The sky above the small mountain village was overcast, matching the heavy air that hung over its residents. Among the modest huts and tilled fields, a boy of fifteen worked tirelessly, his small frame struggling under the weight of his labor. His name was Xu Tian—unremarkable, unnoticed, unimportant.
His hands were rough from years of work, calloused and scarred. As he hoisted another bucket of water, his grip trembled, but he kept going. Sweat dripped down his face, stinging his eyes, but he didn't flinch. He had learned long ago that the world didn't care for the weak.
"Tian, hurry up!" a voice snapped.
Xu Tian turned to find Liu Wei, the village elder's grandson, lounging carelessly beneath a tree, his pristine robes looking out of place in the dirt-streaked village. The glowing talisman at his waist marked him as one of the lucky few blessed by the heavens with the ability to cultivate.
Xu Tian felt the familiar sting of bitterness coil in his chest. Heavenly roots—the innate ability to cultivate qi—were rare, and most never had them. But that didn't matter. No matter how hard he worked, how much he fought, Xu Tian knew he would never escape his fate.
"No wonder your parents abandoned you," Liu Wei sneered. "A cripple like you is useless to anyone."
Xu Tian's grip on the bucket tightened, his nails digging into his palms. The words struck deep. His parents' departure had left a wound that never quite healed. But he wasn't going to give Liu Wei the satisfaction of seeing his pain.
"Why don't you fight back?" Liu Wei goaded. "Oh, wait. You can't. A dog without teeth is better off silent."
Xu Tian's silence was all the answer Liu Wei would get. He wasn't a fool; resisting would only bring more pain.
As the sun sank below the horizon, Xu Tian trudged back to his humble home on the village's edge. His shack was little more than a haphazard collection of wood and straw, its roof sagging and walls warped with age. Inside, the air was heavy with the scent of dust. Xu Tian collapsed onto his bed, the old straw mattress creaking beneath him. He stared at the ceiling, his chest tight with frustration.
Was this all his life would ever be?
He shut his eyes, willing himself to sleep. But just as the darkness began to swallow him whole, a voice echoed in his mind.
> "Do you seek freedom from your chains?"
Xu Tian's eyes shot open, his heart racing. The voice was neither male nor female, and there was something unsettlingly ancient about it.
"Who's there?" he whispered, his voice trembling.
> "Follow the river. Seek the forbidden peak."
The voice was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Xu Tian sat in the darkness, the words still ringing in his mind. It could have been a dream—just his exhausted mind playing tricks on him. But something in him stirred, a spark of defiance, a refusal to simply accept the life he had been given.
Clenching his fists, Xu Tian made a decision.
Under the cover of night, he slipped from his hut, careful not to wake anyone. The moon hung low, casting a silvery glow on the winding river that snaked through the village. He followed it, his feet crunching on the frost-covered earth, the cold biting at his skin. The journey grew steeper, the night colder, until the village lights disappeared entirely, leaving him in a suffocating darkness.
At last, he reached the peak—a jagged, foreboding mountain that seemed to scrape the sky. The air grew heavier as he neared a dark cavern at its base, its entrance wide and jagged like the mouth of some ancient beast. A strange, oppressive energy pulsed from within, and Xu Tian hesitated, his heart pounding in his chest.
> "Enter."
The voice returned, stronger this time, a command rather than a suggestion.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Tian stepped forward. The moment he crossed the threshold, the air inside the cavern was thick with an eerie energy that seemed to weigh him down. His skin crawled as he pressed on, his steps echoing in the silence.
At the heart of the cavern, a stone pedestal rose from the ground, its surface worn and cracked with age. Resting atop it was a tattered black scroll. The runes carved into its surface seemed to shift and writhe, alive with a strange power.
As Xu Tian reached for the scroll, a surge of energy shot through him, sending him flying backward. His body crashed against the cavern wall, and pain exploded in his chest.
> "Only those who defy fate may claim me."
The voice was a warning, but Xu Tian's resolve only hardened. He crawled forward, blood staining his lips, every movement agony. His fingers brushed the scroll once more.
"I… refuse… to be powerless!" he gritted out, his voice ragged with determination.
The moment his hand touched the scroll, the runes flared to life, and a torrent of unfamiliar knowledge poured into his mind. Techniques, concepts, ancient truths, and forbidden powers filled him. His dantian flared with a surge of energy—tiny, but undeniably real.
For the first time in his life, Xu Tian felt power—real power—coursing through his veins.
But the moment he embraced it, the cavern trembled, as if the world itself was rebelling against him.
A booming voice thundered from the heavens.
> "Mortal! You dare defy the Heavenly Dao?"
Xu Tian's battered body trembled, but his gaze never wavered. His eyes burned with newfound resolve.
"I dare," he whispered, his voice low but resolute.
And with that, his journey began.