“Quincy Dungsworth, hahaha! Just like your name, you really are TRASH!” sneered a boy named Blake Morrow, stressing the word trash. He kicked a pile of cat dung straight toward Quincy.The skinny, ragged boy crouched down, shielding his head. Dirt and dust from the filth rained all over his body.Quincy’s strange name had an unusual origin. Years ago, a hunter named Ezekiel Jhu discovered a baby crying atop a heap of rotting leaves. In the infant’s tiny hand was a lump of cat dung.Then, out of nowhere, the baby’s hand glowed—and the dung vanished. Ezekiel thought the child had absorbed it. So he named him Quincy Dungsworth, the “Filthy Brat.”Before Ezekiel was killed by a wild beast on a hunt, he had managed to enroll the abandoned child into the Ironhart Institute, an elite academy for cultivation.At first, Quincy wasn’t qualified. The examiner declared his body empty—no inner energy, no sign of a Spiritual Core, even though he was nearly nine years old. By that age, human childre

The morning sun crept into the courtyard. Quincy Dungsworth stirred awake, only to see the very girl he had wept for last night bouncing beside him.“Quin-Ge! Quin-Ge!” Lila Liet shouted, shaking his shoulders with all her might.“Lila?” Quincy rubbed his eyes a few times before sitting up.It was strange. Just last night, Lila had been covered in blood and torn apart by wounds, on the verge of death. Yet now, in the span of one night, she looked perfectly fine—completely healed, without the faintest scar.“Quin-Ge, why are we sleeping in the courtyard? I thought the tiger had eaten me alive last night! Did you save me?” she asked with her usual chattiness.“I… I don’t know,” Quincy admitted. “I thought you were dying. But when I held you, my body suddenly felt weak—like you drained away all my energy. Then I blacked out.”“Me? I drained your energy? No way!”“I don’t understand it either,” Quincy smiled faintly. “But I’m just glad you’re back to your noisy self.”Lila beamed, her dim

“Oh, forgive me, Young Master. I truly didn’t know,” said Gavin Wang, the librarian, bowing slightly. “But this is only the beginner’s level. Anyone is free to borrow and study these books—even if they are at the lowest realm of cultivation.”“Oh, Uncle Gu is right. This is only the beginner’s section.” Calder Flint crouched in front of Quincy Dungsworth, his eyes sharp with intimidation. He grabbed Quincy’s jaw with crushing force. “So, you got lucky surviving the burning trash heap. But don’t ever think you’ll amount to anything. Even if you memorize every book in this library, without spiritual power… you’re still just TRASH!”He shoved Quincy away and walked off, followed by his laughing cronies.Quincy remained buried under a pile of fallen books.Gavin Wang frowned. He knew the boy everyone called “Filthy Brat.” But to him, the library was sacred. Knowledge was for everyone. Even trash could stumble upon a miracle through learning. That was why the Headmaster had once chosen him

“Follow me! Follow me!” squawked Cresty, the yellow-crested parrot. With its beak, it tugged at something inside a hole in the earthen wall. Suddenly, the wall rumbled and slid open, revealing a hidden passage.Neil Li’s eyes widened. How could a parrot know there was a hidden way here? He suspected Cresty had once been trained by someone—perhaps by whoever built this old hut and designed its underground prison.As Quincy and Cresty slipped into the tunnel, the entrance sealed itself behind them. Moments later, Benedict Kong stormed into the chamber where Neil was chained.“Who destroyed the barrier?” Benedict snarled, his sharp gaze drilling into Neil’s eyes. “How are you still alive in this place?”“Heh! Fortune still favors me. If you truly wanted me dead, why not kill me outright?” Neil smirked faintly despite his broken body.Benedict laughed cruelly. “Why kill you, when I can savor your suffering? Your agony is my delight! Perhaps I’ve been too merciful. Maybe it’s time I tighte

“What are you staring at!” snapped Lila Liet, glaring fiercely. She was already upset from not finding Quincy, and now these annoying students only fueled her anger.The group from Class 1A circled her like predators. At their center was Cynthia Kong, the beautiful young heiress of the prestigious Kong family, one of the noble lineages of the Fire Clan. She was the most gifted girl in Class 1 and admired by everyone. All the students of 1A bowed to her whims, eager for her favor.Cynthia grabbed Lila’s collar, lifting the smaller girl off the ground. “How dare you snap at me? Have you grown tired of living?”Lila’s teeth clenched. “Let me go!”“I will… if you kiss my feet,” Cynthia sneered.“Pah! Never!” Lila spat in her face.“You—!” Rage twisted Cynthia’s expression. She flung Lila to the ground, the child’s small body striking gravel painfully. Wiping the spit from her cheek with disgust, Cynthia’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Such nerve you have.”She crouched, pinching Lila’s