In a remote courtyard, surrounded by dense trees at the far end of the Five Elements Academy, a handsome young man, elegantly dressed in white, wore a somber expression as he looked at his new residence, which was nothing more than a simple, solitary two-room house.
"Damn old man!" Ning Yun gritted his teeth, cursing Elder Song up to the fifth generation.
A scoundrel who took his money and gave him a crappy place to live. As a young master used to luxury, living here was unbearable.
'Calm down. I've entered the academy; that's enough for now. I'll settle things with the old man later.'
He decided, steadying his agitation, and stepped into the house in front of him, kicking the door.
Crack!
The wood splintered on impact, so worn it seemed like a sheet of paper. It flew back, and the interior was revealed to Ning Yun. There was nothing inside!
His chest rose and fell in frustration, but thinking that he could finally cultivate here, he remained calm—or almost. He clenched his fists tightly, venting his anger silently.
"Let's try the next room… it can't all be trash, right?" He held onto hope, wishing at least one room would be decent, though he knew it was unlikely.
Wearing a bitter smile, he walked to the next door and kicked it with all his physical strength. The wood shivered, and a loud thud echoed.
But nothing happened. The door remained intact.
"Finally, something decent." Ning Yun stopped trying to break the door and opened it normally, pulling on the iron bar in the center. His previous destruction had been only to see if it needed replacing. If necessary, he would have done so.
When fully opened, a decent five-square-meter room was revealed: a functional wooden bed with a new mattress, a bucket to the right of the door, and a desk to the left, with a blue uniform and an outer disciple emblem on it. On the desk sat a pill bottle and a brown book with a piece of paper on top.
Seeing where he would sleep, Ning Yun exhaled in relief—at least he wasn't wronged in that regard. Noticing the desk full of items, his heart raced.
"C-could it be…?" he stammered, unable to stay still. He leapt forward, covering the distance in seconds.
Up close, he grabbed the paper and began to read:
"Ning Yun, the agreement has been made. This is a basic cultivation technique. The bottle contains a Spiritual Opening Pill. That is all. We have nothing more to do with each other."
Finishing the note, Ning Yun rolled his eyes.
'Who wants to deal with an old man? For a decent room and cultivation resources, I won't pursue you further.'
He gave up on his revenge, since Elder Song had left him the essentials for cultivation, sparing him the trouble of searching elsewhere.
"Time to cultivate!"
Ning Yun grabbed the two items from the desk, leaving the clothes behind, and darted straight for the bed like an arrow.
He sat down and opened the basic breathing manual, which showed only images of a figure breathing and practicing strange martial arts. With each successful cycle, a stream of spiritual energy flowed down onto the practitioner.
This breathing method was called the Longevity Technique. It could only be used in the Spiritual Opening Realm, to draw energy from heaven and earth and open the nine main meridians.
After memorizing the technique, Ning Yun closed the book and picked up the bottle. He removed the cap and poured the pill into his palm, leaving the bottle on the bed. He brought it to his nose, inhaling the pleasant, almost hypnotic aroma of herbs.
For a few seconds, he felt lightheaded, then returned to reality with a thought.
"Heavenly Standard Cauldron, appear!"
He shouted in his mind. In his subconscious, a black cauldron rested quietly, then suddenly shook like an earthquake and, with a flash of lightning, crossed Ning Yun's mind, distorting space and emerging without harming him.
Seeing the cauldron floating above his forehead, Ning Yun smirked. He had found this object at ten years old in a cave, after surviving a landslide during an adventure in the mountains. To him, it was a blessing—and the number one reason he wanted to become a cultivator, even though he was considered talent-deficient.
Recalling those childhood memories, Ning Yun's smile widened. After grinning maniacally like that, he grabbed the floating cauldron and inserted the pill inside.
In the next moment, a golden light appeared. To the naked eye, a cloud pattern began to form on the white pill, spinning constantly within the cauldron. Minutes later, the golden color faded.
Without wasting time, Ning Yun put his arm into the cauldron and retrieved the pill. Seeing it now with a golden cloud pattern, he felt pleased. He didn't know the pill's exact level but was sure it was no ordinary item.
"Practice."
Determined, he took the small sphere and popped it into his mouth like a candy. The moment it touched his taste buds, it tasted sweet.
"This is so delicious." Ning Yun savored it, but the feeling didn't last long. The pill quickly dissolved into spiritual energy, coursing down his throat.
It felt as if someone were tearing his gullet apart. It was horrifying. He almost screamed, but remembering the cultivation method, he clenched his teeth and rose from the bed, muscles tightly drawn.
With great willpower, he began to practice—starting with punches that whistled through the air, followed by heavy kicks.
These seemingly simple movements served to spread the spiritual energy and force the meridians to break through.
Boom!
Boom!
The sound of thunder echoed, but the barrier did not yield.
"Break for this young master, damn it!" He shouted with determination, and with all his willpower, threw a punch forward.
The strike was so powerful that, hitting the air, it generated a shockwave, causing an explosion and destroying everything in a twenty-centimeter radius.
With this impact, two meridians broke at once.
"Hahaha! No talent? With the best materials, even trash can become an emperor!"