By IMERPUS RELUR
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The sword pulsed faintly in his hand.
It wasn't an illusion.
It wasn't a dream.
Liang Chen stared at the weapon in silence. The rust was gone. Its blackened edges had become a seamless curve of silver and obsidian, faintly humming with spiritual force. A subtle ripple of pressure flowed around it—the sign of a true weapon used by cultivators.
This was no longer the broken sword of a dead farmer.
> [Weapon Grade: Mortal-Grade (Low Tier)]
Spiritual Compatibility: 100% – Bound User: Liang Chen
Note: User has no cultivation base. Usage risk: medium.
The mark on his forearm faded back into silence, but he could still feel it, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
This… was the start of something impossible.
He placed the sword down gently, half-afraid it would vanish, then reached for a second object on the floor.
A torn manual.
The one technique left by his father—
barely readable, water-stained, and filled with holes.
> "Basic Fist Technique – Rank: Common Martial Manual"
Instructions: Train muscle memory, simulate flow, mimic animal movement.
Useless. It wasn't even a real cultivation art. It was the sort of thing given to guards or field fighters with no talent.
But Liang Chen now had something more valuable than talent.
He held up his last Low-Grade Spirit Stone, just as he had with the sword, and let it brush against the manual and his Heavenstone Mark.
A golden ripple bloomed in his vision.
> [Upgrade Interface Active]
Target: Common Martial Manual – Basic Fist Technique
Upgrade Path Available → Spirit Art: Iron Flow Fist (Stage 1)
Cost: 1 Low-Grade Spirit Stone
Proceed? [Y/N]
He didn't hesitate.
Yes.
The manual glowed, pages shifting, rewriting themselves. Letters reformed into runes. Invisible pressure wrapped around his body—tightening his muscles, tensing his bones, rattling his lungs.
He fell to one knee, teeth clenched.
This was no mere memory. It was a forced integration—the art sinking into his blood.
And then—
> [Upgrade Complete]
Technique: Iron Flow Fist (Spirit Art – Stage 1)
Status: Adaptation Pending – Body Unsuitable for Full Execution
Warning: Cultivation Base – 0
Liang Chen collapsed to the floor, drenched in sweat. His limbs burned, his veins itched, and his skin was tight as stone.
But he was still alive.
More than that… he was changed.
When he pushed himself up, the pain faded faster than it should have. His legs trembled—but they didn't break. His breath steadied—and a faint heat coursed through his bones.
> "I integrated a technique… without even stepping into Body Tempering."
No one in the Emberdust Realm could do this. Not even Yin Kuo, with all his high-grade fire root pride, could cultivate without first forming his root center.
Liang Chen looked at the fading pages in his hand. They were blank now—sacrificed to give him something real.
He rose and looked again at his upgraded sword.
> "You were right, Father. I wasn't born for the fields."
He stepped outside. The wind carried faint ash. Red Ember Village was silent, unaware that a single soul had broken the laws of its sky.
> "I was born to walk a different path."
A stonepath.