The air in the firewood shed was thick and stifling. Li Changjin wiped sweat from his brow. He was skinny, yes, but there was a sharpness in his eyes—a quiet intensity that hinted at something more. At fourteen, most boys in the world of Cangling had already awakened at least a few Beast Armors. Li hadn't.
(Beast Armors: rare, mystical armors granted through the Awakening Ceremony. Every person can possess up to ten, but the number you inherit is only revealed at the ceremony.)
Today was the day—the annual Beast Armor Awakening. Li's sect, the Qingxuan Sect, wasn't legendary or powerful by Cangling standards, but it held its own as a second-tier sect.
"Oi! Li! Pick up that mess!" a brash voice barked.
Li glanced up. A young man, arrogant and broad-shouldered, sneered at him.
"Who are you?" Li asked.
"I'm Wang Chen. You—the servant boy—clean this up now!"
Li narrowed his eyes. "Why? There's nothing on the floor."
Before Wang Chen could retort, a woman's voice rang out, dripping with disdain.
"Why waste your time on him, Chen? His mother's useless, and so is he. Hasn't awakened in three years. Pathetic!"
Li froze. His mother?
"Mom… weren't you supposed to be in the cave, cultivating?"
"I came to see you, Chen. And look at this… we're lucky to even witness this loser today," she said, sneering.
So that was Wang Chen's mother.
"Enough!" Li shouted, anger flaring. "Wang Chen! Just because your mother has rank-three cultivation doesn't mean you can act like a tyrant!"
"Ha! You're lucky I let you live today!" Wang Chen's mother snapped—and slapped Li across the face.
"Mom… let's go!" Wang Chen called.
Li stood frozen, rage and helplessness mixing. But then, something flickered in his chest. His mother—different from Wang Chen's—appeared in his memory.
"Today is Awakening Day again," he whispered to himself. "This time… I'll awaken my Beast Armor. I won't be bullied anymore."
The ceremony began an hour later.
"One year… two… three… still nothing…" Li's heart thumped painfully. Can I really do this?
"Next! Wang Chen!" announced the elder, a master-level Qingniao cultivator, his aura close to level 6, rank 10. In Cangling, there were ten tiers, each with ten ranks. Breaking through a tier meant gaining a Beast Armor. Beyond tier ten… godhood awaited.
Wang Chen strode onto the Beast Armor Stone Formation.
"Stand tall. Relax. Fear nothing," the elder instructed, weaving complex hand signs and chanting in an ancient tongue.
Boom! Ten stones lit up—seven levels ablaze.
"Seven levels! He's born with seven levels!" the crowd gasped. "Seven Beast Armors! Even the ancestors never had this luck!"
Wang Chen laughed triumphantly. "I, Wang Chen, am a genius!"
"Chen, you are my pride!" his mother cooed.
"Li Changjin! Watch carefully! I will crush you beneath my feet!" Wang Chen bellowed, eyes gleaming with arrogance.
Li clenched his fists. Silence. Determination.
"Next! Li Changjin!"
Laughter erupted. "The loser? Four years and still hasn't awakened!"
The elder's voice cut through the mockery. "Begin."
Hands danced through intricate gestures. Ancient words filled the air. The Stone Formation quaked violently. Seconds stretched into eternity. Then… stillness.
The crowd roared with laughter.
Four years. Still nothing.
Humiliated, Li Changjin retreated to the shadows of the firewood shed. Heart racing. Mind burning.
And then… a strange warmth flickered across the Stone Formation. Something… had shifted.
The rules of the Beast Armor… had changed.