Wu Ming sat cross-legged on his bed, hands resting on his knees as he exhaled slowly.
He had spent the last few hours piecing together what little knowledge he had about cultivation. The original owner of this body had been a low-level outer disciple, barely worth mentioning, but at least he had a basic understanding of the cultivation system in this world.
"Qi Expansion Grand Realm…" Wu Ming's eyes half-opened as he recalled the fragmented memories.
The cultivation realms in this world had an iron order, and the Qi Expansion Grand Realm was the very foundation. It was divided into three major stages: Green Copper Realm, Sky Ocean Realm, and Purple Gold Realm. Each consisted of nine sub-realms.
In the Black River Sect, your strength determined status. Majority of the outer sect disciples ranged between the first and fourth layers of the Green Copper Realm. Reaching the 5th or 6th layer earned some respect, while surpassing the 6th layer made one an elite among outer disciples.
If an outer disciple at the peak of the Green Copper Realm could break into the Crimson Vein Realm before the age of twenty, they would be promoted to the inner sect.
Wu Ming was sixteen years old, having cultivated for two years. Yet, he was only at the 3rd layer.
'Two years, and I'm still at this level? The original owner really was a waste.'
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and examined his dantian.
A perfect sphere sat at the center of his being, crystalline walls enclosing a swirling sea of green copper essence. This was the mark of the Green Copper Realm.
The dantian was the foundation of cultivation, where qi converged, refined, and flourished, the root of all cultivation. Its crystal walls held one's spiritual essence, but they also determined talent.
The thicker the crystal walls, the weaker the cultivation aptitude. A low-grade dantian was three times thicker than a middle-grade, and a middle-grade dantian was three times thicker than a high-grade dantian. Those with heaven-grade or supreme-grade dantians were simply born to rule.
And Wu Ming's dantian?
Low-grade. The worst possible starting point.
Wu Ming sneered, 'Tch, this is quite the cliche. But all the more reason I can't merely cultivate to advance. I need to proactively scour for resources!'
Cultivation in the Qi Expansion Grand Realm followed a systematic approach. Nurturing the dantian walls with spiritual essence so the blockage to the upper pathway naturally broke. This was the only way to ascend the ranks of cultivation.
Wu Ming shifted his focus upward.
Above his dantian, six more crystalline spheres floated in a straight vertical line, like chained moons waiting to be freed. Since he was at the 3rd layer, he had access to three such orbs. The lowest was the size of a pearl, the second as large as a fist, and the third twice its size.
To step into the 4th layer, Wu Ming needed to nurture the blockage barrier of the fourth orb until the pathway breaks on its own.
His eyes suddenly flickered open, "Enough of this. First, let's get a grip on the Jade Serpent Sword Technique. Otherwise, what's the point of having a 3rd-layer cultivation base if I can't even protect myself?"
Wu Ming rose to his feet, grabbed his sword, and strode out of the room. It was time to get some training done.
...
The Outer Sect living quarters spread across the lower slopes of Black River Mountain where the Black River sect operated, a relatively small mountain spanning a thousand miles.
Though not grand, the outer sect residences provided a comfortable environment for the thousands of disciples who lived there to cultivate.
Each disciple was assigned their own dwelling, whether it was a house or a cultivation cave, ensuring a degree of privacy.
A cool wind swept past, making Wu Ming's long black hair shift slightly. His eyes were darker than the night itself, a stark contrast to his snow-white skin. He stood straight like a spear, broad-shouldered, his well-defined body built through rigorous training.
He wore his usual long sleeved outer sect robes, black fabric with golden strips. The emblem of the Black River Sect, a flowing river stitched in silver, rested on his chest. In his right hand, he held a double-edged sword, its cold steel reflecting the moon's glow.
Taking a deep breath, he let the fresh air fill his lungs. The scent of earth and distant trees lingered. Above, the moon hung high, with a few stars flickering beside it. The dark sky was vast and quiet, unbothered by clouds.
He glanced around. The residences in this area were sparse. In the outermost region of the sect, houses were scattered, leaving long stretches of untouched wilderness between them.
Wu Ming's expression remained unreadable as memories surfaced. The original owner of this body had not been assigned this residence. He had fought for it.
At first glance, the scattered housing seemed like a failure in space management by the sect's upper echelons, given the Black River Sect's vast population. But Wu Ming understood their intentions.
This setup was deliberate.
The layout of the Black River sect reflected strength and hierarchy of each and every person in the sect. Those with higher cultivation levels lived closer to the peak of the mountain, where spiritual essence was much denser, accelerating cultivation speed by a substantial margin.
That wasn't all, important locations like the Martial Hall, Execution Hall, Mission Hall, Treasure houses and Elemental Refining Chambers were also within the inner sect's vicinity. For disciples living in the outermost area, traveling nearly 500 miles to the inner sect was a major inconvenience. The time spent on the journey was time lost from cultivation.
Those at lower layers were pushed to the perimeter, where qi was thinner, supervision was lax, and conflicts were more frequent. In the event of an enemy attack or a demonic beast tide, they would be the first to be swept away. This brutal arrangement ensured that only the strong survived, forcing disciples to become more competitive.
A smile curled at Wu Ming's lips. 'At least the previous owner had some backbone. Now, it's my turn to cut my path toward the sect's core.'