A week passed after the Awakening Ceremony.
When Chu Feng finally opened his eyes, every muscle screamed in pain. The ceiling above him swam in and out of focus. He tried to rise, but his body felt hollow, his limbs made of sand.
The door creaked.
"Son, you're awake!"
Chu Kang, his father, rushed in. Worry lined his face, but relief glimmered in his eyes. He knelt beside the bed, gripping Chu Feng's cold hand.
"It's all right now," he said softly. "You're safe."
"Father…" Chu Feng's lips trembled. "Did I … awaken?"
Chu Kang hesitated, forcing a smile. "Don't think about that yet. As long as you live, Heaven still gives you a chance."
One Month Later
Chu Feng could walk again, though his skin was pale and his movements slow. The elders had delivered their judgment:
his Cosmic Soul had indeed awakened—but it was defective. They forbade him from cultivation, claiming another surge of energy might destroy his body.
Defective.
That word echoed in his mind like a curse.
His father refused to give up. So did his cousin Chu Ming, a seventh-grade Artificer Soul genius. Every week she brought him elixirs from her own quota.
"Cousin," Chu Feng protested weakly, "you shouldn't waste these. If Heaven wants me ordinary, then so be it."
"Shut up and drink," Chu Ming said, though her tone softened. "Didn't you once brag you'd be the richest man in the province? You can't earn gold lying in bed."
Despite his complaints, she always made him finish every drop.
One Year Later
The clan finally allowed him limited access to the Rune Library—a favor earned through his father's service.
While others trained their bodies and souls, Chu Feng spent his days buried in scrolls and dust. Books became his refuge.
At first, he read out of boredom. Then he realized knowledge itself was power—another form of wealth.
He devoured everything until only one dusty corner remained.
There lay a brittle leather volume titled An Extreme Theory.
He opened it. The first page began strangely:
"Ah-ha-ha! If you are reading this, child, then fate has chosen you.
I am Chu Song, once the mightiest of our clan. Yet my power was incomplete.
Beyond our continent lies a far greater world…"
The rest of the page was torn away.
"What the—who ripped this?" he muttered.
Unbeknownst to him, the book was infamous—called Destiny Waster. Many had chased its promises, only to die in despair.
But Chu Feng, ever stubborn, kept reading.
The next legible page said:
"As Rune Masters, we strengthen the mind.
But to reach higher realms, body and soul must unite.
Prepare these herbs, soak for three days.
On the third, while immersed, recite the mantra.
Fail, and death will claim you."
He flipped further—only blank pages.
"No… not again! Where's the mantra?"
After a moment's thought, he ran to his father.
"Father, what if an ancient artifact refuses to open? How can you make it recognize you?"
Chu Kang rubbed his beard. "Sometimes a relic chooses its master. If it's ownerless, a blood sacrifice can awaken it—but that's dangerous."
"I see," Chu Feng said, pretending casual curiosity.
The Blood Ritual
That night, in an abandoned hut, he pricked his finger. Three drops of blood fell onto the blank page. A faint shimmer appeared—then vanished.
He chuckled nervously. "Not enough, huh? Greedy thing. Fine, I'll feed you more."
He did so again and again. Days turned into months. His face grew pale; his body thinned. His father noticed.
"Son, are you being bullied?" Chu Kang asked one evening.
"No, Father. I just read too much," Chu Feng lied. "I'll rest more."
Chu Kang sighed, unaware of the truth.
One year later, desperation won. Rage boiled through Chu Feng's veins. "A whole year, and still nothing? Are you mocking me?!"
He coughed a mouthful of blood onto the book. The crimson soaked through the parchment—
and light erupted.
Lines of gold carved themselves across the pages, glowing like living veins. Chu Feng fell back, trembling as the words burned into his sight:
Revolution Connecting Mantra
Strengthen the body, and the mind shall feed upon it.
Temper the mind, and the body shall become divine.
When body and soul connect, revolution begins.
He had unknowingly awakened a lost method—one that bridged mind and vessel, defying the boundary between Soul Practitioner and Soul Master.
And thus, the legend of a defective soul began to shift toward destiny itself.
End of Chapter 2