Darkness.
That was the first thing Lin Xuan felt.
Thick, crushing, eternal darkness.
The Abyssal Void was said to dissolve even Immortal Souls, yet Lin Xuan remained painfully aware as his body drifted through its endless nothingness. His meridians were shattered, his bones ground to dust, his dantian ruptured beyond repair.
His life was slipping away, but his mind refused to let go.
Not yet.
Not when he could still hear their voices echoing in his skull.
"You were always too talented, Lin Xuan. Too bright."
The sect master's cold whisper struck him like a blade.
"Heaven doesn't allow monsters like you."
Lin Feng's smirk followed—arrogant, triumphant, dripping with jealousy.
And then the one that hurt most:
"Xuan… I'm sorry. But choosing you means choosing death."
Su Qianyue's voice.
Soft.
Betraying.
Final.
She had watched them shatter his cultivation.
Watched them cripple him.
Watched them throw him into the abyss.
She didn't fight. She didn't scream.
She only lowered her eyes and let him fall.
Lin Xuan felt his soul unravel.
So this was the end of a genius.
Not in glory.
Not in battle.
But in betrayal.
His consciousness flickered—
Until something impossible happened.
A sound—metallic, cold, echoing through the void—cut through the silence.
DING!
Lin Xuan's fading soul jolted.
Another chime followed, louder.
[WARNING: Host's life signature critical.]
[Initiating emergency temporal override.]
[Heaven-Defying Cultivation System activating…]
What?
Lin Xuan's breath trembled.
A system?
Here, in the void?
At the moment of death?
Before he could think, more messages appeared—faster, more urgent.
[Dao Comprehension System activating…]
[Detected: Sword Heart Physique — Dormant]
[Detected: Unresolved Fate — Catastrophic]
[Commencing Temporal Rewind: 10 Years.]
The darkness around him shattered like broken glass.
His soul was flung backward—through the abyss, through time, through fate itself—
He woke up choking on air.
Lin Xuan lurched upright, gasping as cold sweat soaked his thin, childlike clothing.
His hands trembled.
His vision blurred.
His chest heaved uncontrollably.
But he was breathing.
He was… alive.
He looked around, stunned.
He sat on a rough straw mattress inside a small wooden room.
The scent of burning incense drifted from the corner.
Morning sunlight leaked through cracked windows.
He knew this place.
He had slept in this room… ten years ago.
Lin Xuan stared at his hands.
Small.
Weak.
Unscarred.
His heart froze.
I… returned?
He scrambled off the bed and rushed toward the small copper mirror on the wall. A young boy of twelve stared back:
Sharp eyebrows.
Clear, cold eyes.
A face not yet hardened by hatred.
This was truly his young self.
The moment the realization struck, emotion stabbed through his chest—so sudden he had to grip the table to steady himself.
Father… Mother… you're still alive now.
His throat tightened.
A knock interrupted the silence.
"Xuan? Are you awake?"
His father's warm voice filled the doorway.
Lin Xuan froze.
His father stepped inside, dressed in simple training robes, smiling gently like he always used to. A smile Lin Xuan hadn't seen in years.
In his past life, his father had died—killed in the sect's political struggle—because Lin Xuan was too weak to protect him.
Lin Xuan's hand trembled.
"…Father."
Quiet. Breathless. Almost a whisper.
The man laughed softly. "You're always so silent. Come out and eat. Today's training will be tough."
He patted Lin Xuan's shoulder and left.
When the door closed, Lin Xuan lowered his head.
His eyes, once watery, became calm and still.
This time… he would not lose anything.
DING!
A translucent screen materialized before him.
[Heaven-Defying Cultivation System — Activated]
Host: Lin Xuan
Age: 12
Realm: Body Tempering (Stage 1)
Physique: Sword Heart Physique (Dormant)
Talent: Severely Suppressed (External Interference)
Status: Reborn
Another screen layered over it—more refined, darker, pulsing with sword qi.
[Dao Comprehension System — Activated]
Dao Progression: 0%
Sword Intent: Locked
Active Functions:
• Accelerated Enlightenment
• Emotion-to-Dao Conversion
• Intent Devouring
• Memory Synchronization (Future)
Lin Xuan inhaled sharply.
Two systems.
One for cultivation.
One for Dao.
This was a weapon beyond heaven's laws.
But before he could examine the interface further—
A third notification appeared.
The letters were blood-red.
[ALERT: Fate Anomaly Detected.]
[Abyssal Entities have marked the host.]
Lin Xuan's pupils narrowed dangerously.
So even the abyss refused to let him go.
Even fate wanted him dead.
Good.
He would kill fate itself if he had to.
Footsteps approached.
Clear. Confident. Familiar.
Cold anger flickered in Lin Xuan's chest.
The door opened without permission—just like it always had.
A boy walked in, handsome and smug, his smile practiced and friendly.
Lin Feng.
His elder brother.
His murderer.
The man who pushed him into the abyss.
Lin Xuan's fingers curled into a fist.
Lin Feng carried a bowl with steaming liquid.
"Little brother," he said warmly. "You're awake. I brought medicine. You were injured yesterday, right? You need to strengthen your body."
Medicine?
Lin Xuan stared at the bowl.
He remembered this day clearly.
This was the poison Lin Feng secretly fed him—slow-acting, undetectable, designed to rot his foundation and cripple his future cultivation.
In his previous life, trusting his brother, he drank it.
He sealed his own fate.
This time?
Lin Feng placed the bowl on the table, pushing it toward him. "Drink. You need it."
Lin Xuan slowly lifted his gaze.
His expression remained blank, calm—almost emotionless.
But a single flicker of killing intent flashed behind his eyes.
Lin Feng didn't notice.
"Come on," Lin Feng urged.
Silence filled the room.
Lin Xuan extended his hand.
Lin Feng smiled.
Lin Xuan pushed the bowl back.
Lin Feng blinked. "What are you doing?"
Lin Xuan's voice came out soft.
Quiet.
Detached.
Deadly.
"I don't drink poison."
Lin Feng's smile froze.
"…W-What?"
Lin Xuan stood up slowly.
His shadow stretched across the floor, long and cold.
He walked past Lin Feng without another glance.
His silence was more terrifying than any scream.
Just before he stepped out the door, Lin Xuan paused.
Without turning back, he whispered—
A whisper so soft, yet sharp enough to cut bone.
"Lin Feng… I remember everything."
The bowl in Lin Feng's hand slipped and shattered on the floor.
His face turned pale.
His body trembled.
"W-What… what do you mean?" he stammered.
But Lin Xuan was already gone.
He stepped into the morning light, eyes calm, heart colder than steel.
The world had taken everything from him once.
But now?
The sword that died in darkness…
had returned to carve its own fate.
The silent genius had risen again.
And this time—
He would kill anyone who tried to break him.