Awakening the Celestial Weaver's Guide

Lian Qin Yu trudged through the thick underbrush, every step a battle against exhaustion, weighed down on her like walking through quicksand. Her entire body throbbed, her limbs screamed for relief, and the dull ache at the back of her skull made it hard to focus.

The events of the past hours replayed in her mind, the rebirth, the desperate escape, the sheer helplessness of being weak in a world where power dictated one's fate.

She had no energy left.

Finding a tree with massive, arching roots, she collapsed against its base, letting out a shaky breath.

A slight breeze whispered through the Netherwood Abyss, but it did little to ease the feverish heat clinging to her skin.

Her lips curled in dry amusement as she swatted at an insect buzzing near her ear.

"If I survive everything just to be taken down by a mosquito, I'll haunt the heavens myself."

A bitter chuckle escaped her lips.

Cultivation. Power. Fate.

It was the only thing that separated the strong from the weak. A person without cultivation was as useless as a withered plant – discarded, trampled, forgotten.

"And what am I? Nothing but yellowed leaves waiting to rot."

Closing her eyes, she allowed herself a moment to breathe, but her mind refused to quiet.

Xuantu was a world where cultivators reigned supreme. Even the lowest-ranking ones had status, power, and the ability to defend themselves. Only 10% of the population failed to cultivate, the useless, the discarded. And right now, she was one of them.

She sighed heavily, "So this is how I go out, huh? Not in a grand battle, not with a heroic last stand, but as a mosquito's evening snack."

She huffed, pressing her palm against her aching ribs. The air around her felt heavy and charged as if the very fabric of the world was shifting.

A humorless chuckle escaped her.

"Of course. In my past life, I was average. In this life? Even worse."

She scoffed. "A gem among dirt, huh? More like a rock among diamonds."

But before self-pity could settle in, her thoughts blurred as exhaustion weighed down on her.

Then, in a sudden pulse, the world shifted.

The sharp pulse of energy surged through her soul. It was sudden, piercing like a thread snapping in her mind.

Lian Qin Yu's eyes flew open as something foreign yet familiar manifested within her consciousness.

A translucent interface flickered in the air before her, its edges glowing with soft golden light. It was neither entirely solid nor a simple illusion. It simply… existed.

> [Celestial Weaver's Guide has been activated.]

Her breath hitched.

Lian Qin Yu stared at it, unblinking.

"Hallucinations? Or divine punishment for my sarcasm? Humph. Either I'm about to awaken some godly destiny or I'm seconds away from death."

A deep, aged chuckle echoed around her, carrying the weight of time itself.

"Neither, child. You are simply...late."

Lian Qin Yu stiffened. The voice did not belong to some omnipotent deity. It was weary, ancient, yet oddly warm.

"And who, pray tell, are you?" she asked warily.

The air hummed, and a vague silhouette shimmered in her mind, a man draped in faded celestial robes, his once-vibrant presence now a mere fragment.

"A remnant of the past. A predecessor, if you will. I was once the possessor of this Guide, long before your time."

She arched a brow. "So, what? You failed? Died? Ascended?"

The voice chuckled.

"Does it matter? I am nothing more than a whisper now. But you… you still have a path before you."

Her lips curled into a smirk. "Lucky me. So, what is this? A grand inheritance?"

The voice hummed in amusement.

Lian Qin Yu exhaled, running a hand through her hair. " So what does this 'Celestial Weaver's Guide' do?"

"Nothing is free, child. The Celestial Weaver's Guide does not grant power. It simply…weaves fate. Whether you rise or fall depends on your comprehension. Each advancement requires trials, comprehension, and fate."

Lian Qin Yu sighed, tilting her head back. "Of course. Nothing can ever be easy."

The space around her trembled, the Guide's energy pulsed, and she felt an immense wave of knowledge flood her mind. She wasn't reading them. She was experiencing them as if an invisible hand was weaving the concept directly into her soul.