Morning light filtered weakly through the curtains, casting long shadows across the stone floor. I sat cross-legged in the corner of my room, my breath slow and shallow. Outside, the training fields of the Acheron estate were alive with the shouts of sparring cultivators.
I wasn't one of them. Not yet.
I hadn't even tried to reach for ki since returning from the brink of death. The memory of pain—the snapping of veins, the dizzying loss of spirit—was too fresh.
Even now, my body ached from the last failed attempt. A Tier E cultivator's frame was fragile, especially one like mine, lazy ass.
I closed my eyes and tried again—not to cultivate, but to listen.
Something had been different since I woke up. Not just the strangeness of living again. Not just the distant memories of a life wasted. No, something else. Something in me.
And then it appeared again—just as it had in the sacred chamber.
A flicker.
A pulse in my chest.
Then a window, translucent and pale blue, blinked into view in the space before my closed eyes.
It was still there.
[Boundless Nexus initializing…]
[Link Established – Host: Darius Acheron]
[System Type: Passive Absorption Core]
Status Overview
— Cultivation Tier: E (Initiate)
— Ki Reserve: 162 / 1,000
— Conversion Efficiency: 21%
— Core Condition: Stable (Minor Fracture)
— Energy Absorption: Passive (Ambient Ki only)
Active Features:
— Ki Tracking
— Tier Advancement Progress
Locked Features:
— Combat Efficiency Interface
— Active Absorption Nodes
— Multilink Expansion (∞)
[Progress will unlock with experience, energy, or breakthroughs.]
I opened my eyes.
Still there.
Still silent.
Not some illusion. Not a hallucination from spirit burn. I hadn't drawn in ki in days—and yet the number had increased from yesterday.
"…You're real."
My voice barely broke the silence of the room.
The system didn't respond.
No guiding spirit. No voice of destiny. No divine mandate.
Just a quiet list of stats. Numbers that slowly ticked upward without my input.
Passive absorption…?
I stared at the line.
Ki Absorption: Passive – +2.3/hr (Ambient Ki only)
It was slow. Pathetic, even.
But it was happening without effort. Without risk.
Even the weakest cultivators had to sit for hours in painful meditation to scrape together a few threads of ki. Me? I was doing nothing—and yet, my core was gathering energy on its own.
It didn't feel good. It didn't hurt either. It just was.
Quiet. Steady. Invisible.
I ran a hand over my chest and exhaled.
If the others knew… if the clan found out I had something like this…
They wouldn't celebrate me. They'd dissect me.
I wasn't strong enough to protect it. Not yet.
Later that day, I slipped past the training grounds and found an unused chamber beneath the northern annex—a storage room once used by alchemists. Dust coated the corners, and the air was thick with lingering herbs.
I sat again, away from sight.
"Alright," I muttered, "if this thing's real, then let's see how far it goes."
I let my breath settle and focused—not on drawing ki into my core, but on watching.
And sure enough, after several minutes of silence:
[Ki Reserve: 165 / 1,000]
[+3 Ki absorbed – conversion efficiency applied]
No techniques. No movement. Just stillness. And a trickle of growth.
I checked again:
[Cultivation Tier: E (Initial)]
[Progress to Tier D: 165 / 1,000 Ki Units]
I did the math in my head. A thousand units just to reach Tier D. At 2.3 units an hour?
Over two weeks. If I did nothing but hide and breathe.
Not fast enough.
But it was something. A path forward, no matter how slow.
I stood up, brushing the dust from my robes. My body still felt weak. My spirit was hollow, my veins barely responsive.
But for the first time since my rebirth, I didn't feel like I was trapped.
I felt like I was waiting.
The Boundless Nexus didn't promise greatness.
It didn't demand it either.
It just waited—for me to earn every step.
And that, strangely, gave me peace.
[System Notification – Optional Data Unlocked]
Cultivation Tier Ladder
E → D: 1,000 Ki Units
D → C: 3,000 Ki Units
C → B: 10,000 Ki Units
B → A: 25,000 Ki Units
A → S: 50,000 Ki Units
S → SS: 100,000 Ki Units
SS → SSS: 250,000 Ki Units
Beyond SSS: Unknown – Signals detected, data inaccessible
Conversion Efficiency: 21%
— Upgrade locked until Tier D or above
— Influenced by: Physical condition, spiritual harmony, external resonance
I closed the interface with a thought.
There was no point getting excited. I hadn't changed overnight.
But if I moved quietly… if I stayed in the shadows…
Then maybe—someday—I wouldn't have to hide anymore.