Dawn crept over the jagged mountains that surrounded the Yun Clan like ancient sentinels. Mist clung to the earth, swirling around the feet of the young cultivators assembled in the Sacred Arena. The Trial by Blood was about to begin — a ritual as old as the clan itself. But this was no ordinary trial of skill or discipline. It was a public crucible, designed to elevate the strong and humiliate the weak.
Yun Tian stood among them, silent and still, his eyes lowered to the ground. His frail body and tattered robe made him nearly invisible in the sea of radiant disciples clad in silk and pride. They whispered around him, mocking, sneering.
"A half-blood orphan dares step into the arena?"
"He'll last less than a breath."
But Yun Tian was not what he appeared to be.
He was Lin Feng — once the Celestial Emperor, betrayed and murdered at the height of his power. His soul had merged with the Void Eye, an ancient artifact of unspeakable power. And now, reborn in this lowly vessel, he waited for the moment to reclaim everything.
The Ritual Begins
A deep gong reverberated through the air, silencing the crowd. The Elder of Ceremonies, draped in black and gold, raised a jade staff.
"Let the Trial by Blood commence!"
Dozens of disciples stepped forward, forming a circle around the central altar. One by one, they were handed vials containing sacred beast blood — a potent, mystical substance said to awaken one's latent spirit power. For the strong, it was a gift. For the weak, it could be lethal.
When Yun Tian stepped forward to receive his vial, the attendant flinched as if touching filth.
"You're not worthy of this honor," he spat, tossing the vial carelessly toward him.
Yun Tian caught it without a word, his calm gaze betraying nothing. But within his soul, the Void Eye shimmered. It whispered of fates shifting, of karmic balances breaking.
Awakening in Silence
One by one, disciples drank the blood and entered their duels. Spectacular battles erupted — streaks of elemental energy lighting up the arena. Flaming swords clashed with ice spears, storm auras collided with shadow illusions. Cheers rose for every dazzling display.
Yun Tian remained still, biding his time.
Finally, his name was called.
He stepped into the ring opposite Yun Zhen, a prodigious genius from the clan's inner court, blessed with fire affinity and a bloodline legacy. The crowd roared — Yun Zhen was expected to end the farce quickly.
"Do try not to die too fast," Yun Zhen mocked.
Yun Tian drank the blood. It burned in his veins, a searing force that should have shattered his fragile frame. But instead, something awakened — deep, ancient, patient.
The Void Eye opened within him.
Time slowed.
He moved.
In a single step, Yun Tian crossed the ring. Before Yun Zhen could react, he struck — not with brute strength, but precision. A palm to the chest, laced with soul force and chaos essence. Yun Zhen flew backward, crashing into the arena wall with a stunned cry.
Silence.
Then — an uproar.
The Weak No More
Gasps echoed. Even the elders leaned forward. Yun Tian had defeated a top disciple in a single exchange.
More matches followed. One opponent after another — faster, stronger, more cunning — stepped forward. But Yun Tian danced through them all. He did not overpower them. He outthought them, outmaneuvered them, using techniques no one recognized, power that defied their understanding.
Each victory widened the gulf between what they believed and what they saw.
And each time he fought, the Void Eye fed him glimpses — flickers of karma, traces of fate, whispers from the stars.
The Seeds of Hatred
But not all were impressed.
In the shadows of the high pavilion, the clan elite watched with darkening expressions. Chief among them was Wei Jun, son of the Clan Patriarch — proud, cruel, and dangerously ambitious.
"This bastard dares outshine us?" he hissed to his comrades.
"We can't allow this," another murmured. "Not from... him."
A plan formed.
The final round of the trial — traditionally a symbolic spar between top contenders — would be rigged. They would unleash something far more deadly than a mere disciple.
A Kindred Spirit
From the crowd, a pair of eyes followed Yun Tian not with scorn, but wonder. Lan Xue — once cast out for her impure spiritual roots — watched him closely. She had seen beyond the surface, recognized the storm beneath his calm. When their eyes met, her heart stirred.
He wasn't just another outcast. He was like her.
No... he was more.
And he would change everything.
The Beast Unleashed
The final match was announced. Yun Tian stepped into the arena once more. But instead of an opponent, the ground split open. An ancient seal cracked, and from its depths emerged a spectral leviathan — a beast of smoke and flame, sealed since the Great War of Ancients.
The crowd screamed.
"You summoned a spirit beast?!" an elder cried. "That's forbidden!"
But the elite only smiled.
"If he's strong enough," Wei Jun replied coldly, "he'll survive."
The leviathan struck.
Battle of the Abyss
Yun Tian stood firm. The creature loomed over him, its multiple eyes glowing with primal hunger. It unleashed a barrage of spectral chains, whipping through the air like vipers.
Yun Tian dodged, barely — the Void Eye flickering with warnings. He countered with ancient sigils, drawn from forgotten scriptures of the Celestial Palace. The chains shattered.
But the leviathan howled and surged again, this time with a wave of soul-destroying energy. Yun Tian was slammed into the ground, coughing blood.
Pain wracked his body. But pain was familiar. Betrayal was worse. Death was deeper.
He stood.
The Void Eye expanded, blooming into a spiral of darkness. The arena trembled as he invoked a forbidden technique — one that twisted time around him. His form blurred, faster than sight.
He struck the leviathan's core.
It shrieked, unraveling into motes of spirit energy.
The Mad Hermit Appears
Just as Yun Tian collapsed, a voice thundered from the skies.
"Enough!"
Lightning cracked. A hunched figure descended — robes billowing, eyes wild with time's wisdom.
Master Bai Chen.
The mad hermit, long thought senile, placed a protective ward around Yun Tian.
"He has passed," Bai Chen declared. "This trial is over."
The elders dared not argue. Bai Chen was older than the Patriarch himself — and feared.
He leaned toward Yun Tian, whispering, "Your spark has returned, my emperor. But beware. The past watches."
Whispers of Destiny
The crowd, stunned and confused, watched as Yun Tian was carried away by Bai Chen and Lan Xue.
He had risen from ridicule to reverence in a single morning. But the cost had only begun to unfold.
In the depths of the clan's ancestral forest, a cloaked figure observed everything. His aura was cold, divine.
"So... the Heir breathes again."
He turned toward the distant heavens.
"Let the others know. Lin Feng has returned."
To Be Continued...
______________________