The courtyard was deserted, just a quiet, empty space under a twin-moon glow. Lin Feng, or whatever you want to call the mind now living in this broken body, pushed himself up. That warm, humming feeling from the Cosmic Origin Pearl was a steady fire in his chest, but his muscles were jelly. His meridians were clogged, and the pain was this dull, constant reminder of how pathetic Lin Feng's life had been. He just needed to get out of sight.
He had to find a place to hide. You know, a spot where a nobody like him would just disappear, and he could actually start cultivating. This place, the Azure Cloud Sect, was a total backwater, a tiny little speck of a sect. Their techniques were ancient garbage, their energy was weak, but for now, it was his whole world. And in this world, his cosmic memories were the ultimate cheat code.
He shuffled along the worn stones, his mind working a million miles a minute. He used to be a god. He knew thousands of cultivation methods that could crack this whole planet in half. But he had to be smart. He needed a technique that wasn't just powerful, but perfect for his new body's "shattered" state. He recalled this ancient, forbidden method, one he'd tossed aside in his past life for being too dangerous: the Cosmic Dust Refinement Technique. It literally used a damaged spirit root to suck up and refine energy like crazy. It was the perfect key to a door nobody else could even see.
Just as he was about to duck into some old, abandoned shack he used to sleep in, he heard a voice.
"Lin Feng? Is that you?"
He froze. It was Mei Hua, a senior sister he barely knew. She was the sect's golden girl, a true genius, but her eyes held a genuine concern that felt like a foreign language to Raijin's ancient soul. She was the only person who had ever been nice to him, and he had this flash of her defending him from the very guy who just killed him.
"You're hurt," she said, her voice so gentle. "Chen Wu went way too far this time." She looked at his bruised ribs and the dirt on his face. "Come on, let me get you some medicine."
It was a weird feeling. Raijin had known millions of beings in his past life, but not one had ever shown him such simple kindness. He felt this powerful, almost instinctual urge to protect her. She was a talent, sure, but to him, she was this fragile little light in a dark world. He made a silent promise in his heart: he would protect her, no matter what.
He quietly accepted her help. As Mei Hua was tending to his wounds, he was already formulating a plan. He wasn't just going to take her help; he was going to repay it a hundred times over. He knew secrets of alchemy and energy refinement that would turn her into a genuine prodigy, way beyond the limits of this crappy little sect.
While she patched him up, Lin Feng was secretly channeling the Cosmic Origin Pearl's energy. It didn't just heal him; it mended his body and prepared it for the Cosmic Dust Refinement Technique. The golden light worked its magic, knitting his bones and purifying his meridians, all hidden under the medicine she was applying. He was a new man. And it was all because of her.
The journey had just begun. The first step was taken not with a bang, but with a small, quiet act of kindness. The second would be to start his silent, unstoppable climb.
End of chapter 2