*. Talentless Child
The sun had barely risen over the Fallen Star Frontier, yet the village square was alive with mockery. A dozen young cultivators circled him, their laughter ringing like cruel iron bells.
"You call that qi?" one sneered, pointing at the trembling aura around him.
"Pathetic," another jeered. "Even a newborn could muster more than that."
Dao Ling knelt on the cracked stone, trying for the hundredth time to cultivate. His efforts failed. Desperate, he climbed Thunderstorm Hell Mountain, enduring lightning strikes to torture his body into progress. He vomited blood, torching a thunder crystal core, drawing the attention of heavenly tribulations meant to prevent him from breaking his seal. His body trembled—not from fear, but from a fire hotter than the morning sun.
Talentless… useless… born beneath Heaven's scorn. He had heard it all his life.
He clenched his fists. So what if my path is blocked? So what if the Heavens decree my limit?
From deep within, a strange warmth coursed through his veins. At first, it was subtle, like a whisper of a stream over stones. Then it surged, a roaring river of power twisting and refining his bones in a rhythm no mortal should endure.
The villagers froze. Even the mockers felt it—a terrifying pressure pressing upon their souls, yet untouchable.
Dao Ling rose. His small frame had transformed; limbs radiated strength, pulse resonating with the universe itself. Violet light shimmered in his eyes, and an undulating Eternal Flame Pattern traced his chest.
"I was born beneath the sky," he said, voice steady and cold, "but I do not bow to it."
The world seemed to shiver. Birds froze mid-flight. Winds halted, as if the air itself dared not move.
He stepped forward. The ground cracked beneath him, his heartbeat syncing with something far greater than mortal comprehension—something that hummed with the rhythm of the cosmos.
"I will break the cage of fate. I will crush every shackle of law. And I… will rebuild the firmament itself."
The laughter had died. Not entirely in fear, but in awe—a recognition of something primordial, terrifying.
From that day, Dao Ling was no longer the talentless child of Fallen Star Frontier. He was the first spark of defiance against Heaven, a storm that would sweep across Outer and Inner Realms alike.
Somewhere, in hidden corners of the multiverse, the Heaven-Abyss Envoys stirred, sensing a power that might—no, would—reshape the very rules of existence.
Dao Ling inhaled deeply, letting the Eternal Immortal Body awaken fully.
If Heaven could not contain me… then I would stride beyond Heaven.