The morning wind still blew gently through Qinghe Village.
The sky was already fully bright, yet Lin Tianyuan still stood in his courtyard, staring at the empty village path.
His father had left.
Lin Feng's figure had vanished around the bend of the road a few moments ago.
For a long time, Tianyuan did not move.
A strange feeling welled up in his chest.
Since he was little…
he had always seen his father as someone strong and calm.
But today…
he suddenly felt the distance between them was vast.
As if his father was hiding something he could not bring himself to say.
Tianyuan lowered his head slowly.
In his hand still lay the small scroll his father had given him earlier.
A simple black scroll.
There was no writing on the outside.
Yet for some reason…
he could feel a faint energy emanating from within it.
"Father said this is a cultivation technique…"
Tianyuan murmured softly.
He sat cross-legged in the middle of the training courtyard.
Then he slowly unrolled the scroll.
But the moment it opened—
something strange happened.
The characters inside suddenly emitted a dim light.
Ancient symbols Tianyuan had never seen before appeared on the surface of the scroll.
And before he could even read a single character—
WHOOSH.
All the symbols suddenly transformed into streams of light that shot straight into Tianyuan's forehead.
Tianyuan jolted.
"What—?!"
But before he could react…
his consciousness suddenly sank.
The world around him vanished.
Darkness.
Silence.
When Tianyuan opened his eyes again…
he was no longer in his courtyard.
All around him was nothing but boundless emptiness.
Beneath his feet stretched a calm black sea.
The sea had no waves.
Yet its surface was dotted with twinkling little stars.
Tianyuan looked around in awe.
"What… is this place?"
But before he could think further—
a very familiar voice sounded from behind him.
"Don't panic."
Tianyuan quickly turned around.
Standing there was the figure of Lin Feng.
But this figure looked slightly translucent.
As if it were nothing more than a shadow.
"Father?!"
Lin Feng smiled faintly.
"This is just a message I left inside the scroll."
"My consciousness is not truly here."
Tianyuan looked around again.
"This place…?"
"Your Sea of Consciousness."
Lin Feng answered calmly.
"Every cultivator has a small world within their mind."
"A place where their soul and consciousness reside."
Tianyuan lowered his head to look at the black sea beneath his feet.
The tiny stars on the water's surface twinkled gently.
In the middle of the sea…
he saw something very familiar.
A small black vortex.
His core.
The core that had swallowed the beast's Essence Core earlier.
Lin Feng also looked at the core.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
But he said nothing about it.
Instead, he spoke softly,
"The technique I gave you is a basic cultivation technique."
"But not an ordinary one."
Tianyuan looked at his father.
"Where is this technique from?"
Lin Feng was silent for a few seconds.
Then he said,
"From my clan."
Tianyuan furrowed his brows.
"Your clan?"
Lin Feng nodded.
But his expression grew slightly more serious.
"Tianyuan."
"There are many things about this world you do not yet know."
"Including the origins of your family."
Tianyuan immediately felt his heart beat faster.
But Lin Feng raised his hand.
"It is not yet time."
"For now… just know one thing."
He pointed to the black core spinning in Tianyuan's Sea of Consciousness.
"Your body carries very special blood."
"Blood from the Void Clan."
Tianyuan froze.
"Void… Clan?"
Lin Feng nodded slowly.
"The clan has unique characteristics."
"Their cultivation is far slower than others'."
"But…"
he paused for a moment.
"Their strength is also far greater."
Tianyuan immediately recalled his father's words from earlier.
That he might need ten times more energy.
Lin Feng continued,
"The technique I gave you is the basic technique of the Void Clan."
"But I have refined it over the years."
"This version is much more difficult."
"Yet also much more powerful."
Tianyuan looked at the glowing symbols that slowly appeared in the air around him.
The symbols formed ancient sentences.
Yet strangely…
he could understand them easily.
As if the technique had been created just for him.
Lin Feng smiled slightly at his expression.
"As I suspected."
"Your body can directly comprehend this technique."
"Because the blood of the Void Clan flows within you."
The glowing symbols slowly began to move.
They flowed like rivers of light.
Entering the black vortex in Tianyuan's Sea of Consciousness.
Each symbol that entered made the core pulse more strongly.
Knowledge of the cultivation technique immediately surfaced in Tianyuan's mind.
The technique was called:
Void Origin Breathing Art.
A technique that absorbed qi not only from the air…
but from space itself.
Tianyuan opened his eyes in shock.
"This technique…"
"It's far more complex than ordinary cultivation techniques."
Lin Feng nodded.
"That is why only those of the Void Clan can learn it properly."
He then looked at Tianyuan seriously.
"But remember one thing."
"Never tell anyone about the Void Clan."
"At least… not for now."
Tianyuan nodded quickly.
"I understand."
Lin Feng let out a soft sigh.
"Good."
He then pointed to the Sea of Consciousness around them.
"Tianyuan."
"This world is far bigger than you imagine."
"Qinghe Village is just a tiny dot on the Primordial Vast Continent."
"If you want to become stronger…"
"you must leave."
Tianyuan looked at his father.
"Leave… to where?"
Lin Feng answered with a single simple sentence.
"To a sect."
"That is where young cultivators usually begin their journey."
A soft black wind blew across the Sea of Consciousness.
Lin Feng's figure began to grow more and more translucent.
The message was almost over.
Before disappearing completely…
Lin Feng spoke one last sentence.
"Tianyuan."
"Someday…"
"you may find the truth about your mother."
Tianyuan's eyes widened.
But before he could ask—
the world around him shattered like broken glass.
His consciousness returned to his body.
He was still sitting in the courtyard.
The black scroll in his hand had turned into fine dust.
Yet the knowledge of the cultivation technique was already etched in his mind.
Tianyuan took a slow breath.
He activated the Void Origin Breathing Art.
In an instant—
the qi around him began to move.
Faster than before.
Much faster.
Energy from the air…
from the ground…
even from the empty space around him…
was slowly drawn toward his body.
The black core in his dantian spun faster and faster.
For the first time since starting his cultivation…
Tianyuan felt his path beginning to open up.
Yet he also knew one thing.
If he wanted to truly become strong…
he would have to leave Qinghe Village.
And that journey…
had only just begun.