"Damn it... damn it."
Cursing under his breath, Lian Xing felt the familiar ache in his stomach. He had skipped yet another meal, but it was all for nothing. He had spent five months cultivating the prized thousand-year-old ginseng root, but he still couldn't feel the flow of energy, not even the slightest ripple.
"That old man must have lied to me," he muttered. "He said if I used this ginseng root, I could even break through to the third layer... what a scammer."
The weight of his family's disdain pressed down on him with every bucket of water he carried, every courtyard stone he scrubbed. Born into the prestigious Xīng clan, he should have been a rising star.
But at age fifteen, his inability to break through to the second stage of cultivation had branded him a useless failure, a servant in his own home. Children as young as nine would have already broken through to the third layer by now.
He ran his fingers over the smooth surface of the blue jade hidden in his clothes. It was the last gift from his mother, a woman cast out by the elders because she was a concubine and her son was a failure. Her voice, gentle but filled with sorrow, echoed in his mind.
"This is my family's heirloom, my son. If it ever gets too difficult, if you feel you have no other choice... go into the city. Sell it. It will fetch a high price, enough for you to live a decent life."
I have no choice, Lian thought to himself. I'll sell it. I'll find a reputable auction house, and maybe then I'll get my chance to break through.
With a new resolve, he stood up and went back to sweeping the courtyard.
"Lian, you missed a spot here," came the voice of Yue Xing, Lian's cousin. Yue walked by with his goons, scattering pig dung all over the clean courtyard.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Lian rushed toward him, his broom raised high, ready to attack.
Yue simply stepped to the side, evading the clumsy attack before striking him behind the neck.
Lian fell face-first into the foul-smelling dung.
"How does the dung taste, Lian?" Yue laughed with his goons as they walked away, leaving Lian there, humiliated and covered in filth. "I bet he eats it every day"
Lian gritted his teeth as he walked to the river to wash.
"Just you wait, Yue Xing. When I break through, I'm going to teach you a lesson," Lian muttered to himself as he scrubbed the dirt from his body.
He began washing the jade, but it was slick with filth. They might not take it if I try to sell it this dirty, he thought. As he scrubbed, the jade slipped from his grasp and disappeared into the murky water.
"No!" he yelled, immediately diving in to retrieve it.
His eyes burned as he searched, but he couldn't find it. He went deeper and deeper, his lungs screaming for air.
He felt the oxygen escaping him, but then he saw it glowing in the bed of the river. He swam fast and grabbed it.
But as he began to swim upward, he felt something dragging him down. His eyes shifted, and he glanced downward. There, it was, a dark figure shifting through the water.
"Is that a dragon...?" he thought, his mind racing. He thrashed, trying to swim faster, but something hit his stomach, violently forcing all the air from his lungs.
He began sinking, his vision blurring as his consciousness began to fade.
"No! I can't die like this! I will not die a useless failure... never!" Lian bit his lip, trying to stay conscious. The blood flowed, touching the jade, which began to glow a bright, heavenly blue.
Lian felt a warmth rush over his body. A poem, ancient and profound, began to echo in his mind.
The path of the Lotus is for both Heaven and the Earth.Its foundation, both strong and weak, the lotus will grow in the mud but soon meet the heavens.
The vessel, though stained, shall hold the purest essence. Let the chaotic current be your guide.
For in the heart of stagnation, the true current flows and the heavenly lotus will bloom.
These words echoed in his head as he finally lost consciousness.
"Oh... Oh."
Lian coughed up water, his lungs burning as he opened his eyes. He lay on the cold, damp riverbed, the moonlight illuminating the trees above him.
I almost died, he thought, his heart still racing.
He turned his hand over to look at the jade, but it was nowhere to be seen.
"No... Where is it?" he muttered, searching around himself. It was now dark, the only light coming from the moon and stars, yet his eyes were strangely sharp; he could see as if it were day.
What's going on? My body feels so light, he wondered, walking to the water's edge. He then saw his reflection.
"What?"
His dark hair had stretched down past his face, and though he had been training for a long time, his muscles were now more defined, and his height had increased a little.
"Is... this a body transformation?" he spoke, inspecting his body in the water.
He closed his eyes and began inspecting his core. He found himself walking in a dark, narrow pathway, finally reaching a massive, great wall one he had seen before.
"What? The wall has cracks!" he thought, placing his hand on the wall. Suddenly, from his palm, a lotus began to form, bearing the same inscription that was on the Jade.
Does this mean the Jade has merged with my body? Just as his thoughts were running wild, the wall broke before him, and a rush of wind flew toward him.
...
"I finally broke through after so long," Lian thought to himself. "Finally, I can now cultivate."
Lian then spent the rest of the night seated cross-legged, cultivating his core energy. Recalling the sutra he heard while drowning, he began to cultivate at a faster rate than he had ever done before, and in no time at all, he broke through the third rate, then the fourth.
When he opened his eyes, he felt incredible strength emanating from himself.
"I wonder how strong I have gotten," he thought, standing up and walking toward a great plum tree. He clenched his fist and struck it.
Thud!
A large impact echoed as his hand went straight through the trunk and appeared on the other side of the tree. The leaves shook wildly, and a single plum fell, hitting him on the head.
"Ouch...hahahah..." He laughed aloud. "Amazing... But this is crazy! My body has this much strength without me using any chi? I couldn't even make the tree shake before."
"I wonder what would happen if I tried channelling chi into my fist."
Lian closed his eyes and focused all his chi energy into his fist. A golden light formed around his hand, and he threw the punch.
There was so much force that three trees in front of him were instantly destroyed nothing was left but dust.
"Ah... is this truly my strength?" he yelled, surprised by his own power.
"Huuu." It's already morning, he thought, looking up.
"Ah... there's a foul smell here. Where is it coming from?" His eyes darted around.
"Yark! It's me!" He laughed as he dove back into the water, quickly washing himself. He then put on his blue garments, which were now a little too small for his body.
I should go change and start cleaning before I get in trouble.
He stood up and began rushing. Each step left a great dent in the earth as he breezed by like an uncontrollable wind. He dashed until he reached his family compound, escaping the guards' gaze by using a secret tunnel at the back.
He reached his small bamboo house and began looking for clothes that might fit his size. He searched and searched but couldn't find any. He then turned to a wooden box where his father's old garments were kept.
There he found them: grand garments of black and white. One robe had a drawing of a golden dragon that stretched all the way across it.
He then tied his wild hair into a neat ponytail.
His appearance was dashing, like some prince of a great dynasty.
It took Lian one-tenth of his usual time to finish all the chores of the compound. He then rushed and walked towards the main pavilion.
"I don't think I have to tell you the family rules, but only people who have broken through the third stage of the human layer are allowed here."
"Yes, I know, Elder," Lian replied. "But I have broken through..."
"What? You? Stop wasting my time and go back to doing your chores!"
"But Elder... Ahhh!"
The suffocating pressure of the Elder's Martial Intent slammed into Lian. It should have crippled him, but a fiery warmth, the residue of the Jade, flared in his core, absorbing the impact.
Lian hit the stone floor, but before the dust could even settle, he was already back on his feet. He met the Elder's surprised eyes with a chilling, dead stare.
"I told you," the Elder roared. "This pavilion is no place for trash like you!"
Lian stood up quickly, dusting himself off, one hand open-palmed and the other clenched into a fist. He then took a respectful bow, but his eyes were sharp and cold, a detail that caused the Elder to flinch slightly.
"I understand now, Elder," Lian said, his voice quiet. "Despite all my efforts in this family, I will always be a failure.
I have learned my lesson." Lian turned and began walking away.
The Elder watched him, a flicker of fear crossing his face. What... he stood up too quickly. I pressured him with the strength of a half-step Human Layer, but he stood up as if nothing had happened... and those eyes of his... Mmm... I may have messed up here.
For him to break through to the Fourth Layer in a single night, I might have just provoked a sleeping dragon. The Elder thought as he watched Lian walk away, a heavy silence falling over the pavilion.