The mountain wind howled across the precipitous cliffs, carrying the bone-chilling cold of the early dawn.
In a secluded corner behind the Azure Cloud Sect's mountain, the monotonous, rhythmic sound of a hammer striking stone echoed steadily.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Lin Feng, a youth of about sixteen, was swinging a heavy black iron hammer against a stubborn hunk of raw spiritual stone. Sweat soaked his faded coarse cloth tunic, streaming down his dust-smeared face, yet his eyes shone with an extraordinary persistence.
He was an outer disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect. Although called a disciple, his work was actually no different from a common laborer. Three years ago, he was lucky enough to pass the aptitude test with a "Five-Element Trash Root"—the worst possible talent, only slightly better than a mortal.
After three years of bitter cultivation, those who had entered the sect alongside him had already reached the fourth or fifth stage of Qi Condensation, becoming rising stars. Meanwhile, he remained stuck at the peak of the first stage of Qi Condensation, unable to break through.
"Only ten more stones to meet today's quota," Lin Feng muttered, suppressing the throbbing pain in his arms.
Every day, he had to mine a hundred pounds of raw spiritual stones just to exchange for a single low-grade Qi Gathering Pill—the only cultivation resource the sect deigned to toss to "trash" like him.
"Yo, isn't this our 'Great Genius' Lin Feng? Still here smashing rocks?"
A shrill, mocking voice rang out from behind Lin Feng. He stopped his work, gripped the hammer handle tightly, and slowly turned around.
Standing there were three youths clad in blue Daoist robes, the insignia of formal outer disciples. The leader was Wang Hu, a tall youth with an arrogant expression whose cultivation had reached the third stage of Qi Condensation. He was notorious for bullying weak disciples to seize their resources.
"Wang Hu, I am performing sect duties. If you have something to say, make it quick," Lin Feng replied coldly.
Wang Hu sneered, stepped closer, and used his toe to kick the pile of spiritual stones Lin Feng had just painstakingly mined. "Duties, my ass. I heard today is the distribution day for Qi Gathering Pills. My cultivation has recently reached a critical stage, and I need a few more pills. You understand what I mean, right?"
Lin Feng gritted his teeth. It was this again. Last month they had robbed him of his pills, leaving his cultivation even further behind.
"I earned those Qi Gathering Pills with my own sweat and tears. I have none to spare for you," Lin Feng answered firmly. He knew that if he yielded this time, they would forever treat him as their portable "granary".
Wang Hu's face darkened. "Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! For a piece of trash with a Five-Element Trash Root like you, using pills is just a waste. Let us masters use them, and maybe we'll look after you in the future!"
Without another word, Wang Hu threw a punch directly at Lin Feng's chest. A faint glow of spiritual energy enveloped his fist. Although only at the third stage of Qi Condensation, for Lin Feng who was only at the first stage, this strike was enough to severely injure him.
"Thud!"
Lin Feng tried to raise his hammer to block, but the gap in strength was too vast. He was sent flying, crashing hard against the cliff face behind him, while his iron hammer spun away into the distance.
"Cough!" Lin Feng spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. The crimson liquid soaked the front of his tunic, right where he wore a gray, strangely shaped jade pendant left by his deceased parents.
"Hmph, someone who doesn't know his own limits." Wang Hu dusted off his hands, stepped closer to rifle through Lin Feng's clothes, and snatched away his pouch of spiritual stones.
"Consider this your tuition fee for today's lesson."
The trio swaggered away, leaving Lin Feng curled up on the cold ground. A surge of resentment and helplessness welled up within him.
Am I destined to be trash for the rest of my life, trampled upon by others? No! I refuse to accept this!
In his extreme agony and rage, Lin Feng failed to notice that the fresh blood he had spat out was being absorbed by the gray jade pendant on his chest. The pendant, which originally looked like a useless rock, suddenly vibrated slightly.
A dim, dark light—barely visible to the naked eye—began to radiate, quietly permeating Lin Feng's damaged flesh and meridians. In his mind, an ancient, deep voice, sounding as if it echoed from eons past, abruptly rang out:
"Bloodline awakened... Chaos Bead recognized Master... Opening the Tome of the Dao..."
Lin Feng opened his eyes in terror. He saw that before him was no longer a stone cliff, but a dark, chaotic space. In the center of that space, a massive ancient stone book was slowly opening its first page.
The fate of the one called trash began to turn from this very moment.