The stone path winding down Dragon Yuan Mountain was quiet.
Too quiet.
Lin Sheng walked alone, his footsteps echoing faintly against the carved steps beneath his feet. The mountain air was cool, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and ancient trees. Mist drifted lazily across the path, sometimes thick enough to obscure the way ahead.
But he didn't slow down.
He had walked this path many times before.
Today, however—
everything felt different.
Behind him, the Spirit Testing Hall still bustled with activity. Faint voices drifted down the mountain, mixed with occasional gasps or excited murmurs.
Somewhere up there, someone was probably celebrating.
Someone had likely been chosen.
Someone's fate had just changed.
But none of that had anything to do with him anymore.
"No spiritual root…"
The elder's voice replayed faintly in his mind.
Flat.
Indifferent.
Lin Sheng let out a quiet breath.
He didn't feel angry.
He didn't feel wronged.
He didn't even feel disappointed.
Because long before today—
he already knew the result.
Five years ago—
that was when everything truly changed.
At the age of seven, Lin Sheng lost both of his parents.
The details of that day were fragmented.
Even now, they felt distant, as if they belonged to someone else.
A mission.
A confrontation.
A stronger cultivator.
That was all he knew.
In the cultivation world, death wasn't rare.
It wasn't even surprising.
The strong survived.
The weak perished.
Simple.
Cruel.
Unavoidable.
But for a child—
understanding that didn't make it easier.
The original Lin Sheng had not been strong.
He had been a child.
After their deaths, silence consumed him.
He stopped speaking.
Stopped leaving his courtyard.
Stopped interacting with others.
Even his sister—
who had tried repeatedly to pull him out of that state—
eventually found herself unable to reach him.
Grief settled deep within him.
It grew.
Quietly.
Relentlessly.
Until one day—
his body simply gave out.
He collapsed.
And when he woke up—
Everything changed.
At first, it was just fragments.
Strange memories.
Unfamiliar images.
Voices that didn't belong.
Then—
it all came rushing in.
A second life.
A complete one.
The year—
2570.
A world completely different from this one.
There were no cultivators.
No spiritual roots.
No immortal paths.
But humanity—
had still reached the stars.
Through science.
Through technology.
Through relentless innovation.
Lin Sheng slowed his steps slightly.
His gaze drifted to the sky.
Back then—
the sky wasn't a limit.
It was a destination.
The breakthrough that changed everything was wormhole stabilization.
Before that, interstellar travel had always been limited by distance.
Even light-speed travel couldn't solve the problem completely.
But wormholes—
they bypassed distance entirely.
Humanity had finally gained the ability to move from one star system to another instantly.
It should have been a golden age.
And it was—
for a time.
But expansion brought problems.
The first—
was manpower.
Exploration required people.
Not just anyone—
but individuals capable of handling unknown environments.
Extreme gravity.
Toxic atmospheres.
Unpredictable radiation.
Even with advanced suits and technology—
the human body had limits.
To solve the manpower issue—
cloning technology was introduced.
Using genetic templates—
new individuals were created.
Trained.
Prepared.
That solved one problem.
But not the second.
Adaptation.
Even the best-trained individuals struggled.
Human physiology simply wasn't designed for such extremes.
That was when—
humanity turned to something unexpected.
The past.
Ancient records.
Fragments of knowledge buried in forgotten civilizations.
Philosophies.
Meditation techniques.
Esoteric practices.
At first, they were dismissed.
Superstition.
But desperation changed perspectives.
Scholars gathered.
Scientists analyzed.
Philosophers interpreted.
From these fragmented records—
two major systems were reconstructed.
The Visualization Method.
The Force-Will Method.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
These systems were not random.
They were based on a concept that appeared across countless ancient cultures.
The Three Treasures of the Human Body.
Shen. Qi. Jing.
Shen—
The most abstract.
It represented the mind.
The soul.
The will.
The consciousness.
Everything that made a person… themselves.
Jing—
The physical.
Flesh.
Muscle.
Bone.
Blood.
The foundation of the body.
And Qi—
The most mysterious of the three.
In his previous world—
Qi was theoretical.
There were records describing it.
Legends referencing it.
But no concrete evidence.
No measurable presence. After all, one couldn't understand what one couldn't experience.
Because of that—
the systems built around Shen and Jing—
were incomplete.
The Visualization Method could strengthen the mind.
Increase mental clarity.
Even allow limited telekinetic effects.
The Force-Will Method could enhance the body.
Improve strength.
Reflexes.
Durability.
But both—
hit a ceiling.
No matter how much one trained—
there was always a limit.
A barrier that couldn't be crossed.
Lin Sheng stopped walking again.
This time—
he didn't look at the sky.
He looked at his own hand.
Then—
slowly—
he clenched it.
"This world…"
He could feel it.
Even without a spiritual root—
he could feel it faintly.
Something in the air.
Something active.
Something alive.
Spiritual Qi.
It wasn't dense.
It wasn't overwhelming.
But it existed.
And that—
changed everything.
"In my previous life…"
"There was always a theory…"
That the ancient methods were incomplete.
That something—
was missing.
A key component.
Now—
he understood.
That missing piece—
was Qi.
A faint light flickered in his eyes.
If the Visualization Method—
was combined with Qi—
Then its potential—
would no longer be limited.
By the time Lin Sheng returned to his residence, the sun had already begun its slow descent behind Dragon Yuan Mountain.
Golden light stretched across the courtyard, painting the stone pathways in warm hues. The familiar quiet of the immortal abode greeted him as he stepped inside.
No voices.
No movement.
He paused briefly at the entrance.
His gaze swept across the courtyard.
Still empty.
"…Not back yet."
There was no need to ask.
No need to confirm.
If she were here—
the place would not be this silent.
His sister had always disliked silence.
Even when she cultivated, she would leave a window open, letting the wind move through the room.
Lin Sheng exhaled slowly.
The last news he had received—
was months ago.
She had broken through to mid-stage Qi Refining.
A high-grade dual attribute—wood and fire.
Even within the Lin Family—
that was considered excellent talent.
It was only natural that she would be taken away by a master.
Training.
Missions.
Growth.
That was her path.
And his—