Wind whispered through the pine forest.
Birds chirped.
To anyone else, the mountain was peaceful.
But to Gu An, the world had become too quiet.
Silence was rarely innocent.
A leaf fell — without wind.
A bird paused mid-song — throat tightening in fear.
Something watched.
Not the kind that hunted flesh.
Something that hunted potential.
He could feel it — like cold fingers brushing the back of his mind.
Not a demon. Not a beast. Not a human.
A gaze from the heavens.
Testing. Probing. Judging.
A cultivator outside the script? An anomaly? Unacceptable…
Gu An's heartbeat stayed calm.
His inner world stirred — the tiny star inside pulsing like a heartbeat, sensing threat but refusing to shake.
He whispered softly:
"I see you."
The invisible presence froze.
Then — like a stone dropped in water — it retreated, leaving ripples of discomfort in the air.
Not gone.
Just waiting.
Like Heaven marking a name in its ledger.
[Unknown Heavenly Will has noticed you]
[Threat Level: Observed but not hostile… for now]
Gu An exhaled.
So the heavens truly disliked unplanned variables.
Good.
He would become a plan even Heaven couldn't erase.
Sect Examination Looms
"Senior Brother!"
Lin Xuan ran up the path, breathless, a bundle of herbs in his arms.
"They announced the date! The sect exam trial opens in seven days!"
His eyes were full of fiery hope.
"The Cloud-Vein Sect only takes one in a thousand… but I'll work hard! Even as a servant, I'll rise!"
Gu An nodded.
He didn't chase dreams with fire.
He walked them with quiet inevitability.
"We will go."
Lin Xuan brightened like dawn breaking through fog.
The Heaven-Favored Arrives
The next morning, the mountain path thundered.
Hooves.
Guards.
Banners fluttering.
A young man rode a spirit horse, golden silks glowing under sunlight. Handsome like jade. Eyes sharp like swords. Aura vast — not forced, but natural, as if reality tilted slightly around him.
Chu Feng.
Heaven-born genius.
Natural Qi vortex at birth.
Spirit veins opened by celestial omen.
Protagonist of the era.
Villagers bowed.
Lin Xuan tugged Gu An's sleeve.
"That's him… the rumored prodigy."
Chu Feng glanced at Gu An.
For a moment, destiny paused.
A Heaven-favored and a Heaven-ignored.
Then Chu Feng's gaze slid past Gu An, dismissing him like dust.
Not arrogance — but fate blindness.
The world simply didn't register Gu An as significant.
He rode away.
Lin Xuan whispered, "Someday… I'll stand like him."
Gu An smiled.
He already walked a path beyond sight — but there was no need to rush.
The stars rise unseen until night falls.
Inner World Evolves — First Life Spark
Night.
Gu An meditated.
Inside him, the lone star glowed — then trembled.
Cosmic dust gathered. Light curved. Gravity whispered.
And then—
A spark.
Not a beast.
Not a spirit.
Not a human.
Just the first elementary microbial consciousness born naturally inside his miniature cosmos.
Primitive. Weak. Fragile.
But it breathed.
[Inner World Development]
First Life Particle Born
Micro-ecosystem Seed Established Universe Stability: Optimal
Gu An opened his eyes.
He felt a subtle warmth in his soul — like a candle lit in a cold room.
Life emerged without his force.
The universe had begun thinking for itself.
He whispered:
"Grow. Slowly. Naturally."
No rush.
No stealing heaven's spotlight.
He walked a path the heavens could not predict.