The rain lashed down on the Stone Village, turning the dirt paths into a muddy mess. Seventeen-year-old Akash sat under a leaking wooden roof, clutching a small, cold steamed bun—his only meal for the day.
In this world, strength was everything. Those who could harness Qi became Cultivators, capable of splitting mountains with a single strike. But Akash was born with 'Broken Meridians.' His body couldn't hold even a drop of energy. To the world, he was nothing but 'Trash.'
"Look at the beggar," a voice sneered.
It was Rohan, the village head's son, surrounded by his group of bullies. Rohan's body glowed with a faint green aura—the sign of a Level 2 Qi Gathering stage.
"The Sect selection is tomorrow, Akash. Why don't you just leave now? A waste like you shouldn't even stand in the same mud as us," Rohan laughed, kicking the bun out of Akash's hand into the dirt.
Akash didn't say a word. He looked down at his trembling hands. His eyes weren't filled with tears, but with a cold, burning fire. 'If the heavens didn't give me a path,' he thought, 'I will carve my own.'
That night, Akash climbed the Forbidden Black Mountain. Legend said no one ever returned from there, but Akash had nothing to lose. At the very peak, lightning struck a jagged rock, revealing a hidden entrance to a cave.
Inside, there was no gold or weapons. Only a skeleton sitting in a lotus position, holding a glowing, golden pearl.
As Akash stepped closer, the skeleton's jaw moved, and a voice echoed inside his brain.
[FOR TEN MILLION YEARS, I HAVE WAITED. DO YOU SEEK POWER, MORTAL?]
Akash knelt, his forehead touching the cold stone. "I seek to stand above the Heavens!"
The golden pearl shot forward, slamming directly into Akash's chest. He screamed as his broken meridians were ripped apart and rebuilt with liquid gold.
[INITIATING ETERNAL SOVEREIGN PROTOCOL...]
[LEVEL: 0 (Mortal)]
[CURRENT QI: INFINITE POTENTIAL]
The golden pearl inside Akash's chest stopped burning, replaced by a cool, rhythmic pulse. For the first time in seventeen years, he didn't feel weak. He felt like a volcano waiting to erupt.
[SOVEREIGN CORE: 1% SYNCED]
[CULTIVATION BASE: QI GATHERING LEVEL 1]
He looked at his skin. A layer of black, foul-smelling liquid had seeped out of his pores—the impurities of seventeen years being flushed out. His muscles were lean, and his senses were sharper. He could hear the heartbeat of a bird in a tree fifty meters away.
"Level 1... just like that?" Akash whispered, clenching his fist. People in his village spent years practicing just to reach this stage.
As he walked down the mountain, the sun began to rise. It was the day of the Sect Selection.
When he reached the village square, a large crowd had gathered. Two disciples from the 'Cloud-Sword Sect' were standing on a wooden platform, testing the village youths.
"Next! Rohan!" one of the disciples shouted.
Rohan walked up confidently. He placed his hand on a testing stone. The stone glowed with a solid green light.
"Rohan. Qi Gathering Level 3. Excellent! You are eligible for the outer-disciple exam," the disciple announced.
Rohan smirked, looking at the crowd. His eyes found Akash, who was standing at the back, covered in mountain dirt and mud.
"Look who decided to show up," Rohan laughed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "The trash wants to see how real geniuses are chosen! Hey, Akash, why don't you come up? Maybe the stone will turn black just to match your luck!"
The crowd erupted in laughter. Akash ignored them and walked steadily toward the platform. Each step he took felt heavier, the ground beneath his feet slightly cracking, though no one noticed yet.
He stood before the testing stone.
"Move aside, waste," the disciple said impatiently. "Don't waste our time."
"I am here to be tested," Akash said, his voice deep and calm.
He placed his hand on the cold stone. For a second, nothing happened. Then, a low rumble started from deep within the earth. Suddenly, the stone didn't just glow—it screamed. A blinding golden light shot out, shattering the testing stone into a thousand pieces.
The shockwave threw Rohan and the disciples off the platform. Silence fell over the square.
The disciple looked at the broken shards, his face pale. "This... this isn't Level 1. The stone couldn't even measure his potential!"
Akash looked at his hand, then at the terrified Rohan on the ground. The game had just changed.The dust from the shattered testing stone settled, but the silence remained heavy. Rohan lay on his back, his expensive silk robes covered in dirt, his mouth wide open like a fish out of water. The confident green aura he had been bragging about was gone, extinguished by the golden shockwave.
"My stone... you broke the Sect's testing stone!" the senior disciple stammered, his eyes darting from the golden shards to Akash's calm face. "That stone is made of Star-Iron! It can handle up to Level 9 Qi Gathering. How can a 'waste' like you..."
Akash didn't answer. He felt a strange, cold power swirling in his stomach. The Sovereign Core was humming, hungry for more energy.
"He's cheating!" Rohan finally screamed, scrambling to his feet. "He must have used a hidden bomb or a dark trick! Father, he's trying to destroy our village's reputation!"
The Village Head, Rohan's father, stepped forward. His face was dark with rage. He was a Level 5 Qi Gathering expert, the strongest man for miles. "Akash! Explain this! Where did you get this forbidden power? If you don't speak, I will have to cripple you myself for the safety of our people."
He raised his hand, and a heavy, suffocating pressure fell over the square. The villagers gasped, many falling to their knees under the weight of his Level 5 power.
But Akash stood straight. To him, the Village Head's pressure felt like nothing more than a light breeze.
"I am not a waste anymore," Akash said, his voice echoing through the square. "And I don't owe you any explanations. You called me trash for seventeen years. Today, the trash is moving out."
"Bold!" the Village Head roared. He lunged forward, his palm glowing with concentrated green energy, aiming straight for Akash's chest.
Akash didn't move until the last second. He simply raised his fist and punched forward. There was no complex technique, just pure, raw golden Qi.
BOOM!
The green energy shattered like glass. The Village Head was sent flying backward, crashing into the wooden platform, which broke into splinters under his weight.
The crowd went dead silent. A boy who had no Qi yesterday had just defeated a Level 5 expert with a single, casual punch.
Akash looked at the two Sect disciples. "Am I selected?"
The senior disciple swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he pulled out a dark purple jade token. "Yes... you... you are invited to the Cloud-Sword Sect's main entrance exam. This is an Elite Token."
Akash grabbed the token without a word. He turned his back on the village, not even glancing at the terrified Rohan or his fallen father.
"Wait!" the disciple called out. "The Sect carriage leaves in three days!"
Akash looked over his shoulder, his eyes flashing with a sharp gold light. "I'll find my own way. This village is too small for me now."
As he stepped out of the village gates, a new notification appeared in his mind:
[QUEST COMPLETED: FIRST DOMINANCE]
[REWARD: SOVEREIGN STEP (AGILITY TECHNIQUE UNLOCKED)]
[SYSTEM NOTE: THE JOURNEY TO THE 9 HEAVENS HAS BEGUN.]