The mountain wind howled as the setting sun painted the sky crimson.

Meng Hao stood at the edge of the cliff, the bronze mirror in his hand reflecting his gaunt face.

Three imperial examinations. Three failures.

When he was forcibly taken to the Reliance Sect, he thought his life held no more hope. The cultivation world? That was the business of immortals—what did it have to do with a frail scholar?

But in the bronze mirror, he no longer saw his own reflection.

He saw a door.

A door leading to infinite possibilities.

Meng Hao closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his entire bearing had changed. He was no longer a failed scholar, but a cultivator about to embark on the path of sealing the heavens.

"From this day forward, I, Meng Hao, shall seal... this heaven."

--- *Chapter 11: Sometimes the greatest journeys begin not with a step forward, but with the courage to look in the mirror and see who you truly are.*