7:00 a.m., West Campus of Tianyao Academy.
A faint chill brushed past Lu Chen's neck as he stepped into the teaching building, a breakfast bag in hand. His uniform was neatly worn, but the frayed edges of his worn-out shoes and the hand-stitched patch beneath his canvas backpack quietly betrayed his situation.
Keeping his head down, he walked briskly into Classroom S1, trying not to draw attention.
According to the seating chart, his assigned spot was by the window in the last row. As soon as he sat down, he overheard two boys whispering in front of him.
"That's Lu Chen, right?"
"Yeah. He used to be pretty high-profile. Heard his family went bankrupt."
"No kidding. Used to strut around town with a fleet of cars and private butlers. Now he can't even afford a decent cup of coffee."
Lu Chen had sharp hearing—he caught every word. But he didn't react.
He'd heard it all before. So many times, it no longer stung.
Just three months ago, he was the heir to the Lu Corporation, with assets spread across the city of Tianlan. Then, an economic chain collapse destroyed everything overnight. His parents left the country to clean up the mess, leaving him alone.
Now, he lived in a shared school dorm, surviving on scholarships and part-time jobs.
He tried hard to appear "fine," but no matter how much effort he put in, he couldn't completely hide the aura of decline around him.
He took out his notes and got ready for the day's lesson.
Suddenly, the classroom fell silent.
Footsteps echoed in the quiet room—slow, composed, and deliberate.
A girl stepped in. She walked with confidence, her posture upright and elegant. The silver-gray school uniform outlined her slender figure. Long hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her face was calm and refined—like a porcelain sculpture carved with precision.
Without a word, she headed toward the back row.
Lu Chen glanced up—and recognized her instantly.
Su Qingyu.
The legendary beauty of Tianyao Academy.
Rumor had it that her father was a high-ranking executive in a major corporation, and her mother a cultural attaché stationed overseas. She excelled academically, radiated poise, and never joined school activities—yet remained the undisputed "campus goddess."
No one expected her to be placed in this class—let alone walk toward his row.
"You're… sitting here?"
Lu Chen blinked in surprise.
She nodded, her expression calm.
"I prefer the back. It's quieter."
"Fair enough," he muttered, looking away. Don't overthink it, Lu Chen. None of your business.
She took her seat. Silence settled between them.
Class began. Lu Chen tried to focus, but a strange restlessness tugged at the edges of his mind.
It wasn't because of Su Qingyu.
It was something deeper—something… spiritual.
It had started last night. While cleaning out an old warehouse at his family's abandoned estate, he'd found a wooden box passed down through generations. Inside was a cracked, gray-white jade slip. It looked like a broken seal.
The moment he touched it, a sharp pain stabbed his fingertip, and his vision swam as dizziness washed over him.
"Probably just a hallucination," he'd told himself at the time.
But now, the "hallucination" was intensifying.
His surroundings flickered. Light distorted. Voices grew distant, as if muffled behind a veil of water. His scalp tingled. Then—darkness.
"Lu Chen?"
A faint voice called beside him—Su Qingyu?
Too late. His consciousness was slipping.
When he opened his eyes again, the classroom was gone.
He floated in an endless void. Darkness stretched in all directions, pierced only by distant points of starlight. In the center, a fractured gray jade hovered in midair, glowing with a cold blue light.
"So… you've finally awakened."
A raspy, ancient voice echoed through his mind.
"Who's there?!" Lu Chen demanded.
"I am Ye Guming. You may call me… Sir."
"That jade slip you picked up—it's where my fragmented soul has slumbered for centuries.
Your Sea of Consciousness has accepted me."
"You trying to possess me?"
"Ha! I don't even have a complete soul left. Just surviving is already a miracle."
"But if you're willing… I can teach you the true path of cultivation."
"Cultivation?"
"To strengthen your spiritual sea. Refine true qi. Open your meridians. Awaken your dantian.
What you call life—it's only the shallowest layer of existence."
"I can guide you… to the ways of the ancients."
Lu Chen's mind reeled.
He had lived in this city for eighteen years, never once encountering "cultivators" or "spiritualists." Occasionally, the news would report strange events—abilities, accidents—but they were always dismissed as technical glitches or delusions.
But this voice… it was so vivid, more real than reality itself.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Trust is irrelevant. Just answer one question—
Do you want power?"
Lu Chen froze.
He remembered what it felt like to be admired, respected, envied.
He also remembered the cafeteria cashier's cold glance when he used a discount card…
The pity in his roommates' eyes.
The indifference in his advisor's tone.
"…I do," he whispered.
"Good."
"In the next seven days, I will help you awaken your foundational meridian and restore your spiritual clarity. You will gain spiritual sensitivity—and take your first step toward cultivation."
"So… cultivators really exist?"
"They do. They simply walk in shadows your world refuses to see."
"And you—will become one of them."
"Lu Chen!"
Someone called his name sharply.
He jerked upright, gasping. His head was on his desk, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
Su Qingyu glanced at him, her tone cool but concerned.
"Are you sick?"
"I… probably just low blood sugar," he said, rubbing his temples.
"Your breathing was off. You almost fainted."
"Thanks for the heads-up." He gave a weak smile.
She didn't say anything more and returned to her notes.
Lu Chen looked down at his own hands.
Something… ancient… had stirred within him.
He had no idea what secrets the jade slip truly held.
But he knew one thing for certain—
From this moment on, his world would never be the same.