Ling Chen stared out through the window. Apart from sleeping and eating, that’s all he did.

Why did he do it? He wasn’t sure. Maybe, he was searching for something, an answer, a helping hand, a light in his dark world, anything. So many thoughts passed through his head that sometimes he wasn’t sure what he was really thinking himself.

When he lost his cultivation base and when he lost his traits, he lost his world. If it weren’t for his caring clan, family and friends, he would have long taken his own life. As a cultivator, it would have been a dishonorable end. He wouldn’t be able to face his ancestors on the other side if he did.

He could only wait for his death.

He heard a knock on his door.

“Brother Chen, it’s Su Ren. I came here with Sister Yu Chen’er last time. I wanted to consult you about something,” an immature voice that sounded mature for some reason came from the other side.

It’s that boy! They had met just a few days ago through Yu Chen’er, so it was easy for Ling Chen to recall. Moreover, Su Ren had piqued his interest. When he was in the sect, he had seen many young geniuses yet none of them were as mysterious as Su Ren. He was too powerful for his age. At the same time, the boy appeared clueless about cultivation.

“Enter,” he said. The response came far later than he wanted. After he became like this, he tended to get lost in his thoughts a lot.

The door was pushed open and a figure with long unkempt hair entered. “Su Ren greets big brother Ling Chen,” the boy said, clasping his hands to a fist in greeting.

Ling Chen nodded.

They stood in silence for a while.

“Big brother told me that too much blood was not good. I didn’t understand it until I saw the blood essence in the essence I was absorbing…” Su Ren broke the silence.

Saw? Like he suspected, the boy seemed to posses an eye trait.

“… I didn’t quite understand why it was not good. I mean, absorbing all kinds of essence should elevate our cultivation level and therefore, it should be good for us.”

Like he suspected, the boy had only superficial knowledge about cultivation. Anyone who cultivated should have told him that it was not good to absorb essence from all sorts of sources. That was the most basic knowledge in cultivation. Maybe because it was basic knowledge, no one has brought it up to him. Chen’er was not someone who cared about details. She definitely wouldn’t have noticed the heterogeneous essence in the boy.

He took some books from his spatial ring and passed it to the boy. They all contained basic information, they were quite useless to him. The only reason he had them in the first place was to grind his comprehension stat.

Su Ren took the books and stored it into his spatial ring.

Ling Chen thought his guest would leave soon after. He was wrong. The strange boy still stood beside him. Ling Chen could make out traces of hesitation in his eyes. Su Ren seemed to have more requests.

Ling Chen waited.

“This…” he began. “I know it may come off as shameless but if big brother has any books that can assist to travel different regions… naturally, I am willing to pay for it…”

Ling Chen retrieved all the books that fit the boy’s need and passed it. He had no need of them anymore.

Su Ren stored the books, like before and took out gold coins. From what Ling Chen could conjecture, there were at least hundred of them.

He shook his head gently. Why would a cripple need gold coins?

The boy stored the gold coins back. He made a troubled face. To take the books without giving something in return didn’t seem to sit well with him.

I should have taken a few of them, Ling Chen thought. It would only have been a gesture but it would have at least saved the boy from feeling troubled. To him, the fact that Su Ren was close to Yu Chen’er was enough for him to go out of his way to help him.

Su Ren’s face suddenly lit up. He seemed to have thought of something. He took out an empty jade record and began to record something.

Ling Chen couldn’t help but feel surprised. Recording cultivation technique and skills into jade record didn’t require much skill. Anyone could do it as long as they had some idea on how to do it and their soul was strong enough. The thing was, only Nascent Soul Stage cultivators and above had souls strong enough to do it! From what he could sense, Su Ren was clearly at Foundational Stage Layer 1.

“Done!” Su Ren muttered. He turned towards Ling Chen. “Brother Ling Chen, I can’t thank you enough for giving me the books. I have recorded the cultivation method I practice in this jade. I don’t know how helpful it will be to you but please give it a look.”

Ling Chen accepted it. Not that he needed it. But if he didn’t accept it, it looked like Su Ren wouldn’t leave.

Su Ren smiled. “Brother Ling Chen, I will be taking my leave now.”

He nodded.

When the boy finally left, Ling Chen couldn’t help but release a sigh of relief. After his dantian got destroyed, he couldn’t muster up any energy to do anything. He felt sluggish. He would find himself often lost in thought to interact properly with others. In the end, it couldn’t be considered a proper interaction and he would always feel guilty about it.

He resumed his staring. The scenery didn’t enter him, rather, he got lost in his thoughts. How good would it be if he could go back in time? He twirled the jade record in his fingers.

What prompted him, Ling Chen was unable to tell but he decided to study the cultivation technique. Fortunately, the jade record didn’t require him to insert Qi, the Qi required to activate it was stored in the jade. He sent his mind into the jade record.

Heart’s Yearning. Good name. He nodded in approval. The cultivation method itself appeared mundane. It was based on the growth of plants. Ling Chen had come across many cultivation techniques in his time at the sect. All of them had been grandiose. They had been based on either the image of a god or they had been created after studying some legendary beasts. There were also some that were rumored to be passed down by Celestials from Celestial Realm.

You have cultivated [Heart’s Yearning]! You have gained +135 to all basic attributes.

What? It’s this easy to learn? He couldn’t help but feel shocked. He had just been going through the cultivation method. No matter how simple a cultivation method was, it shouldn’t be this easy. It had taken him three months to learn the [Rhythm of the Metal God] and it was only a low tier method. Most of all, he hadn’t even been trying to learn it! And there was that crazy amount of attribute points he gained! What the hell was happening?

Congratulations! You have condensed Dao Seed.

Another notification appeared in front of his eye.

Condense Dao Seed? Wasn’t it said that it was only possible to condense one’s Dao Seed when one broke through Spirit Transformation Stage?

A huge amount of essence gathered towards him. They moved towards his destroyed dantian where the seed was located. To his disbelief, his destroyed dantian started to repair itself with the help of the essence. Before long, it was as good as new.

Congratulations! You have been cured of your ailment [Crippled Cultivation]! You can now cultivate.

Congratulations! Your trait [Metal Fingers] has recovered.

The essence he lost slowly accumulated. If it went on like this, it wouldn’t be long before he recovered to his peak. No. He would be far stronger than his peak. The only thing was – his other trait, [Essence Eye] hadn’t recovered. He could guess the reason. His fingers had simply been broken while his eyeball had been plucked out and taken by those people. There was no way it would recover since it wasn’t there in the first place.

Ling Chen was still in a stage of shock.

You have cultivated a Heaven-defying Cultivation Method! A 3x2 Lightning Tribulation shall befall you.

This notification woke him up from his stupor.

He got up as fast as he could. If others saw him, they would be surprised. After he came back, he had barely moved. Even if he did, it would be at a snail-slow pace. He dashed to the door and rushed outside. It was fortunate that he could delay the tribulation. Otherwise, a huge calamity would have befallen on the Ling Clan compound.

Damn it! He cursed under his breath.

“Ling Chen!”

“Father!”

“What happened to you?” His father, who was near his door asked him. He must have come to visit him. He would do it every few days. Ling Chen’s mother would also visit him, more often than his father. Ling Chen was thankful they didn’t give up on him. Yet, he could only be a disappointment of a son.

“I don’t have much time. Accompany me to the magical forest. I will explain everything on the way.”

“Okay!” his father replied promptly. He looked happy. Ling Chen knew that his father was happy because he was active like this after a long while.

The two of them quickly made their way towards the forest. Ling Chen explained the sequence of events to his disbelieving father.

After two hours of running, they finally found a suitable place in the magical forest.

“This should do,” Ling Chen said.

“Concentrate on your tribulation. Your father will be your guard.”

Ling Chen nodded and initiated the tribulation.

Dark clouds gathered above him. He could feel the crackle of electricity in it. It should be coming soon. He couldn’t help but feel fearful. This was tribulation. Many had fallen before it. Yet at the same time, there was a sense of anticipation. If he made it through this, he would be born anew as a genius that stood heads other geniuses.

The first bolt of lightning struck.

The pain and shock that he anticipated didn’t come. He felt… nothing.

The second bold struck. Still nothing.

The third bolt struck. He realized belatedly that the cultivation method he was cultivating was using the tribulation lightning as tonic to perfect itself. He was dumbfounded. What a godly cultivation method!

The fourth bolt… the fifth bolt… the sixth bolt…

Congratulations! You have passed the tribulation.

You have gained +10 to all basic attributes.

Congratulations! You have broken through the second shackle of a mortal.

It felt unreal.

It was tribulation after all. It shouldn’t be this easy. Ling Chen felt dazed. Did he come out of a tribulation unscathed? Was he dreaming?

“Ling Chen!” His father ran towards him and hugged him. “I am glad you made it though the tribulation. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, father. Nothing happened to me.” For now, he pushed those thoughts away. For now, he should just let happiness sink in.

The father and son duo went home.

The reality slowly sank into Ling Chen’s head. He had recovered fully. The sluggishness and the loss of concentration he felt disappeared like it was all a dream.

When they reached the Ling Clan Compound, his fathered gather all the other members of the clan.

His mother, as soon as she saw him, came to him and hugged him, breaking into tears soon after. “My child… my child…” she kept muttering.

Ling Chen hugged her back. He realized how much his parents loved him.

The clan members came to him and congratulated him on his recovery. They were full of joy for him. He was the genius of the clan and he had returned.

Ling Chen couldn’t help but feel warm. He had gone to the sect and it lacked this warmth. This was his clan. This was his family. This was his home. No matter where he went, it would remain so.

Ling Chen made a mental note to find Su Ren later. He needed to have a good talk.

Ling Chen's status:

GENERAL

Name

Ling Chen

Age

19 years old

Cultivation Method

Heart's Yearning

Realm

Core Formation 7

(7734/80000 Essence)

Lifeforce

2770/2770 (Regeneration: 3% per second)

Qi

4090/4090 (Regeneration: 3% per second)

ATTRIBUTES

Strength

376

Physique

377

Movement

380

Control

405

Soul

409

Comprehension

407

Charm

60

Fate

33

INNATE TRAITS

Essence Eye (Damaged)

Metal Fingers