Lu Shenye woke up, his eyes staring blankly at the cracked ceiling above.
He hadn't slept properly, spending the entire night planning.
He rose from the bed and walked over to the window. Outside, the poor neighborhood lay in half-ruin—some houses barely standing, others damaged in the monster rampages five years ago.
From here, the towering city skyline was faintly visible. But Lu Shenye's eyes locked onto only one thing.
"The World Tower," he muttered, his voice cold.
It loomed in the distance—ancient, colossal, and unreachable. Hundreds of floors, but no one had ever reached the top.
He quickly dressed in his worn-out clothes, but then—
Growl~
His stomach growled.
"Tch. Since when have I sunk this low?" he muttered, annoyed, grabbing a banana from the table and eating it without a second thought.
The morning sun cast a warm hue over the cracked pavement as he stepped out.
His appearance drew a few looks:
A ragged blue jacket hung off his shoulders, black trousers far too loose for his frail body. His stark white hair stood out like snow, and his pale face—though undeniably handsome—was gaunt from hunger and fatigue.
He looked like someone who had once possessed light… now buried in ruin.
But change was coming.
His gaze, calm and indifferent, reflected not a boy… but a divine soul caged in mortal flesh.
As he walked through the poverty-stricken streets, he passed broken buildings, homeless beggars, and filthy alleys. Some wore fancy suits, others had no shirts on their backs. The divide was clear.
Suddenly, a growl came from an alley.
A stray mutt emerged—its fur patchy, eyes bloodshot, teeth bared.
It charged.
Memories surfaced—
The original Lu Shenye… bitten, bruised, terrified. He had run. Cried. Hidden.
But this was not the same Lu Shenye.
He didn't move.
The dog leaped—
BOOM.
A single kick. Silent. Precise. Final.
The dog crashed into the wall with a sickening crack, whimpering.
Lu Shenye stepped forward, staring down with chilling indifference.
"Did you really think I was still that coward?"
The dog growled again, blood pooling from its head, eyes burning with anger… and fear.
Lu Shenye raised his foot.
"If you miss him so much—" he pressed down slowly, unflinching—
"—I'll send you to him."
The mutt squirmed under his foot, but Lu Shenye didn't budge.
Not until it stopped moving.
The dog was dead
Silence. Only the distant hum of the city.
He lifted his foot, gaze unshaken.
"The weak perish. The strong move forward.
Pity is the burden of mortals—not gods."
It was you or me. I just picked myself
He walked away without a second glance.
He had been killing since the age of nine. Thousands of years later, godhood or not, Zarethul was still the same man.
Tianxuan First National Academy – Awakening Grounds
Finally, he reached his destination.
The academy stood like a fortress—sprawling acres walled in with massive concrete and topped by a flag bearing Tianxuan's emblem:
A dragon coiled around a sword, its wings stretched wide.
Modern buildings, glass-walled classrooms, training arenas, dormitories—
And in the center, a wide courtyard built for one purpose:
The Awakening Ceremony.
At its heart stood a raised stone platform—dark gray and carved with runes that pulsed faintly.
In the middle of it was the Awakening Stone:
A towering, pitch-black monolith veined with glowing crimson. It hummed like it breathed.
They said it was a fragment of the original divine tower—gifted by the gods after the Calamity Era.
"Hey look who finally crawled in."
"Oh wow, the class trash actually showed up?"
"Wait—Wang Meiyu's still dating him? LMAO."
"Heh. 'Dating'? More like she clings to other guys and only uses him for cash."
Snickers and mocking voices cut through the air as Lu Shenye walked toward the rows of students. He ignored them.
But then—
"Shenye! You actually came?"
A sugary voice echoed from behind.
Lu Shenye turned slowly.
Wang Meiyu.
Long auburn hair shimmered in the sunlight. Her big doe-like eyes were filled with false innocence. A white cropped hoodie with a silver phoenix print. Tight, high-waisted black jeans. Glossy lips. Around her neck, a simple silver necklace—
A gift from the old Lu Shenye.
"…Oh. It's you." he said, flatly.
'Let's see how long your act lasts now that I'm not the old simp you knew.'
Wang Meiyu smiled—but her eyes were venomous.
"Shenye, let's break up."
She folded her arms.
"We've been dating a while, but you're clearly not the man I need.
You kept promising me that gold bracelet, but it's been a year of excuses."
"You're poor, with no family or status. How could you ever fulfill my needs?"
"It's better if we go our separate ways."
By now, a crowd had gathered. Students circled around like vultures.
"Haha! Knew it! Trash like him can't even afford a girlfriend."
"She was doing charity work dating him."
"Look at him—skinny, poor, no background. Pathetic."
Laughter erupted around him. Wang Meiyu smiled again, feigning pity.
"Even if you beg, even if you kneel—
—my decision won't change. I already have a boyfriend now."