Wanchuan Continent.
Divided by flowing rivers, the world is home to seventy-three thousand great rivers. Each river spans thirty thousand miles of towering mountains, and within each, countless living beings thrive.
Within the Fenglei River region, lies Longxu Cave.
Longxu Cave is the site of an ancient battlefield. Every year on the third day of the third month, the seals around the site weaken. Disciples from Fenglei Xuanzong and surrounding sects enter the area for trials and treasure hunting.
It is filled with danger, but those who obtain fortune here are guaranteed a smoother path in cultivation.
Deep within Longxu Cave, in a dried-up well...
"Lin Ye, hand over the Saint Domain Scroll! Or you will perish, body and soul!"
"Lu Jue! We've been brothers for decades, yet for a mere Saint Domain Scroll, you set up a Blood Soul Soul-Refining Array to kill me? I misjudged you!"
"Brothers? I, Lu Jue, am of the Divine Gifted Royal Clan, and you are nothing more than a lowly commoner who got lucky! Do you think being a ninth-grade alchemist makes you my equal? Hand it over, and I may spare your life to make pills for the royal clan!"
"Lin Ye, what are you doing—you're detonating your own soul?!"
Rage, frenzy, hatred, and unwillingness—all surged forth.
In a pool of blood, a young man suddenly sat up. The damp and decaying air entered his nostrils, shocking him awake!
Looking at his hands, the youth muttered, "I... I'm not dead? No... I've been reborn... This is the Wanchuan Continent!"
Memories surged, stabbing his mind. Fragments of the original body's past flooded in, and Lin Ye quickly absorbed them. He was originally a ninth-grade alchemist from the Divine River Continent, having already reached the Returning Void Realm.
A peerless genius of both alchemy and martial arts, he was betrayed and killed by Lu Jue, prince of the Divine Gifted Royal Clan—someone he had considered a lifelong friend—using a cruel and vile formation.
The original owner of this body also met a tragic fate. During a sect trial, he found a spirit herb deep in a well. But just as he passed it up, fellow disciple Zhou Taian struck him in the chest, causing him to fall into the well, mortally wounded.
The well was sealed with a giant stone, cutting off all light. He was left to rot and die.
"Unexpectedly, you and I suffered the same fate. Now that I've been reborn in Wanchuan Continent, I, Lin Ye, shall rise again, return to the peak, and take my revenge! Divine Gifted Royal Clan? So noble? I will trample you beneath my feet!"
"Zhou Taian—betrayer! I'll avenge this body by killing you myself!"
Lin Ye, once a peak expert, was mentally unshaken. In this life-or-death crisis, he quickly adjusted and began to assess his current physical condition.
"Both legs broken, ribs fractured, internal organs damaged, left hand fractured... Spiritual Spring Realm, level six... This cultivation level is pathetic."
He confirmed that the cultivation system here was the same as in Divine River Continent:
Spiritual Spring Realm
Qi Sea Realm
Earth Change Realm
Celestial Phenomenon Realm
Star River Realm
Moon Wheel Realm
Sun Blaze Realm
Returning Void Realm
Saint Domain
In his previous life, Lin Ye had already reached Returning Void Level Nine, and with both alchemy and martial prowess at his peak, he was about to break into the Saint Domain with the help of a scroll. Yet he had been betrayed.
"This Fenglei Xuanzong's strongest is only at Celestial Phenomenon Realm? And they call this a sect?"
Shaking his head, he attempted to cultivate his old technique to heal and escape.
Just as he tried to activate it—
A surge of blood-red light flooded his vision.
Boom!
A wave of blood crashed against a crimson mountain rising from the depths of a bloody sea within his mind.
Etched into the peak were several bold characters:
Nine Revolutions Asura Technique
Below the words, a short note:
"Upon completing nine revolutions, one can slay Saints."
Only seven words, yet they exuded a boundless, domineering aura. Despite his past experience at Returning Void Realm, Lin Ye trembled. The sheer might of this technique was terrifying.
"Why is this in my mind? The Saint Domain Scroll! This must be the technique recorded within! Hahaha, so the scroll required death as the key! Heaven truly favors me!"
As the blood sea surged, the first layer of the technique emerged. Lin Ye memorized it instantly and began to cultivate.
The blood sea in his mind was not illusion—it became his true source of power.
"I can actually draw strength from the blood sea!"
When he activated the Nine Revolutions Asura Technique, strands of energy entered his body—Blood Fiend True Qi.
He quickly formed the first strand. The technique surged, and his cultivation instantly broke past his current limits.
Boom!
Spiritual Spring Realm Level Seven!
Some of his external injuries healed.
He absorbed more from the blood sea.
Boom!
Spiritual Spring Realm Level Eight!
Boom!
Spiritual Spring Realm Level Nine!
His powerful true qi restored most external wounds. Internal ones required time and care.
"Strange... why does the air reek of blood?"
He released a strand of energy. Red light lit the dark well.
He found blood spirit grass growing on the well walls.
"A thousand-year-old blood spirit grass! Though common, this aged root could be classified as second-grade!"
Herbs and pills were ranked from grade one to nine.
As a ninth-grade alchemist, Lin Ye immediately recognized its value. To others, it might be poison, but the roots were excellent for healing internal wounds.
He chewed and swallowed three roots, enduring the nauseating, burning pain for half an hour. At last, his body felt lighter.
Recovered, Lin Ye leapt up the well walls. It was over thirty meters deep. The boulder above was too heavy—thirty thousand catties.
"Zhou Taian is also at Spiritual Spring Nine. He couldn't have moved this rock."
"But I don't need to move it—just destroy the edge supporting it!"
Channeling Blood Fiend True Qi into his fist—
Boom!
He shattered the well's edge. The boulder, losing balance, rolled down.
Lin Ye jumped out, back into daylight!
As soon as he landed, four figures surrounded him.
"Fenglei Xuanzong disciples? Heh… hand over the treasure, and we'll spare your corpse."
He didn't recognize their robes, but the original memories filled in the gap.
Dilie Sect—a notorious bandit sect in the Fenglei region.
"Attack!"
All four were at Spiritual Spring Nine.
"Perfect. I need to vent."
With a glint in his eyes, Lin Ye charged.
"Martial technique—Heaven-Piercing Finger!"
A lightning-fast strike. The leader felt death looming, hesitated, and died with a finger through his throat.
Poof!
His head exploded.
Two others attacked.
Lin Ye kicked the corpse at one of them and struck the other two with the same finger technique.
One remained.
"Dilie Blade Art!"
Fiery energy surged from his blade—but to Lin Ye, the technique was laughable. Too slow.
A flash—he was already behind the man.
Grabbing his throat—
"I'll ask once. Who ordered this ambush?"
"I… I don't know—"
Crack!
He snapped the man's neck.
All four, dead. Same level—but they were nothing to him.
Roar!
A black shadow leapt from the woods.
Scarlet eyes, cold fangs, bristled hair like steel needles, claws that could shred stone—
"A second-rank beast. Fanged Razorboar."
Lin Ye blinked—then gave a helpless smile.
"It's been a long time since I hunted little beasts like you."
The Fanged Razorboar let out a low growl and charged toward Lin Ye. Lin Ye kicked a blade on the ground, sending it flying.
Whoosh!
The long blade gleamed like a flash of cold light, hurtling toward the beast.
But with a casual toss of its head, the Razorboar knocked the blade aside and charged straight at Lin Ye.
Lin Ye raised his hand and delivered a palm strike to the boar's forehead. At the same time, he flipped into the air and landed behind it.
The Razorboar merely shook its head. Lin Ye was slightly startled.
"My strength right now is way too weak."
In the past, a single strike like that from him would've reduced a beast like this to pulp. Now it was barely fazed, shaking its head and launching another charge.
"This technique suits blood-fiend attribute qi perfectly—Luo Sheng Palm!"
Lin Ye didn't have a vast arsenal of ultimate techniques in his past life, but Luo Sheng Palm was among the most potent. It delivered tremendous impact and lingering force—but required blood-fiend qi to unleash its true power.
Without hesitation, Lin Ye activated the Nine Revolutions Asura Technique and struck with Luo Sheng Palm. A blood-red handprint seared into the boar's thick hide.
Boom!
The Razorboar tried to charge again, but its limbs gave out. It stumbled a few steps before collapsing, bleeding from its seven orifices, dead.
"Filthy beast."
Lin Ye wiped his hands.
He turned to leave—then paused.
Beast crystal cores had their uses too.
Picking up a long blade from one of the Dilie Sect corpses, he slashed open the Razorboar's skull and dug out the crystal core within.
"We should still be inside the trial zone of Longxu Cave. There are eighteen chambers within this cave, and any of them might hold treasures."
Information about the cave kept flooding back into his mind—memories from this body's original owner.
The original Lin Ye had been a core disciple of the Fenglei Xuanzong. Though his aptitude was average, his father had been a sect elder who made tremendous contributions, earning Lin Ye the position.
But Lin Ye's father had long since passed. His inheritance and relics were to be handed to Lin Ye on his eighteenth birthday.
And that birthday was just one month away.
If Lin Ye didn't survive until then, all of it would go to the sect.
It didn't take much thought to figure out why someone wanted him dead.
"Don't worry. Since I've taken over your body, I'll reclaim everything that's yours."
Lin Ye's tone was calm.
Now it was clear—Zhou Taian was just a pawn. Someone didn't want Lin Ye to see his eighteenth birthday. If he died, his father's legacy would go to the sect.
And that outcome would be decided by a single man.
Chief Steward of the Affairs Hall—Xu Liang!
Once he made it out, Lin Ye would be settling the score.
He arrived at a cold, quiet pool. Having been trapped in a dry well earlier, he was filthy and reeked. But the water was freezing.
"Why is this water so icy cold?"
He shivered involuntarily. Based on his instincts, something must be buried beneath the surface to cause this temperature.
He took a deep breath and submerged himself.
After diving about fifty meters down, he saw it—a black sword at the bottom of the pool.
"As I thought. This sword is forged from ten-thousand-year cold iron—chilling and bloodthirsty. Perfect for my Nine Revolutions Asura Technique."
He swam toward it, intending to pull it free. But it was embedded in a massive skull, half-buried in the mud.
"Judging by the size, it's likely the skull of a rank-four beast—Frostpool Serpent."
Its slayer had also likely perished here. Both had fallen in battle. To wield such a sword, the warrior must've been formidable.
Though today's trial participants were mediocre, this cave had once been a battlefield where many powerful figures had died.
Beside the pool, a young woman in green landed gracefully. Three men surrounded her, their eyes filled with greed, scanning her body shamelessly.
"Sister Qingyu, though we're not from the same sect, we all cultivate in Yichuan. That Wind Spirit Fruit—you keep one, and we three each take one. Fair deal, right?"
Liu Qingyu's delicate, beautiful face was frosty. Her eyes were filled with disdain.
"Everyone knows what kind of trash the Dilie Sect breeds. If you want the fruit in my hand, try my Willowblade Sword Technique first."
She was an inner disciple of Fenglei Xuanzong. After much effort, she had obtained four Wind Spirit Fruits from Longxu Cave. They could enhance one's cultivation and deepen understanding of wind-based sword techniques.
But these Dilie Sect vermin had set their sights on her.
Boom!
The pool behind her suddenly exploded, water splashing everywhere. A figure landed heavily on the ground.
Lin Ye used his qi to dry his clothes. His storage ring had been stolen, so he had nothing but the clothes he wore.
His sudden appearance startled the four.
When Liu Qingyu saw his robes, joy lit her face—he wore the uniform of a Fenglei Xuanzong core disciple!
The three Dilie Sect members hesitated. A core disciple likely meant someone at Qi Sea Realm.
But then Lin Ye turned around.
Liu Qingyu's joy froze.
"L-Lin Ye… Senior Brother Lin Ye?"
Lin Ye?!
Among the 146 core disciples of Fenglei Xuanzong, Lin Ye ranked dead last.
Though he had the title, his strength was so poor he couldn't even match the inner disciples. He only held the title because his father, a former elder, had contributed greatly to the sect.
Everyone considered him the most useless of the core disciples.
Liu Qingyu had thought she'd been saved—only to find someone who'd be dying alongside her.
"Hahaha, now who do we have here? I nearly got scared—turns out it's the famous Young Master Lin Ye! Hilarious!"
"Sister Qingyu, you can't blame us anymore. You've brought along the sect's most famous waste. Today, we're taking the Wind Spirit Fruit. But if you're willing to make us happy, maybe we'll spare your life."
Their leering eyes burned with lust as they looked at her pale skin.
None of them took Lin Ye seriously.
To them, he was just one more to kill.
"Dilie Sect?" Lin Ye asked coldly.
"That's right! And let me offer you a deal, Lin Ye. Crawl between our legs and we'll let you live! Hahaha!"
The three burst out laughing.
The speaker suddenly choked, reaching for his chest—only to find a sword impaled through it, piercing his lung.
Blood gushed from his mouth.
He looked up and saw—it was Lin Ye!
"H-He killed Wang Lei!"
"Kill him!"
The remaining two were stunned and drew their swords—but one's sheath jammed.
And in that instant, Lin Ye struck.
Slash!
With a single strike powered by blood-fiend qi and the cold edge of the iron sword, he cut the man in half diagonally.
Liu Qingyu stood frozen, stunned.
She hadn't expected Lin Ye to act—much less for him to instantly kill two Spirit Spring Level Eight cultivators!