Chapter 3: The Primordial Ascent
The air in Xiao Tian's small, empty room crackled with raw, violent spiritual energy. It wasn't a flow, it was a flood, a cosmic river surging through his meridians, reshaping him. The Primordial Chaos Scripture pulsed within him, its ancient characters burning themselves onto his soul. Each breath was a transformation, pulling in qi from the air not in drips, but in waves.
His body, once weak and sickly, now vibrated with boundless power. His skin, once pale, glowed with health, his muscles subtly hardening under his tattered robes. He felt every cell in his body singing, resonating with the primordial energy, wanting to absorb more, to grow stronger. The Core Formation Stage, achieved in one impossible leap, now felt like a beginner's stage.
The red glow from beneath the floorboards had subsided, but the hum, a faint, unsettling vibration, was a constant reminder of the danger beneath the sect. For now, he had chosen to hide. He needed to solidify his power, to understand the Primordial Chaos Scripture, before he faced whatever ancient evil lay below. The System had been silent since the warning, leaving him to navigate this unprecedented rise alone.
Days blended into nights in his small room. Xiao Tian became a cultivation machine, driven by vengeance and survival. He ate little, slept less, his entire focus on the scripture.
On the first night, he felt the bottleneck of Qi Condensation Stage 9 break with a soundless explosion. The nascent spiritual energy in his dantian solidified, compressed, and with a familiar yet different sensation, he broke through to Foundation Establishment Stage 1. It was so smooth, so easy, he was breathless. He pushed on. Foundation Establishment Stage 2, then 3, then 4, each breakthrough in hours, not weeks or months. By dawn, he was already at Foundation Establishment Stage 9, a feat that would take years for even the most talented inner disciples.
The internal change was incredible. His senses were so sharp he could hear the mice scurrying in the walls of the adjacent rooms, the distant hum of the sect's arrays, the subtle movement of the air outside his window. His mind was clearer, faster, processing information at lightning speed. He understood the complex concepts in the Primordial Chaos Scripture with ease, as if the knowledge was already part of him.
"This… this is crazy," he said, staring at his hands, which now emitted a faint, almost imperceptible spiritual glow. He clapped them together and a small, controlled burst of pure spiritual energy, unlike anything he had ever produced before, appeared between them. It was a physical manifestation of the Primordial Chaos energy, alive and vibrant.
The System remained silent. It was as if it had given him the tool and now expected him to master it. And master it he would.
News, like water finding cracks in stone, always seeped through the outer sect. Xiao Tian's sudden, uncharacteristic seclusion, combined with his recent, audacious confrontation with Elder Wei, made him a subject of intense, hushed whispers.
One afternoon, as Xiao Tian briefly stepped out to gather some fresh water from the communal well – a necessary break to avoid drawing too much suspicion – he overheard two outer disciples, Li Ming and Chen Gu, gossiping near the washhouse.
"Did you see Xiao Tian this morning?" Li Ming whispered, his eyes wide. "He looks… different. Stronger."
Chen Gu snorted. "Stronger? The useless trash? He just got lucky with Elder Wei. Probably bribed Elder Li or something. And he's been holed up in his room for days. Probably still licking his wounds."
"No, I mean it," Li Ming insisted. "His aura… it felt clearer. Brighter. And his eyes! They've got a sharpness they never had before. Like a hawk."
"A hawk? He's still a pigeon, mate. You just wait. He'll trip over his own feet soon enough," Chen Gu scoffed, though a hint of unease flickered in his eyes. He'd heard the whispers too. Xiao Tian, the laughingstock, had suddenly become… unpredictable.
Xiao Tian listened, a faint smirk playing on his lips. Let them whisper. Let them doubt. Their disbelief would only make his eventual rise all the more shocking.
Then, the conversation shifted.
"Did you hear about Prince Long Feng's visit?" Chen Gu asked, his tone shifting from mockery to excitement.
"Prince Long Feng?" Li Ming gasped. "The Crown Prince of the Dragon Spirit Dynasty? The genius cultivator?"
"The very same!" Chen Gu puffed out his chest. "Word is, he's coming to our sect for a 'disciple talent exchange.' Apparently, he's scouting for promising young cultivators to join the Imperial Academy.
Imagine! If you impress him, you could be granted a position in the capital! Cultivation resources beyond our wildest dreams!"Xiao Tian stopped, his hand still on the rope. Prince Long Feng. The name sent a shiver through him, not of respect, but of dread.
Long Feng was Emperor Tianlong's younger brother, a genius in his own right, and a loyal supporter of Tianlong's rule. In his past life, Long Feng had been one of the key players in the imperial court, a powerful general who had commanded entire armies and crushed any opposition to Tianlong.
He hadn't been directly involved in Xiao Tian's betrayal, but he was definitely complicit by association, a lapdog to a tyrant.
"Prince Long Feng's visit… interesting. Opportunity detected." The System's voice, a familiar whisper in his mind, confirmed his thoughts.
"A talent exchange, huh?" Xiao Tian muttered to himself, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across his face. This wasn't just a chance to show off. This was a chance to make a statement, to draw attention, to start building his own influence. More importantly, it was a chance to subtly test Long Feng, to see if he was as blind as his brother, as gullible as his brother. And if not… well, there would be other ways to deal with him.
Over the next few days, the rumors about Xiao Tian's transformation grew, fueled by his subtle changes in demeanor and the sheer aura of competence he now radiated. Elder Wei, still seething from his public humiliation and the temporary loss of his resource allocation duties, glared at Xiao Tian whenever they crossed paths. He tried to ignore the whispers, but the unease was growing. The "trash" was becoming… something else.
Xiao Tian, meanwhile, continued his cultivation. The Primordial Chaos Scripture was a bottomless well of power. Each cycle of meditation, each breath, brought him closer to understanding the true nature of primordial chaos, the fundamental energy from which all things were born. He wasn't just absorbing qi; he was purifying it, transforming it, making it his own.
He felt his spiritual sea expanding, capable of holding an immense amount of energy, far more than his Martial Sovereign realm.
The previous Core Formation Stage was just a placeholder; he was now on a completely different cultivation system, one that went beyond the realms. He was ascending through internal "Primordial Apertures," each one unlocking more control over his own essence.
By the end of the week, the sect was in an uproar, preparing for Prince Long Feng's arrival. Banners with the Dragon Spirit Dynasty's crest were unfurled, and the training grounds were spotless. Disciples practiced their techniques with renewed fervor, hoping to catch the prince's eye.
Xiao Tian stood on a small hill overlooking the main training grounds, watching the commotion. He was no longer just an outer disciple; he was a silent, deadly force, waiting. The System was quiet, but he knew it was watching, evaluating.A gong sounded across the entire Azure Sky Sect, announcing an important announcement. A senior inner elder, his face serious, stood on the central stage of the main plaza.
"Disciples!" the elder's voice thundered, amplified by a cultivation array. "Hear ye, hear ye! In honor of the prince's visit and to stimulate competition and growth within our sect, the Sect Master has decided to start the Disciple Talent Exchange immediately!"
The disciples erupted into chatter.
"All disciples, outer and inner, will be allowed to participate!" the elder boomed above the din. "It will be a series of challenges, tests of strength, comprehension and practical application of martial arts and cultivation techniques. The top performers from both outer and inner sects will be given unprecedented access to sect resources, prestigious assignments and the opportunity to train directly under our most senior elders! And His Royal Highness will personally select talented disciples to join the Imperial Academy!"
Xiao Tian's eyes gleamed with a cold, calculating light. A talent exchange. Open to all disciples. This was perfect. This was exactly what he needed. No more whispers. No more humiliation. This was his chance to break free, to shatter the pathetic image of the weak outer disciple and show a power that would shock the entire sect.
He looked at the excited faces of the disciples around him, their eyes full of naive hope. They saw an opportunity for advancement, for recognition. Xiao Tian saw a stage. A stage on which he would announce his return to power, not as the Martial Sovereign of old, but as something new, something infinitely more terrifying.
He felt a shiver run down his spine. The crimson glow from beneath the floorboards, though unseen, seemed to pulse in his memory. The ancient threat was still there, lurking. But for now, the path was clear. He would compete. He would win. And he would rise.
The elder finished speaking and the courtyard erupted into a cacophony of cheers and nervous chatter. Xiao Tian remained silent, a grim smile on his face. He knew what was coming. He knew the jaws of destiny were opening. And he was ready to step into them.
The first trial of the Disciple Talent Exchange would begin at dawn the next day. Xiao Tian walked away from the plaza, his pace measured, his mind already working out strategies. He had to be cautious, yet decisive. He had to show strength, but not so much that it revealed the true extent of his new power.
He was a Core Formation cultivator now, but he was still in the disguise of a weak outer disciple. The key was to make his rise seem like an astonishing, sudden awakening, not an impossible leap.
As the sun dipped below the horizon and long, creepy shadows crept across the sect, Xiao Tian looked towards the forbidden grounds where the ancient artifact lay. It had been quiet since the initial burst. Was it really dormant? Or just waiting for the right moment to strike?
The thought sent a shiver down his spine, a cold lump in his stomach. The Disciple Talent Exchange was his chance to get resources, to establish himself, to prepare. But prepare for what, exactly? The answer was unknown, a cold breeze on the back of his neck, hinting that the trials to come would be more than just a competition.