In the Cangqiong Realm, strength was the only law. The strong could pluck the stars and move mountains, while the weak were nothing but dust beneath their boots.
"Is this... my limit?"
Su Chang'an coughed violently, his palm stained with a shocking shade of crimson. He sat in a dilapidated courtyard, a scorched, ancient zither resting on his bony knees. His face was as pale as marble, and his breathing was as thin as a dying ember.
To the world, he was the eldest son of the Su Clan, but in reality, he was a living ghost. Born with "Withered Meridians," his body was like a shattered vase—no matter how much Spiritual Qi he gathered, it would leak out within seconds.
[Ding! System Notice!]
[Status: Breakthrough Failed.]
[Current Cultivation: 9th-Grade Qi Apprentice (Bottlenecked).]
Su Chang'an's eyes flashed with a hint of bitterness. In this world, cultivators were ranked with absolute hierarchy: Qi Apprentice , Spirit Master , Great Spirit Master , Spirit Grandmaster , and Spirit King ... Each rank was divided into nine stages.
For an ordinary person, the transition from a 9th-Grade Qi Apprentice to a Spirit Master was a leap of faith. For Su Chang'an, it was a mountain he could not climb.
"If my body cannot hold the Qi, then my flesh is but a cage," he whispered, his fingers tightening around the charred wood of the zither.
Suddenly, the heavy wooden gates were kicked open with a thunderous bang.
"Su Chang'an! You waste!" A burly youth strode in, his aura vibrating with the strength of a 3rd-Grade Spirit Master. "Hand over the 'Spirit-Gathering Pill' the clan gave you. A cripple like you using such a treasure is a sin against the heavens!
"Su Chang'an didn't look up, but his trembling fingers touched the single remaining string of the zither.
[Ding! Hostility Detected!]
[Activating System Function: Sound Resonance — Weakness Detection!]
[Scanning Target: Su Hu (3rd-Grade Spirit Master)...]
[Scan Complete! Target's Qi flow is interrupted at the 'Shanzhong' meridian point. Resonance frequency found. Defeat probability: 99%.]
In Su Chang'an's vision, a translucent blueprint of the intruder appeared. A bright red dot flickered rhythmically at the center of the youth's chest. To everyone else, Su Hu was an untouchable Spirit Master; to Su Chang'an, he was a puzzle with a glaring flaw.
"You want my pill?" Su Chang'an's lips curled into a cold, blood-stained smile. "Then you must pay the price of the melody."
"Zheng—!"
A sharp, metallic note tore through the air, rippling like an invisible blade toward the red dot on Su Hu's chest.