28. Heaven Above, That Chicken Had Potential

The mountain comes into view as the sun rises, its familiar peak cutting into the golden sky. Home. After nine days of travel, of training, of transformation—the Coiling Dragon Sect waits.

Nine days since we left. Nine days that have changed everything.

I walk beside Ling’er as the mountain path winds upward, her steps light despite the rigorous training, her breathing steady, her eyes taking in everything—the birds in the trees, the clouds overhead, the subtle shifts in the mountain’s spiritual energy. She notices things now that she wouldn’t have two weeks ago. The Sacred Cosmic Bone is awakening, and with it, her perception of the world deepens by the day.

She’s still a child. Still learning. Still growing.

But she’s also something else.

She’s hope.

I let my mind wander, assessing.

Ling’er – Holistic Progress Assessment

Time Since Discovery: 20 days

Time Since First Meditation: 19 days

Time Since Qi Condensation: 5 days

Starting Point: Mortal orphan, malnourished, illiterate, completely unaware of her own nature. A kitchen girl who existed on scraps and hope.

Current Point: Qi Condensation (3rd Stage), literate, trained in 23 techniques, possessor of a Soul Transformation-grade cultivation method, bloodline awakening, cosmic bone resonating. A force that would terrify any minor sect elder.

Cultivation Speed Comparison (Normal Cultivator):

Mortal to Qi Condensation:

Average cultivator: 1-5 years (with talent) to never (without)

Genius: 6-12 months

Ling’er: 14 days

Qi Condensation 1st to 3rd Stage:

Average cultivator: 2-5 years

Genius: 6-12 months

Ling’er: 5 days

I think back to the tournament, to the young geniuses parading their skills for the Nascent Soul observer. The best among them, the Violet Sky finalists; the ones who earned inner disciple status were Qi Condensation 9th Stage at age seventeen to twenty. B-grade potential. Talented. Praised. Recruited. The crowd had gasped at their techniques.

One elder mentioned a prodigy in the main sect who’d reached Foundation Establishment at 17. The crowd had murmured with awe, whispers of “genius” and “future elder” spreading through the stands.

And the Core Formation experts—everyone over forty, most over sixty, their power built on decades of dedicated cultivation. They were the ones who commanded respect, who led sects, who shaped the region.

Ling’er is twelve. She’s been cultivating for nineteen days. She’s already Qi Condensation 3rd Stage.

By the time the tournament prodigies reach Core Formation, she’ll be preparing to ascend.

And that’s just the cultivation realms. Her technique comprehension, her battle instincts, her ability to adapt and improve… those are growing even faster. She doesn’t just learn techniques; she improves them. She doesn’t just observe fighters; she understands the weak points to exploit ruthlessly.

The Violet Sky Sect’s “geniuses” are children playing with toys.

We stop at a village near the mountain’s base, a small collection of farms and a single inn where travelers occasionally rest. Nothing special. Just another dot on the map between the city and home.

I lead Ling’er inside and order enough food for ten people.

The innkeeper raises an eyebrow but doesn’t question. Sect leaders and their disciples sometimes have unusual appetites. She’s seen stranger things in her years running this place.

Ling’er eats with the same focused intensity she brings to everything. Steamed buns disappear. Rice porridge vanishes. Meat, vegetables, bread; all consumed with mechanical efficiency. The innkeeper stares openly now, but Ling’er doesn’t notice. She’s in her own world, processing, growing, converting matter into power.

Halfway through the meal, a group of traveling merchants enters.

They’re dusty from the road, weary from travel. Among them, a girl about Ling’er’s age—maybe eleven or twelve—helping her father carry goods. She’s thin, tired, with shadows under her eyes and hands calloused from work. She glances at Ling’er with the natural curiosity of one child seeing another.

I habitually activate the Gaze.

Cui He – Mortal

Name: Cui He

Age: 12

Spirit Root: None

Cultivation: Mortal

Verdict: Just a girl. Kind eyes. Helps her father. Dreams of a better life that will probably never come.

Two girls, same age. One carries packages for her father, dreaming of a better life. One carries a dragon bloodline and a cosmic bone, destined to reshape the heavens.

The universe has a strange sense of humor.

Ling’er notices the girl watching. She pauses mid-bite, a bun halfway to her mouth. For a moment, I see her processing; the girl’s thin frame, her tired eyes, the packages she carries.

Then she does something unexpected.

She smiles. A normal smile, warm and unguarded, the kind she rarely shows anyone but me. She picks up an extra bun from our mountain of food, still warm, and holds it out to the girl. The girl hesitates, looks at her father. He nods, puzzled but not opposed. She takes the bun, murmurs “thank you” so quietly I barely hear it, and hurries away to help with the unloading.

Ling’er returns to eating.

“Kindness,” I observe quietly, watching the girl disappear through the inn’s back door.

She chews thoughtfully. “She was hungry. I know what that feels like. The empty stomach, the tiredness, the wishing someone would notice.” She pauses, swallowing. “Master, when I’m strong… can I help people like her? People who can’t cultivate, who just struggle every day? Who work hard and never get anywhere?”

“That’s exactly what you should do.” I meet her eyes. “Power isn’t just for yourself. It’s for protecting, for lifting others, for making the world better than you found it. If you only use your strength for yourself, you’re no better than the bullies and tyrants.”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

She nods, satisfied, and finishes her meal.

I watch the merchants through the window. The girl is helping her father load a cart, the bun clutched in one hand, saving it for later. She catches my eye and ducks her head, shy.

Two girls, same age. Different fates.

But maybe if Ling’er has anything to say about it, the gap between them won’t always be so wide. After finishing our food and paying the bill, we continue onward.

The gates of Coiling Dragon Sect appear through the trees, weathered wood and faded paint, the same as always. Nothing has changed drastically in the days we’ve been gone—the same worn buildings, the same training yard, the same disciples going through their afternoon forms.

But everything feels different.

I am different. The Frost Manual has changed me. Ling’er’s guidance has changed me.

Ling’er is different. Nine days ago, she was a newly awakened Qi Condensation cultivator with potential. Now she’s Qi Condensation 3rd Stage, with 23 mastered techniques and a Soul Transformation-grade cultivation method integrated into her very being.

We walk through the gates.

Mei Lin spots us first. She’s in the training yard, correcting a younger disciple’s stance. Her head snaps up, and her face lights up.

“Sect Leader! You’re back!”

She runs over, the disciple forgotten. Then she stops, looking at Ling’er with new eyes.

“Ling’er… you look… healthier. Stronger.” She tilts her head, studying. “The city agreed with you?”

Ling’er ducks her head, the perfect picture of modesty. “The Sect Leader fed me well on the journey. And I got to rest instead of working in the kitchen.”

Mei Lin accepts this. Why wouldn’t she? Sometimes people bloom with proper food and rest. A malnourished girl gaining weight and color is hardly suspicious.