Three months had passed since the Blood Fiend Cult raided the Blue Mist Sect.
To the cultivation world, three months was nothing—less than a breath between meditations.
To a minor sect, it was the line between survival and collapse.
The atmosphere had changed.
Outer disciples no longer strutted with youthful arrogance. Instead, they moved cautiously, eyes darting, voices hushed. Fear had replaced pride. Desperation had replaced ambition.
And desperation was dangerous.
Wei Yuan knew this well.
He sat quietly in his small garden, fingers stained green from crushing common spirit herbs. On the surface, he was still a mediocre outer disciple—Qi Refinement Level Three, talent thin as paper.
In truth—
Qi Refinement Level Eight.
Thanks to the Pure Qi granted daily by the System, he had silently broken through another bottleneck just days ago. His real strength now placed him comfortably within the top five percent of the Outer Sect.
Yet no one noticed.
Perfect.
In times of crisis, sects look for heroes to sacrifice… and laborers to exploit, Wei Yuan thought, eyes half-lidded as he watched messenger cranes fly toward the Inner Peaks.
I must be neither.
[Current Ripple Value: 0.005]
[Status: Stillness]
[Daily Reward Pending: 12 hours of Pure Qi, 1 month Lifespan, 1 Fragment of Insight]
Wei Yuan claimed the rewards.
The Fragment of Insight dissolved into his consciousness, and his understanding of the Breath-Concealing Technique surged forward.
Not only could he hide his cultivation now—
He could fake damage.
Meridians that appeared cracked. Qi that felt unstable. An aura that screamed "crippled potential."
To any observer, his cultivation had permanently stalled.
Excellent.
He finished adjusting his aura just as a familiar sound reached his ears.
Thump. Thump.
A heavy walking stick struck the ground rhythmically.
Wei Yuan looked up.
Deacon Mo stood at the gate, face wrinkled like a dried plum, eyes sharp with irritation. Behind him were five trembling outer disciples—already chosen for something unpleasant.
"Wei Yuan," Deacon Mo barked. "Drop the trowel."
The old man sneered.
"The sect is short-handed at the Black Rock Spirit Mine. Since your ridiculous fertilizer trick saved your life during the raid, we figure you have luck to spare. You're reassigned. Pack your things."
Wei Yuan's spiritual sense went cold.
The Black Rock Spirit Mine.
A death pit. Tunnel collapses. Spirit-devouring insects. Rogue cultivators.
[Warning: Forced Destiny Path Detected]
[Event: Assignment to Black Rock Spirit Mine]
Option 1: Accept
Reward: Spirit Stone Vein Map
Ripple Cost: 1,200
Risk: Extreme (70% collapse, 40% Foundation rogue)
Option 2: Refuse openly
Reward: 5 Spirit Stones
Ripple Cost: 50
Risk: High (Whipping + forced assignment)
Option 3: Exhibit Sudden Cultivation Backlash
Reward: Medicine Hall Waste Disposal Assignment
Ripple Cost: 0.1
Risk: Low
Wei Yuan didn't hesitate.
He stepped forward—and staggered.
His face drained of color as violent coughing wracked his body. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. His aura flickered wildly, collapsing into chaotic fragments.
"Dea—Deacon…" Wei Yuan gasped, dropping to one knee.
"I tried… to break through last night… to serve the sect better…"
His Qi shattered visibly.
Deacon Mo frowned and pressed a hand to Wei Yuan's shoulder, sending a probing strand of Qi inside.
What he found was a mess.
Broken energy paths. Instability. A ruined foundation.
"Tsk."
The Deacon recoiled as if touching filth.
"Useless trash!" he spat. "With talent this thin, you dared force a breakthrough? Your meridians are ruined. You won't lift a pickaxe for a year."
Whispers erupted behind him.
A shattered foundation was worse than death.
Wei Yuan clutched the Deacon's robe desperately.
"I—I can still serve! I can clean! Sweep! Please don't expel me!"
Deacon Mo hesitated.
Throwing out a cripple right after a raid would hurt morale.
Finally, he snorted.
"Fine. Go to the Medicine Hall's rear court. Elder Han's alchemy waste is piling up. If you're going to be useless, at least be useful trash."
[Destiny Path Altered]
[Ripple Value Maintained: 0.1]
[Reward: Medicine Hall Waste Disposal Assigned]
[Secret Reward: Poison-Resistant Body (Minor)]
Wei Yuan bowed deeply.
Only after the Deacon vanished did a thin smile appear.
Remote. Toxic. Ignored by elders.
The pinnacle of seclusion.
The Medicine Hall's rear court reeked of death.
Failed pills. Charred herbs. Alchemical sludge staining the ground purple and green.
Elder Han barely glanced at Wei Yuan.
"The last three servants died in a month," the Elder muttered. "Dig pits. Bury slag. Don't bother me."
"Yes, Elder."
The shack was small, damp, sulfur-soaked.
Perfect.
Weeks passed.
Wei Yuan shoveled waste by day—feebly—while secretly refining his body through labor. The poison fumes did nothing to him. Instead, they strengthened his resistance.
Then he discovered the truth.
Failed pills still contained power.
Chaotic. Lethal.
Unless purified.
[Detected: Failed Foundation Consolidation Pill (Toxic)]
[Use 5 Stillness Essence to Purify?]
He had forty-five points.
"Purify."
The pill shed soot and poison, revealing a pearlescent core.
Wei Yuan swallowed it calmly.
Others gamble their lives in ruins, he thought.
I wait for trash delivery.
A year passed.
Age: 21
Cultivation: Qi Refinement 9 (True) | Qi Refinement 2 (Public)
Lifespan: 165 years
Forgotten. Ignored. Still.
Then—
[Warning: Global Karma Shift]
[The Grotto of the Azure Lute is a Feeding Ground]
[Protagonist Detected: Lin Fan]
Wei Yuan froze.
A Protagonist.
Option 3:
Remain Insignificant for 3 Years
Reward: Heavenly Concealment Script
Ripple Requirement: <0.001
Wei Yuan wiped his hands.
If the world revolves around him,
I will be the void he never notices.
Then Lin Fan walked into the rear court.
"This is a disgrace!" the young man shouted.
"No disciple should live like this!"
He rushed toward Wei Yuan.
"Brother! I will help you!"
Wei Yuan's Ripple Value spiked.
Go away.
Please.
Be a hero somewhere else.