On a quiet afternoon, young Lan Shi sat cross-legged on a cushion inside his family's study. The air was thick with the scent of old paper, wax, and dried herbs. Scrolls and books were piled high around his father, Lan Zhao, who remained absorbed in reviewing trade reports and cultivation records.
Lan Shi's eyes wandered across the scrolls. Among them, a few caught his attention—ancient parchments filled with strange diagrams and complex notations. Curiosity twitched at his fingers.
"Father," he asked, voice soft yet eager, "what are these scrolls?"
Lan Zhao didn't look up. His brow was furrowed, and his ink brush paused only for a second before he replied, "Recipes for Gu worms. Refinement techniques, mostly. Your grandfather—Lan Yi—was one of the finest refiners on Huang Jin Mountain. Perhaps I've told you before."
He waved a hand dismissively and picked up one of the scrolls, then passed it to Lan Shi without turning. "Here, take this one. It's incomplete. Might keep you entertained."
Lan Shi unrolled the scroll and studied the symbols. It was a partial recipe for a second-rank Gu worm. His golden eyes shimmered with focus. After a few moments, he reached for a brush and began writing, adding lines, symbols, and annotations.
A minute later, Lan Zhao finally glanced over—then froze.
"What in the heavens are you doing!?" he snapped, yanking the scroll from his son's hands. His face twisted in alarm. "Do you have any idea what this is worth?! You—!"
"I didn't ruin it!" Lan Shi interrupted, heart pounding. "I... I completed it."
Lan Zhao's fury faltered. He glanced at the scroll. Then he stared. His lips parted slightly, but no sound came out. He blinked several times, as if trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"You… completed it?" he muttered, now in disbelief.
Lan Shi straightened his back and put on a smug grin, masking his earlier fear. "It was easy," he said with a nonchalant shrug. Then, almost defiantly, he picked up another incomplete recipe from the stack. "Watch this."
Lan Zhao could only watch in stunned silence as his son's brush danced effortlessly across the parchment, restoring a sequence that even seasoned refiners would struggle with.
At the time, Lan Shi was still just a child—no older than four by appearance. But beneath his youthful frame lurked the mind of a man reborn, a soul that had once lived a full life... and perished. He had awakened in this world—the Gu World—not only with a second chance but with an unimaginable gift: Supreme Grandmaster attainment in the Refinement Path.
And yet, despite his extraordinary inheritance, his consciousness was still bound by the limitations of his immature body. His thoughts were often muddled. His emotions, unstable. His future... unshaped.
Thankfully, he had not revealed his true level of mastery—not even to his father. If the superpowers of the Gu World had caught even the faintest whisper of his existence, wars would have ignited across continents. Armies would have marched. Entire clans would have bled for the right to own him.
But for now, he was merely a "genius child"—a label his father, Lan Zhao, wielded with shameless pride.
Once Lan Zhao confirmed his son's rare gift in completing Gu worm recipes, he wasted no time. The very next day, he was boasting to every Elder, merchant, and passerby within the clan's compound.
"Have you heard? My son completed a second-rank recipe in minutes!"
The news spread like wildfire.
Before long, Lan Shi became the center of attention. Elders, refiners, and even traveling merchants came bearing incomplete Gu recipes, curious scrolls, and requests for help. When Lan Shi—reluctantly or not—succeeded again and again, their doubt turned into reverence.
The gifts started pouring in.
Lan Zhao, ever the opportunist, opened a specialized shop in the clan's commercial quarter. There, he sold Gu worms, food materials, and rare refinement ingredients—each product vetted, optimized, or inspired by his son's "genius insights." Of course, the boy's Supreme Grandmaster-level understanding remained a secret—publicly, it was just "natural talent."
The shop flourished. Orders arrived from all over Huang Jin Mountain. Nobles and scholars alike sought consultation.
Within months, the Lan family rose from near-obscurity to opulence. Lan Zhao, once a mere second-rank Gu Master, earned himself a seat among the clan's Elders.
All thanks to the quiet brilliance of a boy who rarely spoke… and who no one truly understood.
.....
Eleven years passed, and Lan Shi grew into a tall teenager with a handsome face and short, soft hair. His most striking feature was his golden eyes, like the sun, a distinctive feature of the Shen clan. Today, he attended the awakening ceremony with his generation of Shen clan members. Lan Shi and his companions were waiting for their names to be called to take the test. At the same time, the Shen clan's Elders stood in an invisible place.
"The situation on Huang Jin Mountain is about to explode, and war is imminent. What is the position of the Gong clan? Will they support us in the war against the Liu clan?"
The speaker was the Shen Wen Wu clan leader, a middle-aged man with gray hair that receded from the crown of his head. His sunken golden eyes, which had begun to wrinkle, combined with his thick gray beard, gave him a mysterious and forbidding appearance.
"Their stance is hesitant and unsteady, and they don't seem to want to make a decision until the last moment."
Elder Yao Zhong, leader of the Yao Faction, one of the three most important factions in the clan, along with the Clan Leader and the Feng Faction, spoke.
"Although we have helped them refine many third and even fourth rank Gu, they still haven't made up their minds. They simply have no shame."
"I'm telling you, the Gong Clan, exposed to the steam of the Heaven's Eye Lake, can't think clearly anymore. Can't they see the bigger picture? If Liu Bai Zu can advance to the fifth rank, it will be the end of us all."
The Elders began to express their displeasure and did not calm down until the names were announced.
"Si Xuan!"
A delicate voice rang out from the gathering. A slim girl with long, wet black hair and bright golden-green eyes stepped forward nervously. In her fluster, she stumbled and splashed into the shallow stream that flowed through the center of the awakening cave. The soft laughter of her peers echoed around the cavern, though it lacked cruelty—it was the usual nervous amusement of children watching each other be tested by fate.
Si Xuan flushed but quickly stood and began walking through the stream, one foot after the other. The current wasn't strong, but each step grew heavier.
"Twenty-eight... twenty-nine..."
Her legs trembled. Her breaths grew ragged. She was about to collapse.
"Please... just a little more... thirty... thirty-one—!"
She fell to her knees, unable to push forward another inch.
From the side, one of the testers announced clearly, "Si Xuan. Thirty-one steps. B-rank talent, with a 62% Primeval Sea volume."
Applause broke out—Si Xuan had done well. B-rank was rare and respected.
"Chen Bo."
A heavy-set boy stepped into the stream next, but luck was not on his side. He stopped early.
"Chen Bo. Twelve steps. D-rank talent."
And so the ceremony continued. One by one, children entered the stream. Some cried. Some smiled. Some fainted from the strain. But the overall results were promising—out of every ten, seven managed to awaken their apertures.
This level of success wasn't coincidence. Decades ago, the fifth-generation clan leader, Shen Wen Bo, had ascended to the fifth rank and used his influence to invite elite Gu Masters—many with A-rank talent—to marry into the Shen Clan. The bloodline was strong. Today was proof of that.
Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for.
"Lan Shi."
At once, silence fell upon the cave.
Even the Elders, veiled in concealment , leaned forward. The other children stepped aside. Every eye turned to the tall, composed teenager who walked with measured steps toward the river.
Lan Shi's golden eyes were calm. He did not glance at the crowd or show even a flicker of hesitation. This wasn't arrogance. It was certainty.
"One... ten... twelve... twenty-five... thirty... thirty-one... thirty-two..."
Gasps spread like ripples across the cave.
"Forty... forty-one..."
"He's past forty!"
"That's A-rank talent for sure!"
"He's still walking so easily...!"
"Forty-five... forty-six... forty-seven... forty-eight... forty-nine... fifty."
Lan Shi paused.
Then, without expression, he turned and walked calmly back to the starting point.
The silence was now absolute. Even the Elders exchanged glances behind their curtain of Gu concealment.
Unlike others, Lan Shi showed no sign of excitement or pride. He had known this would happen for years.
With the Supreme Grandmaster attainment in the Refinement Path, he could sense talent instinctively—his own included. He had prepared for this moment long ago.
The tester placed a hand on his chest and examined the newly awakened aperture within his body.
"Incredible. Lan Shi—fifty steps. A-rank talent. Primeval Sea volume: ninety-nine percent."
A roar of applause broke out. Yet Lan Shi simply nodded, then stepped back, his expression unreadable.