I returned to the village long after the sun had set, my mind consumed by what had happened in those forgotten ruins. The guardian's words replayed in my head, each one anchoring itself deeper in my soul.
The Heaven Reversion Law.
The first key to the Heaven Conquering Law—the first piece of a path I now realized would change everything about my life.
I had always believed that cultivation started with qi, that I needed to sense the energy of the world to begin. But what I had gained wasn't a typical qi technique—it was something ancient, something that didn't follow the rules I had heard in passing from traveling merchants.
The instinct inside me whispered a clear message:
"Start with the body. Walk the Primordial Body Path."
For the next several days, I wandered the village in silence, unsure how to begin. I wasn't like the others; I didn't have access to manuals or teachers. But I had something else now—something etched into me.
I sat alone by the riverbank, the cool breeze ruffling my hair as I slowly closed my eyes and listened.
It came to me—a pulse, a ripple deep inside my flesh.
A guiding instinct. A buried legacy.
"Refine the flesh, return to the source."
I began training my body.
I focused on my skin, imagining it hardening, thickening, becoming resistant to cuts. Each day, I struck tree trunks until my knuckles bled. I pushed boulders until my muscles burned. I submerged myself in the freezing river until my breath came out as steam.
The pain was unbearable, but something in me whispered:
"Endure."
So I endured.
Weeks passed. Slowly, I noticed the change.
The small cuts I used to suffer while gathering firewood no longer pierced my skin. My bruises healed faster. My grip became stronger, able to lift stones I couldn't even budge before.
I had unknowingly entered the first minor stage—Skin Hardening.
Each breath, each step, each strike was tempering me.
But I wasn't just training. I was being reshaped by the Heaven Reversion Law. My body was absorbing something from the very air, from the soil, from the world itself.
I realized—I was walking a path I never knew existed.
The Primordial Body Path.
It wasn't flashy. It wasn't about glowing lights or flying swords.
It was simple, brutal, and real.
And I was determined to follow it.
No matter how long it took.