The wind howled through the worn stone walls like a restless spirit, whispering stories of a time long buried. The once-glorious Zodiac Sect, now a ghost of its former self, stood in a forgotten valley where even the birds had stopped singing. The statues were cracked, the gates rusted, and the protective formation around the sect flickered like a dying candle.
In the middle of a weathered training ground, a young man laid sprawled on the steps, gnawing lazily on a roasted meat skewer.
He wore plain robes. His hair was a messy crow's nest. And his half-lidded eyes scanned the clouds like he was looking for an escape from the entire cultivation world.
> "Ahhh... Life's good when everyone expects you to fail,"
Raizen muttered, flipping the stick over and letting the smoke dance under his nose.
He was the adopted son of Elder Tianren, once known as the Star Slayer of the Eastern Continent, but even a legend couldn't save a child born without a spirit root.
And in this world?
No root meant no cultivation.
No cultivation meant no future.
No future meant you were just waiting to die — slowly, and irrelevant.
"Oi! Rootless Wonder!"
A shrill voice cut through the calm. "Still pretending you belong here?"
Raizen didn't even sit up. He bit into his meat and blinked toward the sound.
Four outer sect disciples strolled into view. Their leader, Ji Wu, twirled a jade talisman between his fingers, smirking.
> "Come on, brother Ji," one of them said. "Don't waste time. He's just the Sect Master's charity project."
> "Maybe if he lies on the dirt long enough, the ground will bless him with a root."
The group howled with laughter like a pack of roosters on spirit wine.
Raizen raised his skewer and motioned toward them.
"Still warm. Want a bite?"
They blinked.
Ji Wu snorted. "He's too dumb to be insulted."
Raizen gave a slow smile. "And you're too smart to be original."
The laughter stopped.
Ji Wu's smile twitched. A pulse of yellow Qi flared around his fists. Nothing dangerous — just enough to threaten.
Raizen sat up, brushing off his robes. "Go ahead. Beat me. Then wait for my dad to flatten your entire clan like a pancake. He's been bored lately."
Ji Wu stiffened. He knew Elder Tianren was still strong enough to casually crush several second-tier sects. The only reason he hadn't? He simply didn't care anymore.
"Tch." Ji Wu spat. "Just wait. When the Sect Collapse Trials start next month, even your old man won't be able to save you."
The group walked off, their laughter echoing.
Raizen rolled onto his feet and dusted off his sleeves.
> "Why do I get bullied like the MC of some cultivation novel no one finished writing?"
He wandered back to his shack behind the library—a cramped wooden structure smaller than a horse stall. Technically, no disciples were allowed to live here. But then again, no one really considered him a disciple.
He flopped onto the dusty floor, staring up at the ceiling beams.
"If I had any plot armor," he muttered, "this would be the part where I randomly get a system."
Ding!
> [Void-Origin System initializing…]
Raizen froze.
"What?"
> [Host confirmed: Raizen. Compatibility: 93% — Warning: Host spirit root not detected.]
[Compensating via Void-Origin protocol.]
[Bonus granted: Two wishes available due to dormant Void-Source Physique.]
Raizen sat bolt upright.
> "Wait wait wait wait—am I finally getting my protagonist perks?!"
> [Please state your two wishes.]
His mind raced. His lips curled into a grin.
"Alright... Wish number one. I want a system that doesn't try to kill me with missions like 'Assassinate a Nascent Soul cultivator at Level 0'. No betrayal, no sarcastic AI. Just something useful and... sane."
> [Confirmed. 'Stabilized Growth' protocol enabled. The system will not issue death-seeking tasks unless initiated by host.]
Raizen clapped his hands. "Let's go!"
"Second wish..." he paused, eyes narrowing.
"I want powers over Void and Space. Not just basic teleportation. I mean real control — enough to twist dimensions, rip apart reality, and disappear when things get messy."
> [Confirmed. Partial inheritance of Void-Space affinity unlocked.]
[System growth tied to user progress. Additional skills obtainable via missions, secret realm synchronization, and anomaly absorption.]
His body trembled. A strange heat flooded his limbs, and for a second, Raizen saw his veins shimmer — like rivers of obsidian light flowing under his skin.
> [Void-Origin System fully initialized.]
> [Initial mission available: Face Reality.]
"…What kind of bootleg tutorial quest is this?"
> [Mission: Locate the cracked mirror in the sect's library. Stare at your reflection for five full seconds.]
Raizen blinked. "...Okay, that's suspicious."
Still, curiosity got the better of him.
He slipped through the silent halls of the ruined sect. No one stopped him. No one cared. Most disciples trained in isolation or plotted their exit from the sinking ship.
In the back corner of the library, half-buried in dust, sat an old, shattered mirror once used by disciples for aura alignment.
Raizen stared into it.
One second… two…
His reflection twitched.
Then flickered.
For a heartbeat, it wasn't his face staring back.
It was something else.
An eye — endless and black — peering from a starless void. Watching him.
He didn't blink.
> [Mission complete.]
[Reward granted: Skill: Void Step | Passive: Spatial Awareness | Beginner Storage Ring received.]
A flicker of light flashed into his hand — a black ring carved with ancient markings pulsing dimly with power.
Raizen grinned.
> "Now we're talking."
---
The next morning, the sect buzzed.
"Did you hear? A new secret realm is opening!"
"The Blue Moon Sect is sending their top five disciples."
"The Silver Pike Sect wants a joint expedition. Something about an ancient bloodline trace?"
Inside the main hall, Elder Tianren held a jade slip between two fingers, brow furrowed.
> "This realm… predates even the first founding of our sect," he muttered.
An elder nearby asked, "Should we send someone?"
Tianren turned toward the window.
"…Let Raizen go."
There was silence. Then a scoff.
"He has no root."
Tianren didn't reply.
---
Back in his room, Raizen opened his system panel:
[Quests]
Main Quest: Join the Secret Realm Delegation
Optional Mission: Steal Ji Wu's Training Manual
Hidden Quest: ???
[Skills]
Void Step
Spatial Awareness
He laughed under his breath.
> "So this is what it feels like… to stop being background noise."
As dawn broke across the valley, he tied up his robes, slipped the ring onto his finger, and stepped outside — not as trash, not as a pity project.
But as a silent storm. Quiet. Building. Hidden.
And no one would see it coming.