The sun was dipping toward the horizon over "Gale Valley," home to the ancient Tu Clan. A line of youths stood in silent formation before the "Spirit Spring" inside the clan's sacred cavern. The air was thick with tension, the scent of moisture mingling with the ancient fragrance of the spring.
Among them stood Tu Shin. His black eyes were terrifyingly calm—like a deep, bottomless well. He didn't tremble like the others, nor did he carry that naive fervor in his gaze. To him, this scene wasn't new. He had seen it before in his dreams, or perhaps in another life crushed by the gears of time.
"Immortality..." Tu Shin whispered in his heart. The word wasn't a dream to him; it was the only logical necessity in a world governed by decay.
"Next: Tu Hao!" the elder in charge of the ceremony bellowed.
A muscular youth stepped forward, clad in luxurious silk that set him apart from the rest. This was Tu Hao, the son of the Clan's Vice-Leader. He walked with a visible arrogance, as if the world already knelt beneath his feet.
Tu Hao entered the Spirit Spring. Moments later, a halo of brilliant light erupted, and waves of spiritual water rose to envelop his body.
"It's... it's a Resplendent Light!" an elder cried out in awe. "A Grade-A talent! Heaven has blessed our clan with the Vice-Leader's son!"
Cheers and congratulations erupted. The Vice-Leader, seated on the high platform, couldn't suppress a proud smile. Tu Hao cast a disdainful glance toward Tu Shin, as if Tu Shin's mere presence in the same room was an insult to his genius.
Tu Shin didn't blink. He was thinking of one thing: Talent is merely a tool. High talent is nothing more than a larger bucket for water; but it is the owner who determines the shape the water takes.
"Next: Tu Shin!"
Silence fell. Everyone knew Tu Shin as the "quiet boy" who lacked a powerful background. Tu Shin walked forward slowly and entered the spring with chilling indifference. The cold spiritual water began to press against his body, seeking to penetrate his abdomen where the "Primeval Aperture" lay dormant.
Tu Shin felt a massive pressure. In legends, heroes shatter their apertures with a single strike, but reality was different. He had to endure the agony.
"Strike," his mind commanded ruthlessly. "Break, you wall of mist..."
Suddenly, a silent boom echoed within him. The misty wall shattered, revealing a small spherical space filled with a pale green primeval sea.
Tu Shin stepped out of the spring. The elder looked at him, then sighed with slight disappointment: "Tu Shin... Grade-C talent. Primeval sea fills 40% of the aperture."
Tu Hao laughed out loud. "Grade-C? Just another ant to work the clan's fields. What a waste of time."
Tu Shin returned to his place amidst looks of pity and scorn. But deep in his heart, a cold flame was burning.
He looked at the sky as the darkness of night began its invasion and thought: "I wished for my youth to return... and so it has. This time, I will not stop until Immortality kneels at my feet."
Tu Shin returned to his dilapidated shack on the outskirts of the village. The room reflected his social standing: cold, bare, and smelling of old wood.
He sat on his hard wooden bed, closed his eyes, and entered his Primeval Aperture with his consciousness. There, he saw his pale green sea. 40% primeval essence... in the eyes of many, this meant a limited future as a servant or a foot soldier.
But for Tu Shin, this 40% was his starting capital in a grand gamble against fate.
"In this world of 'Spiritual Essence,' the laws are strict. The clan grants Talent Gu to the high-grades first. Tu Hao will get the best Gu worms and the teachers' tutelage, while I will get the scraps."
Tu Shin sneered bitterly in his mind. He felt no sense of injustice; "Injustice" was a word invented by the weak to justify their failure. The strong take what they want, and the weak lose what they have—that was the only law he acknowledged.
"I wished for youth to return..." he murmured, opening eyes that glowed with a frightening chill. "Now that I have the knowledge and experience, I don't need to wait for the clan's charity. The ancient volumes I studied in my past life, the forbidden methods I witnessed... it is time to use them."
He stood up and moved to a corner of the room, prying up a floorboard to reveal a hidden box. It contained no gold or jewels, but rather the dried remains of "Soil Beetles" and some toxic herbs he had secretly gathered over the months.
"The clan will distribute 'Moonlight Gu' tomorrow—the basic offensive Gu of the Tu Clan. But using it consumes too much primeval essence. With my Grade-C talent, my progress would be too slow."
His fingers hovered over the herbs. "I need a special type of Gu... one that doesn't rely on talent, but on will and cruelty. I will refine the 'Corpse Dust Gu'."
The Corpse Dust Gu was a forbidden Rank 1 Gu. It was rarely used because it required the user's own vitality for refinement and caused stiff limbs and unbearable pain. However, its defensive and offensive power far exceeded the Moonlight Gu, and most importantly, its primeval essence consumption was negligible.
Suddenly, a loud knock hammered on the door.
"Tu Shin! Open up!"
The voice was familiar—Tu Chi, one of Tu Hao's lackeys.
Tu Shin didn't make the amateur mistake of panicking. With total composure, he replaced the floorboard and sat in a meditative posture before allowing the intruder in.
Tu Chi entered with a mocking grin. "Oh, still trying to meditate? Tu Hao-san sends a message. He says Grade-C talent is a stain on his class. Since you are his 'classmate,' he suggests you surrender your share of 'Spirit Stones' tomorrow to someone who deserves them... namely, him."
Tu Shin looked at him calmly. In his previous life, he might have been angry or insulted. But now? He saw Tu Chi and Tu Hao as mere pebbles on a long road.
"Tell Tu Hao," Tu Shin said in a mellow, emotionless voice, "that the Spirit Stones belong to the clan. If he wants them, he must take them with his own hands on evaluation day."
The smile froze on Tu Chi's face. He hadn't expected this cold, daring response from a boy considered an introverted weakling.
"Have you lost your mind? You're challenging the Vice-Leader's son?"
"It's not a challenge," Tu Shin replied, closing his eyes again. "It's a reminder of clan law. Now, leave. My room is small, and there's no space for your barking."
Tu Chi left, swearing vengeance, while Tu Shin remained in silence. He knew this would bring trouble early, but he needed a reason to begin his struggle. Provocation is the fastest way to create "opportunities" that don't exist in times of peace.
"A little blood will accelerate the refinement..." Tu Shin thought, looking at a small cut on his finger. "Immortality begins with a single step, and that step must be baptized in pain."
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