Lin Feng's life settled into a frantic, secret routine. By day, he played the role of the miserable, hopeless Waste Disposal Disciple, enduring the stench and the sneers. By night, he was the tireless Scrap Cultivator, mining the Sector's daily output of failure for his unprecedented growth.
The humiliation from Lin Wei the previous day had the desired effect: the Outer Sect dismissed the pills as a one-time fluke or a desperate purchase. Lin Wei himself was consumed by bitter jealousy but had no proof of theft and could not risk forfeiting the 88% pure pills. Lin Feng's meager rations were grudgingly delivered.
Lin Feng was now solidly in the 2nd Stage Mortal Body. While this was still incredibly low, his Scrap Qi was potent, possessing a purity that surpassed the ambient Qi drawn by most Outer Disciples. The problem was volume. To reach the 3rd Stage, he needed a staggering amount of residual essence.
His current resource—the High-Grade Refining Slag—was inconsistent and often diluted. He needed a reliable, targeted source of energy.
One morning, while clearing the garbage from the Herbal Hall's testing grounds, he noticed something unusual. The ground around a specific, large compost pit seemed subtly depleted of spiritual energy, far more than the natural decay would account for.
He plunged his iron grabber into the pit. It was a dense mixture of dead spirit roots, discarded testing liquids, and rotting Moonpetal Grass leaves.
[Target Detected: High-Volume Organic Decay (Herbal Hall Compost). Energy Type: Mixed Medicinal Essence, High-Density Decay Element. Estimated Gain: High, but Unstable.]
The System warned of instability. Natural decay often introduced incompatible spiritual energies. He initiated the absorption on a dense clump of rotting Iron-Bone Root.
The resulting flow was chaotic. The medicinal essence was strong, but it was accompanied by a vicious, toxic Decay Essence that surged into his Spirit Root. For a terrifying moment, Lin Feng felt a wave of internal nausea and a burning sensation near his core.
[Warning! Decay Essence Toxicity Detected. Filtering Process: 99% Purity Required.]
[Scrap Qi Consumption: 15% of total Scrap Qi reserve expended to maintain filter stability.]
The System performed its duty, but the cost was high. Lin Feng realized he couldn't rely solely on his passive root filtration for such potent waste. He needed to be able to manually direct and prioritize the absorption.
"I need a focus," Lin Feng muttered, wiping cold sweat from his brow. "A technique to specifically target and refine the desired essence before it even reaches the core."
He spent the next two days meticulously sorting the entire Herbal Hall's refuse. He found no complete scrolls, only fragmented, ancient notes scribbled on the backs of discarded prescriptions and burnt testing slips.
He worked tirelessly, absorbing the tiny residual Qi from the papers themselves until the System finally pieced together a viable technique.
[Analysis Complete. Fragments Assimilated. Technique Refined.]
[Skill Acquired: Scrap Essence Focus (Common Grade - Tier 1)]
Description: A mental technique allowing the Host to stabilize and isolate specific residual Dao Essence signatures within a targeted piece of refuse before full absorption.
Effect: Reduces energy loss during filtration and allows absorption of highly toxic/contaminated materials.
It was a mere Common Grade technique, but to Lin Feng, it was more valuable than a Heaven Grade martial art. It was the key to unlocking the true power of the compost.
Armed with the Scrap Essence Focus, Lin Feng returned to the decaying compost pit. He closed his eyes, extending his mental focus, not as a cultivator uses spiritual sense, but as a scavenger uses keen observation, to the individual auras within the filth.
He ignored the dense, toxic Decay Essence. He focused entirely on the faint, vibrant Medicinal Essence radiating from the core of the decaying herbs. He grabbed a handful of the rotting mass.
Absorb Medicinal Essence only!
The Scrap Qi rushed forward, isolating the target energy. The result was instantaneous and clean. A stream of rich, earthy Qi, heavy with medicinal potency, flooded his core. The Decay Essence was left behind, harmlessly dissipating into the soil.
[Refined Medicinal Essence absorbed. Progress: Significant Gain.]
He spent the next ten hours clearing the entire pit. He was moving through the trash at a breakneck speed, powered by the continuous flow of pure, refined Qi. The Central Scrap Mound had been his challenge; the Herbal Hall's compost pit was his true resource vein.
[Current Cultivation Progress: 2nd Stage Mortal Body (95%)]
As the pit was finally emptied down to the bare, depleted earth, Lin Feng felt the familiar tightening in his chest—the sign of an impending breakthrough.
He needed one final, massive push.
He searched the grounds and found a huge, abandoned Stone Mortar, cracked down the middle and discarded. This mortar had been used for hundreds of years to crush rare spirit stones and herbs. It was smooth, but its entire structure was saturated with residual, potent energy.
[Target Detected: Ancient Spirit Mortar (High-Grade Artifact). Contains centuries of Earth and Medicinal Essence. Highly Concentrated.]
This was it. Lin Feng placed his hand on the cold stone. He initiated the Dao of Transmuting Refuse, not just absorbing, but pulling the very spiritual history of the mortar into his core.
The surge was overwhelming, far more intense than any previous absorption. The ancient energy, thick and stable, slammed into his core, shattering the final barrier of the 2nd Stage.
[Cultivation Barrier Breached: 2nd Stage Mortal Body (100%)]
[BREAKTHROUGH: Host has advanced to the 3rd Stage Mortal Body!]
Lin Feng gasped, pulling his hand away as the Mortar instantly crumbled to inert dust. A fierce, silent torrent of energy now surged through his body. His hearing sharpened, his muscles felt denser, and the omnipresent stench of the scrap yard faded further into the background.
He had spent three years trapped at the 1st Stage. In the span of three days, fueled by failure and filth, he had reached the 3rd Stage.
He stood amidst the remnants of the Herbal Hall's waste, his eyes glowing faintly green. He was no longer just surviving the scrap yard; he was mastering it.