The world is a place where only the strong survive.
The strong devour the weak, both literally and figuratively.
There is no place for those who are weak in this world or any other world.
If strength is the foundation, what will you do?
Will you climb to the highest heavens?
Will you rise and soar to the clouds?
Will you grasp the high stars and move them as you please?
Or will you remain in your weakness, hiding behind the excuses of poverty, lack of means, and helplessness?
Sometimes, it is in your hands to become stronger or to remain in your great weakness and impotence; other times, the matter is beyond a person's control.
In this world, demonic beasts have overrun the earth. Previously, humans were the kings of the world, but step by step, humanity began to retreat because of the powerful demonic beasts. Humans were confined to their cities, building them in high places or tightly sealed locations. Around all cities stand high walls to prevent the attacks of the powerful demonic beasts that rage from time to time.
In Plum Blossom City, a large and magnificent city containing several powerful families, the city was surrounded by a solid and very strong stone fence. If someone were to look at that fence, they would see strange drawings on it in red and other things, but when one approaches, they will realize that these drawings are nothing but the blood of demonic beasts and humans.
Many fractures and strikes from swords and spears and bodies filled the iron walls, giving a powerful demonic appearance standing firm against the strange and potent food chain.
In the Plum Blossom City Academy, in one of the beginner classes:
"Do you know that the teacher is a member of the Holy Family and is a martial artist ranked as a Demon Martial Artist with a Silver Soul?"
"Not only that, her family has powerful and high influence."
"She started her training at a young age, and being from the Holy Family, she will certainly be strong."
The children talked amongst themselves inside the classroom while a beautiful teacher stood before them. Long black hair reaching down to her lower back, a beautiful and wonderful harmonious body, with pure blue eyes possessing a magnificent yet angry look.
"The Demon Martial Artist is divided into five ranks:
Bronze
Iron
Silver
Gold
Black
And each rank is divided into five stars.
There are three types of human practitioners in this world:
The Martial Artist who uses his physical and spiritual strength.
The Demon Martial Artist.
The Spiritual Martial Artist.
The difference between the Martial Artist who uses physical strength and the Demon Martial Artist is that the first uses pure physical strength honed through training combined with their own soul power, while the second merges their physical strength with a demonic soul integrated into their body, which leads to..."
The teacher stopped speaking as she quietly pressed her hand, and a powerful red aura began to ignite around her body. The scarf around her body rose slowly, while her ears grew pointed, the area beneath her eyes turned a beautiful crimson, and two of her teeth emerged beautifully.
"The Blazing Crimson Wolf is a powerful demonic animal. After merging, I can harness its fire power in attack, defense, and so on. The Crimson Wolf is a beast belonging to the One-Star Silver rank, which means it is the highest I can reach for now, but when I train more and for some time, I will be able to replace it with another demonic soul or even evolve it. Demonic beasts are divided into the exact same ranks as humans."
While the teacher began explaining demonic animals and how they merge and so on, one of the students raised his hand to ask: "What about the Spiritual Martial Artist?"
"Hmm... the Spiritual Martial Artist is something very rare in the entire world. This type specializes in the soul only; they defend and attack with their spiritual power without physical strength and without a demonic soul. They are rare because humans have limited and slightly weak souls, but these people have miraculous abilities from birth; they can harness their spiritual power in a way larger and stronger than normal humans, therefore the Spiritual Martial Artist is classified as something great.
At the same time, there is one flaw these people possess, which is that they are physically weak and they do not merge a demonic soul with their own, so their weakness is their ability and at the same time, it is the source of their strength. As for them, there is no need to ask me more, for in Plum Blossom City, there are only three people classified as Spiritual Martial Artists..."
The teacher continued her explanation of the matter, while at the back of the class sat a boy with short black hair, slightly tanned skin, dull eyes, and a sad, pained gaze.
'There is no other way; if I don't do it, my family will be destroyed. That bastard from the Holy Family threatened me... my father, my mother, my sister. I am truly sorry, if only I were born with strength or intelligence that was at least useful, but instead, I was born as a stupid and foolish boy. If only you hadn't intervened that day.'
The young boy looked at the red-haired girl sitting in front of him now, one of the members of the Noble Families. Her fiancé sitting next to her is a member of the Holy Family, and the class teacher is his aunt.
The engagement of the two was decided for interests only, but due to their young age, it was decided that the matter would happen four years from now.
While Rhine was a boy from an ordinary family. Families in Plum Blossom City are divided into:
Holy Family
Noble Family
Intermediate Family
Ordinary Family
Poor Family
Rhine was a boy from the ordinary families only and barely made it to the Plum Blossom City Academy to study, with a weak spiritual sea that had not yet formed and a weak talent; he didn't even get a chance. While bullying continued against him from the rest of the students, Rhine did not gain any friends. One day, when Rhine was being beaten by Zan Shi, a member of the Holy Family (the main Holy Families are divided into three, the Zan family being one of them), while Noble Families were many, Intermediate even more, and so on.
While Rhine was being beaten and bullied, as usual—some blows and hurtful, humiliating words that struck the core of his heart—Rhine had been subjected to this since his first day at the academy.
But on that day, something strange happened, as Fei Na, who is Zan Shi's fiancée, intervened and stopped the bullying that was occurring. Fei Na intervened only because she saw the matter and did not like the bullying of the weak; Fei Na had a pure and innocent soul, disliking harm, injustice, and these aggressive things.
Fei Na stopped the bullying, but what she did not know was that her intervention made matters worse, as Zan Shi did not like it. How could his future fiancée do that? Why defend a poor commoner? Why did she intervene? And why, and why, and why?
After that day and for a week, no one bullied Rhine. Rhine felt absolute happiness because despite his weakness, he focused on learning; he did not want to waste an opportunity like learning at the great Plum Blossom City school.
Days continued to pass and Rhine studied and learned some things, but two days ago, Zan Shi and some older men came with him, where he threatened Rhine with the destruction of his family.
Zan Shi's family is one of the three Holy Families, while Rhine is nothing but a member of an ordinary family, which means Zan Shi could truly destroy Rhine's family with ease whenever he wanted.
He does not need to destroy the entire family; although Rhine is only a member of an ordinary family, this applies only to his household members, while his village was under the rule of the village leader who was classified as being from the Intermediate families. Zan Shi, despite his status and influence, would not be able to destroy an intermediate-sized family without a clear and important reason and goal, but he could send one of his family's men to kill Rhine's father, mother, and sister.
'Ah, damn it, what a cursed life, just because I was born ordinary, just because I am weak. If only I got a chance to become stronger.'
Rhine sighed with sadness in his eyes as he gripped the small sharp knife, placing it near his wrist... and cut.
'There is no pain, there is no suffering in death, only rest.'
[Your wish has been responded to by a Supreme Entity.
You have obtained another chance; do you want to exploit it to become stronger? Yes / No]
'What is happening? Have I started hallucinating because I lost a large amount of blood?'
Rhine looked at the red window in front of him once more, then smiled quietly:
'Damn it, what do I have to lose? Yes.'
With only this simple and uncalculated answer, Rhine's life would change by 180%, a change he never expected in his entire life.