The heavens split open with a roar.
Lightning danced across Cloudheart Mountain, illuminating the carnage atop its sacred peak. Jiang Yuefeng stood bloodied and broken—his once-magnificent robes torn and soaked in blood, his golden spiritual core cracked beyond repair.
Around him stood those he once called family—his disciples.
Lin Zhen. Yao'er. Feng Hai. Each one had knelt at his feet, begged for guidance, wept in gratitude. And now?
Their swords were drawn. Their eyes full of betrayal, not reverence.
"I gave you everything…" Yuefeng muttered, voice weak but steady. "You were meant to carry my legacy…"
"You gave us your shadow," Lin Zhen spat. "And kept the sun for yourself."
Yao'er smiled—cold, flawless. "This is your reward, Master. The throne of the heavens… is ours now."
A final blade plunged into his back.
The mighty Celestial Master, feared across ten thousand sects, fell to his knees. His vision dimmed. His spiritual sea shattered.
And the heavens turned away.
---
Darkness.
Then pain.
A blinding pulse of heat shot through Yuefeng's body. He gasped, sucking in a ragged breath. The scent of dust and rot filled his lungs.
He opened his eyes—and froze.
He was no longer atop Cloudheart Mountain. No longer in his powerful, honed body. He lay half-naked on the cold stone floor of what looked like an abandoned shrine.
Thin. Weak. Young.
Hands trembling, Yuefeng pushed himself upright and stumbled toward a cracked bronze mirror. The reflection staring back was that of a teenage boy—maybe fifteen, with sharp but underfed features, and no trace of cultivation.
"This… isn't a dream," he whispered. "I've been reborn."
> [System initializing...]
[User Identified: Jiang Yuefeng]
[Status: Mortal Body - Cultivation Stage: None]
[Welcome to the Dual Cultivation Cashback System.]
[Unique Feature: All progress earned by bound disciples is partially returned to you.]
[Base Cashback Rate: 10%]
[Advanced spiritual and emotional bonds increase rate.]
[System locked until Qi Gathering stage.]
[Objective: Begin cultivation. Recruit disciples. Ascend.]
Yuefeng stood there, stunned. A system? He had only heard of such things in ancient heretical texts—self-operating laws of heaven that attached themselves to chosen souls. And now, one had chosen him.
He clenched his fist. The bones cracked from weakness.
But his eyes gleamed with fire.
"No cultivation. No strength. No allies. That's fine," he muttered. "I built an empire once… I'll build another."
This time, he wouldn't be blind. He wouldn't give blindly. Every disciple would earn their place. Every bond would be tested. And every gain… would flow back to him.
He stepped toward the temple's shattered doors. Morning sunlight spilled through, casting long shadows across the broken floor.
Beyond lay a weak world, ripe for conquest.
And the first step on the path to reclaiming his throne.
> This time, Jiang Yuefeng wouldn't just ascend.
He'd make the heavens pay for ever casting him down.