An old man stepped into the birthing room.
This man was Bhrigu Shiromani, a Peak Sovereign (Rank 8), and one of the Supreme Elders of the Shiromani Clan.
He resembled Arjun but appeared far older, and the aura he exuded was overwhelming. While Arjun, as Clan Master, carried the sharpness of a blade, his father radiated the presence of a tyrant.
Clan Master Arjun was surprised to see his father coming out of his seclusion. You know, his father was a Supreme Elder, and they rarely deal with things concerning the Clan, unless it was of great importance.
He quickly stood and, along with Subhadra, bowed respectfully.
The elder greeted them warmly and then took the baby into his arms, smiling as he played with the child.
He released a hint of his aura, curious to see the baby's reaction.
But what happened next surprised him.
The child didn't flinch. There was no fear, no unease—almost as if he didn't care at all. The elder's eyes narrowed in thought.
He then tried to peer into the child's soul, hoping to sense whether the child had the aura of a reincarnator. But before he could even get close, he felt an invisible force push back.
The child's soul was so powerful that he couldn't even fathom its depth.
Despite all the happy family interaction of the room, none of these people noticed the shadow that was still standing in the room.
The shadow looked upon the family and the newborn. A faint smile appeared on his face. Then, a wave of unknown spiritual energy lightly touched the Supreme Elder's mind—and the shadow vanished, as if he had never been there.
When he came, no one was aware of his existence, as such, he left the same way.
The Supreme Elder who was surprised by his grandson's soul suddenly proclaimed out loud:
"From now, you shall be known as Abhimanyu Shiromani, meaning fearless!"
This name is same name as his past life!
"Father, what brings you out of seclusion?"
"Well, me and the old fellows in the back of the mountain were woken up by the visions created by my lovely grandson."
Arjun immediately thought of something and hurriedly asked:
"Is there any decision?"
"Yes, we have voted to make Abhimanyu the Sacred Son of the Clan, and used all our resources for him so that he could fight for Heaven Will this generation."
Subhadra and Arjun were overjoyed. They knew exactly what those words meant: their son will have access to all the resources and support of the Clan.
You know, a big Clan like the Shiromani clan has countless resources, as such, there are many interest groups that control these resources. and decide who all the resources went to.
In fact, if you think about it clearly, this decision actually makes a lot of sense. The Shiromani clan hasn't had a new Emperor for millions of years.
Furthermore, there are rumors in the world that the maximum number of Great Emperor that a single force or group could have was nine. Afterward, Heavenly Dao would put a curse on said group to prevent the birth of a Tenth Emperor.
As it turns out, The Shiromani clan had supposedly hit that limit. No matter what they did afterward, no amount of sacrifice or effort could yield another Emperor.
Millions of years have passed since then. The Shiromani clan has helped many other Emperor in their rise and accumulated countless resources and background, but they never had one of their own.
Abhimanyu's father was the person that came closest to break this curse. Unfortunately, he was unlucky; to be precise, his whole generation was unlucky.
In a brief moment, these countless thoughts flashed in Arjun's head. Then, he thought of something else and worriedly asked his father.
"But, father, Abhimanyu does not have a special physique, although his soul is special, he would face a lot of setbacks."
Both Arjun and his wife had already checked their son's body the moment he was born. So they knew that he had a very powerful and mysterious soul, but not a special physique.
Arjun's grandfather responded nonchalantly:
"Don't worry about it. I've already spoken with those old guys. They agreed to let Little Abhi have early access to the clan's most ancient scriptures and resources to make up the gap with other Heaven Chosen born with Special Physique."
Hearing this, both Arjun and his wife were shocked. His wife hurriedly said:
"But Father-in-law," she said urgently, "isn't there another way for him to catch up—one that doesn't force him to sacrifice his childhood?"
Suddenly, a terrifying pressure filled the room. The Supreme Elder's voice turned cold and ruthless.
"So what? The Path of the Emperor is cruel, harsh, and full of despair. If he can't overcome this obstacle, then talking about bearing Heaven's Will is a joke."
Both parents sighed helplessly. They knew that the Supreme Elder was right. then quietly accepted the path laid out for their son.
For now, they chose to focus on their family and look forward to the future.
And just like that, eight years passed.
A child climbed a winding mountain path, followed by a few attendants. From their posture and demeanor, it was obvious they were servants.
The young child was quite cute and lovable. The only thing odd about him were his eyes. His eyes were full of vicissitude, wisdom, and maturity that was beyond his age.
This child was Abhimanyu. He was on his way to the clan's library.
All he remembered from before his rebirth was a white light, a spinning sensation, and then the faces of three giants staring at him as a baby.
As he walked the mountain, Abhimanyu started reminiscing about the past eight years.
He had learned to walk and talk within just a few days of being born. He thought by doing so, he would be a genius and be praised, but he thought too much. Although he was far ahead of his peers in the sect, all he got were a few non worthy remarks, and that was it.
Later, he learned that there were Little Sages born in this world. The moment that they were born, they could walk and talk. They knew many truths in this world and could enlighten others. His little achievement was not so rare.
After that, he buried himself in the Clan's library, trying to understand this world. he already knew this was a world of Immortals, but understanding its structure left him both stunned and excited.
Power levels in this world are divided into realms:
Mortal, Body Refining, Expert, Master, King, Saint, Celestial, Supreme, Sovereign.
These are also referred to as rank-0 through rank-8 respectively.
After reaching the Sovereign Realm, all qualified Heaven Chosen would battle for supremacy. The winner would carry Heaven's Will, prove their power, and ascend as a Great Emperor.
As such, in every generation, there could only be one Great Emperor. The winner becomes Supreme, while the loser gets nothing.
And what is a Great Emperor?
A Great Emperor stands above all living beings. They transcend life and death—they become immortal.
Great Emperors have the Eternal Youth, No longer bound by time.
This means that any force, clan, religion, or empire with a Great Emperor would rule the entire world for a period of time. Of course, reality is far more complicated than that.
Every Emperor would disappear after a while and give way form the next generation. Even if some of them had the ambition to rule the world forever, they never succeeded. Who knows what happened to them and where they went.
The water of this world ran deep—far deeper than most could ever imagine.