The storm raged like a wrathful god.
Black clouds churned over the Endless Ridge, snarling and clawing at the earth with wild bolts of silver fury. Trees bent and snapped, rocks were torn from the mountain's spine, and ancient ruins that had endured for a thousand years cracked and crumbled beneath nature's unrelenting howl.
The world was screaming.
And yet… in the heart of it all, within a shattered temple swallowed by time, a boy lay untouched.
Ji Xuan's body was curled in a shallow crater formed by the broken altar. Moss had crept into his robes, and old blood had long since dried on his sleeves. For three days and nights, he had not moved. Not stirred. Not even breathed, it seemed.
If not for the faint shimmer of violet light beneath his skin, he might have been mistaken for a corpse.
But the world held its breath around him.
The wind howled, but never touched him.The rain fell, but never soaked him.The lightning struck down all around him… but never where he lay.
It was not coincidence.
It was warning.
The boy was not dead.
He was waiting.
Beneath the ruined temple, unknown to the mortals above, a lattice of ancient sigils pulsed weakly. Lines of celestial design carved into bedrock — the oldest formation ever constructed by man or god.
Most who passed by never even noticed the ruins, let alone what slept within them.
But Ji Xuan was different.
He had not come here by accident.
In fact, he hadn't come here at all.
He had awakened here — dragged from the void of dreams and emptiness by a whisper that didn't belong to this world.
He couldn't remember his name when he first opened his eyes.He couldn't remember what world he came from, or what laws it followed.All he remembered… was a voice.
"You do not belong to this story."
"So write your own."
Those were the first words Ji Xuan ever heard.They echoed inside his mind like an unspoken truth — louder than thunder, softer than breath.
When his eyes finally fluttered open, the world above him had changed.
The sky had shattered.
And the System had arrived.
[Eternity Protocol – Synchronization 0.1%]Welcome, Ji Xuan.Initial Blessings Unlocked.Directive: Surpass All Daos. Transcend Reality. Embody Existence.Warning: Host potential exceeds this realm's bounds. System limiter engaged.Seals active: Memory, Bloodline, Origin, Core Functionality.Estimated release: Conditional.
The words scrolled across his vision, etched into the very air in front of him.
And for a moment… Ji Xuan laughed.
Or he would have, if his body weren't so weak.
The voice in his head wasn't cold like most systems described in legends. It wasn't robotic. Nor was it overly friendly. It felt like him — as though he were speaking to a version of himself far older, far greater, and far beyond understanding.
He didn't panic. He didn't scream.He simply closed his eyes again and whispered:
"So… this is where it begins."
And then, he let the storm pass.
When the rain finally ceased, the mountains wept in silence.
The world around the temple lay in ruin — landslides had erased entire paths, villages had been buried beneath collapsed ridges, and every beast in a hundred li radius had either fled… or died.
But the boy beneath the altar stirred.
His hand twitched.
Then his fingers curled, grasping at the damp earth.
When Ji Xuan sat up, his hair was slicked with dust and ash. His skin glowed faintly beneath the grime, a soft violet shimmer beneath his pale flesh. His body ached, but it was not pain — it was pressure.
The kind of pressure a sealed god might feel, trapped inside a human frame.
The System pulsed again.
[Physical Seal: 99.9%]Strength: Mortal 1st Rank.Soul Strength: Locked.Bloodline: Suppressed.Innate Talent: Heaven-Defying.
Suggested Directive: Begin Cultivation. Expand System Sync. Locate Dao Resonance Node.
Ji Xuan exhaled slowly.
The breath he released shimmered like stardust.
"Fine," he said, voice rough. "Then let's begin small."
He stood.
In a small valley below the Endless Ridge, chaos reigned.
Survivors from nearby villages gathered in makeshift camps, their faces pale, their hands trembling. Healers scrambled to treat wounds with limited supplies. Elders knelt before broken totems, praying to the heavens for mercy.
Among them stood a girl with silver hair and blood on her robes.
Lian Yue.
Daughter of the White Frost Clan. A genius in her own right, born with the Frost Jade Bone Physique, but looked down upon for being born out of wedlock to a servant mother.
She was seventeen. Beautiful in a quiet, noble way — eyes like frozen moonlight, expression unreadable, spine straight even as exhaustion tried to bend her.
She moved from tent to tent, administering salves, whispering incantations, and lending her own spiritual essence to stabilize those on the verge of death.
And yet her eyes never stopped scanning the ridge above.
Because three days ago… she had seen a light.A violet light.Falling from the sky like a comet, swallowed by the mountains.
She hadn't told anyone.
Because something inside her had whispered that this light wasn't something to share.That it wasn't falling.
It was descending.
Ji Xuan emerged from the mountain temple like a god returning to earth.
His clothes were tattered, his body lean but straight, and his eyes…
His eyes should not have belonged to a human.
Even at a distance, Lian Yue felt it.
The moment her gaze found him standing on the ridge, her breath hitched.
He was alone. Silent. Surrounded by the wreckage of heaven's fury.
And yet… it looked like the storm had come for him, and not the other way around.
She didn't know why, but her heart began to race.
"Who…" she murmured, eyes narrowing.
Ji Xuan turned. Looked down the ridge.
Their eyes met.
The connection was instant. A strand of violet light sparked between them, visible only to those who understood the laws of Fate.
Lian Yue blinked. Her spiritual core pulsed — not in warning, but in resonance.
[System Alert: Dao Resonance Detected – Yin Heart of Frozen Moonlight.]Compatibility: 92.3%Suggesting: Heroine Integration Path – Phase One.
Ji Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Heroine, is it?" he murmured.
He smiled.
And across the valley, Lian Yue's heart skipped a beat.
He descended with unhurried steps, like someone who had all the time in the world.
By the time he reached the edge of the valley, several guards had drawn their weapons.
"Halt!" one shouted. "Identify yourself!"
Ji Xuan stopped. Looked at the man. Then at his blade.
And with a faint sigh, he said, "That sword is cracked along the spiritual line. The next swing will shatter it."
The guard blinked. "What did you—?"
CRACK.
The blade snapped in two, just from the pressure of Ji Xuan's gaze.
Several cultivators staggered back, eyes wide.
"Monster!"
"Demon!"
Ji Xuan's expression didn't change. He turned toward Lian Yue, who had stepped forward with narrowed eyes.
"Who are you?" she asked. "You're not from the Southern Territory."
"No," Ji Xuan replied. "I'm not."
"You don't have a clan badge. Or a sect token. You're not registered on the Spirit Pavilion networks. Which means you're either a rogue cultivator… or something else."
Ji Xuan tilted his head. "You're sharp."
"I don't trust pretty men who fall out of the sky and break weapons with their eyebrows."
He smiled faintly. "You'll like me less when I start rewriting the laws of this world."
That gave her pause.
But strangely… she believed him.
And it terrified her.
[System Sync 0.3% Reached.]Cultivation Path Unlocked: Eternity Dao Root (Fragmented)Primary Cultivation: Eternity Vein Absorption – Begin.Heroine Affinity (Lian Yue): 16% – Curiosity & Distrust.Next Step: Establish Mortal Foundation Realm – 3 Days Remaining Before Realm Suppression Activates.
Danger Approaching: Crimson Veil Cult Disciples – Estimated Arrival: 2 Hours.
Ji Xuan turned his gaze north.
And smiled again.
It was not the smile of a boy.
It was the smile of something waking up for the first time in millennia.
Something… hungry.
End of Chapter 1.