While the royal gardens of the Cao Yin Kingdom were being trampled by the weight of the Profound Ark, several miles away, a different kind of power was stirring.
On the outskirts of the capital sat Ogre Academy, a sprawling but unpretentious institution housed in ancient, moss-covered stone.
It was a place that shunned the gaudy decorations of the royal court, focusing instead on the raw, unpolished potential of its students.
In the center of a dusty training field, a man who looked more like a vagrant than an educator stood with his hands tucked into his tattered sleeves.
His hair was a messy nest of salt-and-pepper strands, and a half-smoked pipe hung from the corner of his mouth.
This was Grandmaster Yu, the eccentric heart of the academy.
Unlike most teachers who possessed powerful cultivation, this Grandmaster was only at the 1st Stage of Qi Gathering Realm, at his age, calling him trash is a compliment.
However, he prided himself as a great and knowledgeable man, even once proclaiming himself as the Eastern Region Encyclopedia.
Before him stood seven youths, their breathing rhythmic and deep.
In the Cao Yin Kingdom, these seven were legends—the "Ogre Seven". In the Grand Martial Arena, where people compete in martial skills, they remained undefeated.
The weakest among them had already touched the 8th Stage of Qi Gathering, a feat most adults never achieved.
At the front stood Tang Shan, a youth with deep blue hair and eyes as calm as a mountain lake.
He was a 1st Stage Foundation Building expert, a prodigy whose reputation had already begun to spread beyond the kingdom's borders.
Tang Shan looked toward the royal palace, where the massive silhouette of Shen Haoran's Profound Ark sat like an iron mountain against the skyline.
"Master," Tang Shan began, his voice steady but curious. "What was that vessel? It dared to fly directly over the Royal Capital without being intercepted. Even the King's griffon knights scattered like sparrows."
Grandmaster Yu exhaled a cloud of pungent smoke. "That, Tang Shan, is a Profound Ark. In our desolate Eastern Region, such a thing is rarer than a phoenix feather. Only the Spirit Hall and perhaps a few strongest kingdoms possess the wealth to fuel such a beast. For it to land here... it means a dragon has descended into our pigsty."
Tang Shan's grip tightened on the hidden mechanism at his wrist, his eyes narrowing. "A dragon... Could it be the Spirit Hall?"
"...maybe.... but don't worry about things beyond your reach," the Master grunted. "Worry about the tournament. The 'dragon' is likely here to watch you ants bite each other."
Tang Shan nodded.
Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the frantic scuffling of leather boots.
A servant, panting heavily, burst onto the field, falling to his knees before a young woman in the group.
Ning Xueli, the heiress to one of the Seven Great Families of the Eastern Region, wiped the sweat from her brow, her 8th Stage Qi Gathering aura flickering with annoyance.
She is a beautiful woman with short black hair and purple eyes, and a seductive and curvaceous body that can evoke lust even amongst the most devoted monks.
"Young Miss! The Patriarch demands your presence at the Royal Palace immediately!" the servant cried.
Ning Xueli frowned, her elegant features hardening. "Now? My friends and I are in the middle of a combined assault formation. Is it so urgent that I must abandon my cultivation?"
"Young miss, please, the Patriarch insists that you must go."
"Xueli, go," Grandmaster Yu interrupted, his lazy eyes suddenly sharp. "If your father is calling you to the palace while that Ark is sitting in the garden, it means whoever is in there is incredibly important and deserves his utmost respect. He probably wanted you to build some connections."
If possible, Grandmaster Yu also wanted his most treasured disciple, Tang Shan, to go and make connections as well.
Xueli hesitated, looking at Tang Shan, who gave her a silent nod of encouragement.
"Very well," she sighed. "Lead the way."
*
*
*
At the Royal Palace, the atmosphere was one of stifling, absolute subservience.
Shen Haoran did not sit on a guest chair, he sat upon the King's Throne itself, his legs crossed with a casual arrogance that made the surrounding nobles tremble.
King Cao Meng stood three steps below his own throne, acting as a glorified attendant, while various dukes and counts stood in a semi-circle, their heads bowed so low they could see the polish on Haoran's boots.
Haoran ignored them all. He was focused on a series of ancient, yellowed parchments provided by the Royal Library.
"Spirit Possession..." Haoran murmured, a small, amused smirk playing on his lips. "So this is the 'shortcut' your region discovered ten thousand years ago?"
As he read, his amusement turned into a faint, clinical interest.
In the Eastern Region, cultivators didn't just cultivate Qi; they signed blood contracts with Artifact Spirits, Demon Beasts, or even the mythical Divine Beasts.
By merging their soul with an external entity, they gained a massive burst of power.
A 1st Stage Foundation Building cultivator using "Spirit Possession" could theoretically match a 4th Stage expert in raw strength.
The pinnacle of this system was the Qian Family of the Spirit Hall, who reportedly possessed the "Seraphim Spirit"—a multi-winged celestial entity said to be a messenger from the Immortal World.
"Impressive," Haoran said aloud, his voice echoing in the silent hall. "To create a parasitic link that artificially inflates the dantian... it's clever. It allows your 'geniuses' to reach Foundation Building years ahead of schedule."
King Cao Meng bowed even lower. "The Young Master's wisdom is boundless! Indeed, our Spirit Possession is the pride of the Eastern Region."
"Pride?" Haoran's eyes snapped up from the paper, cold and mocking. "It's a tragedy. You've traded your future for a momentary spark."
The King froze, and the nobles exchanged panicked glances.
"You sign these contracts to gain power you haven't earned," Haoran continued, his voice like a razor. "But from what I can see, every time you merge with a beast or an artifact, you contaminate your own soul's purity. You aren't cultivating the Dao; you're becoming a chimera. In the first generation, this might remain unnoticed, and it would still be a joyful thing. But in the second, their potential wanes. And by the tenth or so generation, your bloodlines are so 'polluted' that your ceilings are capped."
No wonder despite having such a great power system, no one but the Eastern Region, who are desperate for talents, adapted it.
The other regions probably noticed this problem and decided to simply ignore it.
However, if this power system was perfected, even the Imperial Capital would surely be alarmed.
But that was a very big "if".
Shen Haoran tapped the parchment. "No wonder this place hasn't seen a Saint Realm expert in ten millennia. Your very method of strength has cut off the path to the Heavens. You are all essentially 'High-Tier Trash'—powerful in a small pond, but incapable of ever leaving the water."
The silence that followed was deafening.
The King felt a cold sweat soaking his royal robes. To have the foundation of their entire civilization dismissed as "polluted trash" by a twenty-year-old was a humiliation beyond words—yet, looking at the aura radiating from Shen Haoran, no one dared to breathe a word of protest.
"However," Haoran mused, leaning back into the throne. "This Tang Shan from the Ogre Academy... his report says he uses a 'Bright Silver Vine' spirit. A trash-tier plant spirit, yet he reached Foundation Building at nineteen. That is an anomaly."
A man possessing a spirit deemed by everyone as trash, but slapped everyone by proving his talent...this thing screamed Protagonist Template no matter how you look at it.
"Indeed, it is all thanks to the teachings of Grandmaster Yu." Said a noble looking man with black hair and purple eyes.
"Oh?" Haoran raised an eyebrow as he looked at the man. "And who are you?"
The man bowed, "Young master, I am Ning Xiao, the patriarch of the Ning Clan."
"Oh. A 9th Stage Golden Core, your Cultivation seems to be trash even in this place. Especially at your age." Haoran mercilessly told the truth, "A defect in your spirit?"
Ning Xiao flinched, but nodded. "Indeed, young master. Our ancestors formed a contract with the Artifact Spirit of the Nine Floored Golden Pagoda, but eventually our bloodline declined, causing our Spirit to degenerate to Six Floored Silver Pagoda, and capping our cultivation level to Golden Core."
Haoran hummed, "...This is what I have said, don't you people find it strange? Well, Whatever. What is is this about Grandmaster Yu?"
Ning Xiao smiled boastfully, "He is the most knowledgeable man in our region, the one who trained Tang Shan who possessed a trash spirit, into a genius admired by everyone! He even wrote various books containing many knowledge, and with one of his books, he spoke about how 'There is no trash spirit, only Trash cultivator'. This saying has been admired and praised by everyone."
"Even you?" Haoran raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, young master. Grandmaster Yu's knowledge truly makes me ashamed."
Haoran smirked, "Then are you calling yourself trash, Ning Xiao?"
Ning Xiao froze, "W-What do you mean by that, young master?"
"You are stuck at Golden Core for the rest of your life. According to that so-called saying you said you admired, are you calling yourself a trash Cultivator, or are you calling your spirit, inherited by your family for over a thousand years, a trash spirit?"
"This..."
Everyone looked at each other. Indeed, now that they think about, isn't that saying basically insulting them?
At first, they naturally found this saying quite good and admired Grandmaster Yu for his knowledge, but now that they thought about...
Damn! What a bastard!
"It seems to me that those words were made by a trash with no ability but couldn't accept their incompetence, and can only console himself by dragging everyone else to his level."
Fuck! They cursed. Isn't that kind of true!?
That Grandmaster Yu was stuck at 1st Stage Qi Gathering himself! According to hus logic, is he a trash Cultivator as well!?
Haroan looked at the King. "Well, forget about that for now. Tell me King Cao, when will the tournament start?"
King Cao immediately answered, "Three days from now, young master."
"I see."
Three days? Plenty of time to investigate that Tang Shan kid.
Was he a system user? Or does he possess an old master in his ring? Or maybe he himself was the Reincarnation of some Emperor?
Well, it doesn't matter to him.
At the end of the day, they will simply become his stepping stones.