Chapter 1: The Library's Silent Awakening
The air inside the western archives of the Celestial Sage Academy was thick, not with the scent of ancient wisdom, but with the suffocating stench of decay and neglect. Dust motes danced in the thin slivers of afternoon sunlight that managed to pierce through the grime-encrusted windows, illuminating rows of crumbling scrolls and moth-eaten tomes.
In the center of this desolate hall, sprawled across a mahogany desk that had long since lost its luster, lay a young man.
Tian Mo.
His features were strikingly handsome—sharp jawline, straight nose, and brows that seemed carved from cold marble. Even in sleep, he carried an air of refined elegance that felt entirely out of place in this graveyard of paper. However, in the eyes of the academy, this face was merely a beautiful mask for a "trash" soul.
Suddenly, Tian Mo's eyelids flickered. A sharp, searing pain erupted behind his temples, as if a thousand needles were being driven into his brain. He gasped, his hand flying to his forehead as memories that didn't belong to him flooded his consciousness.
Celestial Sage Academy... Assistant Teacher... Zero students... The laughing stock of the Hung Kingdom...
"Ugh..." Tian Mo groaned, sitting up slowly. His eyes, once clouded with confusion, gradually cleared, revealing a depth that seemed to span eons. "Transmigration? So, the legends were true."
He surveyed his surroundings. This was his "classroom." A place where the academy sent teachers they wanted to forget. In three days, the annual Teacher Evaluation would conclude. If he didn't have at least one student registered under his name, he would be stripped of his teaching license and cast out of the city in disgrace.
Tian Mo leaned back, a bitter smile playing on his lips. The previous owner of this body had been a coward, bullied into a corner by his peers. But as he reached out to steady himself, his fingers brushed against a yellowed book titled Introduction to Qi Flow.
[DING!]
A sound, crisp and ethereal, echoed not in the room, but directly inside his mind.
[The Divine Library has detected a physical medium. Initializing Scan...]
Tian Mo froze. Before his eyes, the world blurred for a split second. Then, a massive, golden library manifested within the vast space of his mind. It was infinite, with shelves reaching toward a celestial ceiling made of shifting nebulae.
A book flew off a mental shelf and landed in his spiritual hands.
> Item: Introduction to Qi Flow (Basic Manual)
> Flaws: 1,248 points.
> * The breathing rhythm is inefficient, leading to 40% energy loss.
> * The posture described on page 12 causes meridian friction.
> * The visualization technique ignores the 'Sea of Tranquility' point...
> ...
> Heaven's Path Analysis: By modifying the 3rd and 7th movements, efficiency can be increased by 400%.
>
Tian Mo's heart hammered against his ribs. He blinked, and the golden library was gone, but the knowledge remained imprinted on his soul. He looked at the old book in his hand. It wasn't just a book anymore; it was a collection of errors.
"Is this my cheat?" he whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of awe and excitement.
He stood up, his regal posture naturally asserting itself. If he could see the flaws in everything, then he wasn't just a teacher. He was the ultimate arbiter of truth.
The Walk of Shame
Tian Mo stepped out of the archives. The academy grounds were bustling. Hundreds of young men and women, the hopeful youths of the Hung Kingdom, were gathered in the Recruitment Square.
Towering pavilions were set up for the star teachers. At the center sat Senior Teacher Lu, a man with a goatee and eyes full of arrogance. He was a 2-Star teacher, surrounded by a crowd of parents eager to bribe their way into his classes.
As Tian Mo walked through the square, the bustling noise died down, replaced by snickers and hushed whispers.
"Look, isn't that Teacher Tian Mo? The one who hasn't taught a single person in three years?"
"How is he still here? I heard he was scammed into buying a fake cultivation manual and almost blew up his own Dantian."
"He's handsome, I'll give him that. Too bad he's a hollow vessel. My son would be better off learning from a street performer."
Tian Mo ignored them. His eyes were scanning the crowd. He didn't see people; he saw data.
Potential: Average. Flaw: Weak constitution.
Potential: Low. Flaw: Impatient heart.
He was looking for something specific. A diamond in the rough. A student that the "geniuses" like Lu had overlooked.
Suddenly, his gaze locked onto a boy sitting in a corner, far away from the main pavilions. The boy looked about sixteen, his clothes tattered and his face bruised. He was staring at his own hands with an expression of utter despair.
Tian Mo walked toward him. The whispers followed him like a trail of smoke. "Is he going to try and recruit the 'Cursed Brat'?"
Tian Mo stopped in front of the boy. "Your name?"
The boy looked up, startled. His eyes were red-rimmed. "Li Feng, Teacher. But don't bother. I'm a waste. My Dantian is shattered."
Tian Mo didn't answer. He focused his mind.
[Scan Initiated.]
> Subject: Li Feng
> Condition: Shattered Dantian (False Diagnosis).
> Reality: The subject possesses the 'Solar Flare Constitution.' The Dantian is not shattered but over-compressed due to an incorrect 'Frost-Type' manual forced upon him by a previous mentor.
> Flaws in current state: 12.
> Solution: Reverse the Qi flow using the 'Heaven's Path Breath' to unlock the compression.
>
Tian Mo's eyes flickered with a cold light. False diagnosis? Someone intentionally tried to ruin this boy.
"Li Feng," Tian Mo said, his voice resonant and calm. "The world calls you a waste because they are blind. They see a broken cup, but I see a dormant volcano. If you follow me, I will show you how to burn the sky."
Li Feng stared at Tian Mo. He had heard many teachers speak, but none had ever spoken with such absolute certainty. There was no pity in Tian Mo's eyes—only a terrifyingly sharp clarity.
"I... I have no money, Teacher," Li Feng stammered.
"I don't want your money," Tian Mo replied, extending a hand. "I want your potential. In ten minutes, I will make you a cultivator again. If I fail, you can leave. If I succeed, you will be my first disciple."
The square went silent. Then, a roar of laughter erupted.
Senior Teacher Lu stood up from his pavilion, stroking his goatee. "Tian Mo, have you finally lost your mind? Li Feng's Dantian was examined by the Academy Physician himself. It is shattered beyond repair. To promise a cure in ten minutes... you aren't a teacher, you're a delusional scammer!"
Tian Mo turned his head slightly, his gaze landing on Lu. It was like a sword unsheathing. "Senior Teacher Lu, just because your eyes can only see the surface doesn't mean the depths don't exist. If I am a scammer, then what are you? A man who teaches students to polish pebbles while ignoring the jade beneath?"
Lu's face turned a deep shade of crimson. "You dare! Fine! If you can make this waste cultivate in ten minutes, I will bow to you in public. But if you fail, you will crawl out of this academy on all fours!"
"A deal," Tian Mo said simply.
He turned back to Li Feng. "Follow me."
The Ten-Minute Miracle
Inside the dusty archives, Tian Mo stood before Li Feng. The boy was trembling, caught between hope and terror.
"Sit," Tian Mo commanded.
Li Feng sat cross-legged on the floor.
"The reason you cannot cultivate is not because your Dantian is broken," Tian Mo explained, his voice dropping into a rhythmic, hypnotic tone. "It is because it is too full. Like a dam that has been sealed shut while the river continues to rise. Your previous teacher gave you a Frost manual, trying to cool your 'fire,' but all it did was turn your energy into ice, clogging your meridians."
Li Feng's eyes widened. "How... how did you know about the Frost manual?"
Tian Mo ignored the question. "I want you to hang upside down from that beam. Now."
"What?"
"Do it. If you want to live, do exactly as I say."
Confused but desperate, Li Feng climbed a ladder and hooked his legs over a sturdy wooden beam, his body dangling toward the floor. Blood rushed to his head, his face turning red.
"Now, breathe," Tian Mo said. "Breathe in through your nose for three seconds, hold for one, and exhale through your mouth with a 'hissing' sound. Visualize the 'ice' in your stomach melting and flowing upward toward your feet."
In the outside world, a crowd had gathered at the door of the archives, Lu at the front. They were checking their pocket watches.
"Six minutes left," Lu sneered. "Prepare to crawl, Tian Mo."
Inside, Li Feng felt a sudden, agonizing heat in his gut. It wasn't the dull ache he was used to; it was a white-hot needle.
"It hurts! Teacher, it hurts!"
"Hold it!" Tian Mo's voice was like a pillar of iron. "The ice is breaking. If you drop now, you die. Focus on the heat. Push it to your toes!"
Tian Mo watched with the Divine Library open in his mind. He could see the red lines of Li Feng's meridians glowing.
[Flaw 1 cleared... Flaw 2 cleared... Dantian Compression at 10%...]
"Now!" Tian Mo shouted. "Drop and strike the floor with your palms!"
Li Feng released the beam. He fell through the air and slammed his palms against the dusty floorboards.
BOOM!
A shockwave of Qi erupted from the boy's body, blowing back the dust and sending the loose scrolls flying. A faint, golden aura flickered around Li Feng's skin. The air in the room suddenly became hot, as if a furnace had been opened.
Li Feng gasped, his chest heaving. He looked at his hands. They were glowing. He felt a surge of power—clean, fierce, and limitless—rushing through his veins.
"My... my Dantian... it's warm," Li Feng whispered. He closed his eyes and felt the Qi. "I'm at the 1st Stage of Qi Sensing? No... 2nd Stage! I'm at the 3rd Stage of Qi Sensing!"
He had skipped three stages in a single breath.
The doors of the archives burst open. Senior Teacher Lu and the other faculty members rushed in, expecting to see a humiliated Tian Mo.
Instead, they found a room filled with surging spiritual energy and a boy who was practically radiating power.
Tian Mo stood by the window, the sunlight catching the edges of his white robes, making him look like a celestial being who had descended into the mundane world. He didn't look at Lu. He looked at the dust settling in the air.
"Nine minutes and fifty seconds," Tian Mo said quietly.
Li Feng scrambled to his feet, ignoring everyone else. He knelt before Tian Mo and slammed his forehead against the floor three times.
"Disciple Li Feng thanks the Master for the gift of rebirth! From this day forth, my life belongs to the Library!"
The silence in the room was absolute. Senior Teacher Lu's face went from white to green. He looked at Li Feng, his jaw hanging open. He tried to speak, but no words came out.
Tian Mo finally turned his gaze toward Lu. His eyes were cold, devoid of any mockery, which made them even more terrifying.
"Senior Teacher Lu," Tian Mo said, his voice echoing in the hallowed silence of the library. "The floor looks a bit dusty. Since you promised to bow... perhaps you should start cleaning it with your forehead?"
The "Trash Teacher" of Celestial Sage Academy was gone. In his place stood a man who held the flaws of the heavens in the palm of his hand.