At the foot of the Fujian Mountains, in the Hun clan territory, Su Han, dressed in plain, worn-out clothes, stood in a daze.
He touched his face, and it seemed somewhat tender for his age, before he reacted.
"How am I still alive? Am I in some dream, or is this the afterlife?" He was confused as he looked around, his expression strange.
All those around were about 13 to 14 years of age.
"Everyone, this is your last awakening ceremony. If you fail to awaken the Hun clan bloodline, then the clan can only send you down the mountain to fend for yourself."
The elder's voice was so loud that everyone in the square could hear it.
Su Han, on the other hand, looked up his face wore a strange expression.
'Is this a den of demons!' He complained inwardly, feeling apprehensive rather than excited.
Su Han was in his late forties and had risen through the ranks in the banking industry.
Working through the corporate ladder until he was overwhelmed by happiness as he was about to become one of the shareholders of the largest bank on the continent.
This was already enough to show how valued he was, but his health seemed to disagree with his plans.
He had his own goals after becoming part of ownership, but they were gone, and he had become a little boy.
Hearing the mention of the Hun clan bloodline and demonic-like clouds above his head, tears rolled down his face.
It was one thing that his wish in the previous life had gone unfulfilled, but now he had come to a strange world that talked about bloodlines.
He could see strange expressions on the faces of those around him, which meant their mental state was already unstable.
'Indeed, people from the same clan!' He complained secretly.
He had not gained any memories from the body he had taken over, leaving him somewhat out of sync with this world.
Even though this was the case, he at least understood one thing.
Unlike his previous world, this world's order was based on personal strength.
Those aged between twelve and fifteen had the chance to awaken bloodlines and embark on the path of martial arts.
For anything to prosper in this world, it must be backed by stronger martial artists.
The weak have no right to be creative or rich. This kind of situation also means that even someone like Su Han, who is obsessed with banking, can't rise in this world.
Standing in the midst of the crowds, Su Han felt anxious just as he had back then as a young man awaiting entrance exams.
The only difference was that this time, it was martial arts training qualifications.
Under the anxious gazes of the crowd, the elder picked up a bamboo slip and began calling out names.
Under Su Han's observation, twenty names were called out, each approaching the elder.
"You! Step forward!" The elder pointed towards the woman in the middle of the group.
She was nervous as she moved, almost tripping, but the elder's cold gaze made her obedient.
Even as the woman embarrassed herself, no one dared to laugh at her.
"It's not your first time here! Quickly place your arm on the martial stele!" The elder seemed impatient and ordered.
The young woman's trembling hand touched the massive stele about three meters high, rising from the ground.
No reaction was observed from it.
"Trash!" The elder's voice resounded all around, and the woman's face paled even more at this.
Everyone who heard the word trash from the elder felt their hearts sink.
She stumbled, almost collapsing, but forced herself to walk away.
"Next!"
The elder's cold voice reached the remaining nineteen individuals, making them tense.
'It seems that our backgrounds in this clan are not right! Don't tell me we are cannon fodder gathered from the outside!' He was observing all that was happening and had become wary of this clan.
A young man walked forward from the remaining nineteen.
Placing his hands on the stele, Su Han felt it hum.
A strange resonance seemed to stem from all gathered, and then the stele lit up slightly.
On the forehead of the young man, a purple flower mark took form, but its petals seemed pale.
"Average Bloodline awakening! Stand on my left!" The elder's voice was not harsh, but it was still dismissive.
The young man was not unhappy about the elder's dismissiveness; rather, a rare grin appeared on his face.
Even though the elder was dismissive, those who were gathered to awaken their bloodline were not.
It was rare to awaken; even the poorest bloodline was acceptable in their case.
The silence was gone, and discussions erupted.
"How is this possible? Isn't Lu Ren supposed to be among the oldest in this group? How did he successfully awaken his bloodline?"
"Is this guy just lucky or something?"
"Perhaps he is indeed lucky being the second person to test his results!"
"Damn!"
"How dare he steal my chance?"
"To think even old people at the age of 15, almost approaching 16, can also awaken bloodline."
"Hehe! Keep dreaming."
"Tell me about it. They actually think he is lucky."
"What? You don't like what we said? What can you do about it?"
While everyone was envious and gossiping, others were even trying to expose all the dirty secrets about Lu Ren out of jealousy, Su Han was thinking about his fate.
The moment the discussions began, there was clearly new hope in the minds of those standing in this place.
But things clearly took a wrong turn.
The next person to test their bloodline received the same treatment as the first girl.
No reaction from the stele, and the cold voice drowned everyone.
"Trash!"
Upon hearing these familiar words, everyone shut up instantly.
It was as though their hearts were being gripped by a giant hand.
It wasn't over.
"Trash!"
"Trash!"
"Trash!"
It was almost becoming the only word left in everyone's mind.
All the remaining students who went out to test gave the same trash results, and this made everyone cold all over.
Twenty had barely managed to acquire an average bloodline.
Everyone's gloomy looks matched this environment perfectly.
Su Han couldn't help but think this.
The awakening of the bloodline was significant, as the Hun clan did not allow those without their bloodline into the family genealogy.
No one was crying, despite their failure; only fear was visible on their faces, and this completely affirmed his belief that this place was a den of demons.
Su Han finally heard his name being called.
He walked forward!
Among the twenty people, he was flustered too. But aside from his outward appearance, his eyes were very calm.
"You!" The elder pointed at him, and he had no choice but to walk towards the stele.
Placing his hand on the stele, he felt a warm force envelop him, then dissipate.
The results brought him back to reality.
"Trash!"
The word seemed to be liked by this elder.
He walked off towards the other trash.
Looking at them, each was pale, as if they wanted to ask for a second chance to awaken their bloodline again.
'It seems that our ending is not going to be good!' He thought to himself as he looked around.
He watched calmly as a few received praise, most got average results, and some joined him among the trash of the Hun clan.
Even so, he felt the way 'trash' was shaking was not normal.
While he was in a daze, he felt a hand tapping him on the shoulder.
"Follow me! Someone wants to see you!" A cold male voice sounded beside him.
Turning his head, saw a man dressed in black.
"What are you just standing there!" When he was lost in thought, wondering who wanted to see him, the cold voice got hostile.
Walking over, he saw the person who had called him.
It was an arrogant-looking woman.
He remained silent, waiting to hear what she wanted to say.
"Why? You have decided to leave the clan and no longer plan to recognize me as an older sister?" The woman asked in a chilling voice.
'Huh!' It was now Su Han's turn to have a shocked expression, but he hid it well that even Luo Li failed to see it.
'Turns out this woman is my elder sister? What is going on here? Is she going here? Don't tell me she wants to comfort me,' he thought silently.
"Trash is indeed trash. Even if there are awakening ceremonies, you can't make waves. Go to the cold mine obediently, and perhaps after you have repaid the Hun clan enough for their nurturing, you can be allowed to buy back your freedom." She stated this without even a change in expression.
'What elder sister! This is clearly a devil! What a Hun clan. My future is definitely not in this demonic den!' he silently cursed her.
He then seemed to have remembered just what she said.
'Cold mines? What cold mines? Is this the fate of us who failed to awaken?' he thought secretly but didn't dare ask.
He didn't even seem to remember her name, yet she was concerned about him using her name!
She looked down on him and said, "Don't expect me to help you out. You can't use my name to cause trouble in the mine."
Luo Li spoke coldly to the 'trash' before her. She did not hide her disdain in the slighest.
'The situation of this world is definitely not good. Survival in itself shouldn't be easy outside the Hun clan, but I have to find a way to escape this place anyway.' Su Han had this thought from just the conversation with this 'witch' before him.