The stench was the atmosphere of Lin Feng's daily life—a heavy, suffocating blend of sulfurous ash from failed elixirs, the earthy decay of rotten spirit herbs, and the metallic tang of scrap iron.
Lin Feng stood atop the Central Scrap Mound, a monument to the Azure Sky Sect's relentless, high-level waste. Thirty feet of refuse marked the border between the Outer Sect and the wilderness. His tool of trade was a long, mundane iron trash grabber.
Three years. Three years since the rival sect had fallen upon his clan, three years since his Void Spirit Root was shattered. The internal pathways of his meridians were scarred and blocked, reducing him from a lauded prodigy to a crippled fèicái—a useless waste spirit, trapped at the 1st Stage Mortal Body.
He plunged the grabber into a steaming pile of cooling slag. He felt the dull, familiar ache of enduring, a mechanism he'd practiced daily to bury the shame.
"Well, look who it is," a loud, jeering voice cut through his concentration.
It was Zhang Hao, a brutish Outer Disciple at the 5th Stage. Zhang Hao was a simple bully, loud and petty, taking comfort in the fallen genius's misery.
"Still fishing for worms, Lin Feng? At least tell me you've found a use for yourself. Maybe you can teach the local rodents how to cultivate filth." Zhang Hao spat near the edge of the scrap pile, his voice gratingly arrogant.
Lin Feng gripped the iron grabber tight. The cold metal was a steadying presence, but deep down, a flicker of genuine rage stirred—he was tired of enduring. Yet, he forced his features into a blank mask.
"My task is here, Senior Brother Zhang," Lin Feng replied, his voice flat. "If you require refuse cleared from your residence, submit the request through the proper channels."
Zhang Hao laughed—a harsh, barking sound. "Still playing the dutiful servant? Listen, waste spirit. You'll never rise from that pile." He kicked a clump of sticky, black residue onto Lin Feng's boot and swaggered away, content with his brief moment of cruelty.
Lin Feng waited until the laughter faded. He resumed his task, sifting through broken earthenware and chipped tools. As he pulled his grabber through a cascade of dry, burnt talisman paper, his fingers brushed a small, blackened object.
It was an Interspatial Storage Ring, cracked and charred—a worthless discard. As he pulled it out, an intense, emerald flash burst from the crack, rushing toward him and flooding directly into the core of his ruined Spirit Root.
A voice, crystalline and devoid of inflection, resonated directly in his mind.
[Void Spirit Root Signature Detected. Error: Crippled. Initiating Mutated Sequence.]
[Activation Complete. Welcome, Host Lin Feng, to the Aetherial Scrap System.]
Lin Feng's breath hitched. He stared at the dissolving ring. An invisible, translucent panel floated before his consciousness.
[Host Status: Mortal Body (1st Stage - Stagnant)]
[Spirit Root: Void Spirit Root (Mutated: Scrap-Attuned)]
The next message was critical, providing the logical bypass:
[System Insight: The Mutated Root acts as a perfect filter, absorbing fragmented Dao Essence and converting it into Scrap Qi. This Scrap Qi circulates internally, bypassing the scarred and blocked meridian pathways for immediate cultivation.]
[Initial Resource Detected: Residual Spatial Essence (Low-Grade). Absorb?]
Absorb. The word was a silent, desperate prayer.
A pure surge of energy flowed into his core. It was cool and incredibly smooth, instantly soothing years of internal pain.
[Residual Spatial Essence absorbed. Progress: Minor Gain.]
[Initial Technique Unlocked: The Dao of Transmuting Refuse (Heaven Grade - Foundational)]
He accessed the technique summary. The method was simple: find residual energy, absorb it, purify it through the root, and let the resulting Scrap Qi cycle. The more potent the discard, the faster the progress. Lin Feng felt a flicker of genuine joy, quickly followed by the fear of being discovered.
He targeted a massive pile of dark, porous lumps: the poisonous slag from the High-Grade Refining Hall. This was general residue from failed high-tier processes—too contaminated to reuse, but rich in fragmented Dao energy.
He used the iron grabber to select a handful. He initiated the technique.
[Target: High-Grade Refining Slag. Gain: High.]
Absorb!
A wave of concentrated, acrid energy surged into him. The Void Spirit Root filtered it, converting it into a steady stream of vibrant, emerald Scrap Qi.
He processed seven more lumps, working with a feverish intensity he hadn't felt in years.
After nearly an hour, sweat blurring his vision, he felt a powerful internal shift. The first barrier that had locked him at the 1st Stage cracked open with a subtle thrum.
[Cultivation Barrier Breached: 1st Stage Mortal Body (100%)]
[BREAKTHROUGH: Host has advanced to the 2nd Stage Mortal Body!]
He instantly suppressed the outward fluctuation of his Qi. He needed a shield of weakness to hide his strength.
As he was hiding the evidence, a heavy, dark shadow fell over him.
It was Wei Chang, the senior disciple in charge of waste oversight. Wei Chang was a heavy-set man, motivated by simple, cold transactional greed. He was 3rd Stage Mortal Body, his presence intimidating.
"Lin Feng. You've been here too long," Wei Chang's voice was low and commanding, without the petty fury of Zhang Hao. "I need to inspect your salvage. Any jade, any metal with residual luster, I take for my personal store. Consider it the tariff for your access to this ground."
Lin Feng slowly raised his hands, displaying the heavy bag of useless scrap he was required to collect. "Nothing of value, Senior Brother Wei. Only what the Sect has truly discarded."
Wei Chang sneered. "I don't believe a word of it, Waste Boy. You're hiding something." He advanced, placing his heavy, leather-clad boot on a shard of black, cracked porcelain near Lin Feng's feet—a fragment of a highly-refined spirit tool.
Lin Feng saw his chance. He focused, initiating the absorption on the shard, pulling the powerful essence through the immediate Qi layer surrounding the item.
[Target: Shattered Spirit Tool Vessel. Gain: Very High.]
Absorb!
The energy rushed in, anchoring the 2nd Stage breakthrough. The system processed the essence so quickly and silently that only Lin Feng perceived the internal transfer.
Wei Chang suddenly staggered back, rubbing his boot. The shard had vanished into dust.
"What in the hells?" Wei Chang muttered, looking around nervously. "Did you curse that spot, Scrap Boy? I felt a sudden coldness drain from the ground."
Lin Feng, forcing a genuine look of disorientation and fear onto his face, quickly replied: "Senior Brother, I don't know! Perhaps that object was corrupted! I felt a sudden chill when I touched it earlier—maybe it absorbed the spiritual energy around it!"
Wei Chang, unnerved by the unexplainable event, narrowed his eyes. "You're lucky, Waste Boy. I don't have time for bad karma." He turned, his final threat cold and economic: "I'll be back tomorrow. If the Central Dump isn't immaculate, I'll dock your stipend for a month."
Lin Feng watched him go, the surge of calculated vindication washing over him. He had exposed nothing. He was no longer crippled. He simply had a secret source of power that the world was literally throwing away. He needed to rest and consolidate the 2nd Stage, then begin his first attempt at practical application.
The cold promise of revenge tasted like pure Scrap Qi.