Book 1: The Mediocre Youth

## Plot

### Joining Heng Yue Sect

After being rejected by the Heng Yue Sect for having no talent as a Cultivator, Wang Lin runs away from home in order to find a way to step into the path of Cultivation. After being attacked by a White Tiger and falling from a cliff, Wang Lin finds a mysterious bead and is ultimately rescued and recruited by the Heng Yue Sect thanks to his Fourth Uncle's bribe, as well as the sect's own unwillingness to bear the reputation of forcing a child to suicide.

### Sun Dazhu

One month later, Wang Lin continues to work in the Outer Sect as an Honorary Disciple, all the while strengthening his body with the dew that appears on his bead, which seems to contain Spiritual Energy. However, he earns the unwanted attention of Sun Dazhu as a result of the bead's effects. One night, after returning home for his father's birthday, Wang Lin witnesses the bead consume a large amount of dew built up during a storm, increasing the number of cloud symbols upon its body. This incident convinces him to hide the bead, thus protecting it from Sun Dazhu's investigation. As a result of this, Wang Lin becomes Sun Dazhu's disciple in exchange for a gourd that contains water that's been imbued with Spiritual Energy by dipping the bead into it.
Sun Dazhu gives Wang Lin a scroll containing the method to practice the first 3 layers of Qi Condensation, but in reality is just using Wang Lin to get more gourds. For this reason Sun Dazhu drugs Wang Lin's meals to prevent him from gathering spiritual energy entirely. However, when another month passes without Wang Lin managing to bring him any such gourds, the original gourd loses its Spiritual Energy and Sun Dazhu kicks Wang Lin out of his courtyard. This allows Wang Lin to retrieve the bead, which he does a month later for caution's sake.

### Dream Space

After retrieving 3 Qi condensing pills from Wang Hao, Wang Lin drinks from one of the gourds filled with Spiritual Energy. This energy proves too much for him, however, and he is forced to use the Qi Scattering Technique(performed by using the Qi Gathering Technique backwards) to expel it. This coincidentally allows him to expel Sun Dazhu's drugs from his body. After this, Wang Lin finds the bead has completed it's tenth and final cloud mark from absorbing dew, it transforms, allowing Wang Lin to enter a strange realm for five hours where time is multiplied tenfold within. He quickly realises this Dream Space has no Spiritual Energy, and nor can the 3 gourds that have been oversaturated in said energy be taken into it, however he manages to fill several normal gourds with water imbued with Spiritual Energy into the Dream Space and begins Cultivating. After two months of this, Wang Lin finally reaches the first layer of Qi Condensation and starts practicing the Attractive Force Technique. One day Wang Lin stops by the Chore House and witnesses Liu attempt to kill Zhang Hu. Wang Lin intervenes allowing Zhang Hu to kill Liu. After this Zhang Hu chooses to leave the sect and Wang Lin ends up replacing Liu as the Chore House manager, to his dissatisfaction as this cuts into his cultivation time. Under the guise of revenge Wang Lin thus makes unreasonable demands of his charges and openly takes bribes in the hope that the Elders will take action to remove him from this station. Two months later, this earns him the nickname Black Hearted King. Despite these distractions, Wang Lin reaches the second layer and masters the Attractive Force Technique.

### 4 Years Closed Doors

In order to secure the chants for the 4th layer of Qi condensation and above, Wang Lin joins Wang Hao at a sect gathering to trade his gourds. He trades with Zhang Kuang while in disguise. After the New Year, Wang Lin and at least 40 other sect disciples are sent to the Back Mountain to Cultivate for four years in preparation for the inter-sect battle with Xuan Dao Sect, held once every 20 years. After 2 years (13 in the Dream Space) Wang Lin reaches the peak of the third layer but, for whatever reason, he cannot breakthrough and finds that instead of having hit a wall his third layer is voraciously swallowing all the Spiritual Energy that he collects. Unable to understand, much less solve, this dilemma, Wang Lin emerges from his personal cave. He talks with Brother Zhang, who tells him and many others of the harsh bottleneck of the third layer. After 2 more years (totalling 12 more in the Dream space) Wang Lin finds himself still stuck at the 3rd layer however he comes to suspect his 3rd layer is different from other people's, as his continues to be a bottomless pit while other people's have hit a definite wall. Their 4 years now up the disciples emerge from the Back mountain. After this, Wang Lin is sent by Sun Dazhu to the Sword Pavilion, where Wang Lin picks up the extravagantly decorative sword "Wealth".

### Arrival of the Xuan Dao Sect

The Xuan Dao Sect arrives riding upon the back of a giant 1000 foot Centipede. As the elders of both sects exchange greetings, Wang Lin notices the two disciples at the front of Xuan Dao Sect, one of whom is named Liu Mei. As everyone else begins to mingle, Wang Lin is forced to look after the Xuan Dao Sect's Centipede. Realising the Centipede's poison might be medicinal for his father, Wang Lin goes to the Pill Pavilion hoping to get a pill that can make it spit up its venom. While there, he learns that Lu Yunie has tricked Wang Hao into practicing the Fire Furnace Trial and intends to use Wang Hao himself as a furnace to refine a pill that will extend his life by three years. This development allows Wang Lin to acknowledge the reality that the Cultivation world is one where the strong only care to prey upon the weak. On his way back, Wang Lin stumbles upon the Xuan Dao Sect's quarters and sees Li Shan trading Treasures. Wang Lin watches as Li Shan scams many people, including Sun Hao, into buying stink bombs that only really work when he wants them to thanks to Divine Sense, and then buys two stink bombs himself, after which he erases that Divine Sense and replaces it with his own.

### Situ Nan

Seeing Li Shan's method gives Wang Lin the idea to put his Divine Sense into the Mysterious Bead. However,,while this fails, it does attract the attention of Situ Nan, who has been observing Wang Lin from inside the Bead for the equivalent 30 years in Dream Space. Situ Nan complains about Wang Lin's caution and lack of talent, explaining that it was only through his help that he'd even gotten this far. However, he implores Wang Lin to reach the Soul Transformation Stage so that he can escape the Bead, while also admitting honestly that his original intent was to seize Wang Lin's body for his own. He states that he will help Wang Lin do this. He also reveals that the Bead needs to absorb the five elements of Fire, Water, Wood, Steal and Earth before it will be complete and acknowledge an owner. Furthermore, Situ Nan explains to Wang Lin what the Cultivation Alliance is and how it governs countries like Zhao, which is only a Rank 3 Country(meaning its highest Cultivation limit so far is Nascent Soul) by their standard, while he himself came from a Rank 6 Country.

### Exchange

Three days later the two sects begin their exchange. Zhao Long of Heng You Sect faces Liu Feng of Xuan Dao Sect. However, Liu Feng easily wins by reflecting Zhao Long's own attack back at him, revealing his strength to be able to compete at the 8th layer, 2 levels above his and his oponent's actual layer. The second match is between Sun Hao and Li Shan. Sun Hao tries to use Li Shan's stink bomb to impress Haung Long, but Li Shan simply triggers it in Sun Hao's hands using his Divine Sense, causing Sun Hao to humiliate himself. After that, Xu Mu steps forward and Heng You Sect calls on their purple robed disciples. As Lu Song steps forth to face Xu Mu, Ouyang reveals to Haung Long that the Heng You Sect's Nascent Soul Ancestors have died in the battlefield, he adds that Xuan Dao Sect wants to bet on the mountain the Heng You Sect calls home and that the sole reason they're not simply taking it is because of their past friendship. Haung Long hesitates to believe this. The match then begins and Lu Song overwhelmes Xu Mu, however he is interrupted by Zhou Peng, who then comandeers the stage and challenges everyone in the Heng You Sect to take him on at once. Zhang Kuang steps forward, but is effortlessly defeated.

### Entering The Stage

Zhou Peng continues to provoke the Heng You Sect, but finds no disciples left brave enough to fight him. However, Wang Lin is sent forward because, as he is already considered trash and is a good 7 layers weaker than his oponent, Heng You Sect will not lose any face over him losing the fight. Wang Lin, having never been in a fight before, attacks Zhou Peng with his Attraction Technique at full force, throwing in one of Lu Shan's stink bombs for good measure. To the shock of everyone present, Zhou Peng is sent flying out of the ring. Enraged, Zhou Peng calks this loss s fluke and jumps back onto the stage, only for a stupified Wang Lin to send him flying a second time. Furious, Zhou Peng removes his seal, releasing his full 12th layer Cultivation, however, now confident in his own power, Wang Lin knocks Zhou Peng out of the arena a third and final time. Wang Lin, now knowing his own strength, asks who his next challenger shall be, and Elder Ouyang sends up Yang Yi. Yang Yi negotiates with Wang Lin that he gets to win if he can last 20 seconds. Wang Lin agrees. Yang Yi then uses his speed to try and survive, but is easily caught by Wang Lin's Divine Sense and hit with a stink bomb. Yang Yi then chooses to go all out, but has his life treasure destroyed. Hoping to refine his fighting technique, Wang Lin challenges the entire Xuan Dao Sect disciplehood to come up and face him, just as Zhou Peng did before. Countless disciples take the bait, but they are all defeated until only three, Liu Feng, Xu Mu and Li Shan, remain. Wang Lin then reveals his last stink bomb, prompting Liu Feng to surrender and leave the stage before he ends up like Zhou Peng and Yang Yi. Xu Mu does the same, but Li Shan, realising that the only way he can avoid being beaten up for selling Wang Lin the bombs in the first place is to become a victim of it himself, continues to fight. Wang Lin, however, puts the bomb away and simply throws Li Shan off the stage.

### Fame and Treachery

Elder Ouyang admits defeat, but notes he was not lying about Heng You Sect's Nascent Soul Ancestors being dead. He summons his Centipede, ready to leave. However, Wang Lin stops him to get the Centipede's poison. Elder Ouyang initially refuses, so Wang Lin takes the poison by force. This provokes a fight between the elders of the two sects. However, no one manages to stop Wang Lin. Feeling guilty, he then gives Elder Ouyang a bottle filled with river water from the Back Mountain as compensation. Elder Ouyang is placated by this and gives Wang Lin a warning before he departs that the Heng You Sect can no longer protect him with their Ancestors gone. Wang Lin senses Liu Mei's gaze upon him as she leaves, but then immediately turns his attention towards Lu Yunjie. He asks about Wang Hao's condition and then travels to the Pill Pavilion, where he finds Wang Hao on the brink of death, but is able to save him. Huang Long is furious but conflicted at this development and turns to Dao Xu, who is in charge of disciplinary action, to deal with the matter. Lu Yunjie is thus sentenced to 20 years in isolation while Wang Hao is made an Inner Disciple. After this, Huang Long takes Wang Lin away and questions him. Huang Long then sends Wang Lin home and asks the Foundation Establishment Elder Shangguan how they will deal with Wang Lin., Shangguan however decides to let Wang Lin have his secrets due to the sect's precarious current circumstances. As Wang Lin returns, Sun Dazhu offers him tea, however, seeing it contains Spiritual Energy, Wang Lin forces Sun Dazhu to drink it himself, resulting in Sun Dazhu losing control of his brain and answering all of the questions given to him because of the Three Thread Nematoad Grass he had put in it. Wang Lin then kills Sun Dazhu, much to Situ Nan's approval, and in so doing takes a life for the first time.

### Sect Destruction

After talking with Situ Nan for two days inside the Dream Space to plan for his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, Wang Lin is taken by Huang Long to greet the sect's Foundation Establishment True Elders and Core Formation Ancestors. They allow him to enter the library to choose a technique, however, due to Situ Nan's high standards, he becomes disillusioned and picks nothing. Just as he emerges, the Xuan Dao Sect's Nascent Soul Ancestor, Punnan Zi, appears and demands the elders to come out and greet him. He then sets about breaking the sect's protective barrier and eventually succeeds in spite of the Elders and Ancestor's, led by Liu Wenju, attempts to support it. This moment signifies Heng You Sect's final defeat and the end of its 500 year history. Punnan Zi then seizes the sect and, while he doesn't stop anyone from leaving, he does poach anyone willing to join his Xuan Dao Sect. As a result, only Shang Guan and Song Yu of the ten Foundation Establishment Elders follow the Core Formation Ancestors out, the rest join Xuan Dao Sect. Among the Sect Leader's generation, only Haung Long, Dao Xu and Elder Ma choose to go, and amongst the Disciples, only ten others including Brother Zhang and Lu Song choose to leave. Punnan Zi also wants to recruit Wang Lin, but Wang Lin leaves because he's afraid Punnan Zi might discover his secrets if he stays.

## Characters

### Heng Yue Sect

* Wang Lin - Outer Sect, Qi Condensation 3rd Layer(Surface) Spirit Movement Half Circle(Actual)
* Zhang Hu - Outer Sect, Grey Robe
* Zhao Fu Gui - Outer Sect, Grey Robe
* Zhao Xiao Er - Outer Sect, Grey Robe
* Zhao Xiao San - Outer Sect, Grey Robe
* Dan Fang(Mentioned) - Outer Sect, Grey Robe
* Liu† - Outer Sect, Yellow Robe
* Sun Dazhu† - Outer Sect Elder, Wang Lin's Master Qi Condensation 5th Layer
* Wang Zhou -  Inner Sect, Red Robe, Qi Condensation 5th Layer
* Zhou Rui - Inner Sect, Red Robe, Qi Condensation 3rd Layer
* Xu Fei - Inner Sect, Red Robe Qi Condensation 4th Layer
* Sun Hao - Inner Sect, White Robe, Qi Condensation 4th Layer
* Wang Hao - Inner Sect, Pill Helper
* Lu Yunie - 3rd Elder, Pill Pavillion, Qi Condensation 6th Layer
* Zhao - Inner Sect, Red Robe, Qi Condensation 5th Layer
* Huang Dashan - Inner Sect, Sword Pavilion Helper
* Zhao Long - Inner Sect, Black Robe, Qi Condensation 6th Layer
* Zhang Kuang - Inner Sect, Purple Robe, Qi Condensation 8th Layer
* Lu Song - Inner Sect, Purple Robe
* Brother Zhang - Inner Sect, Black Robe
* Hui Bing - Elder
* Dao Xu - Disciplinary Elder, Wang Zhou's Master
* Song Dao You - Elder
* Elder Ma - Elder
* Elder Li - Elder
* Zhang Rencai - Elder
* Huang Long - Sect Leader
* Shang Guan - True Elder, Foundation Establishment
* Song Yu - True Elder, Foundation Establishment
* Liu Wenju - Ancestor, Core Fornation
* Ancestor Wang - Ancestor, Core Formation

### Xuan Dao Sect

* Elder Ouyang - Elder, Qi Condensation 14th Layer
* Ouyang - Disciple
* Qin Gu Lie - Elder, Liu Mei's Master
* Liu Mei - Head Disciple
* Liu Feng- Disciple, Liu Mei's twin brother. Qi Condensation 6th Layer
* Li Shan - Disciple
* Xu Mu - Disciple, Qi Condensation 12th Layer
* Zhou Peng - Head Disciple
* Yang Yi - Disciple
* Punnan Zi - Ancestor, Nascent Soul

### Wang Clan

* Wang Tian Shan - First Branch, Wang Zhou's Father
* Wang Tian Shui - Second Branch, Wang Lin's Father
* Wang Lin's Mother - Second Branch
* Third Uncle - Third Branch, Wang Hao's Father
* Fourth Uncle - Fourth Branch
* Hu Zi - Fourth Branch, Fourth Uncle's son
* Fifth Uncle - Fifth Branch
* Fifth Aunt
* Sixth Uncle - Sixth Branch
* Third Grandfather - Elder

## Chapters

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3 – Test
4. Chapter 4 – Heartless
5. Chapter 5 – The Return
6. Chapter 6 – Insults
7. Chapter 7 – Leaving Home
8. Chapter 8 – Stone Bead
9. Chapter 9 – Down the cliff
10. Chapter 10 – Entering the Sect
11. Chapter 11 – Zhang Hu
12. Chapter 12 – Immortal Talisman
13. Chapter 13 – The Elder
14. Chapter 14 – Unexpected Transformation
15. Chapter 15 – Suspicion
16. Chapter 16 – Disciple
17. Chapter 17 – Cultivation
18. Chapter 18 – Gourd
19. Chapter 19 – Chased out
20. Chapter 20 – Nine Clouds
21. Chapter 21 – Qi Gathering Pill
22. Chapter 22 – Scattering Technique
23. Chapter 23 – Tenth Cloud
24. Chapter 24 – Cultivation
25. Chapter 25 – Qi Condensing
26. Chapter 26 – Malicious Thoughts
27. Chapter 27 – Visit
28. Chapter 28 – Chores
29. Chapter 29 – Locked Door
30. Chapter 30 – Wang Hao
31. Chapter 31 – Snow Water
32. Chapter 32 – Exchange
33. Chapter 33 – Main Text
34. Chapter 34 – Training
35. Chapter 35 – Back Mountain
36. Chapter 36 – Quarrel
37. Chapter 37 – Four Years
38. Chapter 38 – Light Speck
39. Chapter 39 – Wealth
40. Chapter 40 – Guest
41. Chapter 41 – Centipede
42. Chapter 42 – Centipede’s Poison
43. Chapter 43 – Old Friend
44. Chapter 44 – Li Shan
45. Chapter 45 – Low Life
46. Chapter 46 – Strange Old Man
47. Chapter 47 – Exchange (1)
48. Chapter 48 – Exchange (2)
49. Chapter 49 – Exchange (3)
50. Chapter 50 – Exchange (4)
51. Chapter 51 – Entering the Stage (1)
52. Chapter 52 – Entering the Stage (2)
53. Chapter 53 – Entering the Stage (3)
54. Chapter 54 – Entering the Stage (4)
55. Chapter 55 – Entering the Stage (5)
56. Chapter 56 – Entering the Stage (6)
57. Chapter 57 – Entering the Stage (7)
58. Chapter 58 – Finished
59. Chapter 59
60. Chapter 60 – Elder
61. Chapter 61 – Ancestor
62. Chapter 62 – Calamity
63. Chapter 63 – Powerful
64. Chapter 64 – Sect Scatters

## Trivia

* The first six Levels of Cultivation are named in this book: Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul and Soul Formation and Soul Transformation.
* Zhang Kuang is initially introduced under the name Can Jie, however, for whatever reason, this was changed by the time of his second appearance.
	+ Something similar may have happened with the character Hui Bing, who was initially stated to be the name if Wang Zhou's master before Dao Xu was introduced.
* The Male Xuan Dao Sect Disciple named Liu Feng, who exists only within this Book, is later on indicated to have been an accidental existence on Liu Mei's part. He is the result of her Avatar being born as twin siblings.
* Situ Nan notes that the "Spiritual Movement Stage" is a Cultivation method similar to Qi Condensation, but that it has a broader range. He notes this is used in Rank 4 Countries and above. However, this concept has been either forgotten about or largely underused in later books. The "Half Circle" of this stage is equivalent to a Qi Condensation 14th layer.
	+ Training for so long inside the Dream Space caused a desyncronisation between Wang Lin's body and his actual Cultivation Level. His body only gave off the power of a 3rd Layer Qi Condensation Cultivator while in truth he was at the 14th Layer.