The first light of dawn slowly crept into Lin Tian's small apartment.
Golden sunlight slipped through the curtains and illuminated the quiet room. The city outside was beginning to wake—cars moved along the streets, people prepared for work, and the distant sounds of daily life slowly filled the air.
But inside the room, Lin Tian had already been awake for hours.
He stood silently near the window, staring at his reflection in the glass.
After discovering the faint cosmic energy flowing through the night sky, he had cultivated for most of the night. Although the energy he absorbed was extremely small, its purity made a noticeable difference.
Lin Tian clenched his fist slightly.
His muscles tightened.
A faint surge of strength traveled through his arm.
"It's time to test this body," he murmured.
Before cultivation, his body had been weak—typical of an ordinary young man living in a modern city. But after body purification and absorbing cosmic energy, things had changed.
The improvement wasn't dramatic yet.
But it was definitely there.
Lin Tian walked to the center of the room.
He stretched his arms slowly, rotating his shoulders and neck.
His bones made faint cracking sounds.
A calm expression appeared on his face.
In his previous life, he had trained his body to the point where he could crush mountains with a single strike. Of course, this current body was nowhere near that level.
But the foundation had begun to form.
Lin Tian took a deep breath.
Then he punched forward.
"Whoosh!"
The sound of air splitting echoed in the room.
Lin Tian paused.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's… stronger than expected."
In the past, his punches would have felt slow and weak.
Now, the movement was faster and more controlled.
He punched again.
Then again.
Each punch cut through the air with increasing speed.
Lin Tian stopped and looked at his fist thoughtfully.
"My muscle strength has increased… but more importantly, my coordination has improved."
Cultivation didn't just strengthen the body.
It refined it.
Every movement became more efficient.
Every action required less wasted energy.
Lin Tian walked to the corner of the room where a thick wooden chair sat beside the wall.
He placed his hand on the chair and gently lifted it.
The chair rose easily.
That alone wasn't surprising.
But what mattered was how light it felt.
He set the chair down again and bent his knees slightly.
Then he jumped.
His body shot upward.
Lin Tian landed softly a moment later.
His expression changed.
"That jump was almost twice my previous height."
His body control had clearly improved.
But physical strength was only one part of the test.
Lin Tian turned his attention toward something more important.
Speed.
He stepped back and cleared a small space in the room.
Then he took a deep breath.
In an instant—
He moved.
His body dashed forward across the room in a blur.
Three quick steps.
Then he stopped.
The movement had been smooth and surprisingly fast.
Lin Tian looked down at the floor.
"Faster reaction speed too…"
That was the result of spiritual energy flowing through the nervous system.
Even a small amount of energy could significantly improve the body's responsiveness.
But Lin Tian was not satisfied yet.
He wanted a more accurate test.
His eyes moved toward the wall.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
He stepped closer and gently pressed his palm against the surface.
The wall was made of reinforced concrete, common in modern buildings.
Strong enough for ordinary people.
But for cultivators…
Not always.
Lin Tian stepped back slightly.
He raised his fist again.
His breathing slowed.
Spiritual energy began gathering in his arm.
It was a very small amount, but it was enough.
Then—
Punch!
His fist struck the wall.
"Thud!"
The sound echoed through the room.
Lin Tian lowered his hand and examined the wall.
A faint crack had appeared on the surface.
It wasn't large.
But it was definitely there.
Lin Tian smiled faintly.
"Not bad."
For an ordinary human body, damaging a concrete wall with bare hands would normally cause injury.
But Lin Tian's hand showed no damage.
The spiritual energy circulating through his body had strengthened his bones and muscles.
He flexed his fingers.
No pain.
No swelling.
His body was adapting quickly.
Lin Tian walked back toward the window and looked down at the busy street below.
People were walking to work.
Students were heading to school.
Cars moved in endless lines.
Everything looked normal.
But Lin Tian knew something they didn't.
The world was much bigger than it appeared.
Hidden within it were forces and energies that most humans could never imagine.
And now…
He had begun to reconnect with that hidden world.
Lin Tian rested his hands on the window frame.
"Still, this strength is far from enough."
Even though he had improved, he was still extremely weak compared to true cultivators.
At this stage, even a well-trained martial artist might still challenge him.
He needed more cultivation.
More energy.
More time.
But he was not worried.
Because he had already discovered something incredibly valuable.
The cosmic energy in the night sky.
If he continued absorbing it every night, his cultivation speed would be much faster than anyone else on Earth.
Lin Tian closed his eyes briefly.
He could still faintly feel the trace of that cold cosmic energy within his body.
It moved slowly through his meridians, strengthening them little by little.
This was only the beginning.
Soon, his body would reach the First Stage of Energy Gathering.
Once that happened, he would truly step onto the path of cultivation again.
Lin Tian opened his eyes.
A determined light flashed within them.
"In my previous life, it took years to reach my first breakthrough."
"This time…"
"I will do it much faster."
At that moment, a faint vibration suddenly spread through the spiritual energy in his body.
Lin Tian frowned slightly.
He felt something strange.
The spiritual energy in the air around him had shifted.
It was extremely subtle.
But it was definitely there.
Lin Tian focused his senses.
Then he looked toward the distant part of the city.
A thin ripple of energy pulsed faintly in that direction.
His eyes narrowed.
"That feeling…"
It was similar to the cosmic energy he sensed last night.
But this energy felt different.
Older.
Heavier.
Almost like something buried deep beneath the earth.
Lin Tian stood silently for several seconds.
Then a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
"So there really is more hidden on this planet…"
His heart began beating slightly faster.
If there were places on Earth where spiritual energy gathered naturally, those locations would be extremely valuable for cultivation.
And it seemed he had just sensed one.
Lin Tian stepped away from the window.
"Looks like my next destination has appeared."
The journey of a cultivator had truly begun.
And somewhere within the modern city, a hidden source of power was waiting to be discovered.