The skies above the Xuan Realm churned with violet clouds, and thunder rumbled across the vast mountain ranges. Deep in the wild forests of the Eastern Wastes, a boy sat cross-legged atop a jagged stone altar, surrounded by flickering jade lanterns. His body glowed faintly, an aura of mystery clinging to him like morning mist.
His name was Li Yi.
But no one in the realm truly knew who he was. Not the mortal villagers who raised him in secret. Not the wandering cultivators who scoffed at his meager spiritual presence. And certainly not the powerful sects that ruled from cloud-piercing peaks.
To the world, he was just another orphan—silent, strange, and often seen staring into the sky with longing eyes.
But the truth was buried deep in his blood.
Eighteen years ago, on the night of the twin moons, a storm much like this one raged across the heavens. It was then that his father, Li Feng, a prodigy of the lower branch of the Li Clan—renowned even in the Upper Realm—had descended from the sky for the final time. Seeking to revisit his homeland and understand the mortal lands one last time, fate led him to her.
Her name, Li Yi never knew. But the stories whispered in the wind told him she was like a phoenix in human form—beautiful, proud, and wrapped in secrets. She had fled from her clan in the Upper Realm for a taste of freedom. And in that stolen moment, love bloomed.
Li Yi was born from that forbidden union.
A year later, a man arrived cloaked in celestial might. His presence alone warped the wind and silenced the birds. That man was Li Yi's grandfather. He bore no hatred, only cold reason. "The child cannot return with us," he had told his daughter. "Not yet. If word spreads that you bore a child before the sacred rites, not even I can protect you from the elders. Leave him here. It will be better for all."
And so they did.
Li Feng kissed his son's brow. Li Yi's mother wept quietly beneath the twilight sky. With solemn hearts, they left, promising to return in a year.
But a year passed. Then another. And another. Still, no one came.
Now, Li Yi stood at the edge of his sixteenth year, his soul filled with unanswered questions and a fire that would not die. Though he had never cultivated a single day, he could feel something sleeping inside him—like a beast coiled in darkness, waiting to awaken.
And tonight, the heavens stirred again.
A bolt of lightning struck the ancient altar, splitting the stone beneath him. Li Yi's eyes snapped open, gleaming with silver light. Symbols no one had taught him began to shimmer in his mind. His blood roared, and deep within, a seal—laid dormant for sixteen years—began to crack.
The heavens had not forgotten him.
And neither had his destiny.