"Lin Zian, from this day forward, you are no longer a recognized teacher of the Clearwater Sky Sect."
The voice echoed coldly across the Hall of Teachers.
Dozens of elders sat above, their eyes filled with contempt. The other teachers looked away as if avoiding a plague.
Lin Zian stood in the center, robes tattered, face bruised.
He said nothing.
Because really… what was there to say?
Just yesterday, he'd been an outer sect tutor. Modest post. Meager pay. Still, he worked hard. Taught passionately.
And then he pointed out a flaw in the cultivation method of Elder Yun's prized nephew.
A small flaw. A dangerous one.
And for that, he was labeled arrogant.
"Since you're so talented at teaching," Elder Yun had said with a sneer, "perhaps you should go teach wild beasts instead."
Now, stripped of rank, position, and dignity, Lin Zian walked alone through the sect's discarded training grounds.
Overgrown grass. Ruined dummies. Broken formation stones.
Trash.
Just like him.
He sat against a collapsed pavilion pillar and sighed.
"…I just wanted to teach," he muttered.
> [Initializing Vault of Heaven…]
Lin Zian blinked.
A golden scroll unfurled in the air before him, covered in ethereal writing.
> [Welcome, Host.]
[Vault of Heaven activated.]
[You may now store, analyze, and refine all cultivation methods and students.]
[All records will be flawless.]
"...A system?"
As if answering:
> [Would you like to perform your first deposit?]
A surge of warmth filled Lin Zian's mind. Forgotten techniques he'd studied flickered into clarity. He instinctively touched the scroll and focused on one of the broken dummies.
> [Analyzing…]
[Detected: Broken Formless Palm – Lower Yellow Grade]
[Flaws: 11]
[Corrected Version: Flowing Mountain Palm – Mid Yellow Grade]
The dummy began to glow faintly as if reacting.
Lin Zian's eyes widened.
He turned, sprinted to a broken shelf, and grabbed an abandoned scroll he once saw a child use as a seat cushion.
> [Analyzing…]
[Detected: Breathing Technique – Incomplete]
[Flaws: 27]
[Corrected Version: Clear Vein Breathing – Peak Yellow Grade]
"…I can fix them."
His hands trembled.
Not with fear.
But excitement.
The sect called him trash. A fraud.
But with this Vault—
He could rebuild everything they cast aside.
And one day…
He would show them that even the path rejected… leads to the summit.