After leaving Heavenly Falls Academy, Yun Yuxuan felt as though her world had crumbled. Her chest was heavy, her vision blurred with unshed tears, and every step dragged like she was walking through quicksand. Even with all the determination she had clung to, there was no respect for her in a place where the strong ruled with the minds of rabid dogs.
Heavenly Falls Academy—the most prestigious soul master organization in the Eastern Plains loomed in the distance. Perched along the northeastern cliffs of Tian Po City, it overlooked her family's territory like a monument of pride and scorn. It was the only academy in the vast Shuoyuo Empire, the heart of every cultivator's dream… and the tomb of her reputation.
Yun Yuxuan lifted her gaze toward the academy's silhouette on the distant hills. Her heart ached, the pain digging deeper than any blade could. She stumbled into the dense foliage of the forest without caring that night was swallowing the sky.
She had wasted half a day already, sitting motionless on a silver-colored rock beside the river, tears blurring the current's shimmer. Going home would only mean mockery. She could already hear the laughter of the girls in her dorm, waiting to pounce like vultures.
All she had wanted was a better life—time with her adopted father, a chance to expand the Yun family's name until it shone across the Shuoyuo Empire. She had dreamed of making them the most glorious family in the Eastern Plains. But as she planned, the universe seemed to plan against her.
Her fingers brushed the sharp edge of the rock, pressing until skin tore. Warm blood welled up, dripping down her hand. Pain was no stranger. She had bled far more in the past months, and somehow, the sting of a cut felt cleaner than the filth of humiliation.
The sky bled orange as the sun sank, its last rays kissing her face. She gathered fallen branches, sparked a fire, and sat before its warmth. Tears no longer fell—she had cried enough. Now, only her pitiful, trembling body carried the weight of her emotions.
The flames flickered against her hand, casting a golden gleam across the silver ring she wore. Her storage ring. Its surface pulsed faintly, a trace of spiritual energy running through it like a heartbeat.
With a wave of her hand, light flared from the ring. A scroll appeared in her palm, manifesting with a heavy aura.
She had failed every advanced technique the Yun family had offered her. But this scroll… this was different. Mostly high level techniques weren't given out to members of the Yun family that easily but she and her brother were the only heirs to the Yun family ,this gave her a right to access even the beast transformation technique .
It was said to be the easiest to attempt, and the deadliest to master. A reckless power that could raise a cultivator by an entire domain or six to nine stages in a single breath. For Yun Yuxuan, still at the cultivation base of Hun Shi, using it meant she could leap directly into the rank of a Hun Wang. But the price… was life itself.
On this continent, three paths of cultivation existed: soul master cultivation, beast master cultivation, and physical cultivation. Only the first two nurtured spiritual energy. Their ranks aligned: Hun Zhe, Hun Shi, Hun Wang, Hun Huang, Hun Zun, Hun Sheng, Yuan Hun Zun, Hun Sheng Zun… and the Advancement Levels
Yun Yuxuan had once been hailed a prodigy. Born as a two-domain Hun Zhe, she possessed the strength to slaughter a hundred ordinary men at birth. But now, that glory was ash.
She stared at the scroll, her teeth digging into her lip until blood stained her mouth. If her talent had withered, if she was nothing more than a failed cultivator, then what purpose was there in enduring this humiliation?
With a trembling breath, she bit her finger and smeared her blood across the scroll. Instantly, red light ignited, pulsing with a mysterious power.
She barely noticed the subtle shift in the grass. The forest beneath Heavenly Falls was infamous for its magical beasts, and she should have known better than to stay here with such a weak cultivation base.
A figure slithered closer, it had purple scales glimmering with threads of spiritual energy. Its massive body moved with terrifying grace. Among the countless serpent species on the continent, most were venomous enough to kill in breaths.
But Yun Yuxuan's eyes were locked on the scroll. She clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palm, blood dripping onto the dirt. She reached forward again, the storage ring flashing—
A searing sting pierced her other hand.
Her body jolted. The pain was sharp, deep, unnatural. She collapsed from the rock, the scroll slipping from her grasp and landing several meters away. Her hand… she could barely feel it. It was as if it no longer belonged to her.
A strangled cry tore from her throat, raw and controlled, as she bit back the urge to scream. Her eyes flicked toward the rock she had sat upon, and then