Cultivation starts with picking up attributes-Chapter 55: Ch-: Too stubborn

He felt something stir—stronger than Qi, deeper than duty.

Maybe it was connection.

Maybe... affection.

But before he could speak, a sudden scream echoed from below.

Tian Shen’s eyes snapped toward the port.

Smoke rose in the distance.

"Looks like trouble found us again," Feng Yin muttered, already drawing a talisman.

They sprinted back down the trail.

As they reached the lower cliffs, the source of the chaos became clear. A merchant ship had been wrecked on the rocks—splintered by something massive.

Cultivators from the port outpost clashed with beasts spilling from the surf—scaled, crimson-eyed creatures with jagged fins and barbed tails.

"Sea-fiends," Tian Shen whispered. "From the Sea Depths."

He didn’t wait for orders, he surged forward, forming a stance.

His footwork shifted, smoother than before. He ducked past a creature’s lunge, slamming his palm into its neck.

『Congrats host, you killed a 3-star beast and gained Spirit points ×200.』

Feng Yin followed with a flurry of talismans. Runes of fire danced midair, forming a flaming net that scorched several attackers.

One of the creatures leapt toward Little Mei—only for the tiny fox to retaliate immediately, jaws glowing with spirit flame.

She torched the beast midair with a war cry: "Kyuuu~!"

They fought like a single organism—fluid, instinctive, relentless.

More cultivators joined in. Soon, the battle slowed, then stopped. The remaining sea-fiends fled into the waves.

Tian Shen wiped sweat from his brow, panting.

But then he saw it—a figure atop a jagged reef, cloaked in ocean mist. Their presence was heavy... suffocating.

The mist parted to reveal a man with long white hair and skin like porcelain—eyes swirling with violet Qi. He held no weapon, but his aura pressed against the very air.

Feng Yin inhaled sharply.

"That’s... no ordinary cultivator."

The man looked at them. His gaze lingered on Tian Shen.

Then he smiled.

"You’ve awakened the first shard," he said softly.

"The others will come for you now. Run far, boy—but know this: the Honoured One’s path ends in madness."

With that, he vanished, the sea swallowing his form.

Tian Shen stood frozen. The map in his robes burned faintly—an ominous glow flickering across its surface.

The mist thinned as the tide retreated, leaving behind splintered wood, bloody sand, and silence broken only by ragged breaths. Tian Shen stood rooted, eyes fixed on where the mysterious man had vanished.

Feng Yin stood beside him, her expression grim. "Who was that?"

"I don’t know," Tian Shen said slowly, "but he knew about the shard... and he wasn’t bluffing."

The Honoured One’s Memory Fragment pulsed within his robes, reacting to the lingering energy in the air. It didn’t warn him—but it didn’t calm, either.

That man wasn’t part of any sect Tian Shen recognized. No sect cultivator bore that much raw presence without displaying their allegiance. And the words he spoke echoed with more than just threat—it carried fate.

"The others will come for you now."

A storm was gathering.

Feng Yin stepped forward, eyes scanning the waves.

"He disappeared too cleanly. That wasn’t a simple escape—it was a spatial technique, wasn’t it?"

Tian Shen nodded.

"Yeah. He moved through water and Qi like it was silk. He didn’t need a portal... h-he was the portal."

Little Mei yipped low on his shoulder, her ears flattened, fur bristled. Even without words, she clearly shared Tian Shen’s unease.

Captain Luo approached, blood spattered along his left shoulder.

"The port’s secure. The beasts didn’t get far in. But that... figure..."

He hesitated, then looked Tian Shen dead in the eyes.

"You brought this here."

"I know," Tian Shen replied, not flinching.

"Then you’d better find a way to stop it from coming back."

Tian Shen offered a brief nod. The captain walked off, limping slightly.

Feng Yin exhaled.

"So... what now?"

He looked down at his hand, where the crystal orb hovered faintly in his palm.

"Now we find the next shard."

Later that evening, after the port had been cleaned and the injured tended, Tian Shen sat atop the outer cliffs, legs crossed in meditation. Wind whipped at his robes, and waves crashed far below.

But within him, everything was still.

He focused on the orb—the memory fragment of the Honoured One. When he activated it with a trickle of Qi, it floated before him, shimmering like glass filled with stars.

Images flashed before his eyes.

A battlefield stretched across heaven and earth. Immortal armies clashed against monstrous entities with skin like night and jaws of fire. In the sky, five figures stood alone—shining like gods. One of them, cloaked in silver and storm, held the map. The same map.

Tian Shen’s heart pounded as a final image solidified: the five figures each tearing a piece from their bodies—five fragments of memory—and sending them into the void.

Then darkness.

The orb dimmed.

Tian Shen blinked, his body cold with sweat.

"They split themselves apart," he murmured. "To hide something... or to prevent it from being found."

He rose to his feet.

If that vision was true, then these five shards weren’t just items—they were pieces of consciousness. And collecting them didn’t just unlock new power.

It brought him closer to something ancient. Something dangerous.

The next day, at Dragonstone port.

The port was carved into the cliffside like a defensive bastion, lined with defensive formations and spiritual arrays.

It served as a communication point, healing hub, and gathering place for travelers and cultivators.

Tian Shen and Feng Yin entered through a glowing archway, passing disciples and guards with tense expressions. Word of the sea-fiend attack had spread.

An elder greeted them—tall, with a long gray beard braided with threads of lightning Qi.

"Elder Gongsun," Feng Yin greeted with a bow.

"Reporting from the Azure Wind ship. Tian Shen, survivor and key witness."

The old man’s sharp eyes settled on Tian Shen.

"You’ve drawn something dangerous to our isle, boy."

"Respectfully, Elder," Tian Shen replied,

"I believe it was already coming. I just... lit the torch."

The old man nodded after a moment.

"That’s worse."

He waved them inside.

They sat before a long circular table where crystal scrolls floated above arrays, displaying reports from across the island.

Creatures stirring in the deep. Glyphs breaking along old paths. Qi flowing backward through ancient veins.

The island was changing.

"Do you know what the Honoured One legacy truly means?" Gongsun asked.

"No," Tian Shen said.

"But I intend to find out."

The elder sighed. "Long ago, five Honoured Ones defended this world from something... unspeakable. What they fought is forgotten, erased. But they were not born gods. They became them through trial and sacrifice."

"And now their power is returning," Feng Yin added.

"Not returning. Calling," the elder corrected.

"Calling for one who can remember what was lost. That’s why you’re being hunted, Tian Shen. Those who want the old world forgotten... they will never let you complete this path."

That night, near the northern reef.

Tian Shen stood at the edge of the ocean once again. The orb pulsed against his chest, drawing him here. The mist parted just slightly, revealing something glinting in the shallows.

He stepped forward.

As his foot touched the water, the world shuddered.

Suddenly, the sea parted in a line before him, revealing a narrow submerged staircase.

Behind him, Feng Yin appeared, talisman glowing.

"Again?"

"Again," he muttered.

They descended.

Beneath the reef was a cavern, lined with coral that glowed like moonlight. In its center hovered another pedestal.

But this one was... different. Corrupted.

Black veins ran through the stone. Shadows coiled around it.

Tian Shen stepped forward.

The orb began to spin violently.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the chamber. Deep. Monstrous.

"You think you can claim what was torn from gods?"

The shadows surged. A form rose from the pedestal—twisted and malformed. A beast of water and darkness, with too many limbs and no eyes, only mouths.

Tian Shen took a stance.

[Challenge Initiated: Honoured’s Trial – Phase Two: Echo of the Abyss]

[Objective: Purify the corrupted shard.]

The beast lunged.

Tian Shen moved, faster than before. Every step carried the memory of the first trial. Every block and strike was sharper, refined.

Feng Yin shouted incantations behind him, talismans exploding in burning gold. But the beast ignored them.

It focused only on Tian Shen.

He roared, Qi surging into his palms. Lightning arced along his arms—his lightning.

"Let’s see if gods bled like this!"

He dove forward, slamming his palm into the creature’s core. An attribute bubble popped up from that exact point.

『Host gains Spirit point ×500』

The beast shrieked—then burst into black mist.

The pedestal flared. A second orb rose.

『Item Acquired: Honoured One’s Memory Fragment (2/5)』

The two orbs hovered together, then slowly merged—locking into each other like gears in a machine.

A burst of light swept the cavern.

『New Trait Acquired: Healing— You gain increased affinity and regeneration in stormy environments.』

『Memory Fragment Count: 2/5. Space Attribute Unlocking Progress: 40%』

Feng Yin knelt beside him as he collapsed, grinning faintly.

"Still not dead?"

"Too stubborn," he wheezed.

Little Mei skittered onto his chest and snuggled against his chin.

Above them, the sea rumbled again.

Another storm approached.