Chapter 1 — Ashes of the Weak
Pain.
It wasn't the sharp kind that made you scream. No, this was the dull, deep kind—the kind that wrapped itself around your bones, humming like an old wound reopened.
And Xian Ren was no stranger to pain.
He'd felt it the night he was betrayed—his most trusted brother in the Black Lotus Syndicate putting a bullet between his ribs for a handful of yuan and a seat closer to the top. His world had faded in a haze of blood, gunpowder, and streetlight. When he'd closed his eyes, it was with the full expectation that they'd never open again.
But they did.
And what greeted him wasn't a hospital ceiling, or firelight in the underworld. It was the smell of rotting hay, dried blood, and something far more offensive—humiliation.
---
He blinked against the sunlight slicing through cracks in the rotted barn roof. His head pounded. His body felt thin, wrong, young. When he moved, the hay scraped his skin—skin that was too smooth, too fragile.
Then the memories came.
A boy named Xian Ren. Same name, different life. Seventeen years old. Last son of the once-proud Xian Clan in Red Ember Province. Born with sealed veins, a curse that made him unable to cultivate. Beaten. Mocked. Cast out.
A cripple in a world of cultivators.
"Shit," Xian Ren muttered, clutching his chest. His voice sounded different—no longer gravel-rough and aged by street fights. Younger. Weaker.
Still his.
A rush of instinct told him to move. And as he rolled to one side, a chunk of stone crashed through the barn wall, barely missing his skull.
"Still alive, trash?" came a voice. Mocking. Young. Familiar. "I thought you'd be dead after yesterday's beating."
Xian Ren remembered. Not from his life—but from this one.
Xian Wu, his cousin. A proud peacock with barely twenty veins awakened, but a favorite of the clan elders. He'd cornered the original Xian Ren at the edge of the courtyard and beat him half to death for daring to exist.
In this world, your veins determined your worth. No veins, no Qi. No Qi, no power. And no power meant you were nothing.
But this wasn't the same Xian Ren anymore.
He stood slowly. His limbs shook. His chest ached. But there was steel in his eyes.
"I'm alive," he said, brushing the hay off his shoulders. "And you just made a mistake."
---
That night, after the world had quieted, Xian Ren sat cross-legged in the barn, trying to ignore the ache in his ribs. He had no idea how this world worked—not really. He remembered flashes of martial arts novels and cultivation tropes from Earth, but this was different.
Real. Raw.
He took a breath.
And then—
> [Ember Vein System Activated]
Host soul confirmed: External entity detected.
Spiritual adaptation complete.
Initializing flame sequence...
Vein Awakening Quest: Begin cultivation. Awaken first flame vein.
Reward: Crimson Fist – Rank: Spirit
He froze.
A panel of glowing script hovered in the air before him, like something out of a game overlay. But he felt it—inside him. Buried in his bones, like something ancient had just fused with his very soul.
"A system?" he whispered.
> Task: Ignite the dormant flame seed in your heart.
Focus. Breathe. Channel the ember.
He had no manuals. No Qi. No guidance.
But what he had was rage, and that was its own kind of fire.
Xian Ren closed his eyes. Focused. Dug into the pain. Into the heat that always boiled under the skin when you were born desperate. And somewhere—deep in his chest—he felt it.
A flicker.
A spark.
He gritted his teeth and forced his breathing to slow.
> [Flame Vein: 1 awakened]
New Trait Gained: Inner Ember – passive body warmth, minor Qi generation
New Skill: Crimson Fist (Lv. 1)
The moment the spark ignited, it was like someone poured molten metal through his bloodstream. His eyes shot open. Steam rose from his skin. The air around him shimmered.
He clenched his fist.
And smiled.
---
The next morning, he walked back into the Xian Clan compound.
Alone. Limping. Covered in dirt.
Elders whispered. Servants sneered. One elder even turned to a guard. "Why is that failure not in the outer mines yet?"
But Xian Ren ignored them. His eyes were locked on one thing only:
Xian Wu.
The peacock stood in the training yard, laughing with a few cousins, his shirt open, his belt embroidered with the family emblem.
Xian Ren walked straight toward him.
Wu's smirk widened. "Came back for more, cousin? You barely survived the last—"
Xian Ren punched.
There was no warning. No stance. Just a single, explosive fist wreathed in faint crimson light. The blow landed on Xian Wu's chest with a crack like firewood splitting, sending him flying into the practice post behind him.
The yard went silent.
Even the wind stopped.
Wu coughed, blood staining his lips.
"You—" he gasped. "You don't even have any veins…"
Xian Ren stepped forward, his voice quiet but sharp.
"I have one now."
---
> [Quest Complete: Awaken First Vein]
Reward Received: Crimson Fist (Lv. 1), Minor Flame Body Tempering Boost
Next Quest: Awaken 10 Flame Veins to enter Meridian Realm
Optional Challenge: Defeat a cultivator with 5+ active veins
He walked away as whispers began to rise around him.
Trash no more.
Just ashes.
And from those ashes, something new would rise.