Just like that, another year passed quietly. No great disturbances, no sudden breakthroughs, no brushes with death. Only the steady rhythm of cultivation and hard work guided Li Yao's days. It had now been two full years since he first entered the Embercloud Sect.
Within the dim glow of his modest wooden room, a faint glimmer emerged as Li Yao opened his system panel.
[Host Status:
Name: Li Yao
Age: 15 years
Spiritual Roots: High-grade Fire Spirit Root (+)
Constitution: Human Mortal Body (+)
Cultivation: Qi Refining – Perfection Stage
Body Refinement: Eight Level – First Body Refinement Stage
Cultivation Sutra: Emberheart Nourishment Sutra (+)
Battle Art: Nature's Severance (17/100)
Intent: None]
Li Yao exhaled slowly as he studied the panel. Two years had reshaped him beyond recognition. Gone was the frail village boy who stood hesitantly at the Embercloud Sect gates. Now, his skin carried a faint jade luster, clear and unblemished. His black hair had grown long, tied neatly at the crown in the fashion of a proper cultivator. His frame, though still lean, was no longer fragile- it carried the underlying power of someone on the verge of breaking into the Foundation Establishment realm.
He glanced at the battle art entry, his gaze lingering on Nature's Severance. Just seventeen percent mastery- yet the strength it offered him was already immense. He had spent nearly all his spirit stones on the Heavenly Observation System's Insight function to gain even a partial comprehension of the technique. Now, only twenty-two low-grade spirit stones remained.
"Still so little progress…" he muttered, though not without pride. Nature's Severance was a profound technique. Even his master, Elder Bai, had not perfected it yet.
Li Yao turned to the technique panel.
[Technique Proficiency Panel:
Emberheart Nourishment Sutra – Perfect
Diamond Body Tempering Scripture (Chapter One) – Perfect
Nature's Severance – 17% Mastery
Leafshadow Steps – Perfect
Mountain Root Pulse – Perfect]
Seeing the entries, a smile crept onto his lips. Leafshadow Steps allowed him to blend with his surroundings, moving like a shadow between the leaves. Mountain Root Pulse, a fist technique focused on stability and power, granted his strikes the force of boulders rolling down a mountain path.
"I'm no longer helpless," he said to himself.
After tidying his robes, Li Yao left his quarters and made his way to the core of the Herbal Garden Division.
There, in a secluded inner courtyard surrounded by flowering spirit herbs, Elder Bai Renshu sat beneath a pavilion, sipping spirit tea. His long silver hair was tied loosely, and his face, though aged, held a peaceful dignity.
Li Yao cupped his fists and bowed deeply. "Disciple greets Master."
Elder Bai looked up, eyes gleaming with warmth. "Mm. You've grown again. Taller, sharper… steadier."
He gestured for Li Yao to sit. As his disciple took the cushion opposite him, Bai Renshu's thoughts wandered.
It truly was the best decision of my life… taking this child as my disciple.
In the past year, no one had witnessed Li Yao's progress more closely than Bai Renshu. This boy, who began with a simple fire root and no background, had now reached perfection in Qi Refining. His mastery over Nature's Severance was already close to understanding intent.
And yet, Li Yao had managed this within a single year- while simultaneously perfecting both his footwork and his fist technique. Bai Renshu, even in his prime, had only trained in one martial art at a time.
"Li Yao," the old man said after a moment of silence, "seven months from now, the secret realm of our sect on Cloudveil Peak's hidden domain will open again. As my personal disciple, a spot has already been allocated for you."
Li Yao blinked. "The secret realm?"
"It's called the Myriad Heaven Realm," Bai Renshu explained. "A fragment of a world that once existed in a special dimension. The entrance appears once every hundred years or unless the sect has multiple geniuses at the Foundation Establishment Realm and decides to forcefully open it. This time, there are three. You'll be the fourth."
He paused to sip his tea. "However, only those in the Foundation Establishment realm can enter- not above, not below. You must break through in the next few months to qualify."
Li Yao sat upright, fully focused.
"Let me tell you why this opportunity is so rare," Bai Renshu continued. "Inside the Myriad Heaven Realm, the speed of cultivation multiplies drastically. For early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, progress can be up to two hundred times faster. For mid-stage, it drops to a hundred. Late stage, fifty. But more than that…"
His voice deepened.
"…it grants glimpses into the rules of the Dao. You've felt it already, haven't you? The resonance when you use Nature's Severance. That slight ripple that goes beyond the technique."
Li Yao nodded slowly. Indeed, when he used the axe art, he sometimes felt as if the world itself held its breath.
"You have a high-grade fire spirit root," Bai Renshu said, "but that only determines your cultivation speed in the Fire Dao. Dao affinity… that comes from the soul."
He looked away, toward the horizon.
"My own root is of wood nature. And yet, I've touched upon the Dao of Nature… and even glimpsed fragments of Space."
Li Yao's eyes widened.
Bai Renshu smiled. "Your soul must find its own Dao. In the Myriad Heaven Realm, your comprehension of it may awaken fully."
He reached into his sleeve and brought out a small jade vial. The liquid inside glowed faintly with rippling spiritual energy.
"This is Qi Spring Water," he said. "A treasure capable of refining your threads of qi into a foundation pillar with far less resistance. It's not something I give lightly. But you… you've earned it."
Li Yao bowed low, his heart filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Master. I… will not fail you."
Bai Renshu waved a hand gently. "Go now. Begin your seclusion. Consolidate your foundation. The sooner you break through, the more time you'll have to stabilize your realm."
Li Yao rose, but before turning to leave, he paused.
Behind the calm of his master's gaze, he sensed something… off.
Bai Renshu's smile faded as he watched his disciple go. Only after Li Yao had disappeared from sight did he allow his body to sag.
With trembling hands, he drew a talisman and pressed it to his chest.
A surge of blood-red energy pulsed beneath his skin and was quickly suppressed.
"Just as I thought…" he muttered bitterly. "The last of my internal strength is slipping. My meridians are withering. My cultivation base… decaying."
Only one trace of power remained to him now- his arrow intent, born from decades of battle and reflection.
He looked toward the sky, his thoughts drifting to his youth, his failures, his regrets.
"I may not live to see you reach Core Formation, child," he murmured. "But I have done what I could. If nothing else… you will have the chance I never had."
A breeze passed through the herbal courtyard, rustling the leaves.
In the distance, Li Yao clutched the vial of Qi Spring Water tightly in his robes, unaware of the burden his master carried alone.