Snow continued to fall upon the western slope of Azure Wind Sect.
The storm had vanished as abruptly as it came, leaving only broken fences, charred wood, and the faint scent of burnt feathers in the air.
Li Chen stood in silence.
His heart had not yet calmed.
Inside his consciousness, the gray expanse of the Beast Origin Space remained clear and vivid. The Iron Feather Chick stood there quietly, pecking at the ground as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
The interface hovered faintly at the edge of his vision.
Not intrusive.
Not overwhelming.
Just waiting.
He shifted his gaze toward the burned spirit chicken corpse lying nearby.
Blackened flesh.
Faint residual spiritual energy still lingered.
The system interface responded immediately.
[Spirit Chicken – Mortal Grade]
[Condition: Dead]
[Material Extraction Available]
Li Chen's throat tightened.
This was the moment of truth.
If this system truly allowed harvesting… then perhaps cultivation would no longer be chained to his pitiful talent.
He swallowed and focused.
"Extract."
The command was not spoken aloud.
It was willed.
The corpse trembled faintly.
Then—
It dissolved.
Not violently.
Not dramatically.
It simply broke apart into particles of pale light, rising briefly before vanishing.
In its place, three items appeared in his consciousness panel.
[Spirit Chicken Essence ×3]
[Low-Grade Beast Bone ×1]
[Weak Bloodline Fragment ×1]
His breathing quickened.
The corpse on the ground was gone.
No ashes.
No blood.
Nothing.
Snow fell over clean earth.
His fingers trembled.
This was beyond pill refinement.
Beyond alchemy.
This was perfect extraction.
No waste.
No impurity.
He focused on the Spirit Chicken Essence.
A faint description appeared.
[Spirit Chicken Essence – Consumable]
[Effect: Slightly increases body tempering efficiency]
[Purity: 100%]
One hundred percent purity.
Even sect-issued spirit meat was nowhere near that level.
His mind raced.
If he consumed this—
He hesitated.
Not out of fear.
But caution.
What if it harmed him?
What if the system had side effects?
But then again—
What did he have to lose?
Three years.
Three humiliations.
He had already reached rock bottom.
He closed his eyes and chose one Spirit Chicken Essence.
It materialized in his palm as a small orb of soft white light.
Warm.
Gentle.
He inhaled slowly and absorbed it.
The light entered his palm and flowed into his meridians.
Instantly—
Warmth spread through his limbs.
Not violent.
Not chaotic.
Clean.
Pure.
The spiritual energy flowed smoothly, reinforcing muscle fibers, strengthening tendons, polishing bones.
His eyes widened.
This—
This felt far more stable than absorbing ambient spiritual energy.
There was no turbulence.
No resistance.
His previously sluggish meridians accepted it without strain.
Minutes passed.
When the warmth faded, he opened his eyes.
His breathing had grown steadier.
His body felt lighter.
Not breakthrough-level.
But noticeable.
He clenched his fist.
The power was slightly denser.
More compact.
His heartbeat accelerated.
He immediately absorbed the second essence.
Then the third.
This time, the reaction was stronger.
His muscles tightened.
His bones emitted faint crackling sounds.
A dull pain spread through his limbs.
He gritted his teeth.
Body Tempering.
It was not comfortable.
It was the forging of flesh.
The breaking and rebuilding of the mortal shell.
Sweat formed along his brow despite the freezing air.
The final surge of energy rushed toward his dantian.
There was a faint vibration.
A subtle shift.
Then—
Silence.
His eyes snapped open.
He exhaled sharply.
The world felt clearer.
The cold wind less biting.
The snowflakes slower.
He focused inward.
Body Tempering Third Layer—
Stabilized.
Completely stabilized.
The instability that had plagued him for months was gone.
His foundation felt firmer.
Like uneven stones had finally been aligned.
A laugh escaped him.
Soft.
Disbelieving.
Three small essences had done what months of grinding could not.
His gaze returned to the remaining burned corpses scattered across the enclosure.
There were at least twenty.
His pulse quickened.
He immediately began extraction.
One by one.
Corpses dissolved.
Essences accumulated.
Bones.
Bloodline fragments.
The process was clean and silent.
Within minutes, the entire pen was cleared.
No evidence remained of lightning.
No evidence of death.
Only untouched snow.
Inside his consciousness, the numbers increased.
[Spirit Chicken Essence ×41]
[Low-Grade Beast Bone ×13]
[Weak Bloodline Fragment ×9]
His breathing grew heavy again.
Forty-one.
That was enough to push him far beyond stabilization.
But he did not act immediately.
He forced himself to calm down.
Greed could kill cultivators.
He had seen it before.
Over-absorption could damage meridians.
He sat cross-legged inside the broken pen and steadied his breathing.
Slow inhale.
Slow exhale.
He began absorbing essences one by one.
The warmth returned.
But this time, it accumulated.
His muscles tightened repeatedly.
Micro-tears formed and healed.
His bones grew denser.
Pain sharpened.
He endured it.
Minutes passed.
Then half an hour.
Sweat soaked his robes.
Steam rose faintly from his skin despite the snow.
A surge of energy gathered in his lower abdomen.
His dantian trembled.
A thin barrier resisted.
Body Tempering Fourth Layer.
He pushed.
The warmth surged violently this time.
He felt as if iron rods were being hammered into his bones.
He clenched his jaw.
No scream escaped.
A crack echoed within his body.
Not bone breaking.
But barrier shattering.
The energy rushed freely.
His breathing exploded outward.
Snow around him scattered.
He opened his eyes.
The world sharpened.
He could hear distant wind brushing tree branches further up the slope.
He could feel the density of the ground beneath him.
Fourth Layer.
He had stepped into Fourth Layer.
In a single afternoon.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
Disbelief mingled with exhilaration.
Three years stuck at Third Layer.
And now—
He stood at Fourth.
He laughed again.
This time slightly louder.
Then he froze.
Footsteps.
Faint.
Approaching from the upper slope.
He immediately stood and forced his breathing to steady.
The system interface vanished at his thought.
Calm.
Be calm.
Two outer sect disciples appeared at the edge of the western area.
They glanced around, frowning.
"What happened here?" one muttered.
"Lightning earlier," the other said. "Elder sent us to check."
Their gazes swept across the broken fences.
The cleared ground.
No corpses.
No charred remains.
Just snow.
Li Chen lowered his head slightly.
"I was cleaning when lightning struck," he said evenly. "Some chickens died. I disposed of them."
One disciple narrowed his eyes.
"Disposed?"
"Yes."
He gestured toward an empty cart nearby.
"I carried them down."
The lie flowed smoother than he expected.
Perhaps because part of it was true.
The two disciples exchanged glances.
One walked inside the enclosure, inspecting the ground.
Snow.
Clean.
No trace.
After a long moment, he shrugged.
"Probably nothing important."
They left without further questioning.
Li Chen waited until their figures disappeared fully before exhaling.
His back was damp.
If they had found even a trace—
If they had noticed something unnatural—
His mind darkened.
He was still weak.
Fourth Layer meant little.
He needed more control.
More caution.
More planning.
He closed his eyes and accessed the Beast Origin Space.
The gray world appeared again.
The Iron Feather Chick stood quietly.
He focused on the Weak Bloodline Fragment.
A description surfaced.
[Weak Bloodline Fragment – Spirit Chicken]
[Can be used to enhance beast growth or increase mutation probability]
His eyes narrowed.
Mutation.
That word lingered.
He looked at the chick.
If this system truly allowed evolution—
Then perhaps he would not remain limited to chickens.
He exited the space and carefully collected several surviving weak spirit chickens from the pen.
No one cared about this area.
No one tracked exact numbers.
He stored five chickens into the Beast Origin Space.
They vanished instantly from reality.
Inside the gray world, they appeared calmly beside the chick.
No panic.
No resistance.
Absolute control.
His heart pounded again.
He had just hidden five living creatures from the world.
Undetectable.
Untraceable.
A faint tremor ran through him.
This power—
Was terrifying.
And intoxicating.
He spent the next hour repairing part of the enclosure to avoid suspicion.
Work must continue normally.
Nothing unusual.
When night finally descended, he returned to his small wooden hut at the edge of the labor quarters.
The room was narrow.
Cold.
Sparse.
He closed the door quietly.
Lit a small oil lamp.
Then sat cross-legged on the floor.
Slowly, he entered the Beast Origin Space.
The gray expanse stretched before him.
Flat.
Silent.
The five spirit chickens clucked weakly.
The Iron Feather Chick stood apart.
Watching.
He focused on the Bloodline Fragment.
"Use."
The fragment dissolved into light.
It flowed toward the Iron Feather Chick.
The chick trembled.
Its feathers darkened slightly.
A faint metallic sheen formed along its wings.
The system responded.
[Iron Feather Chick – Growth Accelerated]
[Mutation Probability Increased]
His breathing grew steady.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He began planning.
If corpses gave essence—
If bloodline fragments enhanced beasts—
If beasts could be bred—
Then the western pen was only the beginning.
He would need:
More beasts.
More materials.
More secrecy.
He opened his eyes inside the gray world and walked slowly across the empty ground.
One day—
This space would not remain empty.
Mountains.
Rivers.
Forests.
Armies.
But not yet.
Not while he was still vulnerable.
He exited the space and lay down on the wooden floor.
Sleep did not come quickly.
His mind replayed the day repeatedly.
Lightning.
System.
Extraction.
Breakthrough.
Storage.
It felt unreal.
Yet his strengthened body proved otherwise.
Just before sleep claimed him, a quiet thought surfaced.
The sect geniuses cultivate techniques.
The elders refine pills.
But he—
He cultivates life itself.
Snow continued to fall outside.
And within a humble wooden hut at the edge of Azure Wind Sect—
The foundation of a hidden empire quietly took root.