The thick scent hung in the air, metallic and raw, clinging to the walls of the cave like a curse.
A young man sat motionless in the gloom, eyes shut, as if dead—until they snapped open, revealing a darkness deeper than night.
In front of him, there was an empty basin with red liquid residue at the bottom, which seemed to be the blood of some creature.
"Where am I?" Xue Mo thought, his mind clouded with the memory of a golden light piercing his chest, the destruction of his soul, and then the darkness that followed. When he finally regained consciousness, he found himself in this unfamiliar place.
Thoughts of Ling Chen's betrayal clawed at his mind like a phantom, echoing the final moments of his former life.
"Did I reincarnate?" Xue Mo wondered as he sat cross-legged.
Looking at the unfamiliar environment and his own body, Xue Mo had to accept the fact that he had indeed reincarnated. But in this new life, the sting of betrayal still lingered, a cruel reminder that trust was a luxury he could no longer afford.
A sharp pain split his mind as foreign memories poured in, of a desperate outer disciple, the oppressive rules of the Azure Sky Sect, and a reckless attempt to absorb beast blood.
"Nghh…" A muffled grunt escaped him as the pain lanced through his skull. But he bore it. He had suffered worse.
"Tch…"
Xue Mo exhaled, a flicker of pain behind his eyes. These weren't his memories, yet they settled like sediments in his mind. Lin Feng.
That was the name of this body's former owner. An outer sect disciple of the Azure Sky Sect, which belonged to the righteous faction.
Of course, the Azure Sky Sect would only nurture disciples who are productive, not burdens.
Disciples who were unable to break through their cultivation within the stipulated time frame would be deemed as having poor aptitude and not worth nurturing. They would be stripped of their disciple status and expelled.
The same held true for even inner sect disciples and above, thus forcing everyone to cultivate or risk being expelled from the sect.
This served as motivation for everyone in the Azure Sky Sect, which caused them to spend more time cultivating.
In desperate bid to pass, Lin Feng had tried to devour beast blood but its wild nature had overwhelmed his weak soul, reducing him to a husk.
The practice of absorbing beast blood was fast and powerful but came with endless troubles. Even a slight mistake could result in death.
"According to the memories of the original owner, I have one month left. If I don't break through to the sixth level of Qi cultivation within that time, I will be stripped of my disciple status."
The original owner barely reached the fourth level after years of struggle… and now I have one month to find a way to reach the sixth
The memory of betrayal carved itself into his mind like a brand. He clenched his jaw discarded once, but never again.
Xue Mo's expression returned to normal. Absorbing an entire life's worth of memories was dangerous—without a strong soul, one could lose themselves or even turn brain-dead.
It's because he had reached the saint realm and his soul had been tempered countless times that he was able to assimilate it without being changed by it.
With this bodies poor aptitude a year wouldn't be enough. And he only had one month.
That was why the original owner of this body took the risk of devouring a large amount of beast blood. For Lin Feng, a body with poor talent and lacking resources, expulsion seemed inevitable.
Xue Mo smiled, now understanding the situation. Lin Feng had one month left to break through to the sixth level of the Qi Cultivation before being expelled. But with such poor talent, it seemed nearly impossible.
But Xue Mo wasn't Lin Feng, and a hurdle like this wasn't enough to even slow him down.
He refused to be cast aside again. A plan was already forming. He had one month. That was more than enough.
With that out of the way, Xue Mo tried to push himself up, but his limbs felt sluggish, as if weighed down by iron chains. A dull ache spread through his muscles. His former self could shatter mountains with a casual palm strike. Now, even standing was an ordeal.
"Ngh…"
A slight grunt slipped from his throat as he braced his hand against the cold stone floor.
"Crack."
His joints popped with resistance, his robes shifted as he forced himself upright, legs trembling under his own weight.
Step by shaky step, he stood—barely—but he stood nonetheless.
This body lacked the power he once had, but he would make sure to change that.
Without any hesitation, he wobbled until he could eventually walk well and then left the cave locking it before going.
"Tch." Xue Mo exhaled sharply. This body is truly useless.
But he couldn't remain in hiding forever. The sect awaited.
...
He stepped outside into the light, the stale air of the cave replaced by the chill of morning wind.
The sunlight outside was harsh, causing Xue Mo to squint for a moment. The familiar landscape of the outer sect greeted him—the modest courtyards, training grounds, and groups of disciples either practicing or just chatting.
He adjusted his white robes, taking a breath.
His first goal was clear—increase his cultivation. Resources were limited for outer sect disciples, and without sufficient strength, his position in the sect was precarious at best. He thought back to his betrayal; Ling Chen had taken everything from him, leaving nothing but a bitter taste of ambition and vengeance. He needed a plan.
The outer sect had various ways for disciples to earn resources: sect missions, arena matches, and personal contributions to the sect.
The fastest way to earn contribution points was through arena matches, which provided immediate rewards but would attract too much attention. Sect missions, on the other hand, provided a less inconspicuous means of gaining points.
Disciples of the Azure Sky Sect could receive a low-tier Qi gathering pill every day for their cultivation, and he happened to have not received his for the day.
He met several disciples on the way, but they were all very indifferent, ignoring him, and only some even turned to look at him.
With the original owner's memories, Xue Mo arrived at the Internal Affairs Hall to collect the Qi gathering pill.
There were many people in the hall, some of whom were here to collect Qi gathering pills, and some were here to receive sect missions.
Whether they were outer or inner sect disciples, they had to complete a sect mission every three months. Speaking of which, the original owner of the body had not yet completed this mission.
But there was still time. The immediate priority was to break through to the sixth level of Qi cultivation.
Weakened and powerless, Xue Mo waited at the end of the line, forced, for now, to obey the rules of those stronger than him.
...
An hour later, Xue Mo returned to his cave with the Qi gathering pill he had received and sat cross-legged on the ground.
What was most important for Xue Mo right now was getting stronger; only that way he could hold his own fate in his hand. He would not let anyone betray him again—he would become powerful enough to ensure that his past mistakes were not repeated.
Xue Mo was once one of the strongest Saint realm powerhouses, but after being reborn, he had to start again from the beginning. Now, he was just some weakling at the fourth stage of the Qi Cultivation realm.
On the path of cultivation, one of the most important things was what kind of skill was used. The higher the level of the skill used, the higher your achievements would be later on.
Once a top tier Saint realm powerhouse, Xue Mo had collected numerous Skills. If he were to ever decide to show just one skill, then all the people in the sect would kill over it.
Techniques were classified into nine ranks from Mortal all the way to Supreme rank and Xue Mo knew 3 skills in the seventh rank (Saint rank), each one of them priceless.
However, Xue Mo decided not to cultivate these 3 skills, even when practicing in his previous life he had plans to give them up.
This was because he had another skill, Blood Deity Art !
Xue Mo obtained this skill in an ancient ruin during his previous life. The skill had no known origin but he knew it was powerful.
According to Xue Mo's estimation, this skill's potential was way beyond the Saint category, it may have even reached the supreme level
When Xue Mo obtained this skill in his previous life, it was already too late, he was already a saint and the only way of cultivating it was to restart his cultivation. With his level of intelligence, he knew what would happen if he dared to do that.
In his previous life, this had been one of his biggest regrets–not being able to cultivate this Skill But since he had now been reborn, he would use this opportunity to practice this technique and surpass his past life.
"This body may be weak," Xue Mo murmured, eyes glowing faintly, "but I am not."
He crushed the Qi gathering pill in his hand. Clenching his fists as the energy spread through his limbs, his gaze hardening.
"Ling Chen," he murmured, voice low and cold. "You took everything from me."
"But this time… I'll take everything from you."*
The heavens had made a mistake giving him a second chance, and this time, he would not be stopped."