The crimson dawn spilled over the sect like a blade drawn across silk.
Su Chen stood at the edge of the Trial Arena, a sunken pit of scorched sand and dried blood surrounded by crumbling wooden stands. Outer disciples packed the rim like vultures awaiting fresh carrion. Whispers laced with cruelty passed from mouth to mouth—today, the village stray would finally be put down.
After all, Lu Shan, a first-stage Qi Gathering disciple, had issued the challenge.
And Su Chen? Still a mortal.
Or so they thought.
> [System Alert]
[Anchor Point Available – "Trial by Blood"]
[Would you like to set a Reset Anchor here?]
Su Chen accepted without hesitation. The world shimmered—only for him—as time crystallized. An invisible weight pressed onto the ground, solidifying his checkpoint.
If he died today, he would return here, again and again. But he didn't plan on dying.
He planned on making a statement.
Lu Shan swaggered into the arena like a war dog unleashed. His robe, dyed with inner disciple red, flared behind him. At his hip gleamed a curved saber—polished, hungry for flesh.
He sneered. "You sure you want to go through with this, shrine rat? You can still bow, kiss my boots, and crawl back to your hole."
Su Chen stepped into the ring.
"I'm here to cleanse the sect," he said calmly. "I figured I'd start with the filth."
Laughter rippled through the crowd like rot through spoiled rice.
Even the presiding elder—Elder Hai, half-drunk and half-bald—let out a chuckle as he raised his gourd.
"Begin."
The moment the word left his mouth, Lu Shan moved.
A blur of steel. Red Serpent's Fang—a saber technique crafted to cripple, not kill. The curved blade sliced toward Su Chen's chest with practiced violence.
Su Chen didn't flinch. He slipped sideways, just far enough that the blade kissed air instead of skin.
Too slow.
Lu Shan's eyes widened a fraction. Then—
Su Chen's palm lashed out with bone-shattering precision.
Crack.
Lu Shan howled as his elbow joint snapped backward. The saber flew from his hand, clattering to the sand.
> [System Notification]
[Critical Hit – Joint Dislocation Detected]
[Enemy Combat Ability Temporarily Reduced by 70%]
Gasps turned the air brittle. The audience shifted from amused to silent.
Su Chen advanced. His steps were fluid, measured—like a shadow given form.
Void Walking Fist – Second Form: Sever the Pulse
His strike landed against Lu Shan's thigh.
Crack.
The disciple's leg buckled. Blood splattered the sand like ink on old scrolls.
> [Martial Rank Advanced: Void Walking Fist – Intermediate]
[New Passive Unlocked: Phantom Step (Rank I)]
Su Chen halted.
Lu Shan writhed in the dirt, limbs trembling, veins bulging. His mouth foamed with pain and disbelief.
A mortal had just disarmed and dismantled a Qi Gathering cultivator in less than twenty breaths.
"Submit," Su Chen said softly.
Lu Shan coughed blood. Rage twisted his face. "I… I'll kill you—"
Su Chen raised a hand—then lowered it.
No threat. Just dismissal.
You're not worth it.
He turned.
Elder Hai stood up, expression unreadable.
"Winner: Su Chen."
> [System Reward Unlocked: Trait Copy – "Flowing Saber Arts (Basic)"]
[Qi Channeling Permission: Temporary Unlock (48 hours)]
Su Chen inhaled. For the first time in this life, he felt it.
Qi—gentle, tentative, like a river thawing beneath ice.
It wasn't much.
But it was the crack in the dam.
That night, Su Chen sat in the corner of the filthy barracks, where the broken and forgotten were dumped to rot. He ignored the frightened stares and hushed whispers of the other outer disciples.
Lu Shan had been dragged away—bones shattered, pride reduced to ash.
And Su Chen?
Su Chen was reborn.
> [New Objective Unlocked: Break Through to Qi Gathering Within 7 Days]
[Optional: Do So Without Consuming Spirit Stones]
He smiled.
He didn't need pills. Didn't need luck. Didn't need the charity of elders.
He had the System.
He had time.
And now, the sect had no choice but to watch.
Some feared him.
Some hated him.
And others… would soon crawl to him with offers in hand.
But none would ever again ignore the name Su Chen.
Not in this life.
Not in the next.
Not until the heavens bled for what they had done.