The Verdant Peak was a contradiction. It was massive, sprawling, a breathtaking expanse of emerald green that seemed to stretch on forever. From the narrow, winding path where Li Wei and I walked, I could see the full scope of it. The peak rose from the valley floor like the humped back of some ancient, slumbering beast, its slopes covered in a dense, vibrant forest of ancient trees. Some of them were so tall their canopies disappeared into the low-hanging clouds, their trunks wider than houses. The air was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth and something else, something clean and sharp that I realized must be spiritual energy. It was everywhere, a faint, shimmering mist that clung to the leaves and drifted through the ravines. Streams cascaded down the mountainside in silver ribbons, their waters so clear I could see the smooth stones at the bottom from a hundred feet away. Birds with plumage I had never seen before, iridescent blues and greens and golds, flitted between the branches, their songs a chaotic, beautiful symphony. Everywhere I looked, there was life, color, and a sense of ancient, untamed wilderness.
It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful place I had ever seen in my life. And that was the contradiction. Because this place, this stunning, majestic peak, was the dumping ground. This was where the Azure Moon Sect sent its failures. The disciples with poor spirit roots, the ones from weak backgrounds, the ones who would never amount to anything in the eyes of the sect's elite. They were given this entire, magnificent mountain to live on, to train on, to struggle on. It was a gilded cage, a beautiful prison. They gave us beauty, I thought, because they didn't want to give us power. They gave us space, because they didn't want to give us resources. It was a bribe, a consolation prize. Here, have a pretty view while you slowly rot at the bottom of the hierarchy. The beauty was almost mocking. It was a constant reminder of what we could see but never truly have, the heights we could never reach.
I can walk again. The thought hit me like a physical blow, stopping me dead in my tracks. I looked down at my feet, at the worn leather of my boots, at the solid, stable ground beneath them. I can actually walk again. I felt a laugh bubbling up in my chest, a wild, hysterical giggle that I had to swallow down. It wasn't just walking. It was the absence of pain. It was the absence of the cane, the wheelchair, the constant, terrifying fear of falling. It was the absence of the breathlessness, the way my lungs used to burn after just a few steps. My body felt light. It felt strong. It felt like it was mine. I wanted to run. I wanted to sprint down the path, to feel the wind in my hair, to push my muscles until they ached, to scream at the top of my lungs just because I could. If I had done that in my past life, if I had run even ten feet, I would have collapsed. My heart would have stuttered, my lungs would have seized, and I would have been on the ground, gasping for air, waiting for the inevitable. But now? Now I could feel the qi flowing through my meridians, a gentle, steady current that hummed with potential. I could feel the strength in my legs, the easy rhythm of my heart. It was intoxicating. It was overwhelming. It was the most incredible feeling I had ever experienced. I wanted to cry. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to do both at the same time. I settled for taking a deep, shuddering breath, filling my lungs with the clean, crisp air of the Verdant Peak.
Li Wei: You good, Qinghe?
Li Wei asked, his voice cutting through my reverie. He had stopped a few paces ahead, his round face creased with concern.
Li Wei: You just... stopped. And you've got this weird look on your face. Like you're constipated or something.
Ethan: Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Why are you asking?
Li Wei shrugged, but his eyes were still studying me, a flicker of something unreadable in their depths.
Li Wei: I don't know. You just... you've healed. Like, completely. From your wounds. I saw you yesterday, man. You were a mess. The healers said your meridians were torn to shreds. They said you'd be lucky to cultivate again at all, let alone advance. And now you're walking around like nothing happened. It's weird.
Ethan:I don't know
I said, the lie forming on my lips with an ease that surprised me.
Ethan:I felt like I was going to die. Then I had a breakthrough, and then I felt better.
I shrugged, mirroring his earlier gesture.
Ethan:I don't know how it works. Maybe the pill was just... really good?
The words felt hollow, a flimsy shield against his scrutiny. I hated lying to him. He was the only person in this world who had shown me any kindness. But what was I supposed to say? Hey, Li Wei, funny story, I'm actually a dead kid from another world who hijacked your friend's body. He's gone, and I'm here now. Sorry for your loss. Yeah, that would go over well.
Li Wei stared at me for a long moment, his brow furrowed. Then he shrugged again.
Li Wei: Okay. I mean, I guess weird stuff happens in cultivation. I've heard of people having breakthroughs that heal their bodies. Something about the qi repairing the meridians as it expands. It's rare, but it's not impossible.
He seemed to accept it. Just like that. He just... accepted it. He didn't push. He didn't demand answers. He just took my flimsy lie and moved on. I felt a wave of gratitude so intense it almost made me dizzy. This is a cultivation universe, I thought. Maybe something like a miraculous breakthrough with healing benefits isn't too uncommon. Maybe people here are used to weird shit happening. Maybe I don't have to be a perfect liar. Maybe I just have to be good enough.
We continued down the path, and soon we began to encounter other disciples. They were all wearing the same simple, grayish-blue robes as us, the uniform of the outer disciples. They were walking in small groups, some chatting, some silent, some looking at me with open curiosity. I heard the whispers start as we passed.
"Is that Xu Qinghe?"
"I thought he died"
"He looks... different"
"Didn't he take some crazy pill?"
" Yeah, I heard he was foaming at the mouth in the training yard"
"What a loser. He couldn't handle the pressure"
"He's been stuck at Qi Awakening for eight years. He's a joke"
" I bet he's just pretending to be okay. He's probably dying inside"
The words were like tiny needles, sharp and precise. They stung, but only for a second. Because I didn't know these people. They were strangers. They were just voices in the crowd, background noise in a world that wasn't mine. Their opinions of Xu Qinghe meant nothing to me. I had been judged my entire life. I had been pitied, mocked, dismissed. I had been the sick kid, the burden, the one who wouldn't make it. These strangers couldn't hurt me. They didn't know me. They didn't know what I had survived. They didn't know the hell I had crawled out of.
Li Wei, however, was furious. I could see his jaw clenching, his fists balling at his sides.
Li Wei: Ignore them. They're just jealous. They've been stuck at Low Qi Awakening for years, and you just advanced. They're just bitter.
Ethan: I'm already doing that. I don't know these people. Why in hell would I be offended by strangers?
Li Wei looked at me, his anger slowly giving way to surprise.
Li Wei: You're... you're really different, Qinghe. The old you would have... I don't know. You would have gotten angry. Or sad. You would have let them get to you.
The old me is dead, I thought, the words a grim, silent truth. I just shrugged.
Ethan: Maybe I'm just too tired to care anymore.
We reached the dining area, a large, open-air pavilion built from polished wood and gray stone. It was situated on a terrace that jutted out from the mountainside, offering a panoramic view of the valley below. Long wooden tables were arranged in neat rows, already beginning to fill with disciples. The smell of food wafted through the air, simple fare. Rice porridge, steamed buns, pickled vegetables. It was far from the gourmet meals I had seen in anime, but to me, it smelled like heaven. I received more stares as we entered. Whispers followed us like a cloud. I ignored them all. I kept my head high, my expression neutral. I was a ghost walking among the living, and I had no intention of letting them see how lost I truly was.
We joined the line to receive our food. The servers, also outer disciples, looked at me with a mix of surprise and indifference. They ladled out a bowl of congee for each of us, the watery porridge with a few sad-looking vegetables floating in it. It was, by the standards of this world, cheap. It was the food of the poor, the untalented, the forgotten. But we were given it because we were still disciples of the Azure Moon Sect, and the sect had a reputation to maintain. They couldn't just let us starve. Besides, despite how much they looked down on us, the outer disciples were the backbone of the sect's workforce. We took on the menial jobs, the dangerous tasks, the grunt work that the inner disciples wouldn't dirty their hands with. We were hard workers. We played a big role in keeping the sect running. But in a world where your worth was measured by how much power you could throw around, how many spells you could cast, such contributions meant nothing. We were useful, but we weren't respected. We were necessary, but we weren't valued.
Li Wei and I took our bowls and found a seat at the very back of the pavilion, as far away from the other disciples as possible. We sat in silence for a moment, just eating. The congee was bland, but it was warm, and it filled my empty stomach. It was the first real food I had eaten in... well, in my new life. The first food that wasn't a memory. I took a bite and had to suppress a moan of pure, animal pleasure. It tasted amazing. It tasted like freedom.
Chen Yuxi: Xu Qinghe?
A soft, hesitant voice pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up. Two people were standing at the end of our table. A girl and a guy. The girl was... striking. She had warm brown hair that fell in gentle waves past her shoulders, and large, expressive hazel eyes that held a quiet intelligence. Her face was heart-shaped, with high cheekbones and a small, delicate nose. She had a good figure, slender but with gentle curves, and she carried herself with a quiet, unassuming grace. In my past life, she would have been a supermodel. She would have been on magazine covers, in movies, on billboards. But in this world, she was just another low-tier cultivator. She was pretty, but not exceptionally so by the standards of the immortal beauties that populated the upper echelons of the sect. She was a farmer's daughter, a Low Qi Awakening disciple, and she was, from what I could recall, the kind of person who would be described as polite, humble, and soft-spoken. Her name was Chen Yuxi. The guy beside her was Zhao Rui. He was lean and wiry, with sharp features and a perpetually thoughtful expression. He had dark, intelligent eyes and a quiet, watchful demeanor. He and Li Wei were close, and he and Xu Qinghe had been friendly, but not quite friends. He was also from the Verdant Peak, another outer disciple with a Mortal-Tier Spirit Root, another background character in the grand story of the Azure Moon Sect.
Ethan: Hey. Chen Yuxi. Zhao Rui.
They both stared at me, their eyes wide with shock.
Chen Yuxi: You're alive. We heard... we heard you took that unstable pill. We thought... we thought you were dead.
Ethan: I'm not. I'm here.
Zhao Rui's eyes narrowed, studying me with an intensity that made me slightly uncomfortable.
Zhao Rui: You're at Mid Qi Awakening.How?
I shrugged again, the gesture becoming my default response.
Ethan: I don't know. The breakthrough just... happened. It healed me.
The surprise on their faces was almost comical. They looked at me like I had just grown a second head.
Chen Yuxi: Wow. That's... that's incredible, Qinghe. I've never heard of that happening before.
Zhao Rui: Me neither. But I guess it's possible. Cultivation is weird.
The skepticism in his voice stung a little, but I pushed it aside. Their surprise was a sharp reminder of just how low everyone's expectations for Xu Qinghe had been. They thought so little of me that a single minor breakthrough was enough to make them look at me like I was a miracle. It was depressing. It was also, I realized, a gift. No one expected anything from me. No one thought I was a threat. I was invisible. And in a world as dangerous as this, invisibility was a very, very good thing.
But then something shifted. The surprise on their faces softened, replaced by something warmer. Something genuine.
Chen Yuxi: We're happy for you, Qinghe. Really. You've been struggling for so long. You deserve this.
Zhao Rui: Yeah. It's about time something good happened to you.
I didn't know what to say. I hadn't expected this. I hadn't expected anyone to be happy for me. I was a stranger in a stolen body, and yet here were these people, these strangers, looking at me with genuine warmth and pride. It was surreal. It was humbling.
Ethan: Thank you. That... that means a lot.
We fell into a comfortable rhythm after that. Li Wei dominated the conversation, as usual, chattering about the upcoming sermon, the sect gossip, and his latest scheme to save up for a new cultivation manual. Zhao Rui interjected with dry, sarcastic comments that made Li Wei sputter, and Chen Yuxi listened with a patient, gentle smile, occasionally adding her own soft-spoken observations. I tried to join in, but I was mostly content to listen, to observe, to learn. The way they talked, the things they cared about, the rhythm of their interactions. It was like watching a movie, except I was in it. I was a part of it. I added my own comments here and there, careful to keep them vague, to avoid saying anything that would reveal how little I actually knew about this world. It was exhausting, a constant performance, but it was also... nice. It was normal. It was the closest thing to a real conversation I had had in years.
I took another bite of my congee, and the flavor exploded on my tongue. It was so good. It was simple, but it was real. I wanted to say it out loud. I wanted to tell them how amazing this tasted, how incredible it was to eat food that didn't come from a hospital tray, to sit in the open air and feel the sun on my skin. But I couldn't. The previous Xu Qinghe had eaten this before. It would be weird if I suddenly acted like it was a five-star meal. So I just chewed slowly, savouring every bite, storing the memory away like a precious treasure.
Chen Yuxi: I'm going to take some jobs after the sermon.
Chen Yuxi said, her soft voice cutting through the chatter. She was looking at her bowl, her fingers tracing the rim.
Chen Yuxi: I'm saving up for a spell. It's a simple water-based technique, nothing special, but it would help me with the farming jobs. I could water the spiritual herb gardens faster, maybe even help with the irrigation for the sect's fields. It would bring in more contribution points.
She looked up, her hazel eyes meeting mine.
Chen Yuxi: Maybe you could come with me sometime, Qinghe? You have a water affinity too, don't you? It would be nice to have someone who understands.
I nodded, a little taken aback by the offer.
Ethan: Yeah. Maybe. I'd like that.
Li Wei leaned forward, his eyes bright with excitement.
Li Wei: Hey, that's a great idea! And since Qinghe has advanced now, we can take on monster hunting missions! There are always bounties posted for small spirit beasts in the forests around the Verdant Peak. It's dangerous, but the rewards are good. We could team up. The four of us. It would be like old times!
I felt a cold spike of panic in my chest. Monster hunting? I had just gotten this body. I had just learned how to walk without pain. I didn't even know what my techniques were, what my qi could do, how to fight. I opened my mouth to protest, to say hey, hold up, I just got here, at least let me familiarize myself, I don't even know what I can do yet, but Zhao Rui beat me to it.
Zhao Rui: Calm down, Li Wei. He just advanced. He needs time to get used to his new realm, to stabilize his qi, to practice his techniques. You can't just throw him into a monster hunt on the first day. That's how people get killed.
Li Wei deflated, his excitement fading.
Li Wei: Oh. Right. Yeah. I didn't think about that. Sorry, Qinghe.
Ethan: It's fine.
I said, relief flooding through me. I made a mental note to thank Zhao Rui later. He was quiet, but he was observant. He was the kind of person who noticed things, who thought before he spoke. I had a feeling he would be a good ally in this world, if I could earn his trust.
Ethan: Zhao Rui's right. I need to... I need to get my bearings first. But maybe after that. Maybe we can train together.
Li Wei's face lit up again.
Li Wei: Yes! That's a great idea! We can train together! I'll show you some of the drills we've been working on. They're not much, but they're something.
Around us, the other disciples began to rise from their seats, gathering their bowls and heading towards the exit. The low hum of conversation was replaced by the shuffling of feet and the clatter of ceramic. The morning sermon was about to begin. Li Wei glanced over his shoulder and cursed under his breath.
Li Wei: We need to go. Han Chen will kill us if we're late. He's already got it out for the outer disciples.
He shoved the rest of his congee into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk's. I followed suit, forcing the last few bites down as quickly as I could.