Drip... Drip... Drip...
The rainwater leaking through the roof fell into a cracked porcelain bowl beside Su Yan's bed, thirty-seven drops so far.
He'd counted them every morning for the past three years, using the rhythm to calm his mind before practice.
At sixteen, his frame was lean but solid from years of chopping firewood and training with makeshift weapons in the orphanage courtyard.
His black hair was tied back in a messy knot, and his gray tunic bore more patches than original fabric.
But in his dark eyes, eyes that seemed to hold depths of starless night, there burned a fire no amount of poverty could extinguish.
"Another rainy day... perfect for the awakening test," he muttered, shoving his feet into worn leather boots.
"Su Yan! You're not sneaking off without me again, are you?!" The door burst open so hard it slammed against the wall, sending a shower of plaster dust into the air.
Xiao Yu barreled in fourteen years old, cheeks flushed from running, holding two steaming pork buns wrapped in oil stained paper.
"Snuck these from the kitchen before Sister Li could hide them," she grinned, shoving one into his hands.
"You'll need strength for today. Also i heard the Tianxia Beast Tamer Academy is sending their Elite Division instructors this time! Not just the regular ones! They even brought the Ancient Awakening Crystal from the capital!" She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
Su Yan bit into the bun, savoring the savory filling mixed with scallions and ginger.
Even after fourteen years in this world where the world ruled through beast taming prowess, simple food still felt like the greatest luxury.
"Even if they are, what chance does an orphan have? The Beast Tamer Chronicles say talent runs in bloodlines. We don't even know who our parents were." he said between bites.
He touched the dark purple serpent pendant at his neck, smooth, cold, carved from a stone no one in Jinling could identify.
It was the only thing he'd been wearing when the orphanage master found him on their doorstep, wrapped in silk embroidered with golden patterns that shimmered like dragon scales under moonlight.
"Bloodlines don't mean everything, You've read more about beast taming than anyone in the city! You can name every beast attribute from Fire to Dark, recite the Nine Chapters of Beast Contracts backwards, and even draw every rune for beast space expansion" Xiao Yu puffed out her chest indignantly.
"None of that matters if I can't awaken a usable core," Su Yan cut her off gently.
He'd spent every spare coin on secondhand books from the old bookstores near Confucius Temple, every free moment practicing meditation techniques from the Tao of Spiritual Cultivation.
But last month's preliminary check had shown his reserves were barely five units, one tenth the average for a sixteen year old.
"Let's go, We don't want to be late." he stood up, slinging a worn leather satchel over his shoulder.
The academy gates towered thirty feet high, carved with reliefs of legendary beast tamers riding dragons, qilin, and fenghuang.
White marble walls gleamed despite the rain, and the air hummed with the faint pressure of powerful spiritual energy.
Thousands of teenagers flooded the courtyard, sons and daughters of noble clans in silk robes embroidered with their family emblems (the Azure Dragon for the Long Clan, White Tiger for the Hu Clan), merchants' children in fine cotton, and a handful of orphans like Su Yan huddled at the back in their threadbare clothes.
"Look at the gutter rats from the East District!" A mocking voice rang out.
Su Yan turned to see Zhang Hao, son of the Jinling City Guard Commander, striding over with a group of his lackeys.
A small Wind Wolf padded at his heels, its fur rippling like gusts of wind.
"Zhang Hao," Su Yan said calmly, not bothering to look up. "I thought you'd be too busy showing off your father's beast to bother with us."
The bully's face twisted in anger. "My Wind Wolf is my contracted beast! Unlike you losers who'll probably awaken nothing but useless Earth cores, or worse, nothing at all!"
Before Xiao Yu could retort, a gong boomed three times across the courtyard.
Everyone fell silent as a group of robed instructors walked onto the elevated platform at the front.
At their head stood a tall man in crimson robes embroidered with golden flames, his long black hair tied back with a jade hairpin.
Beside him lay a massive Fire Qilin, its mane flickering like real flames, eyes glowing with intelligence.
"I am Instructor Yan from the Tianxia Academy Elite Division!" His voice rolled across the courtyard like thunder, carrying to every corner without amplification. "Today, you will undergo the Awakening Ritual using the Ancient Crystal passed down from the Han Dynasty! Remember, the core you awaken is not your destiny, but it will forge the path you walk! Those with usable cores will be tested further; those without will receive support to pursue other callings! Now, Let's begin!"
The testing proceeded in order of clan prestige, then commoners, then orphans.
Su Yan watched as student after student stepped onto the glowing crystal platform.
"First, Long Wei, Water Attribute Core, Initial Beast Space, 3 Slots" Cheers erupted from the clan's section
" Next, Hu Ling, Metal Attribute Core, Initial Beast Space, 4 Slots" Instructor Yan nodded in approval
"Liu Min, Fire Attribute Core, Initial Beast Space, 2 Slots" Her parents beamed with pride
When a girl from the mysterious Ye Clan stepped up, the crystal blazed with brilliant silver light.
"Light Attribute Core!" Instructor Yan exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. "Initial Beast Space, 5 Slots! A once in a decade talent! You are guaranteed a spot in our Advanced Elite Class!"
The Ye Clan section exploded in celebration, and the girl's grandfather, a white haired elder with a Golden Crow perched on his shoulder, stroked his beard with a satisfied smile.
Finally, the call came that Su Yan had been dreading and hoping for all morning:
"Next, Su Yan! Eastern District Orphanage!"
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
Most had never heard his name before, some whispered about the "poor orphan boy who reads too much."
Su Yan took a deep breath and walked toward the platform.
The Ancient Awakening Crystal sat at its center, an enormous hexagonal prism of clear quartz, glowing with soft white light.
As he stepped onto the cold stone surface, he could feel hundreds of eyes on him, curious, dismissive, even mocking.
"Place your hand on the crystal and focus your mind,Clear your thoughts and reach inward, let your core awaken naturally." Instructor Yan instructed, his voice neutral but carrying no small amount of skepticism.
Su Yan did as he was told, closing his eyes and reaching deep within himself as the ancient texts had taught him.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then he felt a strange pull, like something was stirring in his chest, something dark and powerful that had been sleeping all his life.
The crystal began to glow, slowly at first, then brighter and brighter until its light turned a deep, almost black purple.
The temperature in the courtyard dropped sharply, and frost began to form on the edges of the platform.
Whispers rippled through the crowd, growing louder as the crystal's light intensified, casting purple shadows across the white marble walls.
Instructor Yan stepped forward abruptly, his hand hovering over his Fire Qilin's back as the beast let out a low warning growl. "Void Attribute..." he whispered, so low that only those closest could hear.
Then he activated the crystal's analysis function, and a massive screen appeared in the air above the platform, displaying the results in glowing golden characters.
ANALYSIS RESULTS
NAME: Su Yan
AGE: 16
ATTRIBUTE: VOID (LEGENDARY GRADE)
INITIAL SPIRITUAL ENERGY RESERVES: 5
UNITS (NORMAL AVERAGE: 50 UNITS)
REQUIRED ENERGY TO ACTIVATE CORE: 500 UNITS (10X NORMAL REQUIREMENT)
INITIAL BEAST SPACE: 0/0 SLOTS
STATUS: UNSTABLE, CORE WILL DEGRADE COMPLETELY IN 7 DAYS WITHOUT CONSTANT HIGH GRADE SPIRITUAL ENERGY INPUT
ADDITIONAL NOTE: NO RECORDED CASES OF VIABLE VOID CORE IN 3,000 YEARS, CLASSIFIED AS "CURSED ATTRIBUTE"
Silence fell over the courtyard like a shroud, then exploded into chaos.
"A Void Core with zero space? That's impossible!"
"500 units just to activate? Even the richest clans can't sustain that!"
"A cursed core, what a waste! He should just give up now!"
Xiao Yu pushed through the crowd, her face pale with worry as she reached for Su Yan's hand. "Su Yan... are you okay?"
But Su Yan could barely hear her. He stared at the glowing screen, feeling as if the ground had been pulled out from under him.
All those years of studying, all those dreams of becoming a great beast tamer who could protect the weak, for nothing.
A core that couldn't be activated, no space to tame even a single beast. He was worse than someone who hadn't awakened at all.
Instructor Yan stepped forward, his expression grim but not unkind. "Su Yan. The Void Attribute is legendary beyond measure, but as you can see, your core is not viable. The academy will provide you with a stipend of fifty silver taels to help you establish yourself in another profession, farming, craftsmanship, or commerce. But I must advise you, do not attempt to activate your core. It will only drain your life force."
It was a generous offer, but it felt like a death sentence. Without a core, he'd be stuck doing menial labor for the rest of his life, never able to touch the world of beast taming he'd devoted himself to.
As he turned to leave the platform, his hand brushed against the dark purple serpent pendant at his neck. The stone suddenly grew warm, scaldingly warm, and a voice like grinding stone and flowing water echoed directly in his mind:
[SCANNING HOST... VOID ATTRIBUTE CORE DETECTED... COMPATIBILITY RATE: 100%]
[VOID BEAST SYSTEM INITIATING... BINDING TO HOST DNA AND CORE...]
[WARNING: HOST'S BIOLOGICAL SIGNATURE MATCHES THE IMPERIAL SU CLAN GENETIC MARKER, VERIFYING LINEAGE...]
[VERIFICATION COMPLETE: HOST IS SU YAN, SECOND SON OF SU TIANXIU, CURRENT HEAD OF THE IMPERIAL SU CLAN, AND YOUNGER BROTHER OF SU JING, THE SU'S YOUNGEST S-RANK BEAST TAMER]
[SYSTEM BINDING COMPLETE...]
Su Yan stumbled, catching himself on the edge of the platform as the world spun around him. Imperial Su Clan? Second son? He'd been told he was an orphan, found abandoned on the orphanage doorstep during a rainstorm fourteen years ago. But according to the voice in his head, he was born into one of the most powerful beast tamer clans in all of China, descendants of the legendary Su Wukong, who once tamed a Celestial Dragon!
A translucent screen appeared before his eyes, visible only to him, glowing with purple light:
[VOID BEAST SYSTEM - VERSION 1.0]
HOST: Su Yan (Imperial Su Clan, Second Son)
CORE LEVEL: 1 (SEALED - REQUIRES ACTIVATION)
ATTRIBUTE: VOID (LEGENDARY GRADE)
UNIQUE ABILITY:
DEVOUR AND TRANSCEND: Absorb beast essence, spiritual energy, or void particles to strengthen core and expand Beast Space
BEAST SPACE: 0/∞ SLOTS (UNLOCKS WITH CORE ACTIVATION)
SYSTEM MISSIONS:
1. ACTIVATE YOUR VOID CORE: Requires 100 units of Void Energy
2. RETRIEVE FAMILY HEIRLOOM: Hidden under the floorboards of your orphanage room, beneath the bed
3. REVEAL YOUR IDENTITY: Return to the Su Clan within one year to claim your birthright
INITIAL ACTIVATION REWARDS:
- 100 Void Energy Units
- 3 Initial Beast Space Slots
- Secret Scroll of Void Beast Taming (Lost for 1,000 years)
- 1 Random Low-Grade Void Beast Egg
[ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: You were placed in the orphanage as an infant to protect you from the Blood Moon Clan, who sought to eliminate the Su Clan's youngest heir to seize control of the Eastern Regions. The pendant you wear is the key to unlocking the Su Clan's secret vault, which contains resources to help you master your core. Your father believes you died in a fire during a Blood Moon attack fourteen years ago. Your brother has never stopped searching for you.]
Su Yan stood frozen, his mind racing as the whispers around him continued to swirl.
Everything he'd believed about himself was a lie. He wasn't an orphan, he was royalty, born into a family of legendary beast tamers whose name was known across every corner of the empire.
And the "cursed core" everyone had mocked was actually the most powerful attribute in existence, paired with a system that could help him unlock its full potential.
He looked down at his pendant, feeling its warmth spread through his body like liquid fire, and a slow, confident smile crossed his face.
The awakening test might have labeled him a failure, but Su Yan knew now that his journey had only just begun.