Chapter 1: The Glass Prince and the God of War
The pain was the first thing to wake him. It always was.
It started in the marrow of his bones—a deep, rhythmic grinding, as if his skeleton was trying to collapse under the weight of gravity. Then, it spread to his muscles, a burning fever that made his skin sensitive to even the touch of silk sheets.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was a digital fresco of the Milky Way, projected in high definition. A trillion stars, spinning in the void.
'Mocking me,' he thought. 'Even the ceiling has more energy than I do.'
He sat up, gritting his teeth against the vertigo. The digital clock on his nightstand read 05:00 AM.
Today was the day. The Global Awakening.
Jiang Chen was eighteen years old. He was the only son of Jiang Wu, the "God of War" of the Eastern Alliance, an SS-Rank powerhouse who could level a mountain range with a single punch. By all logic of genetics, Jiang Chen should have been a prodigy.
Instead, he was known as the "Glass Prince of Neo-Shanghai."
He slid off the bed, his legs trembling. He walked to the mirror, supporting his weight on the vanity counter. The face staring back was handsome, with sharp, aristocratic features and raven-black hair, but his skin was pallid, almost translucent.
"Status," he whispered out of habit.
Nothing happened. No blue screen. No system interface. Just the silence of a mortal body in a world of gods.
Knock. Knock.
"Young Master," the voice of Uncle Li, the head butler, came through the heavy mahogany door. "The Patriarch is waiting in the Ancestral Hall. The convoy leaves for the Awakening Plaza in thirty minutes."
"I'm coming," Jiang Chen rasped.
He dressed slowly. He chose a black combat suit reinforced with kinetic gel—not for fighting, but to act as a brace so he wouldn't collapse while walking. It was humiliating, but necessary.
As he walked through the corridors of the Jiang Estate, the servants bowed low, but he could feel their gazes. Pity. Disdain. Curiosity.
"That's him. The waste."
"If he awakens an F-Rank today, the Branch Families will eat him alive."
"Why does the Patriarch even bother?"
Jiang Chen kept his head high. His body might be trash, but his mind was sharp. He knew exactly where he stood. If he didn't awaken at least a B-Rank talent today, his father would have no choice but to exile him to the Outer Territories to manage a mining colony. It was a death sentence for someone with his health.
He reached the Ancestral Hall. The heavy doors, carved from the bones of a Deep Sea Leviathan, were already open.
At the far end, sitting on a simple wooden chair that somehow looked like a throne, was his father.
Jiang Wu. The SS-Rank Warlord. He didn't emit any aura, yet the air around him felt heavy, dense like mercury. He was reviewing a holographic map of the Monster Frontlines.
"Father," Jiang Chen bowed.
Jiang Wu swiped the map away and looked at his son. His eyes were cold, golden pools of light. There was no warmth in them, only calculation.
"How is the pain?" Jiang Wu asked.
"Manageable," Jiang Chen lied.
"The doctors say your skeletal density has decreased by another 2% this month," Jiang Wu said, his voice flat. "Your body is rejecting its own existence, Chen'er."
"I know."
"The Elders came to me last night," Jiang Wu continued, standing up. He towered over his son. "They demanded that I name your cousin, Jiang Lei, as the Heir Apparent if you fail today."
Jiang Chen clenched his fists. Jiang Lei. The A-Rank genius of the branch family who had spent the last five years trying to "accidentally" cripple Jiang Chen during sparring practice.
"And what did you say, Father?"
"I told them to wait until the sun sets," Jiang Wu walked past him toward the exit. "A dragon does not sire a dog. But if you turn out to be a dog, Jiang Chen... I will not let you lead the pack just because you carry my name. The Jiang Clan survives on strength. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Father."
"Good. Then let us go."
The Neo-Shanghai Awakening Plaza was a colossus of white marble and force-fields, built to hold a hundred thousand spectators. Today, it was overflowing.
Drones buzzed overhead, broadcasting the event to the entire world. Giant holographic screens displayed the faces of the top students.
The atmosphere was electric. Students were laughing, boasting, and showing off their pre-awakening stats.
Jiang Chen stood in the VIP line, separated from the commoners by a velvet rope. Even here, he was alone. The other scions of wealthy families gave him a wide berth, as if his weakness was contagious.
"Well, look who it is."
A shadow fell over him. Jiang Chen sighed. He didn't need to look up to know who it was.
Luo Tian. Heir to the Luo Clan.
"You're wearing kinetic armor just to stand up?" Luo Tian laughed, a sharp, barking sound. "Jiang Chen, do yourself a favor. Forfeit. Go home. If the System scans you and finds nothing, you'll be the laughing stock of the century."
"Worry about yourself, Luo Tian," Jiang Chen said calmly. "I heard your mana affinity is unstable. It would be a shame if you exploded on stage."
Luo Tian's face darkened. He grabbed Jiang Chen's shoulder. His grip was like a vice. "You sharp-tongued cripple. After I awaken an A-Rank, I'm going to challenge you to a duel. And I'm going to break every bone in your—"
"CANDIDATE 001: LUO TIAN!" The announcer's voice boomed, shaking the stadium.
Luo Tian shoved Jiang Chen away, sneering. "Watch closely, trash. This is what a real genius looks like."
Luo Tian strode onto the central platform. He placed his hand on the Awakening Monolith—a towering obelisk of black obsidian.
HUMMM.
A beam of blue light shot into the sky. Wind gathered around Luo Tian, forming a visible tornado.
[Name: Luo Tian]
[Rank: A]
[Class: Storm Lancer]
The crowd roared. An A-Rank! It was a one-in-a-million talent. Luo Tian raised his arms, soaking in the glory, electricity crackling around his fingertips. He looked back at the waiting line and pointed a finger at Jiang Chen, mouthing the word: Dead.
"Next Candidate," the announcer called out, though his voice lacked the same enthusiasm. "Jiang Chen."
The stadium went silent.
Up in the highest VIP box, the camera zoomed in on Jiang Wu, the God of War. He leaned forward, his face unreadable.
Jiang Chen walked up the stairs. Every step was a battle. His lungs burned. His legs screamed. But he kept his face impassive. He walked to the Monolith.
'This is it,' he thought. 'Life or death.'
He placed his pale hand on the cold black stone.
Silence.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Usually, the light appeared instantly. But for Jiang Chen, the stone remained dark.
Murmurs broke out in the crowd.
"Nothing?"
"Is he a dud?"
"He doesn't even have an F-Rank capability?"
The referee frowned and stepped forward. "Student Jiang, please try again. Press harder."
Jiang Chen pushed his hand against the stone, desperation rising in his throat. 'Please. Anything. Give me an F-Rank. Just let me be a cultivator.'
Suddenly, the Monolith flickered. A dull, pathetic grey light sputtered out.
[Name: Jiang Chen]
[Rank: C]
[Class: None]
The crowd erupted into laughter. It was a cruel, booming sound. C-Rank. The average for a civilian. For the son of a God, it was worse than failure—it was a joke.
Jiang Chen felt his heart stop. He looked up at the VIP box. His father had already stood up and turned his back, walking away from the glass.
It was over.
"Please exit the stage," the referee said, shaking his head.
Jiang Chen pulled his hand back. His vision blurred. The pain in his body, which he had been suppressing all morning, suddenly spiked a thousand times over. It felt like a star was expanding inside his chest.
He stumbled, falling to his knees.
"Look! He's fainting from the shame!" someone shouted from the crowd.
But Jiang Chen couldn't hear them. A high-pitched screeching sound was tearing through his mind.
[CRITICAL ERROR.]
He blinked. The text wasn't on the Monolith. It was in his eyes. And it wasn't blue... it was Gold.
[Universal System Interface Overridden.]
[Detected Host Physiology: GRANDMIST SOVEREIGN BODY (Dormant).]
[Warning: Host body is collapsing. Energy overflow.]
[Initiating Emergency Protocol: The Primordial Menagerie.]
'What?' Jiang Chen gasped, clutching his chest.
[Searching for stabilizing anchors...]
[Anchor 1 Found: The End of Time (Entropy).]
[Anchor 2 Found: The Origin of Time (Creation).]
BOOM!
The sky above the stadium didn't just darken—it shattered.
A massive tear in reality opened directly above Jiang Chen. The laughter in the stadium died instantly as a pressure—ancient, terrifying, and infinite—slammed fifty thousand people flat against the ground.
From the void, two eyes opened. One was blacker than the abyss. The other burned like a supernova.
[System Integration Complete.]
[Summoning: The Alpha and The Omega.]
Jiang Chen looked up, blood trickling from his nose, as the world around him began to tremble.
The "Cripple" was gone. The Sovereign had arrived.