Christian blinked, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the girl in the shrine.
She didn't look dangerous—if anything, she looked like she didn't belong here either. Her uniform was from Silver Crest Academy, one of the top cultivation schools in the city. Clean, expensive. She had a calm grace about her, like she was used to being underestimated.
"How did you see this place?" Christian asked, still holding the black manual.
Kien stepped inside, her eyes drifting across the mossy walls. "I've walked past this street a dozen times. Never saw the shrine until today. Same time you came here."
Christian narrowed his eyes. "You following me?"
She smiled. "If I was, you wouldn't have noticed."
That made him raise an eyebrow. Cocky.
He tucked the book into his coat. "It doesn't matter. I found this place first."
"I'm not here to steal anything." She shrugged. "I'm just curious. Not many people wake a dormant spirit core and start glowing with forbidden energy in the middle of the slums."
Christian's heart skipped.
She saw that?
Kien stepped closer. "You're not like the others. I felt it the second I saw your spirit light."
Christian hesitated. "You're not freaked out?"
"I'm interested."
There was something in her voice—not pity, not awe. Genuine interest. That alone made Christian lower his guard, just a little.
He looked at her. "Why are you even talking to someone like me?"
Kien tilted her head. "Because I think you're going to change everything. And I want to be there when you do."
He didn't know how to respond to that.
No one had ever said something like that to him before.
They stood in silence for a moment, the shrine around them still and quiet.
Then Kien pulled something from her pocket. A slim data disc. "Here," she said. "This has the official cultivation rank guide and energy flow charts. If your core is evolving, you're going to need this."
Christian took it carefully. "Why are you helping me?"
She smiled again. "Because you look like someone who's been fighting alone for a long time. And that kind of person doesn't stay down forever."
Basic Cultivation Ranks(as per Kien's disc):
Spirit Initiate – The first stage. Cultivators awaken their Spirit Core and begin to sense spirit energy.
Core Learner – They learn to draw in and circulate energy through their meridians.
Soul Binder – A stage where one's spirit begins to affect their surroundings—binding power to emotions.
Element Shaper – Cultivators begin to manifest elemental abilities based on their affinity.
Domain Walker – Rare. They start to influence spirit space—creating spiritual "zones" only they can control.
Ascendant – Legends. Few ever reach this level. Reality bends around their will.
Each stage had three sub-levels:
• Early, Mid, and Peak.
Christian scrolled through the data with wide eyes. This world is deeper than I thought.
And now, with Kien at his side, maybe… just maybe…
He had a chance.