The room emptied quickly.
Kael Lin was carried away, unconscious and bleeding. The onlookers left with complicated expressions—shock, disbelief, and hidden greed.
Only Kael and Old Chen remained.
Old Chen closed the door with trembling hands.
"Young Master…" he whispered. "You shouldn't have done that. Kael Lin's uncle is an inner elder. He won't let this go."
Kael sat down slowly on the broken bed.
"I know," he said calmly.
Old Chen stared at him. "Then why—"
"Because if I don't resist," Kael replied, "I will be crushed anyway."
Old Chen fell silent.
That was the truth.
In this clan, weakness was a sin.
Kael closed his eyes and focused inward.
[Forbidden Cultivation System Online.]
[Battle Data Analyzing…]
[Meridian Repair (Minor): Completed.]
A warm sensation spread through his chest. His breathing became smoother. The constant dull pain in his body faded slightly.
Kael opened his eyes.
"So I really changed," he murmured.
He clenched his fist.
Though weak, there was a faint sense of solidity—something that hadn't existed before.
[Cultivation Progress:]
— Body Tempering: 1%
— Physical strength: Increased
— Pain resistance: Improved
[New Condition Unlocked:]
— Continuous combat accelerates cultivation
Kael's lips curved upward.
"This system doesn't want me to hide," he thought. "It wants me to fight."
Outside, distant bells rang.
Clan assembly.
Old Chen's face paled. "They're calling everyone. This is bad."
Kael stood up.
"Prepare hot water," he said. "I need to clean up."
Old Chen froze. "You're going?"
"Yes."
"But you're injured!"
Kael looked at his reflection in a cracked mirror. Bloodied. Bruised. Weak.
Yet his eyes were sharp.
"If I don't go," he said softly, "they'll decide my fate without me."
The clan square was crowded.
Disciples whispered as Kael walked in. Their gazes followed him like blades.
"Is that the cripple?"
"He really beat Kael Lin?"
"How?"
At the center stood the elders.
Kael Lin's uncle was there.
Elder Kael Yuan.
His gaze locked onto Kael the moment he arrived.
Cold. Heavy. Filled with killing intent.
"So you are the one," Kael Yuan said. "The cripple who injured my nephew."
Kael bowed slightly. "He attacked first."
Kael Yuan laughed coldly.
"Do you think the rules will protect you?"
Pressure descended.
Kael felt his knees tremble as a powerful aura crushed down on him.
His bones screamed.
[Warning!]
[High-level pressure detected.]
[Survival condition triggered.]
[Emergency Task:]
— Endure the pressure for 10 breaths
Reward:
— Body Tempering +3%
— Meridian Reinforcement (Minor)
Kael's heart pounded.
Ten breaths.
He gritted his teeth and stood firm.
One breath.
Two.
Three.
Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Four.
Five.
The ground beneath his feet cracked.
Six.
Seven.
Gasps echoed through the crowd.
Eight.
Nine.
Kael raised his head.
His eyes met Kael Yuan's.
Defiant.
Ten.
[Task Completed.]
[Rewards Granted.]
A surge of strength rushed through Kael's body. His spine straightened.
The pressure shattered.
Silence fell over the square.
Kael Yuan's expression changed.
"Interesting," he said slowly.
Kael wiped the blood from his lips.
Inside, his smile was calm.
This was only the first step.
Silence stretched across the clan square.
No one spoke.
Kael stood straight, though his clothes were soaked with sweat and blood. His chest rose and fell steadily, his breathing controlled.
To the others, it looked like stubborn pride.
To Kael, it was survival.
Kael Yuan's eyes narrowed. He slowly withdrew his aura, the crushing pressure disappearing like a receding tide.
"Hmph," he snorted. "You endured my pressure. That alone surprises me."
Whispers erupted.
"He survived?"
"That was an inner elder's aura!"
"A cripple did that?"
Kael Yuan waved his sleeve, silencing the crowd.
"However," he continued coldly, "rules are rules. Kael Lin was injured. This matter cannot be ignored."
Kael bowed slightly. "I accept punishment."
His calm response made several elders exchange glances.
Most youths would have begged.
Kael Yuan sneered. "Good. Then I decree—"
Before he could finish, another voice interrupted.
"Wait."
An old woman stepped forward from the elders' seats. Her hair was white, her posture straight, her eyes deep as still water.
Elder Mo.
One of the oldest and most neutral elders in the clan.
"Elder Mo?" Kael Yuan frowned.
She looked at Kael for a long moment. Her spiritual sense swept over him openly, without concealment.
"Interesting," she murmured.
Kael felt a gentle pressure pass through his body—nothing like Kael Yuan's oppression. Instead, it felt like inspection.
"A crippled meridian," Elder Mo said. "Yet his will is firm. And his body… has changed."
The crowd stirred again.
Changed?
Kael Yuan's expression darkened. "Elder Mo, are you suggesting—"
"I am suggesting," she said calmly, "that this child may not be as useless as we thought."
Kael Yuan laughed coldly. "Even if he endured pressure, he still has no cultivation. Facts are facts."
Elder Mo nodded. "True. But clan rules also state that disciples who show exceptional will may be given opportunity."
She turned to Kael.
"Tell me," she asked, "are you willing to enter the Outer Trial Grounds?"
The square exploded with noise.
"The Trial Grounds?"
"He'll die!"
"That place is for beasts!"
Old Chen, standing at the edge of the crowd, nearly collapsed.
Kael Yuan's lips curled into a cruel smile.
"The Trial Grounds are dangerous," he said. "Even Body Tempering disciples die there. Sending a cripple is no different from execution."
Elder Mo met his gaze. "Unless he refuses."
All eyes turned to Kael.
Kael's heart beat faster.
The Trial Grounds.
From the memories of this body, he knew what that meant.
A place filled with wild beasts.
No protection.
No mercy.
But to Kael—
It was perfect.
He took a deep breath and spoke clearly.
"I accept."
Gasps echoed.
Kael Yuan laughed. "Good. Very good."
Elder Mo nodded slowly. "Then it is decided. Kael will enter the Outer Trial Grounds tomorrow at dawn."
She looked at Kael again.
"Survive," she said softly. "If you do, the clan will owe you an explanation."
Kael bowed deeply. "Thank you, Elder."
Inside, his blood boiled.
Battle.
Danger.
Life and death.
Everything the system wanted.
As the crowd dispersed, Kael felt the familiar cold voice echo in his mind.
[Major Opportunity Detected.]
[High-Risk Environment Confirmed.]
[New Mission:]
— Enter the Outer Trial Grounds
— Survive for three days
[Reward Preview:]
— Body Tempering Advancement
— Meridian Reinforcement (Major)
— Unknown System Unlock
Kael clenched his fist.
"Three days," he murmured.
That night, in the broken room, Kael sat cross-legged on the floor.
He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.
Slow.
Steady.
Pain still lingered, but beneath it, something new stirred.
A faint warmth.
A seed.
Kael opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing within them.
"Tomorrow," he whispered, "my real cultivation begins."