The Path No One Saw

Chapter 9: Lightning and Loyalty

Wu Yuan sat cross-legged inside the wooden barrel, immersed in the final remnants of the lightning-infused liquid. Wisps of silver-blue arcs still danced on the surface, flickering faintly as warm steam curled into the morning air.

The sun had barely climbed over the eastern ridge, but a pale light already filtered through the mist, painting soft shadows across the courtyard stones.

Despite the progress, something gnawed at him.

"Why can't I sense what's happening inside me? What is this feeling?"

He exhaled slowly, brows drawn in thought.

The answer stirred within reach—half-known, half-frustrating.

He hadn't yet stepped into the Qi Condensation Realm.

Without a cultivated spirit sense, his inner world remained veiled, unreachable. No matter how much pain he endured or how precisely he followed the technique, the actual movements within his body were little more than blind guesswork.

It was like trying to read wind patterns by watching the ripples on a pond.

Still, he didn't stop.

The second cycle of chanting stretched on—slow, deliberate, nearly half an hour.

By the time it ended, the change was undeniable.

His body throbbed with quiet power.

Each breath felt smoother, more natural, like his lungs had been reforged.

Even his muscles—once dulled by years of stagnation—now felt denser, coiled with responsiveness, like taut cords drawn tight beneath the skin.

He glanced down at his hands, water dripping from his fingertips.

"I feel... twice as strong. Is this what real progress feels like?"

Unbeknownst to him, everything was unfolding exactly as it should.

His path was no longer bound by convention.

While he should have begun with the Earth Chakra—rooted at the base of the spine, governing survival, grounding, and physical stability—Wu Yuan had bypassed it entirely.

Whether by fate, lightning, or something deeper...His first gate had not been Earth.

It had been something far beyond the norm.It had been Lightning.The Lightning Chakra.

The final gate—one only touched in the Nascent Soul Realm.

But Wu Yuan was no ordinary cultivator.

He had been struck by lightning in his previous life—an event that left him in a coma for three years, but imprinted something deeper. That essence still lingered, coiled like a sleeping serpent around a clot of spiritual gas within his body.

And now, he was cultivating a Heaven-Level lightning technique: Heaven-Eating Pulse Conduction.

The result?

A reversal of the natural order.

Not Earth. Not survival.

But Lightning—the chakra of divine insight, clarity, and spiritual force—was the first to awaken.

Crowned at the top of the head, it was meant to be the final gate.

For Wu Yuan, it had become the first.

The contradiction between method and nature had triggered the reversal.

And it was only just beginning.

Wu Yuan continued cultivating until the lightning liquid thinned to nothing—until only clear, steaming water remained in the barrel.

The final cycle came to a close.

As the last chant echoed through his mind, something shifted.

He opened his eyes slowly.

The world around him felt... sharper.

The air carried more texture.

His thoughts moved with startling clarity. Each idea linked to the next like flowing lightning, smooth and immediate. It was almost like he was still under the effect of the Temporary Clarity Scroll.

Except this time—it wasn't temporary.

"This is real... permanent."

He reached for the jade scroll, scanning the diagrams and notes again, this time more intently.

The manual detailed only one thing: physical transformation. It outlined how the body would grow stronger, denser—how muscles would tighten, bones fortify, and nerves awaken.

It said nothing about the mind.

According to the scroll, he had advanced from Level 0 to Level 1 of the Body Tempering Realm.

That explained the strength.

But not the clarity.

Not the way the world now pulsed with presence. Not the strange stillness in his thoughts.

It wasn't mentioned anywhere.

"Is it the lightning essence? The reversed chakra flow? Or... something else?"

Before he could chase the thought any further, the system chimed:

[Mission In Progress: Open Lightning Chakra – 5% Completed][Mission Completed: Reached Level 1 – Body Tempering Realm]Reward: +5 SP

Wu Yuan blinked. Then frowned.

"Lightning Chakra? What's that supposed to mean?"

He immediately queried the system.

No response.

Again.

Still nothing.

"Seriously? Now the system wants to play mysterious?"

After a few more attempts and the same frustrating silence, he let out a sigh.

"Fine. Be that way. I'll wait until it hits 100% and see what happens."

He stood and stretched, his entire body buzzing with restrained vitality.

"For now, I need to focus on hitting the Spirit Initiation Realm—fast."

Without hesitation, he opened the system shop and bought three more bottles of lightning spiritual liquid.

[Purchased: Lightning Liquid ×3 – Cost: 15 SP][Remaining SP: 4]

He nodded to himself, filing the number away.

"First time: one bottle. Now three more. That's four total so far."

Wu Yuan didn't tell anyone about his breakthrough.

Not his mother.

Not even his father.

And so, the days slipped by.

Ten full days had passed since he first stepped onto the path of cultivation.

To the rest of the Wu Clan, he had become a recluse.

He hadn't left his courtyard since the clan assembly. His presence at shared meals and cultivation sessions was nonexistent.

Lady Su, ever warm and watchful, urged him gently to train with the other young clan members.

He always refused—with a soft smile and a calm excuse.

He didn't have time.

Not when every moment sharpened the edge of something greater.

Wu Lin didn't protest the isolation. He came by two, maybe three times during those ten days—each visit brief, quiet.

No long talks. No instruction.

Only a quick glance to confirm Wu Yuan was well.

"If he's working hard, that's all that matters," Wu Lin thought. "What use is talent if it isn't sharpened?"

Wu Xiao, the servant girl who had once barged into his room, had now become his personal maid.

Quiet. Dutiful. Incurably curious.

She brought his meals without fail, and from time to time, lingered nearby to watch him train—eyes wide, silently memorizing every movement.

She was the daughter of Lady Su's personal maid. Raised within the inner courtyard—respectful, but not timid.

Ten days earlier, just after the clan's younger generation completed their talent evaluations, Wu Yuan had made a quiet request to his father.

"Have Wu Xiao tested as well. After everyone else. In my courtyard. She's eight this year too."

He gave no explanation—and Wu Lin didn't ask for one.

No one else was informed. Not even Lady Su.

Wu Yuan believed one thing deeply: those who followed him should never be left behind.

If he was to rise, so must they.

To his quiet satisfaction, Wu Xiao's results exceeded expectations.

Her innate talent was above average—even when compared to many of the Wu Clan's direct descendants.

Servants were typically tested with crude, imprecise tools. The results were vague at best, misleading at worst. Many went their whole lives unaware of the potential buried within them.

But Wu Xiao had real talent.

Not in lightning. Not in fire.

But in water—calm, steady, and resilient.

For the first time, she could cultivate properly.

And Wu Yuan?

He had gained not just a maid…

But a future follower with true potential.

She didn't say much.

But that night, long after the courtyard had gone quiet and the lanterns were dimmed, Wu Xiao knelt outside his room beneath the spirit tree—head bowed, hands clenched in her lap.

For a servant like her, such kindness was unheard of.

To be seen.

To be tested fairly.

To be allowed to cultivate.

"Young Master," she whispered, eyes stinging. "I will never forget this."

She vowed then and there—silently, fiercely—that no matter where the path led, she would follow Wu Yuan.

Not as a maid.

But as someone who owed him everything.

The afternoon sun hung high when the Lei Clan visitors arrived.

Lightning cultivators—clad in storm-gray robes etched with silver threads that flickered faintly, as if mimicking thunderclouds.

They hadn't come for courtesy.

They had come for Wu Yuan.

His lightning affinity had not gone unnoticed. The spiritual pulse it gave off was subtle to the Wu Clan's eyes—but to the Lei Clan, it was a beacon.

"Level One Body Tempering Realm?" Lei Jinghong narrowed his eyes, scanning Wu Yuan from head to toe. "Impossible. He was just a mortal ten days ago."

Shock rippled through the Lei entourage.

Even Wu Lin's composed demeanor cracked slightly. His smile faltered, only for a moment—but it was noticed.

Ten days to reach Level 1? That alone defied clan records.

For most cultivators, it takes over twenty days just to initiate body tempering—let alone break through the first level.

But Wu Yuan stood calm beneath their scrutiny.

He didn't flinch. He didn't correct them.

Let them see what they wanted.

Let them misjudge.

"If they're already shaken by Level 1…""…what will they do when they learn I've walked nine steps further?"

But Wu Yuan?

He had done it in ten days.

It was beyond prodigious—it was unnatural.

And yet, Wu Yuan stood unmoved beneath their scrutiny.

He didn't flinch. He didn't argue.

He simply let them see what they wanted.

Let them misjudge. Let them guess.

"If they're already shaken by Level One…""…what will they do when they learn I've walked nine steps further?"

A beat of silence passed.

Then Lei Jinghong's eyes narrowed again—but this time, with renewed interest.

He had recovered from the initial shock.

Such speed might be unheard of in small border clans like the Wu, but in the Stormrise Mountain Capital, where ancient legacies ran deep and genius sprouted like grass in spring, this level of progress was rare—but not unimaginable.

"Perhaps... he truly does have potential," Lei Jinghong murmured.

He raised a hand.

An elder stepped forward, producing a jade tablet laced with silver veins.

Without waiting for permission, they activated it.

A pulse of soft blue light enveloped Wu Yuan.

It was a talent-measuring tool, calibrated for elemental affinity and qi sensitivity.

Everyone held their breath.

The tablet shimmered—then flared. Bright violet. Faint arcs of static danced across the surface.

The Lei Clan elders leaned in.

"Lightning affinity confirmed. Top-tier resonance. Purity is… astonishing."

Eyes widened. Some jaws clenched.

A low murmur spread among the Lei entourage.

This wasn't just a body tempering prodigy. This was a natural conduit for their sacred element.

A true child of lightning.

Lei Jinghong's expression turned calculating. His earlier irritation faded, replaced by resolve.

"This boy must not remain in the Wu Clan."

A rare gift.

Too rare.

The Lei Clan conferred in hushed tones. Then the leading elder stepped forward with an unhidden glint in his eye.

"We extend an invitation," he said, "for Wu Yuan to join the Lei Clan under sect status. He will be one of us—not by blood, but by cultivation."

Silence fell over the Wu courtyard.

Then—

"Poaching?" Wu Lingtian's voice cracked like a whip. "You dare come to my clan, stand on my soil, and try to steal a Wu for your own?"

The Lei Elder didn't flinch.

He merely spread his hands, face calm.

"He is not your heir, is he?" he asked lightly. "You have no lightning inheritance to offer. We do. This is not poaching, Clan Leader."

"It's mercy."

Yet Wu Lingtian couldn't deny the truth.

The Wu Clan had no lightning inheritance.

And Wu Yuan—was Wu Lin's son.

The choice wasn't his to make.

He turned to his elder brother, voice clipped.

"This is your son. You handle it."

Wu Lin didn't answer right away.

He didn't flare up like Lingtian.

He didn't scowl. Didn't argue.

He simply stood there, unmoving—expression unreadable.

A long pause.

Then, quietly:

"Let me speak with Yuan'er."

"If he chooses to go, I won't stop him."

A soft scoff broke the silence.

One of the younger Lei cultivators—barely more than a teen—stepped forward, arms crossed, tone casual and arrogant.

"What's there to ask a child?" he said. "If you say he should go, he should go. Why all this drama?"

That was the wrong thing to say.

Wu Lin's gaze shifted.

No flare. No roar.

Just a single, quiet glance.

Sharp enough to cut thunder in half.

"As expected of the Lei Clan. Brains fried by their own lightning."

Wu Lin didn't raise his voice. He simply muttered the words under his breath.

Then, aloud:

"This is Yuan'er's life. Let him choose."

One of the Lei elders waved a hand, impatient.

"Fine, fine. Let the boy speak."

Wu Lin stepped forward.

"Yuan'er. Would you like to join the Lei Clan?"

There was no pressure in his tone.

No anger. No sorrow.

Just space for an answer.

Wu Yuan stood silently, eyes sweeping across the room.

He thought about it.

If this had been the arrogant Wu Yuan of the original timeline—the one blinded by pride—he might've jumped at the offer. Grinned smugly. Left the Wu Clan behind to chase power and prestige.

Only to return years later as a stepping stone villain.

Crushed by the protagonist he once mocked.

But that wasn't him.

"I am a member of the Wu Clan," he said calmly. "I have no interest in leaving."

One of the Lei elders smiled thinly.

"We're not asking you to change your name to Lei Yuan. You'd keep your ties. You'd just gain better ones."

Wu Yuan bowed slightly.

"Thank you for the offer. But my answer remains. Father, please excuse me."

With that, he turned and left.

His footsteps faded into silence.

And the silence that followed?

It was louder than thunder.

Wu Lin didn't smile. Didn't frown.

He simply stood still—expression unreadable.

"With the Lei Clan's backing," he thought, "Yuan'er could've claimed leadership easily."

But that path had closed.

Or perhaps…

"Perhaps it's better to keep outsiders out of clan matters after all."

As for Wu Lingtian—

A slow smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Good choice, Yuan'er."

He said nothing aloud.

Instead, his thoughts drifted, eyes distant.

"Thankfully, I didn't invite them myself. They came on their own after hearing the rumors. If I had extended the invitation... it would've been much harder to turn them away outright."

His gaze flicked to the departing Lei cultivators.

"Our relationship with the Lei Clan may suffer now... but no matter."

"The Wu Clan is not weak. And my nephew just proved that with more clarity than thunder."