Qiuxia Mountain rose like a massive spine of peaks, hundreds of ridges linked together under the vast sky. Among the great sects of the Fengyun Domain, Jingtianmen stood here, its presence as firm as the mountains themselves. As one of Korea’s three major martial sects, its status was unquestionable.
Under the scorching midday sun of midsummer, heat rippled across the stone and water. In front of a roaring waterfall, a young boy trained alone. His features were clean and sharp, his bearing upright—good-looking, yet carrying a quiet toughness.
The thunderous crash of water hammered at his ears, but he ignored it. His focus locked entirely on the simple, unadorned set of fists he was practicing. Though the moves looked plain, each strike drew out every bit of strength in his body. Muscles tensed, veins bulged along his arms, and every punch landed with a raw, heavy force.
By the time he finished a full set, his skin was flushed red, steam rising off him like heat from a forging furnace.
At that moment, the sound of chatter drifted from the mountain path. More than a dozen disciples came down with buckets to fetch water. When they spotted the boy in front of the falls, their steps slowed, and whispers began to stir among them.“That’s Eddie Ramsey, isn’t it? Still grinding away. I heard he stupidly challenged Coloman Southgate, the top outer disciple, and got his dantian shattered in ten moves. Thought he’d have rolled down the mountain by now. Didn’t expect him to hang around, clinging on like this.”
“Keep your voice down. Coloman Southgate is already in the inner sect now, taken in by an elder. Eddie Ramsey’s life hasn’t been easy. Poor family, can’t even afford proper pills, yet his temper’s sky‑high—can’t take the slightest slight. If not for Lily Grace speaking up, he would’ve been kicked out long ago. Shame, really. He used to rank pretty well among the outer disciples, might’ve made it into the inner sect.”
“I’ve always felt that thing two years ago was strange. Eddie Ramsey and Lily Grace had no connection at all. Why would Coloman Southgate suddenly challenge him—and hit that hard?”
“Who knows. Maybe Eddie Ramsey offended Lily Grace somehow. You know her strength isn’t below Coloman Southgate’s. And Coloman Southgate’s been chasing after her forever, but she never agreed. With those three, something must’ve gone on.”
The disciples’ murmurs drifted straight into Eddie Ramsey’s ears.
He paused mid‑practice, fists still in the form of the basic Rock Fist, and a faint, helpless smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.“I’ve got nothing to do with Lily Grace. That day, I only helped her finish off a beast by chance. Never thought Coloman Southgate would twist it into something else.”
Every time Eddie Ramsey thought of how Coloman Southgate had cornered him into that duel, then struck with killing intent and shattered his dantian and qi sea, rage boiled up in his chest again, sharp and choking.
“Coloman Southgate, you want to chase Lily Grace—fine, that’s your business. Sure, I admire her too. Who wouldn’t? But I know my place. I’m just an outer disciple. She’s the daughter of an inner‑sect elder. She only came to the outer sect because of the sect rules—three years outside before entering the inner gate. And you… you saw me say one sentence to her and crushed my dantian and qi sea, turning me into a cripple.”
That thought alone made Eddie Ramsey’s hatred tighten like iron in his bones. He knew the truth—getting revenge on Coloman Southgate was almost impossible.
Originally, once his dantian and qi sea were destroyed and his cultivation dropped from Postnatal Seven to Postnatal One, he had no right to remain in the outer sect at all.But because of one light remark from Lily Grace, Qingfeng Wei was still kept in the outer sect of Jing Tian Men to continue his training.
Lily Grace knew well why Coloman Southgate had crippled Eddie Ramsey, yet she never argued with him. After everything was over, she only mentioned, almost casually, that Eddie Ramsey should stay in the outer sect and keep cultivating.
As the daughter of an inner‑sect elder, her words carried weight. The outer‑sect instructors wouldn’t dare speak against her. So even though Eddie Ramsey’s cultivation had been shattered by Coloman Southgate, he was allowed to remain in Jing Tian Men and continue practicing.
Jing Tian Men wasn’t the strongest sect in the Fengyun Domain, but among its major sects, it was firmly in the top three — a true holy ground for martial arts.
Every year, when Jing Tian Men recruited disciples, tens of millions of youths from all corners of the Fengyun Domain rushed here for the exams, each hoping to join the sect, take up the martial path, and change their fate.
Yet the outer‑sect recruitment demanded exceptional talent. Most years, only about a hundred managed to pass.
Eddie Ramsey had lost his parents early and been raised by his uncle. Life had never been easy. But he longed for martial arts. When he heard Jing Tian Men was taking disciples, he slipped away from his uncle’s home and begged hisAfter grinding through round after round of tests, Eddie Ramsey finally clawed his way into the Jiangtian Sect’s outer gate with the little talent he had.
Once he joined the outer sect, his dull days of training had only one bright spot: every month, he could collect a single Qi‑Nurturing Pill. It wasn’t much, but to him, it was hope.
Seven years passed. Eddie had no idea how many hardships he’d bitten through—countless outer‑gate missions, endless drills under the instructors, day after day practicing the Jiangtian Sect’s Outer Gate Qi‑Nurturing Art. Only then did he reach the seventh level of Postnatal Realm.
With that cultivation, in another three years he would have earned the right to take the inner‑gate exam. If he passed… he’d soar straight up, like a carp leaping the dragon gate—becoming a true martial artist with a real chance of stepping into the Innate Realm one day.
But all of that was shattered by a single palm strike from Coloman Southgate.
That blow—violent, explosive—crushed his dantian and tore apart his qi sea. Even after two years of slow recovery, though some true qi could gather again, Eddie knew too well: his dantian now held no more than the true qi of a fourth‑level Postnatal cultivator.
Which meant, barring some miracle, he would spend the rest of his life stuck at Postnatal fourth level—and nowhere higher.Warriors follow a clear path of ranks. The first stage is the Postnatal Realm, divided into ten layers. The lowest is Postnatal Layer One, the highest is Layer Ten.
At this stage, one trains the Art of Breath, drawing in the world’s spiritual energy and tempering it into one’s own postnatal true qi.
Everything begins in the dantian. Only when a true qi seed is formed there can a warrior step into Postnatal Layer One.
When Eddie Ramsey first entered the outer sect of the Jingtianmen, his progress left his peers far behind. In just a single month, he condensed his first true qi seed.