Silence filled the cave.
Li Xuan's breath slowed as he entered meditation once more. The warmth in his core had turned volatile—qi no longer flowed like water, but roared like a river breaking its banks. His body was strong, far beyond that of an ordinary cultivator. But to reach the 10th stage, strength alone would not suffice.
He had to be reborn.
[Initiating Nirvana Tempering. All previous gains subject to destruction. Confirm?]
"Yes," he whispered. "Burn it all."
A searing pain erupted in his bones.
His flesh convulsed as invisible flames ignited from within. Every cell in his body cried out in torment. His qi core churned violently, threatening to collapse.
His vision blurred. Blood poured from his pores, vaporizing on contact with the unseen fire. It was as if the world rejected his very being.
[Warning: Vital signs falling. Consciousness threshold nearing critical.]
Still he endured.
This was no ordinary advancement. It was an ancient transformation—a trial by fire, meant to destroy the unworthy and exalt the chosen few.
Images flooded his mind: his family broken faces, the jeering faces of those who cast him down, the bitter snow where he once crawled for mercy. All of them flashed before his eyes—and he let them burn.
He screamed—not in agony, but in defiance.
Suddenly, the fire turned cold.
His body collapsed forward, heart slowing. Muscles torn. Bones fractured. The flame of life flickered.
[Body Deconstruction Phase: Complete.]
[Initiating Cellular Rebirth… Scanning Root of Return… Synchronizing Heavenly Bone Marrow…]
The cave fell silent. No breath. No heartbeat. Just stillness.
Then—a single chime, like jade struck by divine will.
Li Xuan's body arched off the ground, radiating a golden hue. Inside him, marrow once blackened by injury glowed like molten sunlight. His muscles realigned. Skin sealed. Every part of him—every cell—was new.
[Nirvana Tempering Complete.]
[Body Refinement: Stage 10 Achieved.]
[Passive Trait Awakened: Heavenly Bone Marrow – Enhances regeneration, qi absorption, and resistance to poison and soul attacks.]
He gasped, air filling his lungs like it was his first breath in the world.
Rising to his feet, he looked down at his hands. They trembled—not from weakness, but from boundless vitality. His eyes, once tired and cold, now gleamed with clarity and light.
He punched the stone wall beside him lightly.
Crack.
The wall shattered.
A gentle punch. A divine result.
Li Xuan smiled faintly. He was no longer a cripple. No longer a discarded clan member. He had stepped onto a path no one had walked in a hundred years.
And this was only the beginning.
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