The Path No One Saw

Chapter 7: Whispers Among Mountains

The fog that clung to the slopes of Verdant Hill in the early morning hours was like an old, brooding spirit—silent, watchful, and unwilling to lift.

Within the Wu Clan's ancestral estate, the outer courtyards lay quiet, save for the rustle of wet leaves and the distant murmur of spring-fed brooks. Yet beneath that calm lingered a tension as thick as the mist itself.

A truth had emerged in the night.

A truth that would not stay buried.

Wu Yuan had awakened a lightning root.

And now, the mountain had begun to whisper.

A Storm in the Wind

The first to know were the inner circle elders. Then the stewards. Then the tutors of the outer sect and their disciples. By dawn, the news had seeped into every crevice of the Wu Clan like ink into silk.

But it didn't stop at the clan's borders.

By midday, it had crossed valleys and forest ridges.

By nightfall, it had reached the ears of hawk-eyed merchants on the Verdant Kingdom's trade routes.

And by the third day, it had reached Stormrise Mountain.

In the cultivation world, lightning roots were more than rare—they were coveted.

The Lei Clan, one of the premier clans of the Stormrise Kingdom and undisputed masters of lightning cultivation across the outer reaches of northern border territories, had carved out their legacy over generations by harvesting, refining, and perfecting lightning-based techniques.

Their heritage was forged in thunder.

Their pride, like the storms they wielded, was fierce, merciless, and unrelenting.

So when a child from a herb-cultivating clan—an outer territory clan known for little more than water arts and cultivation herbcraft—was rumored to have awakened a pure lightning root...

They took notice.

Stormrise Mountain — Lei Clan Inner Sanctum

Halfway up the jagged heights of Stormrise Mountain stood a fortress of dark iron and pale jade. Perpetual black clouds churned overhead, rumbling with static energy. Every crackle of thunder echoed through the spiritual arrays that enveloped the compound like a sleeping beast.

Inside the grand audience hall, lined with dragon-bone pillars and draped with purple and silver banners, the upper elders of the Lei Clan sat in silence.

At the head of the chamber stood a stern man with lightning-white eyebrows and a beard to match. He read the scroll in his hands a second time, eyes cold, fingers crackling faintly with static.

Lei Fengzhu, Grand Elder of the Lei Clan.

He closed the scroll with a snap. The parchment hissed, reacting to the residual lightning in his grasp.

"A child from the Wu Clan of Verdant Hill," he began, voice low but commanding.

"Eight years of age. Awakened a pure lightning root. Initial evaluations show accelerated body tempering and spiritual integration far beyond the norm."

A woman near the front raised an eyebrow. Her robes bore the mark of the tactician's hall—an emblem of five converging lightning bolts.

Lei Xiaohui, Third Elder.

"Verdant Hill's Wu clan?" she scoffed. "That backwater's best known for low-tier water arts and medicinal gardens. Their top technique barely reaches Low-Grade Profound."

Another elder leaned forward, arms crossed, face unreadable.

"We've scoured five provinces these past years for lightning-root talents. And now one surfaces… outside our bloodline?"

A quiet ripple of dissatisfaction passed through the chamber. A few eyes narrowed. A few hands clenched.

But Lei Fengzhu raised a single finger.

And all went silent.

"You're wrong, Xiaohui," the Grand Elder said calmly. "The Wu Clan may appear weak now, but they're not as simple as you imagine. Even my grandfather once spoke of their buried foundations. Never underestimate the soil that grows medicinal roots."

The room stilled.

Then a voice spoke from the back.

"Grand Elder, I request permission to investigate," said the Fifth Elder, standing. "If the rumors are true, this child may be a tool to raise the Wu Clan's status. Or worse, a hoax."

Silence.

Everyone knew the Fifth Elder's lineage had produced no promising talent for years. His eagerness was no secret. But no one spoke it aloud.

The Grand Elder regarded him, then nodded.

"Very well. You will go in person," Lei Fengzhu said. "Evaluate the child. Report back. Do not provoke unnecessarily… but do not show weakness either.Take a few talented juniors with you—this may be a chance for them to broaden their horizons."

Lei Xiaohui narrowed her eyes.

"And if the child's talent proves genuine?"

Lei Fengzhu's voice was steel.

"Then we extend the hand of thunder before someone else does."

Wu Clan – Inner Courtyard

Far removed from the political storms brewing on distant peaks, Wu Yuan sat cross-legged on a straw mat in the Wu Clan's inner courtyard.

The morning mist lingered across the polished stones. A soft breeze rustled the garden's plum blossoms. On the mat beside him rested a thin yellow booklet—his first lightning cultivation manual, gifted by Wu Lin.

But before opening it, something tugged at his mind.

"Clan Head Wu Lingtian said he'd invited lightning experts from the Lei Clan… from Stormrise Mountain," Wu Yuan recalled.

At the time, he hadn't paid it much attention. Now, with everything happening so quickly, it felt different.

Verdant Hill and Stormrise Mountain both lay within the vast Hundred Mountains Empire, but each mountain peak formed its own independent kingdom.

The Verdant Kingdom ruled over Verdant Hill.

The Stormrise Kingdom ruled Stormrise Mountain.

And each kingdom was a world unto itself.

The World Above the Clouds

Wu Yuan let his thoughts drift to what he'd learned so far.

The Hundred Mountains Empire governed, as the name suggested, one hundred great peaks. Its capital sat atop the tallest of them, at the empire's center. The remaining ninety-nine formed a ring of power around it, each peak a continent in its own right.

Each mountain was divided into four zones:

Summit — Where the kingdom's rulers and elite sects dwelled.

Middle Sector — Home to mid-tier sects and established clans.

Lower Sector — Populated by lesser families and growing powers.

Wild Fringe — Untamed lands of spiritual beasts, ruins, and danger.

Even a "small" mountain like Verdant Hill stretched over 44,000 square kilometers, blanketed by vast stretches of herb-laden forests, dense vegetation, and fertile valleys. Its spiritual climate favored the slow, nurturing rhythms of life—making it a paradise for cultivators of wood, water, and earth elements.

Most of the sects and clans that settled on Verdant Hill had inherited arts rooted in these elements. Herbcraft, spiritual farming, water-based healing, and defensive formations flourished here. Lightning, fire, and wind techniques—those of destruction and chaos—had little ground to grow in this lush domain.

As such, lightning-type awakenings were almost unheard of on Verdant Hill. When they did occur, they were often unstable, or tainted by impurities.

That's why Wu Yuan's awakening—a pure lightning root—sent shockwaves through the region.

Even the Verdant Kingdom's imperial family, which ruled from the summit of the mountain, traced its lineage back to an ancient earth-type inheritance. Steady, grounded, enduring. The complete opposite of lightning's volatility.

Each mountain in the empire bore its own elemental temperament. Verdant Hill was no exception—and it had never been meant for lightning.

Which made Wu Yuan an anomaly.

A spark where there should have been soil.

Wu Yuan's awakening had disrupted that balance.

And curiosity—especially in the cultivation world—was a dangerous thing.

System Awakening

Just as he opened the manual, a pulse of golden light flashed before his eyes.

🔔 System Notification

🎉 Mission Completed: Initial Clan Evaluation

✅ Reward: +10 SP

⚡ New Attributes Unlocked:

• Lightning Root – Incomplete / Upgradable

• Lightning Body – Incomplete / Upgradable

• Lightning Soul – Incomplete / Upgradable

• Lightning Spirit – Incomplete / Upgradable

Wu Yuan narrowed his eyes.

"Four aspects... Root, Body, Soul, Spirit. All incomplete."

"So they can evolve... just like I can."

The panel faded. He turned his attention back to the yellow-grade lightning manual.

"Storm Pulse Circulation… Thunder Vein Expansion…"

At a glance, the technique seemed solid—simple, methodical. It introduced the idea of drawing ambient lightning essence into the body and circulating it through stable meridians, gradually refining it within the dantian.

The Thunder Vein Expansion section detailed how small bursts of lightning energy should be guided not just through the meridians, but along the body's muscle fibers and nerve pathways. It warned of pain. It emphasized risk. And it described the body's eventual adaptation.

As soon as he finished the last page, another golden screen appeared.

🔔 System Notification

🎯 Hidden Mission Completed: Read First Cultivation Manual

✅ Reward: +10 SP

⚡ Bonus Reward: Elemental Cultivation Manual – Lightning Section Unlocked

📜 Grade: High-Grade Heaven Level (Lightning-Only Section)

Wu Yuan blinked.

"Heaven-grade?"

His heart skipped a beat.

Manuals were ranked by six primary tiers:

Heaven

Earth

Profound

Yellow

Mortal

Trash (unofficial)

Each tier had four subgrades: Top, High, Middle, Low.

Within the Wu Clan, the strongest manual—a Low-Grade Profound Water Art—was restricted to the Clan Head and future successor. Everyone else received Top-Grade Yellow techniques.

But the system had just gifted him a High-Grade Heaven-Level lightning manual.

He opened the interface instantly.

Heaven-Eating Pulse Conduction

This was no gentle method.

"Lightning does not flow—it strikes.

It does not ask—it takes.

If you hesitate, it leaves you behind."

The technique was brutal in design. It taught the cultivator to circulate lightning essence through bone and nerve, forcibly awakening latent conduits. If done right, it could transform the body into a living lightning vessel.

If done wrong… it could kill.

Wu Yuan's eyes gleamed.

"Even a simple punch… could carry lightning force once this works."

"This isn't just cultivation. It's transformation."

The breathing patterns, the circulation paths, the meridian instructions—it all demanded more than any normal eight-year-old could handle.

"Good thing I'm not really eight," Wu Yuan muttered.

He could feel it—the rhythm of the storm within. And this was just the first stage.

The manual hinted at more. Hidden layers, likely locked behind cultivation milestones or future missions.

"Wu Lin meant well," he thought, glancing at the yellow manual. "But this one… is like a divine blade beside a wooden sword."

He respectfully returned Wu Lin's booklet to the shelf.

Then he sat cross-legged once more.

He didn't begin cultivating. Not yet.

Instead, he closed his eyes—and began trying to understand the first section of the technique.

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Let the empire whisper all it wants," he murmured."I'll give them something real to talk about."