Cold steel. That was the last thing Kazuki Ren felt before death—its bite sinking between his ribs, his blood soaking the alley bricks of Tokyo's underworld. His own disciple had betrayed him. The irony burned deeper than the blade.
Then came the darkness.
But death didn't last.
---
Kazuki's eyes shot open, his breath ragged. Instead of neon lights and the acrid stench of blood, there was incense... and pain. His entire body ached, like shattered porcelain barely glued back together.
He lay on a tattered mat inside a wooden hut. The walls were paper-thin, and outside, angry voices barked.
"Jin Tae-hyun is awake?"
"Why bother feeding a cripple?"
"Let him rot. The clan has no place for trash."
The name wasn't his. But the memories weren't lying. They weren't his either—but they were inside his mind now. Flooding in. A different life.
Jin Tae-hyun.
Second son of the Jin Clan.
Born with shattered meridians.
Mocked, beaten, abandoned.
Kazuki clenched his fists—or tried to. His body trembled from weakness.
"I was betrayed... and now I'm reborn as this?" he thought bitterly. "A cripple in a backward martial world?"
> [Heavenly Rebirth System initializing...]
Kazuki flinched.
> [Host: Jin Tae-hyun (Kazuki Ren)]
[Synchronization complete.]
[System Function Unlocked: Absolute Absorption]
[Tutorial Mission: Absorb ambient Qi – 0/10 units]
A sharp intake of breath escaped him. He wasn't hallucinating. He had read about this sort of thing—isekai stories, cheat systems, power progression. But this was no fantasy anymore.
> [Warning: Host's meridians are damaged beyond normal recovery.]
[Activating Adaptive Qi Circuit Patch v1.0]
He screamed.
The pain was unimaginable. Like fire forcing its way through cracked pipes. His dantian—damaged and withered—twitched for the first time in years.
Then... something miraculous.
A sliver of Qi, thin as thread, flowed through him. His bones no longer felt brittle. His breathing eased.
Kazuki—no, Tae-hyun—grinned.
"So this is Qi... and this is my second life."
---
The next day, the Jin Clan elder assigned chores.
"Tae-hyun, clean the latrines. Don't fall in again."
The other juniors laughed. Among them was Jin Mu, the first son, golden-haired and arrogant, already at the Second Stage of Body Refinement.
Tae-hyun didn't respond. He knelt, began scrubbing quietly.
His body was weak, but his mind—his assassin's instincts—were sharper than ever. He observed, memorized, calculated. Every word they spoke was data. Every muscle they flexed was weakness waiting to be exploited.
> [Passive Qi Absorption – 3/10 units gathered]
[Daily Quest: Complete 3 humiliating tasks – Reward: +1 Stamina, +1 Qi Control]
"Even humiliation gives rewards?" he mused. "Then I'll crawl until I can stand."
---
Days passed. His bones thickened. Muscles tightened. The whispers of Qi that once trickled now flowed.
On the tenth day, he stood in the clan's forest alone.
> [Qi Capacity: 10/10 – Threshold Reached]
[Initiating Breakthrough: Body Refinement – Stage 1]
He sat down, cross-legged. Focused. Let the system guide him.
Qi surged.
His meridians screamed.
Then—pop.
Like a bubble bursting, a current raced through him. Strength flooded his limbs. His once-frail body now bristled with dormant power.
> [Breakthrough Complete – Body Refinement Stage 1]
[System Perk Unlocked: Combat Scan Lv. 1]
He stood slowly. A rabbit skittered across the underbrush.
His eyes narrowed.
He moved.
One strike—two fingers to the neck.
The rabbit dropped, stunned.
"I'm not crippled anymore," Tae-hyun whispered. "Now let's see who's trash."
---
That night, a shadow crept into his hut.
Jin Mu.
"You little rat," Mu hissed. "You think I wouldn't notice your change?"
Tae-hyun met his brother's eyes, calm.
"Have something to say, Mu?"
"You've been stealing Qi, haven't you? From the clan grounds? I saw you glowing."
"I'm recovering," Tae-hyun replied coolly. "Shouldn't the clan celebrate?"
Mu growled. "There's no place for miracles. Especially not for trash like you."
He lunged.
Fists flew.
Mu was stronger—technically. But Tae-hyun didn't fight like a Murim noble.
He ducked, twisted, used momentum.
> [Combat Scan activated – Reading Jin Mu's stances]
[Weakness found: Left knee – unstable footing]
Tae-hyun swept low.
Mu fell.
A jab to the throat silenced him. Tae-hyun pressed his fingers to Mu's neck.
"Next time, I don't stop," he whispered.
Mu choked but nodded.
> [System Notification: You have defeated a superior opponent.]
[Reward: Martial Skill – Phantom Step copied.]
Tae-hyun exhaled slowly.
He looked up at the stars.
"You killed me once, world. That was your mistake. I won't die a second time."
---
---
The next morning, the sun hadn't yet risen when Tae-hyun stepped onto the training grounds.
The juniors of the Jin Clan hadn't taken notice of his change. Not yet.
But they would.
> [Skill Unlocked: Phantom Step Lv. 1]
[Description: A foundational footwork technique used by inner disciples. Enhances speed and agility during combat. Qi consumption: 2 units per activation.]
He activated it.
His foot touched the ground—light, almost silent.
The world blurred slightly at the edge of his vision. In a single motion, he crossed five meters, landing with perfect balance.
Tae-hyun smiled. In his past life, he'd spent years refining movement and strike techniques to eliminate targets in the underworld. This was different—sharper. Faster. Powered by Qi.
> [Stamina: 5/10]
[Qi: 3/10] – Phantom Step used
The cost was steep for now. But the efficiency would improve with mastery.
He practiced until sunrise.
---
Later that day, Tae-hyun stood at the clan's outer courtyard, broom in hand, head bowed. Jin Mu passed by, bruised and limping, but didn't meet his eyes.
Good.
Whispers flitted through the courtyard.
"Did Jin Mu get beaten last night?"
"I heard he was poisoned."
"No way Tae-hyun had anything to do with it."
Tae-hyun swept in silence. He didn't care about rumors. Rumors were noise. Distractions.
He was focused on data.
Every movement of the disciples. Every teacher's lesson. Every skill name dropped during sparring—he logged them mentally, building a catalogue.
And the system helped.
> [Passive Skill Copied: Stone Fist Style Lv. 1]
[Progress: 12% – Observation Incomplete]
Just watching martial arts let him gather fragments.
Soon, he wouldn't just replicate. He'd perfect.
---
That night, his system pinged again.
> [Tutorial Mission Complete: Qi Absorbed, First Opponent Defeated, Skill Copied]
[System Upgrade Unlocked: Status Window Access]
[Would you like to view your status? Y/N]
"Open it," he whispered.
A glowing blue screen appeared in front of him.
---
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Jin Tae-hyun
Origin: Earth (Kazuki Ren)
Realm: Body Refinement – Stage 1
Qi: 7/10
Stamina: 8/10
Skills:
Phantom Step Lv. 1
Combat Scan Lv. 1
Stone Fist Style (Copy Progress: 12%)
Traits:
Assassin's Instincts (Passive): +10% evasion, +15% kill intent detection
Crippled Core (Stabilized)
System Functions:
Skill Copy (Unlocked)
Combat Scan (Unlocked)
Stat Evolution (Locked)
World Archive (Locked)
---
Tae-hyun scanned it calmly. He was weak—but no longer helpless. The locked functions hinted at future potential.
He needed more information. More real combat. He couldn't stay a broom boy forever.
---
Three nights later, he left the clan grounds under the cover of moonlight.
The nearby forest was filled with low-tier spirit beasts. Dangerous to ordinary juniors—but now, to him, they were prey.
He crouched low and crept through the underbrush.
> [Combat Scan Activated]
[Target: Bonefang Wolf – Qi Beast, Rank 1]
[Weakness: Rear tendon exposed during lunge]
[Threat Level: Moderate]
The wolf sniffed the air, pacing. Its eyes locked onto him, yellow and hungry.
Tae-hyun didn't run. He didn't wait.
He moved first.
Phantom Step—Activate.
He blurred, appearing behind the beast mid-lunge. He pivoted, delivering a precise kick to its rear leg.
The wolf tumbled, howling in pain.
Tae-hyun struck its temple with a rock-fist blow.
Thud.
> [Target neutralized.]
[Qi harvested: +2 units]
[Beast Core available – would you like to absorb?]
"Absorb."
> [Warning: Raw beast cores are unstable for low-level cultivators.]
[System will refine core. Proceed? Y/N]
"Yes."
His chest burned as foreign energy surged through him—but the system filtered the chaos.
His muscles bulged slightly.
> [Qi increased. Qi capacity temporarily boosted: 10 → 12]
[Physical strength +1]
[Progress to Body Refinement Stage 2: 36%]
Tae-hyun collapsed to one knee, panting.
"I need to be careful. But this... this is power worth chasing."
---
He returned at dawn, unnoticed.
Jin Mu was still healing. The elders ignored him. The disciples kept their distance.
Good.
He liked the shadows.
Let them believe he was weak. Let them lower their guards.
Soon, he would rise. Not just to escape mockery—but to take everything the clan tried to strip from him.
> [New Quest Generated: Outer Sect Trial – 14 Days Remaining]
[Objective: Qualify for the Outer Sect Exchange Tournament]
[Minimum Requirement: Body Refinement Stage 2]
[Reward: +5 stat points, System Skill Unlock, Clan Recognition]
Tae-hyun's eyes glinted in the low morning light.
"Fourteen days, huh?" he muttered. "Then I'll become something else entirely in half that time."
---
---