Volume One: Defying Fate—Chapter One: Hao Tian
The White Star Sect, one of the three major cultivation sects in the Azure Sky Kingdom, has thousands of outer disciples, and the competition is fierce. The western corner of the outer door is the most remote and barren place in the sect.
This is the most energy-sparse corner of the outer disciples' residential area, where the disciples with the least talent and the lowest status reside.
Inside the thatched hut, a young man dressed in gray and white cloth, about sixteen or seventeen, was slumped on the dry wood bed.
The boy's name was Hao Tian, and he was seventeen years old. His face was originally quite handsome, but now it was as pale as paper, and his eyes were red. He stared blankly at the distance, as if his soul had been taken away, showing a look of resentment and despair.
"Failed again... Why... Why did I fail again..."
Hao Tian's voice was guttural, and he gripped his hair tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning pale from the excessive force.
In this world where martial prowess reigns supreme and the strong rule everything, strength is dignity, and strength is life. The White Star Sect, as the largest sect within a thousand miles, has particularly strict and cruel rules, adhering to a naked law of the jungle.
Outer disciples undergo an assessment every three years. If they fail to break through to the fourth level of the Martial Origin Realm within three years, they will be considered useless with no potential for development and will be ruthlessly expelled from the sect.
Hao Tian, however, has been in the sect for almost three years, but his cultivation is stuck at the third level of the Martial Origin Realm, without making any progress.
This was because there was a threshold between the third and fourth levels of the Martial Origin Realm, and many cultivators like Hao Tian with the lowest level of talent remain stuck at this level for many years, and some can't even break through in their whole life.
In another month, the three-year period will end. If he still cannot break through, he will be kicked out of the sect.
He was unwilling to accept it!
For this final gamble, for this only hope, he made a crazy decision a week ago—to borrow a full fifty low-grade spirit stones from Zhang Hu, the tyrant of the outer sect!
Fifty low-grade spirit stones was an astronomical sum for an ordinary outer disciple. He used this huge sum to buy a low-quality Breakthrough Pill from the market, hoping to forcefully break through the bottleneck and enter the fourth level of Spirit Refining.
However, reality is so cruel and cold.
After taking the pill, he still failed to break through the rock-solid bottleneck. What's worse is that the backlash nearly shattered his meridians.
"Gone... all gone..." Hao Tian's lips curled into a bitter smile, a smile more painful than tears.
His cultivation hadn't broken through, and his spirit stones were exhausted. As for Zhang Hu and his followers, they were ruthless wolves who would devour anyone. Within the outer sect, Zhang Hu, relying on his formidable eighth-level Martial Origin Realm cultivation, acted arrogantly and domineeringly, and no one dared to provoke him. More importantly, Zhao Hu had an older brother named Zhang Long, a high-ranking inner sect disciple!
"Bang!!!"
Just as Hao Tian was feeling utterly hopeless, the already dilapidated wooden door was violently kicked open.
Several arrogant figures swaggered in with arrogant faces.
The leader, a burly man with a face full of menacing features, was Jian Hong, Zhang Hu's right hand, at the seventh level of the Martial Origin realm. Behind him followed three equally fierce-looking lackeys, each with a cultivation level of at least the fourth level of the Martial Origin Realm. They looked at Hao Tian as if he were a lamb to the slaughter.
"Hey, I heard you were trying to break through?"
Jian Hong glanced at Hao Tian's dejected face and already guessed the outcome; a mocking sneer curled his lips, his eyes full of ridicule: "Judging from this, you failed to break through the bottleneck? Tsk tsk tsk, I told you long ago, a piece of trash is a piece of trash. Even if I gave you immortal pills, you wouldn't become a true dragon. That breakthrough pill was worse than feeding it to a dog; a dog might at least wag its tail at me after eating it."
"Hahaha! Brother Jian is right; this kid is a complete waste of resources! If I had used that breakthrough pill, I would have already reached the fifth level of the Martial Origin Realm..
"With such trashy talent, he still dares to stay in the White Star Sect? What a joke!"
The followers behind him burst into a contemptuous laugh, piercing Hao Tian's heart like a poisonous dagger.
Hao Tian gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. Although his body was still in excruciating pain from the backlash, he forced himself not to collapse. His wary gaze fixed on Jian Hong: "Jian Hong... the deadline hasn't come yet. Brother Zhong Hu had said it was one month..."
"Hehehehe, you still dare to quibble about the deadline?"
Jian Hong laughed, but the smile on his face instantly vanished the very next second, replaced by a ferocious and violent expression. He stepped forward, unleashing the full force of his eighth-level Martial Origin Realm aura, which pressed down on Hao Tian like a boulder.
"Brother Zhong has changed his mind! He wants the money now!" Jian Hong stretched out a large, fan-like hand, almost poking Hao Tian's nose: "Sixty low-grade spirit stones, principal and interest! Now, immediately, give them to me right now!"
"Sixty Spirit Stones!" Hao Tian's pupils constricted sharply, his body trembling violently with rage: "I only borrowed fifty spirit stones a week ago with a monthly interest of ten percent. Even after this month ends, it will only be fifty-five spirit stones, and you want sixty spirit stones right after a week has passed? This is blatant robbery!"
"Rob? So what if I rob you?" Jian Hong grinned maliciously, his eyes full of disdain. "In this outer sect, Brother Zhong's words are law! Since you can't produce the spirit stones, don't blame me for showing no mercy to my fellow disciples. Brothers, teach this Junior Brother Hao Tian a good lesson, so he'll learn the consequences of not paying his debts!"
"Understood!"
Zhao Hu's three lackeys, who had been unable to restrain themselves for a long time, pounced on him like wolves upon hearing this.
"Stop... You dare..."
Hao Tian tried to use the last bit of martial energy he had left to resist, but at the third level of the Martial Origin Realm, he was utterly powerless against these people. A lackey dressed in black rushed forward first and mercilessly kicked Haotian hard in the chest.
With a dull thud, Hao Tian was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the stone wall behind him before falling to the ground in a disheveled state.
"Cough...cough cough..."
A mouthful of bright red blood spurted from Hao Tian's mouth, staining the cloth shirt on his chest. The excruciating pain, as if his sternum were breaking, made his vision blur, and even breathing became incredibly difficult.
But this is just the beginning.
A hail of punches and kicks rained down on him.
"Serves you right for borrowing money and not paying it back! Serves you right for acting tough!"
"A piece of trash who's about to be expelled from the sect dares to talk back to Brother Jian!"
"Beat him! Beat him to death!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The dull thuds of flesh colliding echoed in the cramped thatched hut. Hao Tian curled up on the ground, his hands tightly protecting his head, letting the fists and feet, imbued with martial energy, rain down on his back, waist, and legs…
Every punch and every kick was delivered with undisguised malice, causing waves of excruciating pain to flood over, threatening to overwhelm Hao Tian's consciousness.
He hates it!
He hated his own weakness, he hated the injustice of this world, and he hated the cruelty of these people!
Jian Hong stood aside, arms crossed, coldly watching the scene unfold. Within the White Star Sect, as long as no one was killed, even crippling someone would be easily dealt with.
They beat Hao Tian for a full half-incense stick's time, causing him to break a few of his bones and bruises to cover his entire body.
"Alright, don't really kill him. You can't get your money back if he's dead."
The three lackeys finally stopped, spitting on Hao Tian with lingering relish.
"Pah! What a spineless bastard; he doesn't even utter a sound while being hit like this."
Jian Hong slowly walked up to Hao Tian, looking down at his blood-stained and bruised face. He raised one foot and stomped heavily on Hao Tian's face, grinding it forcefully, and sneered:
"Hao Tian, today's payment is just interest. I'll give you three more days. If I don't see sixty spirit stones by then, next time I'll cripple your hands and feet. If you still can't pay it back, you'll be selling yourself to the mines of the Zhao family to be a laborer for life! Hahahaha..."
Amidst a burst of ear-piercing laughter, Jian Hong led his men away, leaving behind miserable Hao Tian.
A cold wind blew in through the broken doorway, lashing against Hao Tian's battered body and bringing a bone-chilling cold.
After a long while, Hao Tian finally managed to move his fingers with difficulty.
Urgh!.
Every part of his body aches, as if every bone in his body has been crushed and reassembled.
He struggled to turn over, lying on his back on the cold ground, staring at the dark roof, two lines of tears sliding down his cheeks.
"Is this... the fate of the weak...?"
"Just because I'm weak, I can be bullied and trampled on at will, with even my last shred of dignity being crushed into the mud..."
"Three years of hard work, only to end up like this. How unjust is the way of Heaven!!"
Hao Tian's heart was filled with overwhelming resentment and unwillingness. He knew that he had low talent, but he always believed that hard work could make up for his lack of talent, but he was wrong, very wrong.
During these past three years, he put in more effort than anyone else; even when others slept at night, he remained awake to cultivate just to find a ray of hope to break through.
However, it all has come to an end now; he has lost today, completely lost. All of his dreams were crushed, and there was no hope for his future anymore.
Sixty spirit stones... three days...
This was a sure-fire way to die! Zhang Hu never intended for him to repay the money; he just lends money to compel disciples for the forced labor in their Zhao family's mining. Hao Tian had jumped on this fire, knowing it very clearly, all for the ray of hope that he could break through to the fourth level of the Martial Origin Realm.
But it's all gone now!
"I'm not reconciled...
Hao Tian let out a desperate roar in his heart. However, it only caused his wounds to worsen and hurt more.
His consciousness began to fade, and darkness surged in like a tide, seemingly about to engulf him completely.
Just when Hao Tian thought he was about to completely lose his consciousness...
"Ding…"
A clear mechanical sound exploded in the depths of his mind without warning, instantly dispelling all darkness and chaos.
Immediately afterwards, a cold voice, bereft of any emotions, echoed in his mind:
"The host's resentment level has reached the critical point. Conditions met... The Good Fortune System is binding...]
[10%…30%…70%…100%]
[Binding successful!]