The sun hung low behind jagged mountain peaks, casting long shadows over the village of Stone Ridge. As Li Tianming stepped down from Spirit Pine Hill, his body tingled with new power—Qi Condensation Stage 1. He could feel the energy flowing through his veins like a living flame.
But the world didn't stop to acknowledge his change. Chickens clucked. Children played in the mud. Men chopped wood. Life went on, mundane and blind to the miracle that had just occurred.
Until the elder stepped forward.
Elder Mu was the oldest and wisest man in Stone Ridge, though in truth that wasn't saying much. His spiritual root had been low-grade at best, enough to make him a village shaman, not a cultivator. But his eyes—cloudy as they were—now fixed on Li Tianming with unease.
"You… you stepped into the first stage?" he whispered, voice trembling.
Li Tianming nodded. "Yes."
Murmurs rippled through the small gathering of villagers. Some looked at him with awe. Others with fear.
"But… how?" Elder Mu's brow furrowed. "You had no root. It's impossible."
"I found a way," Tianming said simply. There was no need to explain the System. Not yet.
A man stepped forward, burly and red-faced. Wei Jin, the village blacksmith, and a long-time tormentor of Tianming. "You expect us to believe this nonsense? You were just a cripple yesterday. Maybe you stole something. Maybe… a demonic technique?"
Li Tianming turned his gaze to Wei Jin. Calm. Cold. "You want to test me?"
Wei Jin laughed. "Fine. If you're so powerful now, fight me. Let's see this miracle of yours."
Tianming stepped forward.
He didn't draw a sword. He didn't channel any techniques. He simply raised a hand and flicked his finger.
Boom.
A compressed wave of spiritual energy erupted from his fingertip. Wei Jin flew back ten feet, crashing into a cart with a groan, completely unconscious.
Gasps filled the square.
Elder Mu's mouth fell open. "You… really did it…"
Li Tianming looked around at the stunned faces.
"I am leaving this village," he said, voice resolute. "There is nothing left for me here."
"But where will you go?" asked Old Jin, the baker's wife. "You're just a child!"
"No. I am a cultivator now. And my path lies beyond these hills."
He turned, heading toward the eastern forest. Toward the world beyond.
---
[System Notification]
> [New Quest: Join a Cultivation Sect]
Objective: Reach any recognized sect within 30 days
Reward: +500 EXP, Sect Token, Unlock "Combat Talent Analysis"
Failure Penalty: Temporary system lockout (7 days)
---
The road through the Eastern Forest was long and perilous. Wild beasts, bandits, and rogue cultivators roamed its shadowed depths. But with his newfound strength, Li Tianming walked unhindered. He trained each night, using the System's auto-cultivation to push himself further.
By the seventh night, he had reached Qi Condensation Stage 2.
And on the eighth morning, he encountered his first real obstacle.
---
The bandits came at night.
There were six of them, dressed in ragged armor, blades gleaming with ill intent. Their leader, a scar-faced man with one eye, sneered as he blocked the road with a raised hand.
"Well, well. A young traveler. Alone. And dressed like a beggar. Hand over your coin, and maybe we won't sell your corpse to the corpse refiners."
Tianming sighed. "You picked the wrong person."
The scarred man barked a laugh. "We'll see."
The others moved in.
Tianming didn't hesitate. He activated his cultivation, spiritual energy flaring around him like a halo. He ducked a slash, grabbed the attacker's wrist, and twisted—breaking it with a crack.
With his left hand, he struck the chest of another, sending the man flying.
Within seconds, three were down.
Scar-face narrowed his eye. "You're a cultivator…?! At your age?!"
Tianming answered with action.
He reached into his inventory for the Beginner Sword Manual, a heaven-grade technique that had been locked until now. As he activated it, the knowledge surged into his mind—stances, strikes, energy flows.
He summoned a blade from the System's conjuration function—simple, but sharp—and stepped forward.
---
[Skill Activated: Heaven Piercing Sword – Form 1: Crescent Edge]
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He swung.
A single arc of silver light sliced through the air, cutting the last three bandits' weapons in half. The men collapsed, unconscious or terrified.
The leader tried to crawl away.
Tianming placed the blade at his throat.
"Tell others," he said, voice like ice. "The boy from Stone Ridge is no longer prey."
Then he vanished into the trees, leaving behind broken men and broken pride.
---
That night, he reached the edge of Azure Mist Prefecture, a region ruled by the powerful Azure Cloud Sect—one of the Four Great Sects of the Northern Heavens.
It was a place of towering mountains, floating palaces, and sword cultivators who could split rivers with a thought.
And it was where destiny was waiting.
---
Far above, within Azure Cloud Sect…
Xu Qingyue sat cross-legged in meditation. A scroll floated before her, displaying the results of the celestial anomaly near Stone Ridge.
"A boy… age fifteen… no known root, yet cultivating rapidly?" she murmured.
Behind her, a graceful figure entered the hall. Silver hair. Calm eyes. A sword at her hip.
"Lady Qingyue, the scouts report a single youth defeated a group of six bandits at the Qi Condensation level. They believe it's him."
Xu Qingyue's lips curled into a faint smile. "Then we shall invite him. Personally."
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[End of Chapter 2]
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