A young man of delicate appearance, dressed in a white robe, was sitting cross-legged on a carpet. Above him, tiny blue particles, no larger than grains of dust, drifted down onto his skin, being absorbed through his pores.
They were then directed toward the center of his body, where one could see a complete blue cyclone and another incomplete one, slowly being filled by small streams of energy. Insignificant streams — at this pace, it would likely take two years to complete.
"I'm so useless." Understanding his situation, Yu Lin let out a long sigh, completely disheartened. Without the slightest will to continue, he stopped his cultivation and rose from the carpet, heading toward the exit of his cave.
Outside, Yu Lin halted at the entrance and looked up at the clear, cloudless sky, while feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin. But he ignored it.
His mind was empty, his eyes just as hollow.
"Should I leave?"
He shifted his gaze to the horizon. "It's useless for me to remain in the sect. I could spend my whole life here and still never break through the first major realm."
Yu Lin despised himself, then raised his hands to the sky, as if trying to seize it. "If I had a chance, or greater talent, I would persist… But what a pity… I have nothing. Instead of wasting my time cultivating in vain, I should spend what little life I have left managing my family's affairs."
Clenching his fists, Yu Lin continued speaking aloud:
"Yes, that's what I should do. It's not so bad to live as a mortal."
He tried to console himself, telling himself it was for the best, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings. Tears streamed down his face.
For a cultivator, giving up the Martial Dao because of a lack of talent was like killing a part of oneself — the ambitious part that longs to break free of human limits. To cut away that ambition and accept living as an ordinary man was a cruel reality.
"Let's pack things up." Yu Lin wiped his tears and returned to his cave, which had four rooms: a bedroom, a meditation chamber, a bathroom, and the entrance hall.
...
Entering his bedroom, which was four cubic meters in size, with a bed in the center and a table cluttered with objects, Yu Lin approached and picked up a small tower.
The item resembled a pagoda, made from unknown materials he couldn't identify. The only thing he could deduce was from its color: scarlet, entirely red.
"What is this little tower?" Yu Lin had bought it three years earlier, in an antique shop, before joining the Limitless Sect. He had always considered the little tower nothing more than a decorative trinket.
"What if it's a treasure?" he wondered, but quickly dismissed the idea… or maybe not. The doubt kept resurfacing in his mind.
"Is this what they call despair?" Yu Lin mocked himself. And in the very next instant, he made up his mind:
"Whether true or not, let's try."
Making this reckless decision, he grabbed a storage pouch that lay beside him and pulled out a dagger, with a metal hilt and a silver-iron blade.
Holding it in his left hand, he moved it toward his right, carefully drawing the edge across his little finger, creating a wound from which blood immediately gushed. Watching this, Yu Lin brought his arm close to the small tower, where the red liquid began to drip, blending with its scarlet hue.
"What was I thinking? Nothing happened." He felt disappointed; his last hope had been wasted.
"It seems I really am destined to be a mortal." Yu Lin gave a bitter smile and prepared to gather his belongings, but before he could take a single step, the world darkened.
Yu Lin fainted, collapsing onto the table with a thud. Fortunately, the storage pouch cushioned the impact, sparing his face from harm. But it didn't last long — his legs gave way, and he tumbled beneath the table.
Another thud echoed through the room as his back struck the stone floor. His skull cracked open, leaving a grave wound. A pool of blood quickly spread.
At that moment, Yu Lin's eyes snapped open.
"What's happening?" he wondered, realizing the world was still dark. "Why does my head hurt? I feel like I'm losing something…"
Yu Lin couldn't understand how it had come to this, nor how he had lost consciousness.
"Am I going to die?" The thought crossed his mind.
"Forgive me, Mother, Father. Your son not only failed your expectations in cultivation, but also in business."
In the end, he did not fear death — only lamented living in mediocrity.
As Yu Lin reluctantly accepted his death, the small tower on the table mysteriously began to float in the air. Like a small bird taking flight, it then dove toward the young man lying in the pool of blood. As it approached, it shot into his forehead like a crimson bolt, passing through his flesh like a spatial distortion, leaving no wound behind.
After the tower vanished, a scarlet light emerged from the youth's body. It began healing his injuries, sealing the crack in his skull and repairing the damage to his back.
Soon, his breathing returned to normal and his heart beat again. If not for the river of blood beneath him, no one would believe that moments earlier he had been at death's door.
...
"Am I already dead?" Yu Lin, seeing nothing but darkness, wondered if this was the underworld.
"Darkness… so this is the afterlife?"
"No, no… this isn't the underworld. I'm not dead." He reached that conclusion because the darkness was just like when one's eyes are closed. Death could never be like this.
"Open your eyes… maybe I can still live, if I call for help."
Yu Lin resolved himself, and in the next instant used all his willpower to open his eyelids. It worked.
"Help…" He rose from the ground and started running out of the room, but stopped short when he noticed something strange.
He was moving normally. His head didn't hurt. Confused, he reached back to touch the rear of his skull. Finding no scar, his eyes widened as he looked around.
"The blood is still here… but mysteriously I'm fine?" he muttered, stunned.
In disbelief, Yu Lin sat on the table and began regaining his senses, recalling everything he had done before losing consciousness.
"The little tower…" He remembered and looked at the wooden surface beneath him, where there was no sign of the object onto which he had dripped blood.
"Where is it? I'm not going crazy… I'm sure I tried to form a contract with the little tower." He concluded, feeling his heartbeat quicken.
"Did it work? Did I actually find a treasure? Could I still dream of reaching the peak of cultivation?"
Yu Lin grew even more excited, rubbing his hands unconsciously.
"Little tower, appear!"
He commanded, eager to see if he could summon the object. To his surprise, it worked: before his eyes, a small tower appeared, floating in the air.
"A treasure…" Yu Lin, who had still harbored doubts, now confirmed it beyond question.
Without hesitation, he reached out his hand to grasp the small tower. But the moment his fingers touched it, he felt something trying to draw him in. A powerful suction arose on his skin, pulling him upward.
In response, Yu Lin merely blinked — and was instantly sucked into the tower, which continued to float.
But unlike before, a golden light appeared on its first floor, illuminating it as though a flame had been kindled.
To be continued…