Chapter 9: The Trial of the First Gate

The morning sun cast a dull glow over Cloudrest Village, but Wu Tian barely noticed. His mind was still reeling from the revelation in his dream. Heaven Defying Body: The First Gate. Those words echoed in his thoughts like a divine decree.

He sat on his cot, staring at his hands. A technique—his technique. It had appeared before him, promising a path forward. Yet, he had no idea how to begin. Was it like the traditional cultivation methods described in the sect's scrolls? Did he need to gather qi first? But if that was the case, why had the pain been so unbearable when he tried last night?

There was only one way to find out.

Determined, Wu Tian slipped out of the orphanage before dawn, making his way back to the secluded riverbank. The cool morning breeze carried the scent of damp earth as he knelt down, closing his eyes. He grasped the golden stone tightly, allowing its warmth to seep into his skin.

He focused inward, searching for the spark of energy he had felt before.

A heartbeat later, he found it.

The same flicker of energy, faint yet undeniably present, resided deep within him. He inhaled slowly, willing it to expand, to flow freely through his meridians. The moment he attempted to draw it out, however, pain shot through his body like a whip cracking across his nerves.

His muscles spasmed. His bones creaked under the pressure.

A strangled gasp left his lips, but he gritted his teeth. He would endure.

The words from the book flashed in his mind. To break the shackles, one must first understand them.

Gritting his teeth, Wu Tian focused not on the pain, but on the sensation beneath it. What was causing this rejection? His body was reacting violently—why?

Then, he noticed something.

It wasn't his body resisting the energy.

It was the world itself.

A realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. The world around him was actively rejecting his attempt to cultivate. As if an unseen force had shackled him, preventing his very existence from merging with the flow of qi.

A normal person would have given up. A normal person would have accepted this as their fate.

But Wu Tian was not normal.

If the world was rejecting him, then he would force it to accept him.

Summoning every ounce of willpower, he embraced the pain. Instead of resisting, he let it consume him. He welcomed the agony, the burning sensation, the twisting torment in his bones. He would not be denied.

The golden stone in his palm pulsed violently, responding to his defiance. The warmth inside it erupted, spreading through his veins like molten fire.

And then—it happened.

Something inside him broke.

The pain vanished. The resistance crumbled.

For the first time in his life, Wu Tian felt his body synchronize with the flow of energy.

His senses sharpened. His breathing steadied. The energy no longer fought against him—it accepted him, as though an invisible barrier had finally shattered.

And with it, a voice—not from the book, not from his dreams, but from deep within himself.

"The First Gate—Unshackled Flesh."

Wu Tian's eyes snapped open. He flexed his fingers, watching in silent awe as the faintest glow pulsed beneath his skin.

He had done it.

He had broken through.