Liu Wei stared at his trembling hands, watching the faint copper lines that traced his veins pulse with each labored breath. Seventeen years of life, and this was the first time he''d seen the mysterious meridians that masters spoke of in their teachings. But something was wrong – terribly wrong.


    "Your meridians... they''re copper," Master Chen whispered, his usually stern face betraying a hint of concern. "In all my years of testing young cultivators, I''ve never seen this."


    The evaluation hall fell silent. Hundreds of young hopefuls watched from their seats, their own meridian tests forgotten as they gaped at Liu Wei''s unusual condition. Normal cultivators manifested golden or silver meridians during their awakening. Even the rare jade meridians appeared once every few generations. But copper? It was unheard of.


    "Does this mean I failed?" Liu Wei asked, his voice barely a whisper. The annual Testing Ceremony at Sky Pearl Academy was his only chance at entering the cultivation world. Without it, he''d return to sweeping streets in the Lower Ring of Yanjing City, just like his father before him.


    Master Chen stroked his beard, the rings on his fingers clicking against each other – a nervous habit Liu Wei had noticed during his months of preparation for this day. "Failed? No. But this is... unprecedented."


    The old master reached out and grabbed Liu Wei''s wrist. A surge of energy coursed through Liu Wei''s body, making the copper lines glow brighter. Instead of the usual warm sensation cultivators described during meridian resonance, Liu Wei felt a cold, almost metallic taste in his mouth.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Fascinating," Master Chen muttered. "Your qi flow is reversed. It doesn''t circulate like normal cultivation energy. Instead, it... absorbs?"


    Liu Wei''s heart sank. Being different in the cultivation world usually meant being worthless. He''d seen enough street performers claiming to have "unique" cultivation methods, all of them ending up as nothing more than charlatans and beggars.


    But before he could resign himself to failure, something extraordinary happened. The wooden evaluation table beneath his hands began to darken, as if aging decades in seconds. The copper lines in his arms pulsed brighter, and he felt a sudden rush of... something. Not qi, not exactly, but a form of energy he couldn''t describe.


    Master Chen''s eyes widened. "The table – you''re absorbing its essence. The very fundamental energy that gives it form and substance." He released Liu Wei''s wrist and took a step back, reassessing the boy before him. "This isn''t a defect. This is something else entirely."


    Liu Wei looked up, hope flickering in his chest. "Then I can still become a cultivator?"


    The old master''s lips curved into an enigmatic smile. "A cultivator? Perhaps not in the traditional sense. But what you have... it might be something far more interesting." He turned to address the silent crowd. "The Testing Ceremony is suspended for today. Young Liu Wei, come with me. We have much to discuss about your copper meridians – and what they might mean for your future."


    As Liu Wei followed Master Chen out of the evaluation hall, whispers erupted behind him. He caught fragments of conversation: "copper cultivator," "essence absorption," "ancient texts." But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was that he had a chance – a different path, perhaps, but a path nonetheless.


    What he didn''t know was that his copper meridians were about to shake the very foundations of cultivation society, and that the power to absorb essence was just the beginning of his strange and dangerous journey.