Time was the most merciless force in existence.
It cared nothing for strength, status, talent, or ambition.
Empires rose and fell beneath it. Ancient sects vanished into ruins. Legends became forgotten names, and entire generations disappeared without leaving a trace.
One year became ten.
Ten became a hundred.
A hundred became a thousand.
A thousand years passed.
The world moved on.
It did not wait for anyone.
Not even Jian Chen.
A thousand years ago, Jian Chen had been the greatest genius the Jian Clan had produced in countless generations.
Before entering the Heavenfall Secret Realm, his name had resounded throughout the Divine Realm.
He possessed extraordinary talent, a terrifying comprehension of the sword, and a future that seemed almost limitless.
Many believed he would one day stand at the pinnacle of the Divine Realm.
Some even believed he had a chance of reaching the legendary Emperor Realm.
He had everything a cultivator could desire.
Talent.
Strength.
Status.
A future bright enough to illuminate an entire generation.
Then he entered the Heavenfall Secret Realm.
And never returned.
When the Secret Realm closed, the surviving geniuses emerged one after another.
The Jian Clan waited at the entrance.
Every figure who appeared brought a moment of hope.
But Jian Chen never came.
One day passed.
Then another.
Hope became unease.
Unease became dread.
And when the entrance to the Heavenfall Secret Realm finally vanished, the Jian Clan understood.
Jian Chen was gone.
The news shook the Divine Realm.
The Jian Clan launched an investigation.
Every disciple who had entered the Secret Realm was questioned. Every encounter surrounding Jian Chen's disappearance was examined. Every possible clue was pursued.
Eventually, suspicion fell upon the Lin Clan.
There was one reason above all others.
Lin Xue'er had entered the Secret Realm with Jian Chen.
His childhood sweetheart.
His fiancée.
The woman both clans had expected to become his wife.
Yet Jian Chen disappeared.
Lin Xue'er returned.
She claimed they had separated while searching for opportunities inside the Secret Realm and that she had never seen him afterward.
Long Tian, the Crown Prince of the Great Eternal Divine Dynasty, supported her testimony.
He denied ever encountering Jian Chen.
There were no witnesses.
No evidence.
No body.
The Jian Clan had suspicion, but suspicion was not proof.
They could not risk declaring war on two powerful forces without evidence.
So the truth remained buried.
The alliance between the Jian and Lin Clans gradually collapsed.
Relations between the three great powers grew increasingly hostile.
Their younger generations clashed.
Disputes over resources and ancient ruins became battles.
Yet no full-scale war erupted.
The Jian Clan suspected the truth.
The Lin Clan and Great Eternal Divine Dynasty denied it.
Without proof, neither side was willing to take the final step.
As the years passed, Jian Chen's disappearance became one of the greatest mysteries of the Divine Realm.
But there was one truth the world never knew.
Jian Chen had not simply disappeared.
He had died.
He had been betrayed inside the ancient palace by the two people he trusted most.
And the opportunity they had killed him for...
They never found.
After Jian Chen's death, Long Tian and Lin Xue'er searched the ancient palace.
They searched his body.
They searched his spatial ring.
They searched the shattered altar.
They searched every corner of the ruins.
Nothing.
No supreme technique.
No ancient treasure.
No inheritance.
Not even a clue.
Whatever they had expected to obtain had vanished without leaving a trace.
Then the years became decades.
Decades became centuries.
Those who had known Jian Chen disappeared one after another.
His generation became history.
His name became legend.
And eventually, even his disappearance became an ancient mystery.
No one knew that something had survived the ancient palace.
Something that had crossed the boundary between life and death.
Something that had remained silent for a thousand years.
Until now.
A thousand years later.
Far away from everything Jian Chen had once known, a distant and unfamiliar land stretched beneath an equally unfamiliar sky.
Here, his name meant nothing.
His achievements meant nothing.
No one knew that the youth who had once shaken the Divine Realm had returned.
Within this distant land stood a relatively weak country known as the Azure Cloud Kingdom.
Compared with the great powers Jian Chen had once known, it was insignificant.
Spiritual energy was thin.
Cultivation resources were scarce.
Powerful techniques were difficult to obtain.
Yet to the people living here, this was simply the world they knew.
In the eastern region of the Azure Cloud Kingdom stood Moonriver City.
It was neither prosperous nor famous.
Four great families controlled most of its influence.
Among them was the Jian Clan.
Once, the Jian Clan had been one of the strongest families in Moonriver City.
But that glory belonged to the past.
Generation after generation, the clan had declined.
Its resources had diminished.
Its influence had weakened.
And its younger generation had failed to produce anyone capable of restoring its former prestige.
In the western corner of the Jian Clan's estate stood a broken courtyard.
The walls were cracked.
Several roof tiles were missing.
Weeds grew between the stone paths.
No one bothered repairing it.
Because this was where the Jian Clan's greatest disgrace lived.
Its young master.
Jian Chen.
The sixteen-year-old boy lay motionless on the cold stone floor.
His clothes were torn.
Blood stained his body.
Bruises covered his pale face.
Several wounds stretched across his arms and chest.
His breathing was almost nonexistent.
Outside the courtyard, several youths walked away laughing.
"Hahaha! That useless fool finally learned his lesson."
"He actually dared to provoke Young Master Jian Hu."
"Does he really think being the young master means anything anymore?"
"Without his mother protecting him, he would've been kicked out of the clan long ago."
Another youth glanced back.
"The son of the former Young Patriarch can't even cultivate. What a disgrace."
Their laughter faded into the distance.
The courtyard became silent.
Then
A finger moved.
Deep within Jian Chen's sea of consciousness, darkness stretched endlessly.
A weathered golden scroll floated silently within it.
No writing.
No visible markings.
No overwhelming aura.
It simply existed.
Then a faint golden light emerged from its surface.
The darkness trembled.
At the same instant
Thump!
Jian Chen's heart beat.
Then again.
Thump!
His fingers twitched.
His chest rose.
Another heartbeat echoed through the courtyard.
Thump!
Jian Chen's eyes opened.
Pain immediately flooded his body.
His head throbbed.
His chest felt as though it had been crushed.
He tried to move.
His palm pressed against the cold stone.
He pushed himself upright.
His breathing was heavy.
"This..."
His eyes swept across the courtyard.
Broken walls.
Damaged roof.
Blood.
Rain.
Nothing was familiar.
This was not the ancient palace.
There was no shattered altar.
No broken divine sword.
No Long Tian.
No Lin Xue'er.
Jian Chen lowered his gaze.
His hands were smaller.
His arms thinner.
His body younger.
His expression changed.
This was not his body.
Before he could investigate further
Pain exploded inside his skull.
Jian Chen's pupils contracted.
Countless unfamiliar memories rushed into his mind.
A name.
Jian Chen.
Sixteen years old.
Moonriver City.
The Jian Clan.
Liu Ruyan.
Xiao Yue.
A father who had disappeared years ago.
Memories flashed before him.
A childhood spent beneath his mother's protection.
Attempts at cultivation.
Failure.
Again.
And again.
Other youths laughing at him.
Calling him useless.
Calling him trash.
Then came the memories of today.
Jian Hu.
Several clan disciples.
An argument.
Mockery.
A fist.
Pain.
Blood.
The boy trying to resist.
Another blow.
Another.
His body collapsing.
Darkness.
Jian Chen's eyes opened.
The memories stopped.
He sat silently.
So this was what had happened.
The body he had awakened inside belonged to another sixteen-year-old Jian Chen.
And that boy had died today.
Killed by a beating from his own clan's disciples.
Jian Chen slowly clenched his fists.
His expression remained calm.
But something cold stirred behind his eyes.
At that moment
Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.
Jian Chen's gaze shifted.
A familiar voice drifted through the rain.
"Wait."
Another voice laughed.
"Why?"
"I want to make sure that trash is actually dead."
The footsteps stopped.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed.
He recognized the voice from the memories.
Jian Hu.
The courtyard gate opened.
Three youths stepped inside.
Jian Hu walked at the front.
He was sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in clean clan robes.
His expression carried the arrogance of someone accustomed to looking down on others.
He glanced at Jian Chen lying against the wall.
A sneer appeared on his face.
"Still alive?"
One of the youths laughed.
"Impossible. We hit him hard enough to break several ribs."
Jian Hu walked closer.
"Then I'll finish it."
He raised his foot and stepped toward Jian Chen.
The former Jian Chen would have been unable to resist.
But the person sitting before him was no longer that boy.
Jian Chen watched Jian Hu approach.
His mind remained extraordinarily calm.
He had fought countless battles.
He had killed cultivators stronger than himself.
He had survived life-and-death situations where a single mistake meant death.
Compared with those battles, the movements of the youths before him were painfully slow.
Jian Hu lifted his foot.
He kicked.
Jian Chen moved.
His body was weak.
Extremely weak.
But his instincts remained.
He shifted his body just enough for Jian Hu's foot to pass beside him.
Jian Hu's expression changed.
"What?"
Jian Chen's hand shot forward.
He grabbed Jian Hu's ankle.
Jian Hu's eyes widened.
The other two youths froze.
"Let go!"
Jian Hu tried to pull his leg back.
He couldn't.
Jian Chen's fingers tightened.
Even without cultivation, his understanding of the human body's balance and structure was something Jian Hu could not comprehend.
Jian Chen twisted.
Jian Hu lost his balance and crashed onto the stone floor.
Bang!
The two youths stared in disbelief.
Jian Chen slowly stood.
His body trembled from exhaustion.
He was barely strong enough to remain standing.
But his eyes were cold.
Jian Hu scrambled backward.
"You..."
Jian Chen looked at him.
"You were the one who did this to me."
His voice was quiet.
Jian Hu's expression hardened.
"So what?"
He quickly stood.
"You think you're still the young master?"
He rushed forward.
His fist shot toward Jian Chen's face.
Jian Chen watched the incoming punch.
Too slow.
He tilted his head.
The fist passed beside his cheek.
Jian Chen stepped inside Jian Hu's guard.
His palm struck Jian Hu's chest.
Bang!
Jian Hu stumbled backward several steps.
He stared at Jian Chen in disbelief.
The strike had not been particularly powerful.
But the timing was perfect.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed.
His body was too weak.
He could not fight for long.
If Jian Hu and the others attacked together, he would be in danger.
That realization immediately settled his mind.
He did not need to defeat them.
He only needed to make them understand one thing.
This body was no longer defenseless.
Jian Hu's face twisted with anger.
"You useless bastard!"
He lunged again.
Jian Chen stepped aside.
Jian Hu missed.
Before he could turn, Jian Chen struck the back of his knee.
Jian Hu's leg buckled.
He crashed to the ground.
Silence.
The other two youths looked at Jian Chen as though they were seeing a completely different person.
Jian Chen stood over Jian Hu.
His breathing was heavy.
His body was already reaching its limit.
Yet his gaze remained frighteningly calm.
"Leave."
Jian Hu clenched his teeth.
"You dare..."
Jian Chen's eyes sharpened.
"Leave."
Something in that gaze made Jian Hu hesitate.
For a brief moment, the arrogant youth felt an unfamiliar chill.
It was not the gaze of a sixteen-year-old who had just learned how to fight.
It was the gaze of someone who had stood across from death countless times.
Jian Hu swallowed.
He slowly rose.
"This isn't over."
Jian Chen said nothing.
Jian Hu turned and left with the other two youths.
Their footsteps quickly disappeared.
The courtyard became silent again.
Jian Chen remained standing for several breaths.
Then his legs weakened.
He leaned against the wall.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
The truth was obvious.
His current body was far too weak.
If Jian Hu had been even slightly stronger, or if the three youths had attacked together, the outcome might have been different.
Jian Chen lowered his eyes.
"Strength..."
His fingers slowly tightened.
He needed strength.
And he needed it quickly.
He closed his eyes and examined his body.
His meridians were fragile.
His foundation was almost nonexistent.
His dantian contained barely any spiritual energy.
Yet Jian Chen did not despair.
His cultivation was gone.
His experience was not.
His understanding of the path remained.
He could begin again.
He had to.
Then his thoughts turned toward the memories he had inherited.
Liu Ruyan.
His mother.
Xiao Yue.
The girl who had grown up beside him.
The boy whose life he now carried.
Jian Chen's expression softened slightly.
This second life had not given him only a body.
It had given him another set of bonds.
People who had cared for this body even when everyone else considered it useless.
He would not allow their kindness to be wasted.
Then his expression slowly became cold again.
Long Tian.
Lin Xue'er.
A thousand years had passed.
He did not know whether they were alive.
He did not know what had happened during those thousand years.
But if they were alive...
He would find them.
One day.
Not now.
He had no cultivation.
No strength.
No influence.
Revenge would have to wait.
First, he would rebuild.
First, he would become strong.
Then
He would uncover the truth.
Jian Chen raised his head toward the dark sky.
Rain fell across his face.
"I have already died once."
His voice was quiet.
"But fate has given me another life."
His eyes became sharp.
"I will not waste it."
Deep within his sea of consciousness, the golden scroll suddenly trembled.
Jian Chen froze.
A faint golden light spread across its ancient surface.
For an instant
A sword-shaped mark appeared.
Then vanished.
Jian Chen frowned.
He could feel something.
Something was awakening.
But he could not understand it.
He opened his eyes.
The rain continued falling.
No one in this distant land knew who Jian Chen truly was.
To them, he was nothing more than the useless young master of a declining clan.
But that would change.
He had climbed once.
He would climb again.
A thousand years ago, his first life had ended with a sword through his back.
A thousand years later, his second life had begun with blood, humiliation, and weakness.
But the man had not changed.
The sword in his heart was still there.
And sooner or later
The heavens would hear its song.