Willow Deity?

The night was deep and quiet.

The clamor of Holy Soul Village had long since died down. The excitement, regret, and endless discussions of the day had all turned into faint lamplight shining through the windows of each household, before finally fading into darkness and silence.

Inside the Ning Family's shabby wooden hut, the atmosphere was far more oppressive than usual.

There was none of the usual laughter at the dinner table.

Though Liu Lan still put the largest coarse grain cake into Ning Chuan's bowl, she merely sighed silently and said nothing more.

Ning Dazhuang stirred the thin porridge in his bowl. Occasionally, he looked up at Ning Chuan, who kept his head lowered in silence, and Xiao He, whose eyes were still somewhat red and swollen. His mouth opened, but in the end, he only said in a muffled voice, "Eat up. Get some rest early after you're done."

Ning Xiaohe seemed to sense the gloom hanging over the family. She obediently ate in small bites, not daring to make too much noise.

The meal was unusually quiet, and unusually long.

Ning Chuan ate without tasting anything. His thoughts had long since flown to that inexplicable thing that had appeared in the depths of his mind.

After hurriedly finishing his meal and helping his mother clean up a little, Ning Chuan said softly, "Father, Mother, I'm a little tired. I'll go back to my room and sleep first."

Looking at her son's still somewhat distraught back, Liu Lan answered with heartache, "Alright, go on. Get a good night's sleep. Everything will be better tomorrow."

Ning Dazhuang nodded as well.

Returning to his own cramped room, which could hold only a bed and a small wooden chest, Ning Chuan gently shut the door, cutting himself off from everything outside.

Leaning against the cold wooden door, he took a deep breath, as if trying to exhale all the pent-up gloom that had filled his chest for the entire day.

Moonlight streamed through a hole in the paper window, casting a small patch of bleak light across the dirt floor.

No oil lamp was lit in the room. The darkness engulfed Ning Chuan, yet it also gave him a rare sense of security.

Everything that had happened during the day surged back into his mind like a tide.

Su Yuntao's indifferent verdict, the icy words "useless Martial Soul, no Soul Power," the villagers' indifference after their brief glances, Tang San's eye-catching yet contradictory Innate Full Soul Power, the disappointment his parents could not conceal beneath their feigned indifference, and his sister's aggrieved tears...

Every scene was painfully clear.

An indescribable unwillingness and urgency wrapped tightly around Ning Chuan's heart like creeping vines.

Ning Chuan knew that he could wait no longer.

In this world, having no strength meant having no future. It might even mean being unable to protect the only warmth he had before him: his family.

He had to seize every possible opportunity!

And right now, the only variable was the prompt that had flashed through his mind that morning—the Heavens Trash Recycling Station!

Ning Chuan closed his eyes, cast aside all distracting thoughts, and sank his entire consciousness into the depths of his mind. Carefully, carrying a nearly reverent hope, he began to call out, "Heavens Trash Recycling Station..."

Silence.

Just as Ning Chuan's heart sank bit by bit and he began to doubt whether it had merely been an illusion born of despair—

Buzz!

A faint yet distinct light lit up from the depths of his consciousness.

Immediately afterward, a translucent light screen carrying a cold technological feel slowly unfurled in his mind like a scroll.

The light screen was simple, even crude. Lines of clear text appeared upon it, like the most primitive system interface:

"Heavens Trash Recycling Station activated:"

"Station Master: Ning Chuan;"

"Current Plane: Douluo Continent;"

"Physique: Mortal Body;"

"Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass (unevolved);"

"Soul Power: 0;"

"Soul Rings: None;"

"Soul Skills: None;"

"Soul Bones: None;"

"Points: 0;"

"Employees: None;"

"Permission Level: 0. (Apprentice Trash Collector)"

Looking at the string of glaring "Nones" and that enormous "0" on the screen, the corner of Ning Chuan's mouth twitched.

This panel was simply too miserable to look at. It perfectly replicated his current social standing in Douluo Continent—the lowest of the low.

"So I really am... a trash station master in name and deed," Ning Chuan muttered in self-mockery.

His gaze carefully searched the screen as he tried to find more function buttons or explanatory text, but the interface was outrageously bare. Apart from this personal status panel, there was nothing else.

"How am I supposed to use this thing? There has to be some kind of instruction manual or beginner's guide, right?" Ning Chuan frowned and tentatively spoke to the screen. "Hey? System? Are you there? Give me a hint?"

The light screen showed no reaction and continued to coldly display his pitiful data.

Unwilling to give up, Ning Chuan tried communicating with it through his thoughts again. "Open inventory? View functions? Lottery draw? Shop?"

Still, nothing changed.

After fumbling around for quite a while, Ning Chuan felt discouraged. This golden finger was far too aloof.

Clinging to his last trace of hope, he recalled the countless webnovel clichés he had read before transmigrating. With a mixture of embarrassment and anticipation, he quietly muttered to the screen, "Um... is there a beginner's gift pack?"

The moment the words left his mouth—

"Station Master request detected... initial activation conditions met... beginner benefits issued..."

The text on the light screen suddenly began to scroll!

Ning Chuan's heart jolted, and his eyes widened instantly!

There really was one!

Light gathered at the center of the screen. It was as though an invisible gift box flashed into existence before vanishing, followed by a new line of text:

"Beginner benefit issued: Item obtained—[Charred Willow Branch] x1."

"Item origin: Perfect World. A mysterious Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit collapsed during an ultimate battle spanning eras. This is an insignificant strand among the countless fragments of her remaining body. After being scoured by chaotic currents of space and time, it fell here. It contains an extremely faint fragment of her true spirit, which has fallen into eternal slumber."

"Item condition: Extremely damaged. Its origin is nearly exhausted, and its spirituality has been extinguished."

"Value assessment: ∞ (To those who have no need of it, it is useless charcoal; to those who do, it is an invaluable treasure.)"

"A... willow branch?!" Ning Chuan sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes locked onto the description on the screen, and his entire body stiffened as though he had been struck by lightning!

His mind nearly stopped functioning under the impact of that overwhelming information!

Perfect World! Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit! Willow Deity!

This willow branch, which looked utterly inconspicuous and was even described as "charcoal," had an origin so immense that it could overturn all of Douluo Continent's understanding!

What kind of existence was that?

She had guided the Desolate Heavenly Emperor, who severed all ages with a single sword, and stood as a supreme powerhouse above the Sacrificial Path! Even the most insignificant strand among her countless fragments possessed a status far beyond that of a God King!

Wild joy erupted in his heart like a volcano, but it was immediately followed by an almost instinctive fear and reverence.

This thing... was far too dangerous to handle! Its status was far too high!

Could a mortal without even a trace of Soul Power truly bear it? Would that so-called "faint fragment of true spirit" be a burden Ning Chuan simply could not endure?

But soon, his powerful desire to survive and thirst for strength overwhelmed his fear.

The opportunity was right before him. How could he abandon it just because he was afraid?