Inside a wooden house on Qiyun Peak, White Cloud Mountain.
After assimilating the memories, Yang Zhen muttered to himself with a blank expression, "The lowest aptitude? How am I supposed to cultivate? Blue and skinny, shiitake mushrooms!"
Yang Zhen had woken up in a cultivation world called the Youzhou Continent, only to find himself a good-for-nothing with the lowest aptitude in the Shangyuan Sect. It was like someone telling him he had won a million, then, before he could even celebrate, saying, "Sorry, I got the wrong person."
That bucket of cold water drenched Yang Zhen to the bone.
Just as Yang Zhen's heart had turned to dead ash, a burst of seven-colored light suddenly erupted from his body. It was as though the endless chanting of the Heavenly Dao resounded in his ears, while countless currents of Qi poured into him.
The next moment, Yang Zhen felt that the whole world before him had changed. His body was so light it seemed to merge with heaven and earth, his eyes and ears so clear they seemed to perceive the very origins of the world. Even his breathing seemed to be in subtle harmony with the great Dao of heaven and earth.
An attribute panel flashed before Yang Zhen's eyes and vanished.
Root Bone: ssssssssr+ Comprehension: ssssssssr+ Endurance: ssssssssr+ Spiritual perception: ssssssssr+
Even after the panel disappeared, Yang Zhen still hadn't recovered his wits. He muttered to himself, "Now that's incredible!"
Root Bone reflected talent, comprehension determined one's understanding of the Dao, endurance affected cultivation, and spiritual perception represented potential.
Yang Zhen had gone off the charts in all four of the aptitudes a cultivator possessed on the Youzhou Continent. It had never happened before-in tens of thousands of years... Yang Zhen was the only one!
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a young woman dressed in a long white robe hurried inside.
The young woman wore no makeup, and an otherworldly elegance graced her features. She walked gracefully up to Yang Zhen, her expression worried, and said with concern, "Junior brother, did you have another nightmare?"
Yang Zhen looked at the young woman before him, dressed in ancient clothing with her hair arranged in a startled-swan bun. He knew she was Liu Ruoning, the Shangyuan Sect's eldest senior sister, a cultivator at the third level of the Essence Condensation Stage. He himself was True Person Changyue's youngest disciple and had just broken through to the Essence Condensation Stage First Layer.
"Junior brother, are you all right?" Seeing Yang Zhen staring blankly, Liu Ruoning grew even more worried.
"You don't have to push yourself so hard. Even if you cultivate day and night, you still won't be a match for Duan Langcai. I... I'll have to marry into the Sword Attendant Sect in the end."
After assimilating the memories, Yang Zhen knew about this. The master of the Sword Attendant Sect had brought Duan Langcai to propose a marriage to the Shangyuan Sect, offering benefits the Shangyuan Sect could hardly refuse. The reason he had been able to transmigrate was that the idiot Yang Zhen, trying to help his senior sister, had advanced too recklessly in his cultivation and died from a backlash of his cultivation method.
"Senior sister, are you really willing to marry that Duan Langcai?"
Everyone in the Shangyuan Sect knew the rumors about Duan Langcai. The bastard was not only devious by nature, but also fond of seducing women and abandoning them. No woman wanted anything to do with him.
Liu Ruoning gave a bitter laugh. A trace of despair flashed in her eyes, and she shook her head.
"What can I do even if I'm unwilling? I can't explain it clearly to you anyway. Forget it. Since you're all right, focus on your cultivation. The sect has made its decision about me. Unless I can defeat Duan Langcai with my own hands in ten days, there's absolutely no room to turn things around. But... he's already at the Essence Condensation Stage Ninth Layer, and he's cultivated an earth-grade martial skill. How could I possibly be his match?"
The Essence Condensation Stage Ninth Layer, and an earth-grade martial skill.
Those two things alone meant that, no matter how hard Liu Ruoning tried, she could not change her fate.
Liu Ruoning turned to leave. When she reached the door, her voice drifted back, faint and melancholy. "The vast wilderness has turned to dust through tens of thousands of autumns; the imperial Dao and the immortal path bring a lifetime of sorrow. Junior brother, remember: only by growing strong yourself can you control your own fate on the long road of immortal cultivation."
An earth-grade martial skill?
After Liu Ruoning left, Yang Zhen sat on the bamboo couch, frowning in thought. Suddenly, he remembered the high-tier yellow-grade martial skill Liu Ruoning cultivated: the Wind and Thunder Sword!
There were two whole grades between yellow and earth. Although both were mortal-grade cultivation methods and martial skills, the difference was not something a high tier could make up for.
The four grades of cultivation methods and martial skills—Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow—were all mortal-grade. Yet even among mortal-grade techniques, not a single earth-grade martial skill could be found in the entire Shangyuan Sect, let alone a Heaven Grade one, a whole grade above earth.
Yang Zhen had also cultivated the Wind and Thunder Sword, but his aptitude had been so dull that he still hadn't grasped its essence. That didn't stop him from knowing how to cultivate it, though.
The moment he thought of the Wind and Thunder Sword, a boom and a buzzing filled Yang Zhen's head, and a more profound and abstruse cultivation method appeared: the Great Evolution Wind and Thunder Sword!
This was...!
Yang Zhen's eyes lit up at once.
The Great Evolution Wind and Thunder Sword achieved the same marvelous effect as the Wind and Thunder Sword by different means. It was as though it had been built on the Wind and Thunder Sword's foundation, increasing its power severalfold.
What shocked Yang Zhen was that he had never seen this cultivation method before, and it was... Heaven Grade!
Heaven Grade cultivation methods—the Shangyuan Sect didn't have one, and even the Sword Attendant Sect, which had always held a firm advantage over the Shangyuan Sect, couldn't produce one.
Delighted, Yang Zhen hurried to his feet and headed outside, taking the longsword on the bamboo couch with him.
The Wind and Thunder Sword was only a yellow-grade cultivation method, yet Yang Zhen had cultivated it for half a year without grasping its essence. Now, however, he could feel that he had completely mastered the Great Evolution Wind and Thunder Sword, even reaching the level of pure perfection.
Was this another benefit of his off-the-charts aptitude?
Yang Zhen decided to find a deserted place to try it out. If that really was the case, it would be incredible.
The Shangyuan Sect had three peaks in total. The one Yang Zhen lived on was called Changyue, where True Person Changyue's disciples lived and cultivated.
At the very top of Changyue Peak was a platform where fierce winds blew like blades all year round. None of the disciples ever went there.
When Yang Zhen arrived at the Changyue platform, he suddenly stopped short. Amid the biting winds, a stubborn figure in white wielded a longsword, moving like thunder and lightning, her sleeves fluttering-a sight of breathtaking beauty. It was his eldest senior sister, Liu Ruoning.
Suddenly, Liu Ruoning let out a muffled grunt. She staggered and fell to the ground, muttering in despair, "Still no good?"
With that, Liu Ruoning suddenly stood up, desolate as one who had lost all hope, and walked slowly to the edge of the platform.
One more step would take her over a bottomless cliff.
"Master, your disciple has been unfilial. Even if my body dies and my Dao vanishes, I will not marry that notorious scoundrel Duan Langcai."
Seeing that Liu Ruoning was about to jump, Yang Zhen hurriedly stepped out and shouted, "Wait, senior sister!"
Liu Ruoning trembled all over. She turned and saw Yang Zhen, then said bitterly, "Junior brother, why are you here?"
Yang Zhen walked over to Liu Ruoning and looked at her without a word.
His stern gaze made Liu Ruoning a little uneasy, and she looked at him in confusion.
Smack!
"Ah! Junior brother, you..."
Yang Zhen pulled Liu Ruoning back and glared at her. "What are you trying to do? You can't beat him, so you're going to die?"
Startled, Liu Ruoning took two steps back. Her eyes were full of despair as she said miserably, "What should I do?"
"What should you do?" Yang Zhen widened his eyes. "Of course we stir things up-the bigger the better. I'll help you."