Chapter 2 — The Boy Without Meridians
The hall remained silent for several seconds after the crystal pillar shattered.
Fragments of translucent crystal lay scattered across the wooden floor, reflecting the pale sunlight entering through the windows.
The examiner looked at the broken pillar with disbelief.
"This… this has never happened before."
Cultivation test crystals were designed to detect spiritual meridians. Normally they glowed with different colors depending on talent.
But exploding?
That was unheard of.
Devendra Dev frowned slightly.
"Explain."
The examiner hesitated before answering.
"This child's body… it has no functioning meridian pathways."
He crouched and examined the broken crystal carefully.
"In fact, it feels like the energy inside his body rejected the crystal completely. That's why it shattered."
Kavya grabbed Aarav's sleeve.
"Brother… does that mean you can't cultivate?"
Her voice trembled.
Arjun looked confused.
"But everyone can cultivate, right?"
Aarav looked at the two of them calmly.
Inside his mind, however, memories from nine different lives stirred.
He had seen countless cultivation tests.
He had conducted thousands of them himself when he ruled as a sect master in one of his previous lives.
There was only one possible explanation.
His meridians were not simply weak.
They were destroyed beyond repair.
Even if the greatest healer in the world examined him, the answer would remain the same.
Aarav Dev would never cultivate.
The examiner stood up and sighed.
"I'm sorry, Commander Dev."
Devendra Dev nodded silently.
He had faced monsters, tower disasters, and battlefield losses during his years as a hunter.
This news did not break his composure.
But the slight tightening of his grip on the spear revealed the disappointment he tried to hide.
Meera Dev knelt beside Aarav.
Her warm hand gently touched his shoulder.
"Aarav…"
"You don't have to become a cultivator to live a good life."
She spoke softly.
"You can become a scholar, a healer, or a strategist."
Aarav looked at her and smiled faintly.
His mother had always been like this.
Gentle.
Supportive.
In his previous nine lives…
He had never experienced something like this.
Most of his past lives were filled with cold sect politics, ruthless cultivators, and endless battles for resources.
Family affection was something rare.
Which made this life… strangely peaceful.
"Mother," Aarav said calmly.
"I'm fine."
His voice was steady.
Too steady for a ten-year-old child.
The examiner coughed awkwardly.
"Well… I should take my leave."
He quickly packed his tools and exited the house.
Once the door closed, the atmosphere inside the hall relaxed slightly.
Devendra leaned his spear against the wall and walked toward Aarav.
For a moment he simply looked at his son.
Then he spoke.
"Even if you cannot cultivate, you are still my son."
Aarav nodded.
"I know."
Devendra placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Strength isn't everything."
Aarav almost laughed.
If someone else had said those words, he would have called them foolish.
In the worlds he had lived before, strength was everything.
Without power, people became stepping stones.
Without power, even families were destroyed.
Without power…
One could not survive.
But Aarav did not argue.
Instead he said quietly,
"Father, may I ask something?"
Devendra nodded.
"What is it?"
Aarav glanced toward the window where the distant silhouette of a tower pierced the clouds.
"Have you ever been inside a tower?"
Devendra raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"I led expeditions in my younger days."
Aarav's eyes sharpened slightly.
"What did you see inside?"
Devendra folded his arms.
"Towers are different from portals."
"Portals lead to monster realms."
"But towers…"
He paused.
"They feel ancient."
"Like they existed long before our world."
Aarav listened carefully.
That confirmed his suspicion.
In one of his previous lives, he had explored ruins left by an ancient civilization.
Those ruins had similar spatial distortions to what he sensed from towers.
Which meant the towers might not belong to this world at all.
They could be gateways between multiple worlds.
Devendra continued speaking.
"Inside towers you'll find trials."
"Each floor is different."
"Some floors are forests."
"Some are deserts."
"Some are battlefields filled with ancient soldiers."
"And the rewards?"
"Cultivation techniques."
"Artifacts."
"Even bloodline awakenings."
Kavya's eyes sparkled.
"That sounds amazing!"
Arjun clenched his fists.
"I want to go to a tower someday!"
Devendra chuckled slightly.
"You'll need to reach at least Energy Gathering Realm first."
Arjun looked confused.
"What's that?"
Aarav spoke before Devendra could answer.
"The fifth stage of cultivation."
Everyone turned toward him.
Aarav realized he had spoken too quickly.
But it was already too late.
Devendra raised an eyebrow.
"You know the cultivation realms?"
Aarav nodded calmly.
"I read the academy books."
This excuse worked.
Devendra smiled faintly.
"Then you should know how dangerous towers are."
Aarav nodded.
Of course he knew.
In one of his previous lives, he had conquered a tower that contained three hundred floors.
He had lost thousands of disciples during that expedition.
Towers were never simple.
But they also contained immense opportunities.
Aarav walked toward the window.
From here he could clearly see the dark tower rising beyond the city walls.
The structure was enormous.
Even after two hundred years of human exploration, no one had reached its final floor.
Which meant something very important.
The tower system was designed for long-term evolution.
A training ground.
A selection process.
Or perhaps…
A prison.
Aarav's eyes narrowed.
Suddenly, a strange sensation passed through his mind.
For a brief moment, he saw a different sky.
Not the sky of this world.
A crimson sky filled with floating mountains.
A massive golden gate opened in the distance.
And from that gate…
A familiar figure walked out.
A tall man holding a sword.
The man looked exactly like him.
Aarav's previous life.
The Sword Emperor.
The vision disappeared instantly.
Aarav frowned.
"Interesting…"
It seemed the towers were not the only structures connecting worlds.
Portals might connect entire civilizations.
If that was true, then the monsters appearing on Earth were only a small part of the larger picture.
Other worlds might exist beyond the portals.
Worlds where cultivation had developed far beyond Earth's current level.
Worlds he had lived in before.
Aarav slowly clenched his fist.
If those worlds connected through portals…
Then eventually this world would face something far worse than monsters.
Cultivators.
And when that happened, Earth would not survive unless it produced powerful experts.
Aarav exhaled slowly.
If he could not cultivate himself…
Then he would create powerful cultivators.
Starting with his family.
He turned back toward Kavya and Arjun.
"Do you two want to become strong?"
Kavya immediately nodded.
"Yes!"
Arjun shouted proudly,
"I want to punch monsters!"
Aarav smiled faintly.
Then he looked at Devendra and Meera.
"I have a proposal."
Devendra crossed his arms.
"Go on."
Aarav spoke calmly.
"If Kavya focuses on sword cultivation…"
"And Arjun trains body cultivation…"
"Then our family could grow much stronger."
Devendra looked surprised.
"That's a strange suggestion coming from a ten-year-old."
Aarav shrugged.
"I read many books."
Meera laughed softly.
"This child really loves studying."
Devendra thought for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Fine."
"We'll start training them soon."
Aarav's eyes glimmered slightly.
That was enough.
He did not need to show them techniques directly.
He could guide them slowly.
Over the next few years…
He would shape the Dev Family into something far greater than a normal household.
A clan strong enough to survive the coming disasters.
A clan capable of standing at the top of this world.
Aarav looked at the tower again.
Inside his calm eyes, a faint determination appeared.
This life might have denied him cultivation.
But he still possessed the greatest treasure in existence.
Nine lifetimes of knowledge.
And that knowledge…
Was enough to change the fate of the world.
Even if it took his entire life.
Aarav Dev would ensure that the Dev Family became a legend.