When I opened my eyes again, the stench of dirt and sweat hit me. Chains clinked around my wrists, and rough hands dragged me through the muddy path leading to the border. My head throbbed with pain, a storm of memories crashing in — not mine, yet mine all the same.
I am Chen Sheng, thirty years old, once CEO of Chen Group. I died saving a girl, and when I woke again… I was a different Chen Sheng—the fifth prince of the Divine Frost Empire, a fallen royal crushed by betrayal.
Apparently, this body's been crippled by his brothers, framed for stealing treasure funds, accused of embezzling drought relief silver, and even slandered for defiling his royal sister-in-law. Now I'm just another prisoner bound for the frontier.
If this were ancient Earth, I might still live a quiet life. But this world — Xuanjin Continent — is nothing like Earth. Here, power is everything. The strong command the heavens, and the weak are trampled like ants. Cultivators rule nations, their divine powers drawn from the circulation of spirit essence, refined through nine stages — Mortals, Foundation, Core, Nascent Soul, Origin, Saint, Celestial, Deity, and Myth Realm.
I'm only a Level 2 Mortal, barely above an ordinary peasant. At best, I can light a candle with qi… And at worst, I'll die before I learn anything.
But just as despair tightens its grip on me —
Ding!
"Myth System successfully activated!"
"Reward: One God Summon and One Random Lucky Draw."
I froze. My mind went blank for a heartbeat.
What system? A cheat? I get one too?
Before I could react, the air shimmered, and a radiant blue light formed a circle before me. Symbols pulsed like living silver.
"Random summon initiated. Drawing from the Myths of the Ancient Worlds…"
In a flash, a majestic figure stepped out of the light — wearing golden armour, eyes blazing like twin suns.
"Summon complete — General Nezha, Third Lotus Prince of the Heavenly Realm."
"Loyalty: 40. Cultivation Unsealed."
I stared at him in shock. The guards around me dropped their weapons, faces drained of colour.
Nezha looked down at me, voice calm yet full of fire. "So you are my master? Hmph… fragile, pathetic, but I've served worse."
"Warning: If loyalty reaches 0, the summon will kill the host."
A chill ran down my spine.
So that's how this works… Trust can kill me.
But maybe, just maybe, it can also save me.
For every enemy we defeat, I gain experience. For every victory, I grow stronger. And if I die, at least I will die fighting back.
The Fifth Prince is gone. What rises now… is a man with the power of myths behind him.