From Zhuge Yu Jin's Perspective
Yu Jin's good humor had died.
Drowned in imperial ink and spat into his hand in the form of a sealed letter.
He held it as if it were poison. Not the kind that killed with pain—but the kind that corroded slowly, eating away at what little pride remained.
But the problem wasn't the letter.Not really.
The problem was the timing.
Because only two days before, he had stared death in the face.Not the glorious death of heroes in legends, wrapped in thunder and promises.But the filthy, silent death with no audience—sinking into the mud of a forgotten forest.
It had all begun with a simple thought.Hunt. Breathe. Escape.
Nothing more.
But the world—that damned world ruled by heavens eager to heap suffering on the already broken—had turned that "simple hunt" into a spectacle of disgrace.
Beasts.Many.Too strong.Too hungry.
They tore into him as if it were all part of a script.
And he… ran.Screamed.Fell.
Until his blood was no longer warm.Until his breath was nothing but lament.
And when his body no longer obeyed—when even his pride whispered of surrender—he saw it.
At the back of a hidden cave, among roots and bones, lay something that even fate, in all its irony, had not dared conceal completely:
A pearl.Small. Black. Dull.Ugly, even.The kind of thing that wouldn't draw the eye of a girl peddling trinkets in a village market.
But he touched it.
Not because he expected anything. Just the idle curiosity of someone already waiting for death.
And in that moment…the world changed its mind.
The heat that exploded from within his dantian was not normal. Not explainable.It was a response.
The spiritual seal that had shackled his body his whole life—
A seal he hadn't even known existed—cracked.Splintered.Broke.
His body healed.
Not with time.But with fury.
He returned home that same day.
Tearing across the roads as if fleeing death itself.
Inside, his chest burned—not with pain, but with possibility.
He was no longer the weak brother.No longer the "slow one," the "useless one."
He could surpass his own limits.
But for that, he needed time. A little time, but still time.
Unfortunately, the heavens apparently weren't done toying with him.
For when he arrived, she was already there.
Zhuge Mei Lin.
Her long brown hair tied back with a green ribbon, giving her a delicate, understated look. It swayed in the morning breeze as she stood at the entrance to his courtyard. Her thin-rimmed glasses sharpened her calm, calculating gaze—steady, never aggressive, her trademark. But her pale green eyes weren't serene as usual. They were worried, fixed on him. And at that moment, he knew trouble was coming.
His cousin.And the patriarch's right hand—his elder brother's right hand.
She waited for him at his door.
Her expression carried that weight which precedes disaster.And Yu Jin, still sweating from his run, understood:there would be no rest.
He was led without pause to the Ancestral Hall.No bath. No meal. No chance even to brush his mind against the Pearl.
And now…Here he was.
Standing.Before Zhuge Su Yeon—his elder brother.
And between his fingers, that letter.That cursed letter.
With words soft as polished knives.
"…in consideration of the differing cultivation paths…""…respectful dissolution…""…without prejudice to honor…"
Lies.All written with perfection.
Yu Jin read the end for the third time.
His brother, standing before him, still watched with that unshakable serenity.
Yu Jin drew a deep breath.
He didn't care about Wu Qing Xue.He had never even seen the girl.
But he hated being discarded like a scribal error in some ancient contract.
"This…"—he lifted the parchment as if it were a dead insect—"…is what they call honor now?"
His brother didn't answer immediately.Only narrowed his eyes—a nearly invisible movement.
"No," he said at last, voice smooth as silk over blades. "This is the rule of the strong over the weak."
Yu Jin laughed—louder than he ever had."Good. Good. So be it," he answered.
"Brother, if that is all, I'll take my leave."
He simply no longer cared for the matter. He wouldn't forget it—debts had to be paid, even if it took time. But now, he had other priorities.
"Very well. You are free," his brother replied after a pause.
Cold.
As always.
But Yu Jin had already turned away.And he did not look back.
The air outside the Ancestral Hall was lighter, but no kinder.
Yu Jin didn't stop.
Each step was a sharp beat against the ground.He walked fast—not from desperation, but from urgency, from restless need.
His destination was his own courtyard.
The one place where the world did not dare intrude without permission.And it was there he would begin reshaping his fate.
I will change.
The phrase filled his mind.
He wasn't a fool.He knew he was weak.He knew he was lacking.
If he wanted to overcome his destiny, hatred alone would never be enough.He had to forge it into a weapon.
But before he could plunge into his own plans, a voice echoed within him—serene, deep, far too old to belong to anything living.
"Your brother… is anything but simple."
Yu Jin didn't stop walking.
Didn't startle.Not anymore.
That voice had spoken to him before.
Inside the cave.While he bled, burned, and died…It had come.And saved him.
"What do you mean, senior?"
The question came clearly, inward, like thought spoken through bone.
"Honestly? I don't know either."
The answer was unexpected.
"He is an anomaly. A veil. A wall of mist and jade. I see through planes, laws, lineages… but him…"
"…it's as if he and the world itself are one."
"And that… is extraordinary."
Yu Jin clenched his fists.
His steps slowed slightly, not from doubt—but from digestion.
That information wasn't an obstacle.
It was only an observation, but a heavy one.
If even an ancient relic can't see through my brother… then maybe…
He lifted his eyes to the pale gray sky through the dancing plum branches.The wind brushed his face like a reminder:
…he would not be the only one to astonish this world.
Yu Jin smiled.
"Perfect," he whispered. "All the better."
And then, without hesitation, he continued his path.
But within, the voice returned—like thunder whispering, yet still shaking the mountains of the soul.
"In any case, you need not worry about him."
Its tone was calm, yet cutting.Like one who sees the entire world… and deems it a miscalculation.
"Least of all about that letter. In a few years, that Wu girl will be nothing but dust."
The words rang with the indifference of an entity that had watched centuries pass like days.
"You need only focus now on receiving the first level of my inheritance…"
"…and soon, this little empire will be too weak to contain you."
Yu Jin didn't reply at once.
The path to his room wound between dark wooden buildings and corridors where shadows clung beneath the eaves.The sky glowed a pale, spiritual gray—the color cultivators said heralded revelations.
Perhaps they were right.
He drew a deep breath, feeling the quiet weight of the black pearl slumbering in his dantian.It didn't shine—didn't need to.
"I understand, senior," he murmured within.
Not with blind reverence.But with the respect of one finally addressed as something other than trash.
An inheritance…An empire too weak to hold me…
Those words weren't sweet promises.They were fuel.
Yu Jin clenched his fists tight.
The crumpling of the letter was swallowed by the morning wind.
And with his eyes fixed on his courtyard ahead, he moved forward.Step by step.
The inheritance was calling.And the world…
…would regret it.