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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 · The Steamed Bun Incident

> "He's just a mortal! Stop pushing him!" — Crown Prince of the Empire, Chiyan · Lei Ze

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Morning.

The cobbled stone streets glistened with dew, and the air carried a chilly bite.

Before dawn broke, Lin Zhou was already awake. Wrapped in a faded, worn-out cotton robe, he crouched beside a street corner food stall, eyes fixed bitterly on the steaming buns being flipped in the iron pot.

"Mister… do you still have that bun you dropped the other day?"

The stall owner blinked, turned around, and saw who it was.

"Oh, it's you, Zhouzi," he clicked his tongue. "That bun? It's been on the ground for three days. You sure you wanna eat it?"

Lin Zhou nodded, pulling out a single copper coin and offering it like a treasured gem.

"I haven't had breakfast yet… just wanna fill my stomach."

The stall owner frowned. "Did you sleep in that ruined temple again last night? No doors there, cold wind howling."

Lin Zhou smiled faintly, "As long as there's a roof, it's fine."

The stall owner sighed, rolling the coin in his hand as if weighing its worth against a three-day-old bun.

Finally, he sighed again, "Forget it, take it. Just eat less, don't get sick from it."

Lin Zhou took it, thanking him repeatedly, as if he had received a great favor.

He sat on a stone stool in the corner, tearing small pieces off the bun. Before long, his lips were scraped by the stiff crust, bleeding slightly.

"Salty," he muttered with a smile, "Blood is salty."

He didn't know—

that one drop of his blood had already stirred the heavens above the imperial capital.

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[Meanwhile · Imperial Palace · Chiyan Hall]

"Reporting, Your Highness!"

A guard knelt outside the hall, voice trembling: "That person… is bleeding again!"

The Crown Prince of the Empire, Chiyan Lei Ze, was meditating when he heard this. His golden eyes flashed open like thunder, and he shot to his feet.

"Where!?"

"Southern alley, eating a bun!"

"Ready the horses! I'm going personally!"

A nearby attendant turned pale. "Your Highness, you mustn't! That man's identity is still unknown—"

"You think I want to go?!" the Crown Prince snapped. "Last time he coughed, five provinces' earth veins shook—almost collapsed! You want me to just watch him choke on a bun and take the whole capital down with him?!"

"..."

"Mount up! All three thousand dragon riders, move out!"

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[Street Alley]

Lin Zhou had just finished his bun, licking the crumbs from his hand, when he heard thundering hooves.

Looking up—

A column of red-armored cavalry charged down the street. At the front was a fierce-looking young man, red hair cascading over his shoulders, face sharp like a blade, imperial cape trailing like flames.

Civilians scattered in terror.

Lin Zhou flinched. "W-What? War?!"

Chiyan Lei Ze dismounted in one swift motion, dropped to one knee, and bowed deeply.

"Your Excellency… Chiyan Lei Ze, paying respects to Lord Lin Zhou."

Lin Zhou: "?"

The Crown Prince looked up, eyes blazing with fervor.

"You moved your qi again today, shaking the southern dragon vein. If I hadn't suppressed it in time, the entire capital might've collapsed. I came in fear to pay my respects!"

Lin Zhou stared blankly. "I just ate a bun."

"Precisely why we're terrified."

He looked down at his tattered robe. "You… sure you're not mistaking me for someone else?"

"Impossible!" Lei Ze declared. "Three days ago, I was trapped at Soulbreak Ravine, surrounded by enemies. It was you, passing by, who tossed me a bottle of water and saved my life."

Lin Zhou frowned, thinking hard. "...You're that guy rolling in the grass, covered in blood?"

Lei Ze nodded solemnly. "That was me."

"I just… left you my unfinished drink…"

"It still saved me!"

"..."

Before Lin Zhou could say more, a sudden chill crept up behind him.

A crimson figure appeared, a blood-red parasol blooming open. Beneath it, a stunningly beautiful woman with demonic eyes and a revealing crimson dress radiated an ominous aura.

The Blood Prison Witch · Hong Lei.

She crouched beside him, her gaze tender.

"Zhou-gege, who bullied you? Tell me, I'll turn them into a puppet and make soup out of them for you."

Lin Zhou shivered. "Y-You're that demon girl?"

"Last month, in Ghost Fog Mountain, you returned my lost hairpin and even helped me up," she said seriously. "I've been looking for you ever since."

"I just… handed you a stick…"

"That stick saved my life."

Hong Lei looked up, seeing the Crown Prince kneeling. Her eyes narrowed.

"He forced you to cultivate again?"

"No, no!" Lin Zhou waved his hands frantically.

The Crown Prince stood up angrily, "Who dares force Lord Lin Zhou to cultivate? I'll wipe out their entire family!"

"Hmph," Hong Lei closed her umbrella and stood. "You better not be lying."

The tension between the two grew thick.

Lin Zhou quickly stepped between them. "Stop it! I'm really just an ordinary person! Aren't you all misunderstanding something?!"

Chiyan Lei Ze spoke solemnly, "Forgive me, Lord Zhou, but your spiritual pressure is hidden, your roots are formless, and your energy undetectable—exactly as the Forbidden Prophecy described the 'End-Times Vessel' three thousand years ago."

Hong Lei nodded, "In the demon clan's ancient texts, it is said: if a 'rootless mortal' begins cultivation, the three realms will collapse, and even the Heavenly Dao will disintegrate."

"But I've never cultivated anything!"

"Which is exactly why we're doing everything we can to keep you mortal!"

Lin Zhou: "…"

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[Above the Clouds · Celestial Observation Hall]

Heavenly Watchers, robed in stars, looked down with icy eyes.

"Lin Zhou has bled again. Curse wave has spread by 0.7%."

"One more incident, and if it hits 1%, realm-wide order may destabilize."

"His emotional fluctuations must be controlled. Under no circumstances should he cultivate."

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[Lin Zhou's Midnight Monologue]

That night, Lin Zhou sat huddled in a broken temple, clutching the leftover bun.

"I just ate a bun."

"Why is the entire world on edge?"

"Why did the Crown Prince gift me a thousand-year snow ginseng as a snack?"

"Why did the demon princess make me clothes laced with anti-curse magic?"

"I'm… just a nobody…"

He stared at the bun, took another bite, and muttered:

"Am I going insane… or is it all of you?"

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[Chapter End Teaser]

In the darkness outside the city wall, a cloaked figure stood silently.

> "Lin Zhou… has finally appeared."

"Savior… or annihilator?"

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