The pain was excruciating. It felt as if a thousand blades were piercing through his soul.
"Varian! Why?!"
A desperate roar echoed in the depths of a chaotic void. The memory was vivid—a golden palace floating above the clouds, the moment of his ascension, and the cold, sharp blade piercing his heart from behind. The face of his killer was calm, familiar, and terrifyingly cold. It was Varian, his best friend, the man he trusted more than anyone in the Ten Divine Realms.
"Valerius," Varian had whispered, his voice devoid of emotion, "The path to Godhood is narrow. It can only accommodate one person. You... are in my way."
Darkness swallowed him.
...
"Trash! You are nothing but a waste of the family's resources!"
"Get up! Stop pretending to be dead!"
A sharp pain in his ribs pulled Valerius back from the abyss. His eyes snapped open.
He wasn't in the Golden Palace. He wasn't surrounded by divine fire. Instead, he was lying on the cold, muddy ground of a small, damp courtyard. The sky above was grey and gloomy.
"Where... am I?" he muttered, his voice hoarse and weak.
He tried to move, but his body felt incredibly heavy. His limbs were frail, his chest ached, and there was the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.
"Look at him, he's actually speaking!" a mocking voice laughed from above.
Valerius—no, he realized with a jolt of shock as memories flooded his mind—Kaelen. That was his name now.
He was no longer the Supreme Emperor Valerius. He was Kaelen, the useless young master of the Silver-Iron Clan in Mist City. This body was sixteen years old, born with blocked meridians, unable to cultivate any energy. He was the laughingstock of the city, bullied by his own cousins and despised by the elders.
Standing over him were three young men wearing the uniform of the Silver-Iron Clan. The leader, a boy with a cruel sneer, was Jareth, his cousin.
"Kaelen, did you hear me?" Jareth kicked him again, his boot slamming into Kaelen's stomach. "The Family Assessment is in three days. If you don't hand over the Azure Pendant your father left you, I will make sure you enter the arena in a wheelchair!"
Pain shot through Kaelen's body, but something else ignited within him. It was a cold, burning rage.
'A mere ant... dares to kick this Emperor?'
Kaelen's eyes changed. The confusion and weakness vanished, replaced by a gaze so ancient and terrifying that the temperature in the courtyard seemed to drop. He looked up at Jareth.
"Take your foot off me," Kaelen said softly. His voice was quiet, but it carried an undeniable authority that made Jareth freeze for a split second.
"What did you say?" Jareth blinked, then his face flushed with anger. "You trash! You dare order me?"
He raised his foot to stomp on Kaelen's head.
'Seeking death!'
In his past life, a single thought from Valerius could shatter stars. Now, this body had zero energy. But Valerius was the master of all martial arts. He didn't need energy to deal with a clumsy, low-level bully.
As the foot came down, Kaelen moved. He didn't roll away; he twisted his body with precise timing. His hand, though weak, shot out like a viper and grabbed Jareth's ankle.
He didn't pull. He pressed his thumb into a specific nerve point on the ankle.
"Argh!"
Jareth screamed as his leg suddenly went numb. He lost his balance. Kaelen used the momentum to sweep his other leg across the mud, tripping Jareth completely.
Thud!
The arrogant cousin fell face-first into the mud.
The two lackeys behind him stood frozen, their mouths open in shock. The trash... fought back? And won?
Kaelen slowly pushed himself up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He stood shaky, his clothes torn and covered in mud, but his back was straight as a spear.
"You..." Jareth scrambled up, his face covered in dirt, his eyes wide with disbelief and humiliation. "You used a dirty trick! I will kill you!"
Jareth clenched his fist. A faint white light glowed around his hand—the sign of a Rank 3 Apprentice. He channeled his internal energy (Qi) to strike.
Kaelen narrowed his eyes. 'Rank 3 Apprentice? Weak. In my past life, a sneeze would have obliterated a million of him. But in this body... I cannot take a direct hit.'
"Stop!"
A stern, icy shout echoed from the entrance of the courtyard.
A girl in a white dress stepped in. She was beautiful, with cold eyes and an aura of elegance that didn't belong in this dirty yard. It was Elara, the adopted daughter of the Clan Leader, and technically, Kaelen's fiancée.
"Cousin Jareth," Elara said coldly. "Fighting within the family is forbidden. Do you want the Elders to know you are bullying a cripple?"
Jareth gritted his teeth. He glared at Kaelen, then at Elara. "He got lucky today. Elara, you won't be able to protect this waste forever. The Assessment is coming!"
He spat on the ground and stormed off, his lackeys following him.
Kaelen didn't look at them. He looked at his hands, clenching and unclenching them. 'Too weak. This body is trash. I need to cultivate immediately.'
"Are you alright?" Elara asked, her voice softening slightly, though her eyes remained distant. She didn't come closer to help him. "You should just give them the pendant, Kaelen. It's just an object. Your life is more important."
Kaelen looked at her. In his memories, this girl had always protected him, but out of pity, not respect.
"The pendant belongs to my father," Kaelen said calm. "I will not give it to anyone."
Elara sighed, shaking her head. "Stubborn. Suit yourself." She turned and left.
Left alone, Kaelen limped back into his small, broken-down room. He sat on the wooden bed and closed his eyes.
'Varian, you must think I am gone forever. You must be enjoying my throne, my resources, my glory. Wait for me. When I return to the Divine Realm, the sky will bleed.'
He took a deep breath and focused on his internal world. He needed to check why this body had blocked meridians.
As his consciousness dove into his dantian (energy center), he was stunned.
There, floating in the center of his empty, broken dantian, was a small, black object. It was a tiny, ancient cauldron with nine dragons carved around it.
Kaelen's heart pounded.
"The Void Cauldron?"
It was the supreme artifact he had found in the Forbidden Chaos Zone just before he died! It was said to hold the secrets of the Universe's origin. It had crossed time and space with him!
And inside the Cauldron, a golden text began to glow, floating into his mind.
[The Abyssal Dragon Scripture]
Use the body as a vessel, use the blood as fuel. Awaken the Nine Abyssal Dragons, and devour the Heavens.
Kaelen's eyes snapped open, a fierce grin spreading across his face.
"Blocked meridians? Cripple?" He laughed, a low, dangerous sound. "With the Void Cauldron and this Dragon Scripture, I will not just cultivate. I will devour everything in my path."
This was the beginning of the legend.