Night fell like a silent curtain.
Outside, the Thundercloud Sect's outer wards lay still, shrouded beneath a blanket of quiet mist. The once-vibrant sect had faded into hushed decay—wooden fences in disrepair, the training fields cracked with weeds, and cultivation pavilions that groaned under the weight of time.
Inside his small chamber, Lu Shen sat cross-legged on the bare floor.
He had finished the last of the thin porridge Xiao Fan brought him and cleaned the bowl with a cloth torn from his own sleeve. It wasn't much, but it reminded him of something from his old life—a lesson learned during long nights alone with nothing but cheap instant noodles and the dim hum of fluorescent lights.
The body needs fuel. Even if it's poor, even if it's tasteless— It's still better than starving.
He exhaled slowly, drawing his focus inward.
The broken sword rested beside him, the faint glint of steel visible under moonlight filtering through the wooden slats. There was no cultivation technique in his mind yet. No manual. No secret art.
But the sword forms—basic though they were—had stirred something.
A rhythm.
A flow.
If I don't have a manual, then I'll make one. Start where I am, with what I have.
And then, almost as if summoned by that silent vow—
[System Notice]
Cultivation Potential Scan: Incomplete Dantian Detected.
Your spiritual core has been fractured. Qi accumulation rate: near-zero.
Unlocking Auxiliary Function: Manual Logging.
A small panel opened beside the usual sword form tracker.
[Heaven's Script – Personal Cultivation Log]
You may manually record techniques, observations, and breakthroughs. Logging consistent entries can enhance understanding and EXP gain over time.
Note: Logging is limited to practiced techniques or witnessed phenomena. No fictional entries accepted.
First Entry Available: Yes/No?
He blinked.
"Log it," he whispered aloud.
The air shimmered faintly, and ghostly text appeared on the panel.
Entry #001 – Basic Thundercloud Sword Form (Initial Comprehension)
Notes: Balance difficult due to old injuries. Right knee strains on pivot. Breathwork syncs better after third repetition. Visualize storm arc—lightning curving through clouds.
Estimated EXP Gain Bonus from Logging: +3%
Lu Shen's lips curled upward slightly.
It was like keeping a diary—but with cultivation points.
Fine, he thought. If I'm broken, I'll become the most methodical cripple this world has ever seen.
...
The next morning began with silence and sweat.
Before the sun had crested over the misty ridge, Lu Shen stood in the courtyard beside the broken wall. The training field was still empty—most of the other outer disciples wouldn't rise until the third bell. He needed the time alone.
The first swing of the sword cut clean through air thick with dew. Then the second. The third. Each movement burned in his shoulders and calves. His core trembled from the strain of controlling breath and balance together.
The ghostly panel hovered in the corner of his vision.
[Basic Thundercloud Sword Form – Level 0]
Progress: 68/100 EXP
Fatigue: Moderate
Posture Adjustment Suggested: Spine tilt left 6°
He grunted. The suggestion wasn't wrong—his stance was slightly crooked. How had he never noticed it before?
Because your old body sat in a chair ten hours a day and typed for a living.
He forced his posture straighter. Drew the sword in a smooth arc again. Visualized the lightning. Thunder building behind the movement.
Sweat rolled down his cheek.
Again.
And again.
Until—
[Basic Thundercloud Sword Form – Level 1/5]
Congratulations. Form mastery increased. Flow enhanced. Balance slightly improved. Bonus: Sword Art EXP Gain increased by +10% when using Thundercloud-based techniques.
Lu Shen let the blade drop. His breath came ragged, but his eyes sparkled with something dangerously close to joy.
Not because the form had leveled up.
But because—for the first time—he felt it.
The sword wasn't just a stick of metal in his hands. It pulsed with a latent rhythm. The form flowed smoother now, like water trickling down a well-worn path.
The knowledge was starting to stick to the bones.
...
Later that day, Lu Shen sat on a stone bench beneath a withered plum tree. A thin book lay open in his lap—"Basic Theory of Qi Channels"—which he'd found discarded behind the old training hall. Several pages were missing. A few others had mold stains. But the diagrams were intact.
He traced the outline of a body drawn in faded ink, its dantian located just below the navel, and channels fanning out like rivers branching from a lake.
So this is the system inside every cultivator.
If your dantian's broken, the energy doesn't gather. But what if… I build around it?
His fingers brushed the panel again.
[Spiritual Root Condition: Fragmented]
Natural absorption rate: 2% of average outer disciple.
Manual absorption through breathwork: possible, with difficulty.
Progress Path Available: Yes (Path of Reforging)
He tapped.
[Path of Reforging – Locked]
Conditions to Unlock:
– Reach Level 3 in any physical technique
– Witness a true cultivator's Qi manifestation
– Log five original cultivation insights
Progress: 1/3, 0/1, 1/5
Lu Shen's smile faded into something sharper. More determined.
So it wasn't impossible.
Just difficult.
Story of my life.
...
That night, Xiao Fan returned. This time she brought something else—a strip of dried meat and a small flask of cloudy rice wine.
"I… saved this from the last festival," she said, cheeks flushed. "Thought it might help you feel better."
He took it slowly, his eyes softening. "Thank you."
"You were out training again," she said. "I saw you from the upper courtyard."
"I have to keep moving," he said, then paused. "Xiao Fan… how long has it been since I lost my cultivation?"
She looked down. "Almost a year."
He blinked.
"A whole year?"
She nodded. "You collapsed during one of Elder Ming's drills. They said your dantian cracked because you forced too much Qi in too fast. Master tried to heal it, but…"
"I see."
Lu Shen stared into the flask for a moment.
He remembered none of that, but the guilt gnawed at the edges. A body discarded by the world. A boy abandoned by fortune. Yet even in ruin, there were traces—of pride, of effort.
You weren't weak, were you? Just… reckless.
"I'm not him," he murmured.
"Hmm?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Thank you, Xiao Fan. This means more than you know."
She gave a small smile and ran off again.
...
That night, after logging his second insight—
Insight #2: Stamina builds faster when breath matches form. Holding breath delays recovery and disrupts flow.
EXP Gain Bonus: +2% (stacking)
—Lu Shen sat back and looked up at the sky through a crack in the wooden ceiling.
There were no stars.
Just clouds.
Heavy and waiting.
He didn't know if they held thunder or rain—or perhaps nothing at all.
But as long as they hung above him, they would be his horizon.
Let the heavens write their script. I'll write mine, stroke by stroke— With sword, sweat, and stubbornness.