Heavenly Prodigy Breaks Off the Engagement, I Extract Entries for Cultivation

Shen Han transmigrated into the Shen Family Marquis Manor and spent a year as the unfavored Fifth Young Master, the direct grandson of Marquis Shen yet treated worse than servants. He performed hard labor like repairing rooftops, ate only steamed buns in the kitchen, and endured open mockery from maids and manservants who felt pity or schadenfreude. One day, he overheard maidservant Cai Yan announce that the imperial family had decreed a marriage between him and Su Jinyu, the youngest daughter of the Su family. Su Jinyu was renowned for her stunning beauty and unparalleled talent in the Sword Dao, having recently become a disciple of a Sword Immortal on Little Remote Peak. She was already deeply in love with Shen Ye, the Shen family’s eldest young master and a perfect match. The imperial decree was clearly a scheme to create conflict between the two powerful households. Both the Shen and Su families immediately began plotting to cancel the engagement. Shen Han, knowing his precarious position, said nothing and returned to his humble small house.

In his room, Shen Han studied the Mountain River Body Refining Technique, a notoriously obscure cultivation manual he had struggled with for over half a year. As he concentrated, he saw a grey tag on the book: “Obscure and Difficult to Understand Tome.” The tag trembled, detached, and entered his sea of consciousness. Instantly, the text became coherent. He realized his unique ability: he could perceive and extract descriptive attributes from items, then apply them to other objects. Testing this, he extracted the “Obscure and Difficult to Understand” term and placed it on a short rod, which turned into an inexplicable shape with a hole and a raised branch. The term was consumed after one use. Seeking a positive attribute, he found a children’s primer titled “Enlightenment” that bore a purple tag “Simple and Easy to Learn.” After expending much spiritual power, he extracted this term and applied it to the Mountain River Body Refining Technique. Now the manual became effortlessly understandable. He sat cross-legged and began cultivating, feeling his body and spirit improve within half an incense stick. His arms gained strength, his mind cleared, and his vision and hearing sharpened significantly.

Over the next few days, Shen Han focused entirely on cultivation, eating only dry flatbreads to avoid the hostile kitchen. He no longer reported for manual labor; the manor left him alone. The technique built a solid foundation, strengthening his physique and spiritual power. He could now clearly see a figure spying on him from behind a distant banyan tree, something impossible before. His appetite increased dramatically. Madam Yun, his stepmother, came to visit him, bringing dishes and silver. She was the only one in the manor who treated him kindly, often suffering scoldings and deductions for her support. She expressed joy about the imperial marriage, believing it would improve his situation. But Shen Han knew the reality: Su Jinyu and her family, as well as the Shen family, would resort to any means to break the engagement. He understood he could not rely on the marriage to save him. He must use his ability to change his own fate.

With Madam Yun’s four taels of silver, Shen Han headed to the academy in the East Market to acquire more cultivation techniques. He had confirmed that his ability could extract beneficial terms from any object and apply them to both texts and tools. By applying “Simple and Easy to Learn” to any profound manual, he could master any method. The Mountain River Body Refining Technique had already transformed his body, and with more techniques, he could grow even stronger. He no longer wished to live in fear and poverty, subject to the whims of the manor. His ultimate goal was freedom and a life of dignity, free from the oppression of the Shen family and the dangerous entanglements of the imperial court. Armed with his unique power, he began his journey to break the shackles of his fate and carve his own path in the world of cultivation.