"Seventh Stage Qi Refining… he actually dares to come here?"
The voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly across the platform.
A few nearby cultivators turned their heads, their gazes landing on a lone figure standing at the very edge.
Xiao Feng.
For a brief moment, silence lingered—then came faint, undisguised amusement.
"At eighteen and still at that level… what a waste of a spot."
"No, not even a waste. Just embarrassing."
The words were not concealed in the slightest.
In a place like this, there was no need.
High above the drifting clouds, the vast stone platform stretched endlessly beneath the sky. Ancient patterns were carved across its surface, suspended above layers of drifting clouds.
It gave the feeling of a place that existed between heaven and earth from a bygone era.
This was the entrance ground of the Heavenly Dao Sect, one of the five most powerful sects in the Central Region.
A sacred place where only true geniuses had the right to stand.
And yet—
Among the hundreds gathered here, Xiao Feng's existence felt completely out of place.
Around him, powerful auras surged one after another.
Some were sharp like unsheathed blades, others deep and vast like endless oceans.
Every single one of them had already stepped into the Spirit Condensing Realm.
Compared to them…
Xiao Feng was nothing.
He stood at the very edge of the platform, his posture straight but isolated, as if an invisible line had been drawn between him and everyone else.
His presence was so weak that it was almost negligible, like a grain of sand lost in a desert.
Seventh Stage Qi Refining.
The gap between him and the others wasn't just large—it was insurmountable.
Even the weakest person here had reached the peak of Qi Refining.
As for Xiao Feng?
Not even worth mentioning.
Some people frowned slightly when their eyes landed on him, as if confused by his presence.
Others didn't even bother hiding their disdain, their lips curling faintly before they turned away, like unwilling to waste even a second more upon this waste.
To them, Xiao Feng wasn't even a competitor.
After a single glance, they lost interest entirely. In a place where talent determined everything, someone like him was not even worth remembering.
Yet Xiao Feng remained still.
His gaze remained calm, almost detached, as if he were observing everything from a distance rather than experiencing it himself.
Only he knew that deep within his mind, a flood of unfamiliar memories had surged into his mind, merging violently with his consciousness.
He was no longer the person he once was.
He had transmigrated.
"…Seriously?"
A faint sigh echoed within his thoughts.
"If I had to transmigrate, couldn't I at least get a better start?"
The body he had inherited was nothing short of miserable, belonged to someone whose life could only be described as tragic.
Born into a cultivation clan, yet labeled a failure from a young age.
His parents were long died before he could remember their face.
He had no talent or achievements, only disappointment.
In the end, his own clan had expelled him without hesitation, cutting off all ties as if discarding a useless branch.
From that moment on, he had no one to called family, a orphan.
With nowhere to go and nothing left to lose, the original Xiao Feng had made a desperate choice.
He came to the Heavenly Dao Sect's entrance test, likely to prove his worth, clinging to a sliver of hope.
A hope so fragile…
Even he himself hadn't believed in it.
And before he could even see the outcome, he died.
"Truly… a hopeless start," Xiao Feng thought, though there was no real despair in his heart.
If this had been his fate without any change, then yes, the future would have been bleak.
However, he was not the same person anymore. He wouldn't live this kind of life, no matter what!
Just as he was quietly assessing everything around him, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed within his mind, breaking the silence with an unnatural clarity.
[Ding… Supreme Alchemy System activated.]
For a brief moment, Xiao Feng's pupils contracted, though he tried his best for hide it.
He was not alone here, so he didn't want to attract any suspicion—lest his soul be examined by a powerful expert and he be labeled as possessed.
His expression outwardly remained unchanged. But inside, his heart was pounding rapidly and his nerves tensed up. System!
After the shock came a surge of wild joy!
As a transmigrator, he naturally understood what a system meant.
It meant he had the chance to change his fate against the heavens and reach the peak!
[Newbie Gift Pack detected. Would you like to claim it now?]
'Yes.'
The moment he finished speaking, a sharp, burning sensation erupted from within his right hand. It spread rapidly through his arm as if something deep inside his bones was being forcibly changed.
The pain was intense, far beyond ordinary endurance. Yet Xiao Feng bit his own lips, not to make any sound. His fingers trembled slightly, hidden within his sleeve, while his breathing remained steady, betraying nothing to the outside world.
Within his body, one of his bones had changed.
Ancient runes flickered faintly across its surface, emitting a mysterious aura before quickly concealing themselves, leaving no visible trace behind.
'What was that feeling?' It was not until his pain faded, he finally took long breaths and asked the system.
[A perfectly fused Innate Pill Bone.]
'What the f...' Even with his calm nature, Xiao Feng couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.
His dissatisfaction towards his system for giving the pain had gone completely.
His knowledge inherited from the original body's memories, immediately identified this thing called Innate Pill Bone. Innate Pill Bone!
A legendary physique spoken of only in rare records, something that countless alchemists would dream of but never obtain in their lifetime. Even in the vast cultivation world, this was something that could shake entire sect's foundation.
Xiao Feng's heartbeat quickened slightly, but he quickly suppressed the reaction, forcing himself back into calmness. Revealing even the slightest abnormality here would be foolish, especially when surrounded by so many unknown experts.
Before he could fully process the change, the system's voice sounded again.
[Host's cultivation detected at Qi Refining Realm.]
[Rewarded with all kinds of First-rank alchemy knowledge and pill formulas that have even appeared in this world.]
In an instant, an overwhelming amount of information flooded into his mind.
Countless medicines knowledge, pill recipes and refinement techniques. It was not just knowledge, but understanding—deep, instinctive familiarity, as if he had personally practiced each method thousands of times.
The process of refining pills, which should have been complex and difficult, suddenly felt simple and natural to him.
Xiao Feng slowly exhaled, his gaze lowering slightly to hide the faint glimmer in his eyes.
He had never practiced alchemy and not refined any pill in his life. But now, he could refine any kind of First rank pill, at least he believed this.
'Right, what's your other functions?'
His system had rewarded him First rank Alchemist legacy, comparable to the Qi Refining realm. But it would not be all!
[Supreme Alchemy System partially activated. Deeper functions remain sealed until host meets unknown conditions.]
At that moment, a faint smile finally appeared on his lips. If before, he had been standing at the very bottom, then now, he had been given the means to climb to the very top.
Talent?
He no longer needed these type of things.
Before he could ask more doubts about the system, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Silence."
Just then, a deep, authoritative voice suddenly spread across the entire platform, instantly suppressing all noise and drawing everyone's attention forward.
Unknowingly, an elder had appeared on the platform.
Dressed in long robes, his presence was steady and profound. His aura was vast like an endless sea. With just a single glance, he commanded absolute authority over the scene.
"The Heavenly Dao Sect entrance examination starts now,"
The elder announced, his voice neither loud nor soft, yet it carried across the entire platform with an invisible weight that pressed upon every participant's heart.
"Those who pass the first stage may remain and enter the sect for next stage of examination. Those who fail… will leave immediately."
There were no additional explanations or comforting words, and nor any second chance. In this place, only results mattered.
With a casual wave of his sleeve, the elder unleashed a subtle surge of spiritual energy into the ground beneath him, causing the entire platform to tremble slightly as if responding to his will.
From the very center of the vast stone surface, a deep rumbling sound echoed as something ancient began to emerge.
Slowly, a massive black pillar rose upward, its presence steady and imposing, as though it had existed since the beginning of time itself.
The moment it appeared, it immediately drew the attention of everyone present.
Thousands of gazes locked onto it at once, curiosity, anticipation, and tension mixing together in the air.
The pillar's surface was smooth yet carried faint, intricate patterns that seemed to shift subtly when looked at for too long, as if they were alive in some indescribable way.
A mysterious aura lingered around it, vast and unfathomable.
Like a silent witness to countless generations of cultivators who had once stood where they now stood.
"This is the Heavenly Pillar," the elder continued, his gaze sweeping briefly across the crowd before returning to its usual calm indifference.
"It will measure your innate talent. Nine stars represent the limit. The brighter and greater the number of stars, the higher your potential."
He paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in before adding, "Four stars is the minimum requirement to pass. Anyone below that… is unqualified."