The sun had not yet crested Cloud-Split Peak, but Lin Wei was already working, the bruises on his skin a dull ache, but the fire of the Void Eye Edict a fierce heat in his core. He was no longer just washing robes; he was cultivating.
He had to replace the Qi he had forcefully devoured. The Spiritual Stone, though low-grade, had contained enough essence to push him through the First Level of Qi Condensation—a feat that should have taken a true disciple months of dedicated meditation.
His new priority was clear: energy. The atmosphere of the sect grounds was too thin to sustain his current rate of growth, and he couldn't risk finding another artifact. He had to rely on the discarded waste of the sect.
Lin Wei found himself near the Pill Refinery Hall, a place usually bustling with apprentice alchemists. Today, it was deserted, but the large stone bins nearby were full of refuse. He recognized the powdery scent immediately: pill dregs.
Apprentice alchemists often failed, resulting in batches of spiritual pills that were unstable, impure, or ruined. These waste products, the dregs, were often thrown away, deemed useless and even mildly toxic to cultivators whose meridians couldn't handle the discordant mixture of failed energies.
Lin Wei cautiously picked up a handful of the grey, gritty powder. It felt warm, radiating a faint, complex spiritual energy—a chaotic mix of medicinal Qi, charcoal residue, and impurities.
A normal cultivator would scoff. An average cultivator might be poisoned. But Lin Wei had the Void Eye Edict.
He sat between the massive stone bins, out of sight. Focusing his will, he activated the black void in his core. He slowly brought the dregs to his mouth, swallowing the bitter powder without chewing.
The moment the energy hit his stomach, the Edict snapped into action. The raw, chaotic medicinal Qi was instantly pulled into the core, bypassing his stomach and blood entirely. The Void Eye acted as a filter, a compressor, and a refiner all at once. The impurities—the charcoal, the toxin, the discordant energies—were instantly annihilated or simply shunted away, leaving only pure, compressed, dark green energy.
The conversion wasn't perfect, but it was fast. Each swallow yielded a burst of stable Qi. He went through five large handfuls of the dregs, the spiritual warmth spreading through his limbs, soothing the aches of his beating.
Level 1, Mid-Stage.
He stood up, brushing the dirt off his robes. His cultivation had progressed further in twenty minutes than most outer disciples did in a week. This was his path. This was the terrifying, desperate advantage of the outcast. He didn't need clear skies or pure springs; he only needed the sect's trash.
He still had to face Jian Lei. The disciple would expect him to be weak, perhaps even crippled. Lin Wei smiled, a thin, cold expression that didn't reach his eyes. His revenge would begin tonight, subtly, yet devastatingly.