The morning sun rose behind a thick curtain of mist, turning the Silver Empress Manor into a pale blur of white and gold. Dew dripped from the tall jade pines, and the air smelled faintly of iron from the manor's outer training grounds.
In the servant quarters, a whip cracked.
Jerin didn't flinch. He had long learned not to. His body, thin and covered with faded scars, moved with quiet care as he scrubbed the stone tiles of the outer corridor. Around him, a few other male servants worked silently, their heads lowered. None dared speak.
Men in this world were not allowed to cultivate. They were born to serve, to sweep, to wash, and to obey. Only women could touch the flow of spiritual energy — Qi — that gave strength and power.
Jerin knew that truth very well. He had lived under it for twenty years.
Still, there was something in him that refused to die — a small, quiet hunger that always whispered: You don't belong in the dust.
The sun climbed higher, turning the courtyard into a mirror of heat. The stone floor burned his palms, but Jerin kept working. He could hear the laughter of noblewomen in the inner garden — the young disciples of Lady Seraphina Velnor, the Silver Empress herself. Their voices floated through the air like bright notes of music.
He never looked up.
If a man raised his eyes toward a female cultivator, it could be seen as disrespect. The punishment was lashes — or worse.
"Faster, servant," one of the guards barked. A woman in light silver armor stood at the gate, her whip still wet with dew.
Jerin bowed. "Yes, ma'am."
He moved faster, his thin arms trembling. His hands were calloused and swollen from years of this life, but his movements were precise — almost mechanical.
A quiet strength pulsed in him that no one noticed.
As the guard left, Jerin lifted his head for a brief second. The morning mist had burned away, revealing the silver rooftops of the manor — shining, distant, unreachable.
He looked at them not with envy, but with focus. His eyes were dark, calm, and far too intelligent for a servant.
---
Memories of Another Life
That night, when the work ended and the manor lights dimmed, Jerin sat alone in the servants' shed. He had no bed — just a mat of woven grass.
The pain in his back pulsed with every breath. Still, he didn't rest.
He stared at his hands, turning them slowly. The skin was rough, but beneath the surface, he could feel faint echoes — something like a hum, a vibration that didn't belong to this world.
He closed his eyes.
For a brief moment, he saw another sky.
Blue, without the twin moons that hung over this realm. Tall buildings, made of glass and steel. The sound of machines, the rhythm of keys clicking, screens glowing in the dark.
His name had been the same — Jerin. On Earth, he had been a programmer, a creator. He remembered long nights of coding, a dream that burned in his chest — a project he had called MASTERY.
It was supposed to be a learning AI — a program that improved itself endlessly through repetition and observation.
But before it could be completed, he had died. A hit-and-run. A flash of pain, a blur of light — and then this world.
He exhaled slowly, his breath shaky.
Sometimes he wondered if that dream had followed him.
---
A Forbidden Spark
The next morning, Jerin was sent to clean Lady Seraphina's courtyard. It was a place of beauty and danger — flowers that glowed faintly under the sun, stones carved with runes, and a training platform where the Silver Empress often practiced her arts.
Jerin worked quietly, keeping his distance from the glowing formations etched into the floor.
As he swept near the stone benches, something caught his eye.
A small, torn scroll lay beneath the steps — half-burned, its edges blackened. It looked forgotten, maybe discarded. The ink on it shimmered faintly.
His heart thudded once.
He glanced around. No one was there. The guards were far away.
He knelt down and picked it up. The scroll was brittle, its script simple but strange — symbols that pulsed faintly with energy.
He didn't understand it, but a line at the top was written in plain words:
Iron Body Tempering Art.
Jerin's hands shook. A cultivation manual — even a damaged one — could get a man executed.
He should have thrown it away immediately.
But something deep inside whispered again, the same voice that had haunted his dreams for years.
Mastery begins with curiosity.
His vision blurred for a moment. Then —
> [System Rebooting...]
The words flashed faintly before his eyes — soundless, bright, not real yet utterly clear.
He froze.
> [Error detected. Host neural pattern incomplete.]
[Synchronizing with current biological parameters...]
[Initialization sequence complete.]
[Welcome back, Jerin.]
His heart nearly stopped.
He looked around. Nothing had changed — the courtyard was silent, the flowers swaying softly.
But inside his mind, a voice had returned. It was calm, mechanical, familiar.
> [Divine Mastery System v1.0 – Operational.]
[Scanning data source: "Iron Body Tempering Art."]
[Result: Skill registered. Grade: Mortal.]
The scroll in his hand shimmered, and for an instant, its torn text glowed bright silver before fading into dust.
Jerin stared, breathing fast.
The words continued.
> [Skill Integrated.]
[Generating optimized practice routine.]
He didn't know whether to laugh or collapse. It was his creation — the dream he had once built as a machine, now living inside him like a spirit.
He hid the remains of the scroll under a loose stone and finished cleaning as if nothing had happened.
But deep inside, everything had changed.
---
The First Repetition
That night, long after the manor fell silent, Jerin slipped into the shadows behind the servants' shed.
He stood under the pale light of the twin moons. His hands trembled.
He remembered every diagram the System had flashed into his mind — postures, breathing patterns, muscle sequences.
He took a deep breath.
The air was cold. His body was weak. But he began.
He clenched his fists and drew his breath into his abdomen, focusing on the rhythm the System displayed before his eyes:
> [Cycle 1: Inhale. Stretch. Exhale. Contract.]
[Mastery: 0.1% → 0.3%]
Pain tore through his arms. His bones felt like they were grinding together.
But the voice stayed calm.
> [Muscle strain detected. Adjusting posture.]
[Mastery: 0.3% → 1.4%]
His vision blurred. Sweat rolled down his face, soaking the ground.
Hours passed like seconds.
> [Mastery: 2.1% → 12.4%]
When the night ended, Jerin collapsed. His entire body felt broken. But as he lay there, panting, he felt warmth spreading through his veins — faint but real.
He had done what no man in this empire was supposed to do.
He had cultivated.
---
Pain is Data
Days passed. Jerin kept working by day and training by night.
The System adapted each time. It tracked his heartbeat, his energy flow, his breathing speed. It corrected him when he faltered.
And it learned.
Each repetition became smoother, faster, stronger.
The pain was unbearable — but it was also feedback.
> [Error Margin: Reduced 3.2%]
[Technique Optimization: +11% Efficiency]
He realized something strange — the System wasn't just teaching him. It was learning from him, rewriting the art to match his body.
At first, he could barely move after practice. By the seventh night, his limbs felt heavy but alive.
By the tenth, he could swing a bucket of water one-handed without spilling a drop.
> [Skill Updated: Iron Body Tempering (Optimized)]
He looked at his reflection in a basin one morning. His face was still the same — thin, pale, servant-like. But the light in his eyes had changed.
He had something now that none of the others did — a path.
---
The Punishment
But secrets never stayed hidden for long.
One night, a guard noticed light flickering behind the shed. Jerin didn't hear her approach until it was too late.
"Who's there?"
The door slammed open.
Before he could hide, she saw him — bare-chested, his body glowing faintly as Qi rippled under his skin.
A male servant, cultivating.
The guard's eyes widened in shock, then fury.
He tried to speak, but the whip came first.
The lash burned across his back, cutting deep. He didn't scream.
Another strike followed, then another.
The next morning, Jerin hung in the courtyard, wrists bound with iron cuffs. Blood dripped down his spine. The female servants walked past without looking at him.
Lady Seraphina's guards announced his punishment: thirty lashes for disobedience, five days without food, and a mark of disgrace.
He endured it all in silence.
Because beneath the pain, he felt something shift inside.
Each strike shook his body — but the System registered everything.
> [External trauma detected. Micro-muscle reinforcement activated.]
[Meridian density increased by 2%.]
[Pain is data. Data refines structure.]
He almost laughed through the blood.
Even pain had become a tool for growth.
---
The First Gate
Five nights later, still weak and half-starved, Jerin returned to the shed. His body felt like iron — heavy, unyielding.
The System's voice was quiet now, almost reverent.
> [Progress threshold reached.]
[First Body Gate – Locked.]
[Attempt breakthrough?]
He swallowed hard.
"Yes."
The air around him shifted. A low hum filled his bones.
Pain flooded every muscle, sharp and bright. He clenched his fists, holding his breath as the System guided his Qi flow.
> [Qi circulation complete.]
[First Body Gate – Opened.]
A sound like thunder echoed faintly inside him.
Energy burst through his veins, spreading warmth and light. His strength tripled instantly.
Jerin collapsed to his knees, gasping.
When he opened his eyes, the night seemed brighter. Every sound sharper. Every heartbeat clearer.
> [Body Tempering Realm – Stage 1 → Stage 2.]
For the first time since his death on Earth, Jerin smiled.
It wasn't joy. It was quiet, steady determination.
The first step had been taken.
And there would be no going back.
-----
The next few days passed in silence.
The other servants whispered when Jerin walked by, but no one spoke to him directly. They all thought he was lucky to still be alive.
He kept his head down, moving as if nothing had changed. But deep inside, the world had already turned.
Each time he lifted a bucket, each time he drew breath, he could feel it — the pulse of power inside his body.
The System hummed quietly in the back of his mind, adjusting, learning, growing.
> [Energy circulation stabilized.]
[Body efficiency +4.8%.]
[Muscle recovery accelerated.]
The wounds on his back closed faster than they should have. The scars didn't fade — they hardened into pale lines, marks of something earned.
---
The Hidden Chamber
Late one night, after the manor fell silent, Jerin returned to the courtyard where he had been punished. The moonlight fell across the cracked tiles like threads of silver. He crouched and ran his fingers along one of the broken stones.
Something faint tugged at him — not a voice, but a sense.
> [Subterranean cavity detected.]
[Approx. depth: 2.4 meters.]
He blinked. The System was mapping the ground beneath him, using the subtle vibrations of his Qi.
He pressed his hand to the stone. There — a hollow sound.
Working quietly, he pried up the tile with a rusted tool he'd stolen from the storehouse. It took nearly an hour, sweat running down his face, but at last the stone lifted free. Beneath it was a wooden panel covered in dust.
When he pulled it aside, a stairway yawned open below.
Cold air rose from the darkness.
He hesitated only a moment, then climbed down.
The passage was narrow, the air dry and stale. The stone steps creaked beneath his feet. A faint smell of ash and metal lingered — the scent of something long forgotten.
After several turns, he reached a small chamber.
Lanterns hung on the walls, their light-gems long dead. Shelves stood in rows, filled with broken jars and scraps of paper. Dust covered everything.
And yet, Jerin felt a pulse — faint, but steady.
Qi.
He moved toward the source, brushing aside old scrolls and debris. In a corner, half-buried beneath fallen wood, he found a small iron chest. Its surface was rusted, but the lock had long since broken.
Inside lay several scrolls, their edges torn and their words faded. He touched one — and the System responded immediately.
> [Data fragments detected.]
[Reconstructing...]
[Multiple incomplete body cultivation techniques found.]
[Analyzing structure.]
Lines of faint blue light traced across the scrolls as the System scanned them.
> [Integration complete.]
[Result: Unified Human Body Art – Version 1.0]
He exhaled softly, a mixture of awe and disbelief.
This world had destroyed all knowledge of male cultivation. These scrolls were relics from that forgotten age — and the System had rebuilt them into something new.
> [Unified Human Body Art – Version 1.0]
[Focus: Harmonization of muscle, breath, and spirit.]
[Potential grade: Unknown.]
Jerin stared at the glowing words. He didn't understand all of it, but the meaning was clear enough — this was an art designed for humans, not divided by gender.
Something in him stirred — anger, maybe, or hope. He couldn't tell the difference anymore.
He knelt in the dust, closed his eyes, and began to follow the System's guidance.
---
The Data of Flesh
Breath in.
Breath out.
Each cycle was measured, controlled.
The System projected faint lines before his eyes — luminous pathways showing the flow of energy through his meridians. He guided his Qi along them, feeling every pulse, every resistance.
> [First Cycle: Complete.]
[Mastery: 0.4% → 6.7%.]
His bones ached. His lungs burned. Sweat rolled down his neck.
He didn't stop.
The longer he practiced, the clearer the sensation became — the connection between flesh and will.
> [Body temperature rising.]
[Internal resistance: 38%. Suggest focus on breath alignment.]
He adjusted. The pain lessened slightly.
> [Mastery: 6.7% → 19.5%.]
The art was complex, far beyond the Iron Body method. But his System translated everything into instinct, guiding his body like a patient teacher.
Hours passed.
His muscles trembled, then steadied. His heartbeat slowed until it matched the rhythm of his breath.
> [Mastery: 19.5% → 47.9%.]
[Body Gate resonance detected.]
A shock of warmth spread through him — a deep, heavy pulse that echoed in his bones. He had reached another threshold.
The Second Gate waited.
> [Attempt breakthrough?]
He nodded once.
The moment he agreed, energy surged through him like molten metal. His veins glowed faintly, lines of red light running up his arms.
The chamber trembled. Dust fell from the ceiling.
> [Second Body Gate – Opened.]
The rush of power was dizzying. His senses expanded — he could hear the faint drip of water deep in the stone, the rustle of a rat in the walls, the whisper of his own blood.
When it faded, he dropped to his knees, panting.
The System's voice was calm as ever.
> [Current Realm: Body Tempering, Stage 2.]
[Physical strength: +35%. Qi flow capacity: +18%.]
He smiled faintly, though his lips were cracked.
Every step forward hurt more than the last, but each one also made the world clearer.
He practiced again and again over the next few nights, refining the art until every breath moved in harmony with his heartbeat.
And then one night —
> [Third Body Gate – Opened.]
A new calm filled him, deep and still.
He could feel each muscle respond exactly as he wished, his breath perfectly even. When he moved, it was like his body and spirit were one.
> [Body Tempering – Stage 3 achieved.]
He stood there in the dark chamber, surrounded by dust and silence, and for the first time he felt… whole.
---
Echoes Above
But power always drew attention.
Unseen by Jerin, someone had been watching the manor closely.
In a distant tower, Lady Seraphina Velnor stood by the window, her silver hair flowing like liquid moonlight. Her gaze swept across her estate, eyes glowing faintly with spiritual light.
For a moment, she felt it — a strange, flickering pulse of energy coming from beneath her own courtyard.
It was faint, scattered, not like the flow of any female cultivator.
She frowned.
"Odd," she murmured. "Residual Qi?"
Her attendant, Iris — the same guard who had whipped Jerin — bowed. "Should I investigate, my lady?"
"Not yet." Seraphina's eyes narrowed slightly. "Observe quietly. Something unusual is stirring."
---
The Servant's Resolve
Jerin didn't know any of this.
He returned to his daily duties as if nothing had changed. He swept the corridors, polished the floors, washed the dishes — all while feeling the quiet hum of strength beneath his skin.
Each night, he returned to the hidden chamber to refine himself further.
The System adjusted his art automatically, blending small details from the broken scrolls into his training.
> [Unified Human Body Art – Version 1.2]
[Efficiency: +12%. Energy loss: –9%.]
He didn't have pills or spirit stones. He had no master, no guidance, no protection.
All he had was repetition — and his System.
And that was enough.
---
Gate of Endurance
The final days of his training were brutal.
The System demanded hundreds of cycles, each longer and harder than the last. His body screamed with exhaustion, his breath tore through his throat, and his vision blurred again and again.
But he refused to stop.
> [Mastery: 89% → 97% → 99%...]
[Critical threshold reached.]
The pain turned to heat, the heat to vibration, the vibration to light.
He felt every muscle fiber tighten, every bone vibrate, every drop of blood throb like a drum.
> [Ninth Body Gate – Locked.]
[Attempt breakthrough?]
He didn't hesitate.
The world went silent.
For an instant, there was nothing but darkness and the pounding of his heart. Then a single sound — a deep, ringing crack that echoed through his entire being.
> [Ninth Body Gate – Opened.]
The energy burst outward, shaking the chamber walls. Light rippled through him like molten gold.
When it faded, he stood still, breathing softly.
His body no longer felt weak. It felt alive, strong, refined — like steel that had been tempered through endless flame.
> [Body Tempering Realm – Stage 9 (Peak).]
[Physical limit: 100%. Reinforcement complete.]
Jerin opened his eyes slowly. The darkness around him seemed brighter now, as if his senses could pierce the shadows themselves.
He exhaled once, the breath coming out steady and smooth.
---
The Beginning of Mastery
He climbed back up to the courtyard just before dawn. The first light of morning painted the manor in soft silver.
He looked up at the distant towers where the noblewomen lived. Their power ruled this land, and to them he was nothing — just another servant.
But deep inside, a quiet thought formed:
Even gods begin by learning how to move.
He tightened his hands, feeling the strength flowing through his veins.
> [Body Tempering Realm – Completed.]
[Next Path: Qi Refining.]
He smiled faintly — not out of pride, but quiet certainty.
The first step was done.
The chain around his spirit had cracked.
And in the silence of dawn, the System spoke once more:
> [Congratulations, Host.]
[Phase One Complete.]
[Awaiting further instruction.]
Jerin looked toward the rising sun. The light caught his eyes, turning them the color of molten metal.
He whispered softly, "Then let's begin."
---