Dawn had not yet fully broken over Fengyun City. Cold air slipped through the cracks in the wooden walls of a ramshackle hut in the farthest corner of the Xiao Family Residence. Inside the cramped room, which contained nothing but a wooden cot and an old table, a fifteen-year-old youth sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
Cold sweat dampened Xiao Chen's forehead. His sturdy, sharply defined face was tense as he endured the heat spreading through his chest. He was trying to draw even the slightest bit of Heaven and Earth Qi into his body, following the basic instructions in his tattered low-grade cultivation manual.
Yet, just as on the previous days, that noble energy suddenly ran wild the moment it touched his chest before vanishing without a trace, as though it had struck an impenetrable stone wall.
*Pfft!*
Xiao Chen abruptly opened his eyes and spat a speck of fresh blood from his mouth. He clutched his empty, constricted chest and gasped for breath on the cot.
"Still can't do it..." Xiao Chen muttered hoarsely. Deep despair filled his eyes, but he quickly wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve.
Born the son of an ordinary concubine, Xiao Chen had been diagnosed with *Blocked Meridians* since birth. On the Tianyuan Continent—a world where cultivation strength determined a person's status and honor—this condition was the worst curse imaginable. Without open meridians, a person could never store Qi or refine their body, and would spend their entire life as a weak mortal.
Xiao Chen clenched his fists tightly. Memories from six years ago suddenly spun through his mind. Back then, his gentle mother was still alive, always embracing him whenever members of the clan mocked him as a good-for-nothing.
*"Chen'er,"* his mother's gentle voice seemed to whisper in his ear once more. *"This world does revere strength, but your strength of heart is your true sword. As long as you don't give up on yourself, fate will never be able to break you."
However, three years ago, his mother had mysteriously died overnight. Without his mother's protection, Xiao Chen's life at Xiao Residence became a living hell. He was kicked out of the main residence and sent to this ramshackle hut, assigned menial chores, and turned into a punching bag for the other clan disciples.
*Crash!*
The hut's flimsy wooden door was suddenly kicked open, its hinges nearly tearing loose. Faint laughter could be heard outside as two servants dressed in Xiao clan uniforms entered.
"Heh, this trash worm is still dreaming of cultivating!" shouted a sturdy servant named Lu Kang, crossing his arms over his chest.
Xiao Chen slowly wiped his forehead and stood straight. His eyes fixed coldly on the two servants. "What is it?"
"What is it?" Lu Kang sneered. "Today is the Main Battle Arena cleaning duty, in preparation for the Clan Annual Trial three days from now. Young Master Xiao Yiran ordered you to clean the entire arena floor before sunset. If even a single stain remains, you won't receive any food for three days!"
The servant beside Lu Kang sneered as well. "And don't forget to clean it with your bare hands, Xiao Chen! Don't let your rag dirty those magnificent marble arena stones."
Xiao Chen knew very well that this was deliberate harassment designed to humiliate him in front of the clan disciples training in the arena. However, he did not have the strength to fight back at the moment. In the Xiao Family, even a senior servant at Body Refining, First Level, held a higher status than a powerless legitimate son.
"I understand," Xiao Chen replied curtly, without the slightest trace of fear on his face.
Xiao Chen's cold composure only irritated Lu Kang further. The servant stepped closer and roughly seized Xiao Chen by the collar. "Listen carefully, good-for-nothing! Don't act like you're the young master here! Three days from now, when the Clan Annual Trial is held, you'll turn fifteen. When you're proven to have no cultivation in front of all the elders, the Great Elder himself will kick you out of this clan!"
Xiao Chen stared straight into Lu Kang's eyes without blinking. "Take your hand off me."
Xiao Chen's voice was utterly calm, yet for some reason it carried a deep firmness that left Lu Kang stunned for a moment. Feeling intimidated by a powerless trash worm, Lu Kang flew into a rage. He shoved Xiao Chen hard, sending the young man's back crashing against the wooden wall.
"Get to the arena and get to work, trash!" Lu Kang snapped before turning and leaving with his companion, cursing all the while.
Xiao Chen held his bruised back. Physical pain had long since become part of his daily life. He straightened his rough clothes, then looked toward the morning sky beginning to brighten beyond the window.
Three days from now... the Clan Annual Trial.
"They want to see me kneel and beg," Xiao Chen muttered, his eyes glinting sharply. "But I, Xiao Chen, will never bow my head to the people who killed my mother and trampled on my dignity."
With steady steps despite his bruised body, Xiao Chen walked out of the hut toward the Main Battle Arena—facing the fate that was slowly beginning to turn.