illusions.
* Combat Prediction: Can perceive the "Initial Intent" of an opponent's movement 0.5 seconds before they strike.
* Biological Flaws: Can detect internal injuries, spiritual blockages, and meridian instabilities in targets up to two major realms higher than the Host.
[Target: Yin Xue]
* Cultivation: Foundation Establishment (Early Stage)
* Vein Type: Glacial Spirit Vein (Supreme Grade)
* State: Indifferent, Cultivating.
* Observation: Her Qi is incredibly stable, but there is a slight stagnation in her left lung—likely a remnant of a cold-poison backfire from her childhood.
She didn't turn around, but her voice drifted toward me like a chilling breeze. "You survived the poison. And your footsteps... they no longer sound like those of a dying man."
I stopped five steps behind her. She was two major realms above me—a Foundation Establishment expert. In her eyes, I should still be an ant.
"I have a habit of not staying dead," I replied, my voice steady despite the frost beginning to form on my eyelashes.
She turned slightly, her profile as sharp and cold as a blade. She didn't look at me with the disgust Yin Jian had shown. Her eyes were empty, reflecting only the frozen pond.
"The Awakening Ceremony is a slaughterhouse, Yin Shen," she said softly. "The Elders don't want a miracle. They want order. If you cannot prove your worth to the Stone today, don't bother walking to the executioner. Save them the trouble and jump into the pond. The ice is kinder."
"The ice may be kind," I said, walking past her without breaking my stride, "but I've always preferred the fire of the struggle."
I felt her gaze linger on my back for a fraction of a second—a flicker of something that wasn't quite pity, but perhaps curiosity. I didn't look back. I had a ceremony to attend and a family to shatter.
--