Dawn.

The sect square was once again packed,shoulder to shoulder with anxious figures bathed in the cold light of morning. 

The air buzzed with anticipation, thick with unspoken prayers and silent fears.

Today marked the Outer Disciple Spirit Condensation Test , the single most decisive moment in the lives of those who stood here.

For the chosen few who passed, there awaited a place among the sect’s official disciples,a foothold on the treacherous path of cultivation.

For the rest? A fate far crueler.

Failure meant exile,toil as a nameless labor slave, or worse… oblivion.

Through the restless crowd moved Jiang Xuan , silent and unseen, like a whisper in the wind, like a shadow beneath the rising sun.

The events of last night,the blood, the lifeless body, the silence that followed,were already buried.

Literally and figuratively.

No one would mourn Liu Tiani . 

No one would ask questions.

His eyes, sharp and unreadable, swept over the jeering faces around him.

"They see a cripple."

"Let them."

Let them sneer. 

Let them underestimate him.

He would let them believe their lies, feed their arrogance, until the day they looked up,only to find themselves broken beneath his heel.

[System prompt: Host concealment level , 100%.]

"Next! Jiang Xuan!" the elder called out, barely masking a yawn.

Another pitiful, unworthy disciple wasting his precious time.

Jiang Xuan stepped forward without hesitation, his movements calm, deliberate. 

He placed his palm flat against the cold, shimmering surface of the Spirit Crystal .

Nothing.

Not even a flicker of light.

The gathered crowd erupted into mocking laughter, cruel and unrestrained.

"Same old trash."

"Even a beggar’s dog has more spirit than him."

Yet, beneath that lifeless exterior，beneath pale skin and seemingly barren flesh，chaos raged .

His spiritual veins pulsed violently, surging with unseen energy.

Deep within, the Soul Engulfing Heaven Art stirred in silence, a dark tempest churning in the shadows, devouring and refining the faintest traces of spiritual aura.

[System prompt: Spiritual foundation stabilizing.]

[Progress: 12%.]

The elder waved him off with a flick of his sleeve, his expression one of bored indifference.

"Failure. Dismissed."

Jiang Xuan gave a tight, almost imperceptible smile , cold as winter steel.

Perfect.

Let them believe the lie. Let them revel in their arrogance.

After all, those who mocked the loudest were always the first to die screaming.

As the jeering crowd dispersed, a shadow slipped through the chaos unnoticed. Moments later, an order arrived , quiet, unseen, yet absolute.

Mistveil Grove’s forbidden area.

Jiang Xuan had been assigned to clean the surrounding grounds , a task no disciple would willingly accept, not without reason.

Whispers told of ancient beasts buried in slumber.

Of cursed relics that devoured the souls of the foolish.

Of apprentices who entered… and simply vanished.

It was a place fit only for the expendable.

Perfect for a man no one would miss.

When night draped its velvet shroud across the land, Jiang Xuan stood alone at the grove’s edge.

Thick mist coiled like ghostly fingers through the trees, writhing in unnatural silence.

A low, guttural growl echoed from the darkness.

From the shadows beyond, a pair of glowing crimson eyes snapped open , feral, hungry.

A Rank 1 Spirit Beast , a Demon Ape , muscles rippling beneath matted black fur.

It lunged.

Jiang Xuan’s eyes narrowed . calm, calculating.

[System prompt: Host in critical danger. Do you wish to activate emergency override?]

Y/N

A slow, knowing grin spread across his face.

"No need."

The beast’s razor-sharp claws tore through the air, descending in a flash of death.

But in the blink of an eye, a phantom figure flickered into existence behind Jiang Xuan, barely visible, like a ripple in reality.

Soul Engulfing Heaven Art: Phantom Rend.

The strike was silent.

The result, brutal.

The beast’s head struck the earth with a wet thud, rolling lifelessly before its hunched body even registered the blow.

Breathing ragged, Jiang Xuan dropped to one knee, muscles trembling from the aftershock of power and strain.

"That’s… two."

Already, the forbidden art was at work, siphoning the beast’s raw essence, feeding his hidden potential.

Corruption and strength entwined within him, reshaping his very bloodline.

[System prompt: Bloodline Progression 22%.]

At this rate, even the heavens wouldn’t see him coming.

The cripple was no more.