“Sa Min! I know you’re in there. Get out here, you bully. I’m not leaving until you face me!”

And the screaming outside his dorm just wouldn’t stop, along with those loud knocks against the door.

Sa Min, lazily reclining on his lumpy bed, rolled his eyes and let out a tired sigh. What does this bitch want now? he thought with a slight annoyance, as he snapped the yellow-covered book shut and tossed it aside.

His glassy eyes drifted up to the old wooden ceiling, tuning out the noise from the crowd that had woken him earlier than usual. It was fine. He needed to adjust his schedule anyway.

Today was Harvest Day.

Which meant... tomorrow was the Awakening Ceremony for the three clans!

But since the Liuo family—his so-called family—was forbidden from entering the Sa Clan, the clan would likely, as he’d heard, send an Elder to their house on the mountain to deliver the force apples and oversee their awakening.

I have enough force apples to open my sea core right now and begin cultivation, Sa Min thought, tossing the cotton white blanket aside. But that would only bring unnecessary trouble with the clan.

When a cultivator’s force gate was fully formed, they were required to wait until the next ceremonial gathering. This was a longstanding rule and tradition observed by the three clans of the city.

Anyone from these three clans who didn’t comply would face financial penalties.

With a quiet yawn, he pushed himself off the bed and stretched before walking to the window. As he opened the old wooden frame, a cool, crisp mountain breeze rushed in, carrying the fresh scent of pine needles soaked by the light spring rain that had fallen through the night.

He stood there for a while, chest bare, letting the foggy weather clear his mind.

How long has it been? Sixteen years? Sixteen years since he’d taken control of this body. Aside from the last five years spent frantically busy with Outer Academy missions, accumulating Contribution Points, and trading Powercubes, most of his time had been wasted on little more than eating, reading, shitting, and wandering around Tetra Blessing City.

He had desperately needed that time to let his exhausted mind recover.

As he gazed out at the peaceful scene before him, those reflections brought forth vivid memories of the life he had once lived before seizing his new body.

Back then, life had been a whirlwind. He was always glancing over his shoulder, constantly on the run, hunted by the relentless heavenly union Immortals.

They gave him no peace to cultivate or pursue anything of his own.

With the heavy bounty on his head, it felt as though the whole world was after him.

Eventually, he was forced to use the Yellow Mind Swap Yantra, sacrificing his cultivation foundation in the process.

Regret using it? He couldn’t possibly say yes. In fact, he felt quite relieved having made that choice.

Sure, he might have lost the True Immortal cultivation foundation he had worked so hard to attain, and under different circumstances, he definitely wouldn’t have resorted to using that Yantra.

But what he gained in return was much better.

The Yellow Mind Swap Yantra was marked as demonic and remained forbidden for thousands of years now. Sa Min had to pay a huge price to obtain its manual and have a Refiner craft 5 of its Ka.

This rank 3 Yantra requirements to work were quite challenging. Not only that its Ka—the Six-lines White Ring Ka—needed to be physically attached to the person with whom you wanted to switch minds (Bas), but the target had to be completely unaware of the switch, and their cultivation level had to be in the Lower Realm—the first three stages.

That’s why Sa Min had been deeply worried before using it. He had no way of knowing whether one of its five Six-lines White Ring Ka he had scattered in various locations was attached to a cultivator in the Lower Realm.

There was no guarantee he would succeed in the first place.

So when he'd realized that it had worked, he had felt a huge sense of relief for the first time in years.

If I had another way to get rid of the tracker on my body other than this Yantra, I definitely wouldn’t use it, but…

The bounty on his head itself hadn’t been the problem, as the immortals wouldn’t have known where to find him. The real trouble—the source of all his problems—had been those damn trackers. Because of them, the Heavenly Union had always been aware of his location and constantly spread that information to the world.

I might have lost my cultivation foundation and Ba’s strength, but my Ba (mind) and my Boat are still with me.

Thinking on this, Sa Min could feel himself grow excited.

With over 600 years of experience, countless Yantra crafts, Ka recipes, rich battle experience, and his attainments, his mind would allow him to advance through the ranks smoothly and quickly. Well, that would depend on his aptitude grade, but if he used his experience wisely, no matter what sea core he had, there was no doubt he would return to the Celestial Heaven.

I had plenty of time to rest and plan how I should go from here. But now, it’s time to cultivate. I’m no different from mortals now… actually, mortals are even more valuable than I am.

Sa Min walked away from the window to his bamboo cabinet.

The dorm was wide enough. It had three beds. None of them were currently occupied, though. Sa Min had kicked the only man who used to live with him out after he'd found out the man had brought a whore into the dorm and banged her in his bed, leaving it dirty with piss and semen.

Sa Min opened the long, elegant bamboo cabinet and took out his only robe—simple and gray, with the Sa Clan's crest on the right side. As he slipped an arm into a sleeve, he glanced over at the beautifully carved wooden-framed mirror hanging in the corner of the room.

Stolen story; please report.

A slim young man with an indifferent expression stared back at him.

He ignored his reflection and focused on his stomach. There were two black circles, one above the other. The top one, located just above his navel, was called the Force Gate.

The lower one was the Imprints Gate, which was about half the size of the Force Gate.

Sa Min touched his Force Gate as he looked in the mirror, feeling nothing, as if he were touching a numb area.

Good thing mine was completed last month; otherwise, I would have had to wait another whole year.

Only those whose force gate had been fully formed could join in the Awakening Ceremony to open their sea core and awaken their Borned Ka.

The age when a cultivator's force gate was fully formed varies from person to person, from fourteen to thirty. However, most cultivators had theirs completely formed by the time they reached eighteen.

‘I really hope to possess an aptitude as good as the first time…’ Sa Min mused, lost in thought, when a soft whisper drifted through the window, calling, “Master Sa Min, Master Sa Min.”

With a sigh, Sa Min strolled over, throwing on his robe: he already knew who it was.

"Forgive me, my master, but your door is crowded with outer disciples. I thought I'd come in through the window if you don't mind..." Hou Qing, his personal slave, whispered hesitantly.

Though she tried to avoid his chilling gaze, Sa Min could see the fear in her eyes.

Sa Min sighed. "It's fine. Just bring it here," he said, extending his hand.

"Yes, my master," Hou Qing replied, tipping a bit of warm water from the pitcher onto his hand. "Also, my master, your father has asked for you and your sister this evening."

"Of course he did," Sa Min muttered, not surprised, as he brought the water to his lips to rinse his mouth before spitting it into the basin. "Where is San Juan now?"

"She stands just…just outside your door, my master."

Outside? her too? With her personality like that, I thought she would be at home waiting anxiously for the night to come so she could open her sea core.

The awakening ceremony day served not only as the day cultivators entered the path of cultivation, but also as the day of discovering what their potential was and how far they could reach.

It was the day on which they learned their places in the world. So you could say it was the most important day of their lives.

Sa Min quickly washed his face, cleared his nose, and dismissed his slave. He then picked up his wooden ID card and dagger from the desk before making his way to the corner of the room.

There stood a simple-looking cauldron, surrounded by some herbs and other various cultivation materials. Beside them lay a large blue bag, heavy with supplies.

Sa Min hoisted the bag onto his back and strode toward the door.

…..

Just moments ago, outside Sa Min’s dorm, a crowd of outer disciples had gathered, bustling around two young women who stood right by the door.

The first woman, a sixteen-year-old with short black hair, pounded on the door with all her might. "Sa Min, get out, you coward!" she shouted impatiently.

"Come on, Tan Chen, it was just a joke. He didn't mean anything by it," the second woman pleaded from behind her. She had a red veil covering the lower half of her face, but just from her sorrowful eyes, you could tell that coming here wasn’t her idea. "Besides, he might not even be here."

Her name was Sa Juan, and she was Sa Min's sister.

"Stop being afraid of him," Tan Chen snapped at her. "If you keep acting like this, they'll never stop bullying you."

"That's…"

"She's right, Tan Chen," called out a burly man from the crowd, his patchy beard without a mustache and his bald head making him easily recognizable. He was Sa Wen, a young master from the Sa clan. "If he’s in there, he would’ve come out by now."

"None of your business, get lost," Tan Chen retorted.

"Even if he is, it’s not right to—"

"Look, Sa Wen, I know what you're after." Tan Chen turned to face him, a disgusting smirk on her face. "So, let me make this clear—I won’t marry you. Now, get lost."

Sa Wen blinked. "What?"

Tan Chen let out an exasperated sigh. "Don’t play the fool. Your father already spoke to my mother. So, let me save you the trouble and tell you what I told my mother: unless the Four Great Walls crumble, the sun goes out for good, and cultivators start pooping force apples, I won't mar—"

"You won’t marry me," Sa Wen cut her off, a look of relief crossing his face. With a voice like that, I doubt anyone would want to," he muttered under his breath.

The crowds burst out laughing, but they stopped immediately when the wooden door cracked open and Sa Min stepped out.

"Greetings, senior brother."

"Greetings, senior brother."

The outer disciples nodded in acknowledgment as Sa Min scanned the crowd coldly. His eyes finally settled on Tan Chen. "How can I help this time?" he asked, his tone calm but cold.

Tan Chen hesitated for a moment under those icy blue eyes of his. "Why do you keep bullying Sa Juan?"

Sa Min sighed in frustration. "So, all this fuss because I call my sister Big Lips?”

"What is wrong with you? Can’t you see how your sister feels…" Tan Chen blurted out, while Sa Juan stared down at her lotus shoes in embarrassment as some disciples laughed.

Sa Min's cold eyes were still on Tan Chen. "Is that all you want?"

“That’s….”

"Get the hell out of here," Sa Min said, dropping the blue bag to the ground as he turned to lock the door. He had no patience for these childish disputes. He still needed to eat something for his breakfast before heading to the cultivation shops to distribute his supplies.

"No," Tan Chen snapped, blocking his path with outstretched hands. "You're not going anywhere until you apologize."

Sa Min didn't say a word. He merely took a step back. Then, without warning, threw a kick, slamming her upper head.

Tan Chen crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The crowd went wild. This was what they'd been waiting to see all this time. It was the second time Ta Chen had tried to start a fight with him. And it was the second time she went to sleep.

Sa Min took the bag and carried on with a leisurely stride, leaving the clamor behind.

"You’re not coming to the Clan Ceremony tomorrow?" Sa Wen called from behind.

Sa Min didn’t break stride. "Why ask what you already know?"

"Well... good luck then."

Sa Min paused, just for a moment. "Has something important happened within the clan?"

"The elders are holding an emergency council. Probably just preparing for tomorrow’s event."

"Probably," Sa Min muttered, walking off to leave the Foundational Cultivation Academy and head down the mountain toward the city.