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Chapter 29: The Weight of Being Left Behind
Liu Bing walks alone.
Sunlight filters through the forest canopy, painting shifting patterns of gold across his path. But his eyes remain fixed on the ground, shoulders heavy beneath the weight of silence.
The mission in his hand—a simple herb delivery—feels like exile.
Once, he was the son of a respected noble. Once, he stood beneath banners of praise, hailed as a genius.
Now?
Forgotten.
> "Bai Si doesn't even look at me anymore," he mutters, clutching the herb pouch tighter. "Ye Chen became everything I was supposed to be. And Liu Guan Yi…"
He lets out a bitter laugh.
> "I thought he was trash. But now… even the elders glance at him like he's the next sect leader."
Images flicker through his mind—his father's disappointed eyes, Bai Si's quiet contempt, the smirks of other disciples.
He grits his teeth.
But this time, something shifts. Beneath the self-pity, a quiet defiance begins to bloom.
> "No more running. No more excuses. Even if I have to crawl... I'll climb."
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His spirit beast suddenly bolts from the path, barking wildly. Liu Bing gives chase, crashing through underbrush—until he stumbles into a secluded valley shrouded in silence.
There, beneath the dead limbs of the Tree of Resonance, a vision takes form.
A fallen sword cultivator, spectral and weathered, floats above the roots. His voice cuts through the stillness like thunder:
> "Only those with unwavering resolve may inherit my legacy…"
Then—silence. The phantom vanishes.
Liu Bing stands frozen, heart pounding. Tears rise, unbidden, and fall down his cheeks.
> "Unwavering…?" he whispers.
"I was proud. Arrogant. But I never had resolve. Not really…"
He falls to his knees.
Not as a prince.
Not as a genius.
But as a boy stripped bare, finally willing to start from the bottom.
Before him lie two relics:
The Fate-Engraved Jade.
The Heartwood Core.
He bows deeply. The jade fuses into his soul—white-hot pain explodes through his body. It burns. Cleanses. Changes.
B-grade talent.
He gasps, chest heaving, as the Heartwood Core enters his dantian. Roots of raw spiritual energy spiral through him, twining around his core like iron vines.
> Breakthrough—Rank 2, Peak Stage!
But Liu Bing doesn't smile.
He simply rises, calmer than ever, and gazes up at the endless sky.
> "I won't beg anyone to look back. I'll stand at the peak… and make them turn on their own."