Dawn arrived without ceremony.
The green mountains were shrouded in thin mist, dew clinging to pine needles and stone alike. From the outside, Dao Xuan Tian's hut looked unchanged—small, weathered, unremarkable. Yet within its humble walls, something fundamental was shifting.
Dao sat cross-legged on the straw mat, the jade manual resting on his knees.
The words Foundation Establishment Manual weighed heavily on his mind.
He had spent the night reading.
Not cultivating.
Not absorbing qi.
Reading.
Every page reinforced the same truth: Foundation Establishment was not simply a realm—it was a threshold. A point where cultivators ceased relying on instinct alone and began shaping their future paths deliberately. Strength without foundation led to collapse. Speed without balance led to ruin.
Dao closed the manual slowly.
"So that's why he came," he murmured.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator did not wander the outskirts of the mountains by accident. Someone had sent him. Someone had judged Dao to be a threat—or a resource worth eliminating early.
Dao exhaled.
The system interface hovered quietly at the edge of his awareness.
00:00:05
He focused.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Dao felt… ready.
Not eager.
Ready.
00:00:02
The mountain's qi pulsed.
00:00:00
The system chimed.
This time, it did not rush.
The translucent screen expanded slowly, layer by layer, lines of light stabilizing into a structure far more complex than before.
System Comprehensive Update Initiated.
Dao's breath caught.
Growth Pattern: Full Attribute Integration
Multiplier Applied: 70×
"Full… integration?" Dao repeated quietly.
The screen shifted.
---
Name: Dao Xuan Tian
Age: 14
Cultivation: Qi Condensation Realm – 1st Stage
Mind: Level 1
Core Attributes:
Strength: 100,000 → 7,000,000
Agility: 180,000 → 12,600,000
Endurance: 140,000 → 9,800,000
Spirit: 258,000 → 18,060,000
Secondary Attributes:
Spirit Food: 20 (9th Grade) → 140 (8th Grade)
Infinity Eyes: 1200 / 1,000,000,000 (No Change)
New Attribute Unlocked:
Enlightenment: Trash Level (1 / 100,000)
---
The moment the numbers finalized—
The world collapsed inward.
Qi surged violently from every direction, no longer trickling or streaming, but pouring into Dao's body. His dantian trembled as the gathered energy compressed, spinning faster and faster until—
Boom.
Not an explosion.
A condensation.
Dao's breath hitched as his qi crystallized into a dense, stable core. The chaotic flow vanished, replaced by a steady, controlled circulation that spread through his meridians like a perfectly balanced tide.
He felt it instantly.
This was different.
Not raw power.
Authority.
Qi Condensation Realm – 1st Stage.
Dao's body shuddered as the breakthrough completed. His bones sang faintly, muscles tightening not from force, but from refinement. Every movement felt efficient, deliberate, as if excess had been stripped away.
At the same time, something clicked in his mind.
The fog lifted.
Not entirely—but enough.
Thoughts aligned cleanly. Concepts he had struggled to grasp before—qi compression ratios, circulation cycles, meridian stress—now made sense without effort.
Mind Level 1.
Dao opened his eyes slowly.
The hut felt… smaller.
Not because he had grown—but because his presence had become heavier.
Then he noticed it.
The Infinity Eyes.
They were silent.
No flicker.
No expansion.
No new sensation.
Dao frowned and focused.
Nothing.
"…It didn't increase?"
The system responded instantly.
Infinity Eyes Growth Condition Not Met.
Reason: Ability Stabilization Phase Required.
Dao stared at the line.
Then—unexpectedly—he laughed.
A quiet, incredulous sound.
"So even the system thinks I need to slow down."
The laughter faded, replaced by calm.
He shifted his attention to the other change.
Spirit Food: 8th Grade.
Before Dao could even summon the interface again, knowledge flooded his mind.
Not as text.
As instinct.
He saw recipes—not crude instructions, but structures. Dozens of spirit food formulations unfolded in his thoughts: broths to stabilize qi after breakthroughs, meals to reinforce meridians, pastes to calm mental backlash, tonics to nourish spirit without over-stimulation.
Each recipe came with precise qi flow diagrams.
And beneath them—
An entirely new cooking method.
Not infusion.
Layered refinement.
Dao's hands trembled slightly.
"This… this changes everything."
He moved automatically, gathering ingredients with practiced ease. This time, he did not hesitate or experiment blindly. Every step felt guided, deliberate.
The fire burned low and steady.
Qi circulated not from his hands—but from his core, guided outward with surgical precision. Ingredients absorbed energy evenly, harmonized rather than forced.
The pot hummed faintly.
No steam.
No glow.
Just… density.
When the dish was complete, the system chimed softly.
Spirit Food Quality: Stable 8th Grade
Efficiency: Optimal
Dao tasted it.
The effect was immediate and profound.
Qi did not surge.
It settled.
His newly condensed core stabilized further, circulation smoothing until not a single meridian resisted. His mind felt anchored, calm, resistant to distraction.
Dao exhaled deeply.
"So this is what proper nourishment feels like."
He finally understood why high-level cultivators valued spirit chefs as much as alchemists.
Food was foundation.
As the effects settled, Dao's gaze returned to the final new line.
Enlightenment: Trash Level (1 / 100,000).
"…Enlightenment?"
The system provided no explanation.
Dao frowned, then closed his eyes.
He focused inward.
There—deep within his consciousness—was a faint, almost imperceptible spark. It was not power, nor knowledge, but something subtler. A capacity. A potential to understand beyond technique or stat.
A seed.
A very small one.
"Trash level," Dao muttered dryly.
But he didn't dismiss it.
Because if something like this could be quantified—
Then it could grow.
He rose and stepped outside.
The mountains greeted him the same as always—mist drifting lazily, sunlight filtering through branches. Yet Dao knew the truth.
He had crossed a line.
No longer a mortal with abnormal strength.
No longer a hidden anomaly.
He was now—
A cultivator.
Qi Condensation Realm.
Mind Level 1.
Foundation laid.
Dao clenched his fist slowly, feeling the terrifying restraint behind his strength.
Seven million base strength.
And that was without techniques.
Without true combat methods.
Without exploiting his Infinity Eyes.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator had come to kill him.
And now—
He finally understood why.
Dao looked toward the deeper mountains.
"Chapter by chapter," he whispered.
"I'll build this foundation properly."
The system interface hovered quietly.
For once—
It did not rush him.