Chapter 3: Cultivation Method: Energy Introduction!

Words : 1862 Updated : Feb 5th, 2026

Atreus Lyson's head felt like it was splitting apart, as if someone had crammed a thousand foreign things into his skull. He clutched his temples and let out a ragged scream before the darkness swallowed him whole. When he woke again, he was lying in a hospital bed. He had been out for three days and three nights. Only after asking a nurse did Atreus learn what had happened. His landlord had found him, called 120, and an ambulance had brought him here. *What the hell happened to me?* He sat up, pressing a hand to his head, and realized his mind felt… crowded. Like it had been stuffed full of knowledge that hadn't been there before. Talismans. Pills. Forging. Medicine. And even the legendary cultivation methods of cultivators. It all sounded absurd, the kind of thing you'd laugh off as a cheap fantasy plot. If it hadn't happened to him, Atreus would never have believed cultivators actually existed in this world. *Was it because of that jade pendant?* To prove it wasn't a hallucination, he immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and followed the cultivation method that had appeared in his mind, carefully attempting to cultivate. The inheritance didn't just contain techniques. It also carried fragments of that immortal's personal insights, the kind that could save a beginner years of wrong turns. Maybe he really did have a rare gift. He hadn't been in meditation long before he sensed a thin wisp of airflow slipping into his body. It grew, thread by thread, until heat flared beneath his navel, like a small flame being fanned to life. After a long while, the burning sensation gradually faded. In its place came a comfort so profound he couldn't put it into words, as if every ounce of exhaustion had been scrubbed from his bones. *So this is Energy Introduction?* He barely had time to feel happy before a foul stench hit his nose. *What kind of sick bastard took a dump in my room?* Atreus' eyes flew open. He glanced around in alarm, then froze when he noticed his own skin felt sticky. The stink wasn't in the room. It was coming from him. "Ugh!" He gagged hard and bolted into the bathroom. He scrubbed for a full hour before he finally managed to wash the rancid odor off his body. When he accidentally caught his reflection, he stared. He looked… different. The pitted acne scars that had lingered from his teenage years were gone, his skin smooth and clean. His face had always been a little handsome, but it had jumped up an entire tier. And maybe it was his imagination, but his legs looked a touch longer. He had been about five-ten before. He looked closer to six feet tall. Atreus leaned toward the mirror, checking from every angle. *So I got lucky after all.* He had barely stepped out when a cold jolt ran through him. He had forgotten something. Three days unconscious. No leave. No notice. That meant work… *Crap!* He hurried to find his phone. The screen was cracked, probably from the fight that day. Still, it powered on. His wallpaper was a photo of him and Lola Lashbrook, both of them smiling so sweetly it made his stomach turn. "Lola Lashbrook!" Crack! Another piece of the screen spiderwebbed, and Atreus blinked, stunned by his own strength. *Damn…* Yeah. This phone was done for. "You're up? Get back in bed." A nurse pushed the door open, coming in to change his dressing. She caught a faint lingering odor and immediately opened the window to air the room out. Atreus snapped back to himself. Then it hit him. He had completed Energy Introduction. That meant he could use minor techniques. Perfect. He could test something on the nurse. A flicker of golden light flashed through his eyes. The wall in front of him seemed to turn transparent. His vision slid right through it, and he saw an elderly man in the next room, calmly picking at his toes. "Hey! What are you staring at?" The nurse noticed him zoning out at the wall behind her. She hadn't realized it before, but this man was… ridiculously good-looking. Atreus was still reeling when he came back to his senses. *I can see through walls… I can actually see through walls.* "Something on the wall looked dirty," he lied, cutting off the technique at once. He sat back down on the bed, obedient as could be. When the nurse removed the gauze from his face and body, she froze. Then she lifted a hand and lightly touched his cheek and chest, disbelief written all over her face. "Y-you… your injuries. How are they all healed?" She clearly remembered the cuts on his face yesterday, the bruises all over his body. But they were gone. Only Atreus understood. When he performed Energy Introduction, the spiritual energy had nourished his flesh, forcing his wounds to close at an unnatural speed. He couldn't stay in this hospital. If anyone realized what was happening, they'd haul him off and slice him up for research. "Guess I heal fast," he said, keeping his voice steady. "Uh, nurse, where are my clothes?" After he changed back into his own outfit, he planned to pay the hospital bill. That was when he learned the woman who had brought him in had already covered both the hospital fee and the medical expenses. She had left in a hurry afterward. Atreus checked his phone. There were several messages from Lola Lashbrook and more than a dozen missed calls. He called Drew Sowden first and explained what had happened. The moment she heard he'd been injured, she approved several days of leave and told him to rest. Atreus refused. He felt fine. And Lola's departure had finally jolted him awake. In this world, only money and strength mattered. Without money, without strength, you didn't even have the right to love someone. He needed to make money. A lot of money. Besides the calls from work, he also saw missed calls from Rhea Zimmerman. After a brief hesitation, he called back. Whatever else was true, Rhea was still a client. He couldn't afford to ignore her. "Rhea." Atreus didn't want to see her, not yet. But when he heard she was introducing him to a customer, he hesitated and agreed. He hated Rhea's son. He didn't need to hate money, too. Rhea's cheerful voice came through the phone. "Good. I'll send you the address this afternoon. Come find me." After he hung up, Atreus replayed everything that had happened, and something in him loosened. If he'd become a cultivator, he should practically be thanking Lola. If not for her, he might never have discovered the jade pendant's secret. The thought made his jaw tighten. A top student like him, throwing away the chance to go abroad for some stupid "love," then running off to sell insurance… He had been an idiot. He flagged down a cab and went back to his rented apartment first. His landlord was Winter Shirvinton, a beautiful divorced woman with money to burn. Several nearby buildings were all hers. In Drakorn, where every inch of land was worth a fortune, those buildings alone were valued at billions. Even living off rent would be enough for her to eat and drink well for the rest of her life. Atreus hadn't interacted with her much, so it genuinely surprised him that she had sent him to the hospital and even paid his medical expenses. Back at the rented apartment, Atreus took a shower and changed into clean, dry clothes. Only then did he head to Winter Shirvinton's place.

Chapter 3: Cultivation Method: Energy Introduction!

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