Chapter One: The Nameless Boy
In a world where strength decided life and death, there was a boy without a name. He was known only as "rat," "dog," or "trash." An orphan abandoned at birth, he scavenged the streets of Broken Cloud City, stealing scraps to survive, hiding from the fists and blades of those stronger than him.
But unlike other orphans, his eyes were never dull. They were sharp, cold, and calculating. Even in his hunger, he observed. Even in his weakness, he endured. He learned when to bow his head, when to stay silent, and when to run.
That night, however, there was nowhere left to run.
A group of outer disciples from the Iron Sword Sect had caught him stealing food again. Their leader, a youth named Luo Fan, sneered as he cornered the boy against the cliff path. "You again? Didn't I tell you last time, beggar? I'll tear out your tendons today. You'll crawl like a worm for the rest of your life."
The boy said nothing. His clothes were torn, his body covered in bruises, blood dripping from his mouth. Yet his gaze was steady.
They attacked. He ran.
His battered body tore through the dense forest, leaping over roots, slipping through gaps only someone desperate enough to survive would find. Still, their shouts drew closer, their laughter cruel. Blood soaked his back where a sword had grazed him. His lungs burned, his vision blurred.
At last, as his strength gave out, he stumbled into a hidden cave near the mountain peak. His body crashed into a cold statue shrouded in dust. His hand, slick with blood, smeared across the stone surface.
The cave trembled. The statue's eyes lit with golden fire.
Before he could even gasp, the world shifted.
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