That night, rain fell quietly over Qi Yue City.
On the stone road glimmering under the pale moonlight, Jian Wu walked alone, carrying a small cloth bag filled with clothes and a few pieces of dry bread. His robe was soaked, his feet heavy, but his mind was louder than the storm.
The laughter from earlier still echoed in his head.
"Even the crystal doesn't recognize him!"
"Without a spiritual core, you're just a breathing corpse!"
Jian Wu stopped near a small river outside the city walls. The water flowed softly, reflecting the trembling image of the moon. He looked down, at the reflection of a boy who had nothing left but his breath.
"Why was I born like this…" he muttered.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, rolling across the mountains like laughter from the heavens. Jian Wu lifted his gaze, eyes burning beneath the rain.
"If the heavens reject me," he whispered, "then I'll reject the heavens too."
He turned, stepping into the dark forest beyond Qi Yue, the Yunlan Woods.
Everyone knew this place was dangerous. Wild spirit beasts lurked within, and even cultivators avoided its path. But Jian Wu had no reason to fear anymore. The world had already stripped everything from him, what else could it take?
The wind howled through the trees. Branches creaked. The night smelled of mud and blood.
After hours of wandering, he found a small cave hidden behind a slope. He gathered wet sticks, rubbed them until fire flickered weakly. It wasn't much, but the dim light felt like the only warmth left in his world.
He tore a piece of bread, chewing it slowly.
Each bite tasted like dust.
"Maybe… I was never meant to cultivate."
"Or maybe… my fate just hasn't begun yet."
He closed his eyes. But before sleep could take him, a rumble shook the cave. The ground trembled, not from thunder this time, but from beneath. Stones fell from the ceiling.
From a crack in the wall, a faint blue light began to pulse.
Jian Wu turned, squinting. The glow shimmered like liquid moonlight. He moved closer, pushing aside loose rocks.
There, buried within, was a black stone veined with glowing blue lines.
It was no ordinary rock. The light seemed alive, breathing.
Something inside Jian Wu's chest stirred, a quiet, irresistible pull.
A whisper brushed through his mind:
"Take it."
Without hesitation, he reached out.
The moment his fingers touched the stone, cold surged through his body, sharp, biting, and endless.
The stone shattered into mist and sank into his chest.
Jian Wu screamed.
Blue light burst from his veins, crawling across his skin like living fire. The pain was unbearable, his heart pounded as if it would explode. And then, amid the agony, a voice echoed inside his mind. Deep. Ancient. Like a god's whisper.
"You who are empty... shall become the vessel of the void."
His consciousness faded.
The last thing he saw was a swirl of blue light forming a mark over his heart, a sigil shaped like a revolving star.
When he opened his eyes again, dawn had broken.
The rain was gone. Sunlight filtered through the trees, warm against his face.
Jian Wu sat up, breathing heavily.
The pain was gone. Only a faint warmth lingered in his chest.
He looked down, the blue mark still pulsed softly, like a heartbeat.
"What… happened to me?"
He stood, stepping out of the cave. The forest looked different, every leaf, every gust of wind, every sound felt alive.
He could feel everything, the dew sliding down leaves, the small animals moving beneath the earth, even the faint rhythm of the world itself.
"Is this… spiritual energy?"
Before he could think further, a rustle came from the bushes.
A spirit wolf lunged out, its crimson eyes locked on him. Jian Wu froze, instinctively raising his arm, and then it happened.
A surge of blue light burst from his hand.
The wolf leaped.
Jian Wu swung his fist.
A shockwave exploded. The beast was thrown back, slamming into a tree before collapsing lifeless to the ground.
For a moment, silence.
Only Jian Wu's ragged breathing filled the air.
He stared at his hand, trembling. Not from fear, but from awe.
"I did that… without a core."
The light around his fingers faded, but a faint heat remained in his veins. Slowly, a smile formed on his face, the first in years.
That morning, Jian Wu left the cave.
The sun rose over the horizon, painting the forest gold.
His steps were firm, his eyes clear.
He no longer cared about what others thought.
He didn't need an approval from heaven or sects. He only needed one thing, to keep walking forward.
"If the heavens close my path," he whispered,
"then I'll carve my own, even if it means defying them."
Thunder rolled once more across the distant mountains.
The blue light on his chest pulsed, brighter than before.
The heavens had begun to notice.
And thus began the legend..
of the boy who defied heaven.