A hundred thousand years had passed since Lin Xuan first stepped onto the path of cultivation.
Once an insignificant mortal with a talent so rare it only appeared once in a hundred years, he had defied every known law of existence. From the ashes of mediocrity, he rose at a speed that shattered the understanding of even ancient sages. Within merely ten thousand years, he had broken through the boundaries of mortality and ascended to the rank of Immortal Emperor, standing at the pinnacle of the Celestial Domain.
Yet power, once absolute, never came without consequence.
For Lin Xuan was not a savior.
He was a catastrophe that learned how to think.
Across his long and blood-stained journey, countless sects were reduced to ruins. Entire clans vanished overnight. Even innocent cultivators who merely stood in his path were erased without hesitation. Some said he pursued strength. Others claimed he had long abandoned humanity itself, becoming something closer to a walking calamity than a man.
Now, in the present era, his name was no longer spoken with awe.
It was spoken with fear.
And hatred.
⚔️ The Celestial Domain Turns Against Him
The heavens themselves seemed to tremble as the greatest hunting order in history was declared.
Hundreds of thousands of cultivators gathered across the shattered skies of the Celestial Domain. Sword lights illuminated the heavens like countless falling stars, each one carrying the intent to kill. Ancient formations that had not been activated for millions of years were forcibly awakened. Entire mountain sects burned their spiritual foundations just to fuel the war against one man.
"Lin Xuan must die!"
This decree echoed across every sacred land.
From the Eastern Azure Sect, billions of sword intents rose like a storm of divine judgment. From the Western Void Temple, monks chanted forbidden scriptures that could suppress even Immortal Emperors. From the Northern Abyss Clan, beast cultivators transformed into primordial war forms, their bodies merging with ancient demonic bloodlines.
Even those who once feared conflict now stepped forward.
Because Lin Xuan had become too dangerous to ignore.
If he were allowed to break through once more—if he were to ascend beyond the Immortal Emperor realm—then the entire Celestial Domain might cease to exist as they knew it.
🔥 The Three Supreme Beings Join the Hunt
And then… they arrived.
The sky cracked open as three supreme existences descended from the deepest layers of the Celestial Domain, beings who had not shown themselves for eras beyond memory.
Their presence alone caused reality to distort.
Space folded.
Time trembled.
Even the laws of cultivation bent slightly in reverence and fear.
The Three Great Celestial Sovereigns had entered the battlefield.
"His arrogance has reached the point of no return," one of them spoke, his voice echoing like thunder from ancient heavens. "If he breaks through again… none of us will survive his ambition."
Another closed his eyes, his expression grave. "He does not seek balance. He seeks dominion. Every realm he touches becomes a graveyard of ambition."
The third remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking.
"…He must be erased before he transcends us all."
🌑 The Lone Figure in the Ruined Sky
At the center of the battlefield stood a single figure.
Lin Xuan.
Black robes fluttered gently in the chaotic winds of the Celestial Domain. Around him, space fractured endlessly as thousands of killing intents locked onto his existence. Yet his expression remained calm—almost detached, as though the entire world war unfolding before him was nothing more than a passing illusion.
Behind him, the echoes of countless broken worlds lingered.
In front of him, the greatest army in history prepared to erase him from existence.
And yet…
Lin Xuan slowly raised his gaze toward the collapsing heavens.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Not fear.
Not regret.
But something far more terrifying.
Expectation.
"So… all of you have finally come together."
His voice was soft, yet it silenced even the roaring heavens for a brief moment.
"Good."
A thin crack of pressure spread outward from his body.
The sky had already lost its color.
Only destruction remained.
A vast black mist surged across the broken heavens—condensing into countless sword intents that twisted reality itself. Each strand of darkness carried a killing will so dense it seemed to devour even light.
And within that storm stood Lin Xuan.
Across from him, the entire Celestial Coalition had gathered.
Hundreds of thousands of cultivators filled the void.
Sword emperors. Sect masters. Ancient ancestors who had not stepped into the world for eras beyond memory.
All of them were here.
All of them wanted him dead.
"Lin Xuan… this is the end. There is no escape left for you."
"Beg? There is no place for mercy in this domain!"
"Kill him!"
Roars echoed through the shattered sky as countless techniques ignited at once. Divine seals, immortal swords, heavenly flames, and void-collapsing formations converged toward a single point.
Lin Xuan stood alone.
Yet he did not retreat.
Instead, he laughed.
"HAHAHAHA!"
His voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"You lowly lives… do you truly believe this will be the end?"
Black mist coiled around him, forming a sword intent darker than night itself.
"If I reach the True God realm, even ants like you will no longer be worthy of my attention!"
His eyes burned with madness and arrogance.
"What a shame… you were born too late to witness my ascent!"
A deafening explosion followed.
Skill collided against skill.
Heaven collapsed against heaven.
Space shattered into fragments as hundreds of thousands of attacks erupted simultaneously.
The Celestial Domain trembled.
And then—
silence.
When the dust settled, there was only one truth left.
Lin Xuan was still alone.
But his body… was gone.
His immortal physique, refined over countless years, had been completely destroyed. Flesh turned to ash. Bones reduced to scattered light. Even his divine meridians were erased from existence.
Only a single fragment remained.
His soul.
Pure.
Fragile.
And desperate.
With the last trace of will, it escaped the battlefield—tearing through the cracks of space and falling downward, away from the Celestial Domain.
Into the Lower Realm.
Cold.
Pain.
Confusion.
When Lin Xuan opened his eyes again, the world felt foreign.
His body was broken, barely clinging to life.
He lay beneath a tree in a forgotten place, blood pooling around him.
"Where… am I?"
His voice was weak.
"Damn… my body is a mess…"
Then memories began to surface.
Not his.
The body's original memories.
A boy with the same name—Lin Xuan.
A weak mortal who had fallen from a tree… and died.
He stared at the sky and suddenly laughed.
"Ha… hahaha…"
"So in the end… even I was killed."
A bitter smile formed on his lips.
"I cultivated for thousands… no… tens of thousands of years… and still perished."
His gaze dimmed.
"I thought talent alone could let me stand above the heavens."
A pause.
"…I was wrong."
The laughter faded.
Only silence remained.
He finally understood.
Strength alone was not enough to rule the heavens.
Arrogance had blinded him.
Blind pursuit of power had destroyed everything.
"Maybe… being smart is also a form of strength."
His fingers tightened slightly.
"Should I take revenge?"
Then he stopped.
"…No."
A long silence followed.
"It is my fault everything ended like this."
For the first time, Lin Xuan exhaled not as an emperor…
But as a broken man.
A faint resolve formed in his heart.
"In this life…"
"I will live low-key."
No more arrogance.
No more blind slaughter.
Only survival.
And perhaps…
a chance to become something different
A few days had passed since Lin Xuan awakened in this new life.
Slowly, he began to adapt.
This body… was not born in misery.
Unlike his previous life, where he had been an orphan discarded by fate, this Lin Xuan belonged to a family.
A real family.
He had four siblings—and he was the fourth child.
A twelve-year-old boy who had died after falling from a tree.
Lin Xuan sat quietly beneath the wooden house, his thoughts deep and distant.
"So this is what a family feels like…"
It was unfamiliar.
Warm.
Fragile.
Almost… unnecessary.
Yet strangely, he did not reject it.
He exhaled softly.
"I did not have this in my previous life."
In his past existence, there was only slaughter and ambition. He had been taken in by a demon cultivator, trained in cruelty, raised in survival, and forged into an Immortal Emperor through endless killing.
He had climbed the heavens alone.
No family.
No attachments.
Only power.
A faint sigh escaped his lips.
"This body is not bad… let's start cultivating."
However, his condition was still weak. The meridians of this mortal body had not yet awakened. Even basic circulation of spiritual energy was difficult.
So he chose patience.
"I must first gather Qi."
A faint glint appeared in his eyes.
From the depths of his soul, a technique resurfaced—one he had created in his previous life after countless tribulations.
Divine Breathing Dominion
A supreme breathing method that absorbed surrounding spiritual energy at an unnatural speed, refining it directly into the body with near-perfect efficiency.
For the next few months, Lin Xuan did nothing extraordinary.
To outsiders, he was simply recovering from his fall.
Resting.
Sleeping often.
Quiet.
No one disturbed him.
Not even his family.
But in truth…
Every breath he took drew threads of Qi from the surrounding world like invisible rivers flowing into his body.
Slowly.
Silently.
Relentlessly.
One afternoon, as sunlight filtered through the wooden beams of the house, Lin Xuan sat with his eyes closed.
His breathing was steady.
Controlled.
Perfect.
Then—
he sensed it.
Footsteps.
Soft. Familiar.
He immediately suppressed his aura and shifted slightly, pretending to still be asleep.
The door creaked open.
"Xuan… are you okay?"
A gentle voice entered the room.
It was warm.
Familiar.
Lin Xuan's eyes remained closed, but his mind stirred.
"That voice…"
"Mother?"
A woman stepped closer, her expression filled with concern as she looked at the frail boy lying on the bed.
She gently placed a hand on his forehead.
"You've been resting for many days… I was worried."
A pause followed.
Then her tone shifted slightly, hesitation creeping in.
"There is something… I need to tell you."
Lin Xuan did not move.
But he listened carefully.
"The Lin Patriarch… has made a decision."
Her voice lowered.
"He intends to use you for a political marriage."
A silence followed.
Only the wind outside the window could be heard.
Lin Xuan's thoughts slowed.
Marriage.
Politics.
Control.
He almost smiled.
"Even in this life… power struggles exist."
But then something unfamiliar stirred within him.
Not anger.
Not ambition.
But… curiosity.
"So this is what a normal life also brings."
He remained silent, continuing to pretend he was asleep.
His mother sighed softly.
"I know this is sudden… but the family cannot refuse the Patriarch."
She gently adjusted his blanket.
"Rest well, Xuan."
And then she left.
The door closed.
Silence returned.
Lin Xuan slowly opened his eyes.
The faint light of the room reflected in them.
And for the first time in both lives…
he did not immediately think of killing.
Instead, he thought:
"If I want to live low-key… I must first understand this world properly."
A faint breath escaped his lips.
The Divine Breathing Dominion activated once more.
And the path of a different Lin Xuan quietly began.