The Azure Moon Sect was a land of towering peaks and floating palaces, a place where geniuses were forged into immortals. Majestic waterfalls cascaded from the mountains, feeding shimmering spirit lakes below. Ancient stone pavilions lined the sect's grounds, their surfaces etched with profound Daoist runes. Disciples in elegant robes walked the sacred paths, their auras vibrant with spiritual power.
But this world of grandeur did not belong to Jiang Chen.
Instead, he sat on a crumbling stone step at the Outer Disciple Courtyard, far removed from the sect's inner sanctums. His robe was old and patched, the fabric barely holding together after years of wear. His hair, once neatly tied, had come undone, strands falling messily over his face. His hands, calloused from years of labor, rested on his knees, clenched into fists.
He had been here for ten years.
Ten years of waking before dawn to clean training grounds he wasn't allowed to use. Ten years of carrying alchemy furnaces too heavy for his thin frame. Ten years of ridicule, of struggling to cultivate, of failing again and again.
"Why…?"
He had done everything right. He had studied the sect's basic techniques until his vision blurred. He had meditated under the spirit trees for days, hoping to sense even the slightest wisp of Qi. He had endured hunger, exhaustion, and humiliation, all for a chance to step onto the path of immortality.
But nothing had ever changed.
Not once had he felt the warmth of Qi entering his meridians. Not once had he taken even the first step into cultivation. His body simply refused.
"Maybe I was never meant to cultivate."
The thought clawed at his mind, bitter and suffocating.
Nearby, a group of outer disciples gathered. Their laughter rang out, sharp and mocking.
"Still here, Jiang Chen?" One of them sneered. Lin Tao, a disciple who had reached Qi Refining Fifth Stage in just two years. "I heard the elders don't even call your name during roll anymore. Are you even part of the sect?"
Laughter erupted from the group.
Jiang Chen didn't respond. He had learned long ago that silence was the best defense. Words would only invite more insults.
Lin Tao stepped closer, towering over him. "You know, maybe you should just leave. The sect doesn't need useless trash like you."
The words stabbed deeper than Jiang Chen expected.
Because deep down, a part of him had begun to believe them.
"Maybe I really am useless."
His vision blurred. His chest felt tight, as if something was trying to break free.
Then—
Thump.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears.
Thump.
A searing heat spread through his veins, coiling in his dantian.
Thump!
The world around him shattered.
---
A Place Beyond Reality
Jiang Chen found himself floating in an endless abyss.
There was no sky, no earth, only darkness stretching infinitely in all directions. It was silent, yet the silence felt alive, as though something vast and unfathomable lurked just beyond his perception.
A voice, deep and eternal, echoed through the void.
"You are unbound… a soul untouched by fate… You belong to the Void."
Jiang Chen's breath caught. His body, his soul—it felt like something was peeling away, stripping him of the limitations he had carried his whole life.
Then, visions flooded his mind.
He saw celestial beings kneeling before a throne of shadows, their divine halos flickering in fear. He saw worlds collapsing into nothingness, swallowed by an all-consuming force. He saw a lone figure standing against the heavens, wielding the power of the void itself.
And then—he saw himself.
A version of him, but different. Stronger. Boundless.
A man who defied the heavens themselves.
His heart thundered as a black flame ignited within him.
Pain. Agony. It felt as though his body was being torn apart and rebuilt at the same time.
His meridians, once blocked, shattered—only to reform, wider, stronger. His soul, once caged, expanded, touching the boundless abyss.
And then—
Boom!
A surge of power erupted from within him.
Qi Refining First Stage… Second… Third…
The force of it sent ripples through the void itself.
"You have awakened."
Jiang Chen's vision blurred—then snapped back into focus.
---
Rebirth in the Mortal World
The wind howled. The moon hung high in the sky.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes.
He was back in the outer disciple courtyard, seated on the same stone step. But everything felt different.
The aches in his body were gone. The exhaustion that had weighed on him for years had vanished. His breathing felt smoother, lighter—as if the air itself bent to his will.
And most of all—
He could feel it.
Not Qi, not the spiritual energy other disciples cultivated. Something deeper. Something boundless.
His fingers twitched. The space around them… rippled.
"What is this power…?"
He stood slowly, his senses sharper than they had ever been. The world seemed clearer, every detail more vivid. He could hear the rustling of leaves, the faint murmurs of disciples far beyond normal earshot. He could feel the flow of energy around him, but instead of absorbing it like others, he felt as though he could erase it.
He lifted his hand.
The air around his palm twisted. For a brief moment, the space there… ceased to exist.
Jiang Chen's heart pounded.
This was not normal cultivation. This was something else. Something forbidden.
A slow smirk spread across his lips.
For ten years, he had been mocked, ridiculed, cast aside.
But that was over.
He had awakened.
And soon, the world would remember his name.
---
End of Chapter 1