The wind shifted.
Li Wei stood alone at the edge of the cliff, the early dawn casting long shadows behind him. Mist coiled at his feet like curious spirits, whispering ancient secrets in a language he could almost understand. The jade pendant at his neck pulsed once—softly, like the beat of a sleeping dragon's heart.
"Spirit Veins…" he whispered, staring at his trembling hands.
The truth still echoed in his mind like thunder. For seventeen years, he had believed he was crippled—born with Three Sealed Meridians, unable to cultivate like others in the village. But Master Shen had shattered that illusion in a single moment.
"You are not without talent," the old man had said, his voice firm as stone. "You are bound by something far older than fate. And such bindings can be broken."
The first step was to awaken his inner qi.
From the tattered scroll Master Shen had given him, Li Wei studied the Breath of the Verdant Sky, a cultivation method unlike anything he had seen before. It spoke of harmony—not dominance. Not forcing energy, but listening for it. Becoming one with the rhythm of the world.
He sat in lotus position, back straight, palms open to the sky.
At first, there was only silence. Then the wind brushed past his ears, carrying faint traces of qi—light, elusive, like morning dew.
He tried to pull it in.
Nothing.
Too forceful.
He exhaled and slowed his breath, remembering the words: "Do not chase the current. Become the river."
This time, he let go.
And then—he felt it.
A single thread of qi, delicate as spider silk, brushed against his soul and drifted down into his dantian. It was faint… but real.
His heart surged. The energy moved, brushing against the first sealed gate.
Crack.
Pain exploded through him. Blood welled from his lips. The seal held—but only barely.
He could stop. He should stop.
But Li Wei had known helplessness too long. He would not remain caged.
Again.
Inhale. Stillness. Qi.
Another thread.
Crack!
The seal groaned, like old wood splitting under pressure. His breath came ragged, but he smiled through the blood. It was working.
And then—with one final pulse—the gate shattered.
A burst of energy raced through his body like wildfire. His limbs shook. His heart pounded like a war drum.
But when the storm passed, something had changed.
The first meridian… was open.
He had taken his first true step on the Path of Immortality.
⸻
High above, within the folds of a pine tree, a hidden presence stirred. A pair of old, silver eyes narrowed with interest.
"To break a seal at first contact… This boy's fate is no longer quiet."