Wang Chen did not move from the straw mat for hours. His body ached from the morning's humiliation, but a new fire burned within him—the fire of discovery.
He pushed himself upright and closed his eyes, summoning the Beginner's Breathing Technique. He knew the sect's cultivation hierarchy intimately. The outer-door disciples relied on the Tiger Breath Scroll—a crude, inefficient method. Wang Chen had tried it countless times, yet spiritual energy always slipped through his grasp like water through a cracked jar.
But this new method was different.
He inhaled slowly, deliberately. Immediately, he sensed it—the faint ripples of spiritual energy in the hut. Normally, they would scatter, mocking him. But now, they stirred. Then they surged, decisively, inward.
It was a steady, undeniable stream, like a mountain spring bursting through cracked stone, flowing directly into his meridians.
Agony followed instantly. The torrent of energy scoured his body, searing every inch of long-neglected pathways. His meridians screamed, yet Wang Chen did not flinch. He embraced the torment. Pain meant progress. Pain meant transformation.
When he finally opened his eyes, he realized something impossible: the thin wisp of Qi he had struggled for years to summon had thickened, becoming a tangible, warm mist swirling in his core.
"One morning of this technique achieved what three months of torturous effort could not," he whispered, disbelief widening his eyes.
A shimmer appeared before his eyes. A translucent panel materialized, hovering in the air as if painted with light.
· User: Wang Chen
· Spirit Root: Useless (Cleansed)
· Cultivation: Qi Novice (Beginner's Stage)
· Qi Amount: 1/100
· Current Technique: Beginner's Breathing (Mastered)
· Daily Sign-In: Available
· Special Sign-In Location: Detecting…
Cleansed. That single word carried more hope than all the elders' empty promises combined.
His gaze snapped to the Special Sign-In Location. The letters pulsed:
· Special Sign-In Location Found: The Pillar of Fortune
· Location: Muay Thai Sect – Elders' Sanctuary
· Requirement: Infiltrate unseen
The Elders' Sanctuary. Guarded, warded, lethal for a servant. Yet, Wang Chen felt a thrill. That location represented everything he had been denied. Tonight, he would claim it.
The afternoon sun beat down as Wang Chen hauled water to the elephant pens. Normally, the massive buckets left his muscles quivering. Today, he adjusted the yoke, and the mist of Qi in his dantian flared. The bucket felt heavy, but manageable. He forced his arms to tremble slightly, pretending to struggle.
"Well, well. Look who finally decided to show up." It was Liang Jin, tall and cruel, flanked by his crony.
Liang Jin eyed the buckets. "These look half-full. You need a real challenge." With a casual kick, he toppled an empty stone-lined feed trough. "Carry that too."
The trough weighed at least forty kilograms—impossible for the old Wang Chen. Suppressing cold fury, he bent down, grasped the trough, and inhaled deeply. The Beginner's Breathing Technique flared. The trough resisted—then rose easily. He forced a grunt, selling the exhaustion.
Liang Jin's smirk faltered. "Hmph. Desperate, are we? Get moving, waste."
Wang Chen's lips twitched with a silent, ferocious grin. His first true victory had come unnoticed.