Chapter 1 – The Boy with No Talent
The Azure Sky Sect rose like a fortress carved into the mountain's bones. Its jade roofs gleamed beneath the morning sun, and banners embroidered with cloud patterns fluttered in the breeze. To the thousands who lived at its roof, the sect was a holy place ,a beacon of cultivation, where chosen youths might ascend beyond mortal weakness.
But for Jian Yu, the sect had always felt like a prison.
Jian Yu stood among a crowd of outer disciples at the martial square, the stone beneath his sandals still cool from the night dew. Elder Wu's sharp voice cut through the air, carrying a weight that silenced even the proudest heirs of noble clans.
"Today," Elder Wu announced, his eyes sweeping over the gathered youths, "we will measure your talent. The heavens have given each of you a dantian, a vessel for Qi, but not all vessels are deem equal. Only those with true aptitude shall ascend higher."
Jian Yu's fingers curled into fists. He had heard those words a hundred times.
And every time, he become hopeless and cut a little deeper.
One by one, the disciples stepped forward to press their palms against the Crystal Sphere of Evaluation. Its surface rippled with light, revealing each child's innate talent: mortal-grade, spirit-grade, sometimes even heaven-grade for the luckiest prodigies. Gasps filled the air when a noble son revealed a radiant golden glow a heaven-grade talent, destined for greatness.
"Excellent! The Zhao clan produces another genius," Elder Wu declared, beaming as the boy was basked in admiration.
When Jian Yu's turn came, whispers stirred in the crowd.
"It's him again… inst it the outer disciple with no roots."
"Why does he even bother?"
Jian Yu's chest heaved tighter. He ignored their stares and whispers, forcing his trembling steps forward. He placed his palm on the cold, smooth sphere.
The crystal remained dark.
A murmur of whispers and laughter spread around.
"Again? Three years, and still nothing!"
"He's wasting Elder Wu's and the sects time."
"Without talent, he'll never even sense Qi energy properly."
Elder Wu's face hardened, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Jian Yu. You have been tested thrice, and thrice you have failed. Even if you scrubbed latrines until your bones turned to dust, you would not reach the Dao. The sect has no place for those who cannot rise."
The words struck harder than any sword could be . He felt conflicting emotions, pain , anger, sorrow,
Jian Yu bowed his head, but inside, something churned. He had worked harder than anyone. He had trained until his hands bled, meditated until dawn, endured humiliation without end. But still… the heavens gave him nothing.
Why?
He left the martial square with heavy steps, walking past sneers and smirks. Yet beneath the noise, beneath the humiliation, there was a sound only he could hear.
Thump.
A heartbeat.
He froze. The world seemed to hush around him. For the briefest instant, he felt it , warmth, a faint spark flickering within his chest. His eyes widened, but as quickly as it came, the sensation vanished.
"What was that …It might be just my imagination," he muttered. Yet the faint sensation lingered.
That night, Jian Yu sat alone at the sect's edge, gazing at the distant stars. He remembered the stories of cultivators who had soared through the heavens, who had carved their names into eternity. And he remembered Elder Wu's voice telling him he was worthless.
His fists tightened with determination until his fist became white .
"Even if I must climb alone… I will never bow."
As if his heart answering his defiance, the pulse returned , but this time it echeoed stronger and clearer.
Thump. Thump. THUMP.
The sound resonated through his veins, filling him with a strange energetic heat. His breathing quickened, his vision became sharpened, and for the first time in his life, Qi energy moved. Not calmly and not gently like the sect manuals described ,but wildly, surging with the rhythm of his emotion.
Jian Yu's heart became a drum. And with each heartbeat, the world seem to answer.
The grass around him started trembled though no wind blew the stones cracked softly beneath his feet. His blood roared in his ears and the night sky seemed to tremble.
Then....
"Jian Yu."
A cold voice sliced through the night.
He spun, startled and to see a figure step out from the shadows. A girl in sect robes, her eyes sharp like a blade, lips curved in faint disdain.
Ling Xue, the sect's most promising inner section disciple .... admired and untouchable.
The Ice Jade Fairy herself.
Her gaze lingered on Jian Yu for a moment, then on the faint distortion in the air around his body.
"That energy… it is not from any manual of the sect."
Jian Yu's heartbeat quicken. He didn't certainly know what she had seen, but he knew one thing: if any word spread, the sect would never let him live in peace.
Ling Xue tilted her head slightly, as if intrigued.
"You… are not as talentless as they believe."
The night grew colder. The pulse in his chest grew louder.
Jian Yu realized , this is only the beginning.