In Si Fanghu Town, the night before the awakening ceremony.
In the living room of Zhou Jingxuan's house, his aunt and uncle were sitting side by side with grim expressions. In front of them, tea sat on the table, already beginning to go cold. They had no mood to savor its taste.
His uncle, Zhou Dashan, drank the tea in one gulp and said,
"Have you been treating Jingxuan well these days? I know you hate him, but if he awakens an First-grade talent like his father, then we will be doomed if he holds a grudge against us."
Jingxuan's aunt, Jingyi, sneered in disdain as she said,
"Don't worry. I have already deceived that foolish brat, making him think we were being harsh on him for his own good these past few days."
His uncle's expression eased as he changed the subject.
"Are Wenbin and Wenjing well prepared for the awakening ceremony?"
His aunt replied in a proud and excited tone,
"Both are very excited for tomorrow's ceremony, especially Wenbin."
Wenbin and Wenjing were the twin children of Jingyi and Dashan. They were the same age as Jingxuan, so they would be taking the ceremony alongside him.
The Day of Awakening.
This day was like a festival in Si Fanghu Town. The streets were filled with a variety of stalls selling everything from meat, wolf skins, and animal hides to all kinds of snacks. Among the crowd, performers acted out dramas and showcased the history of Si Fanghu Town.
On this day, people prayed for the talent of the new generation. It was also the graduation day for the final-year students of Zhou Mingji Academy and the three other academies from neighboring clans. A competition was held among the graduating students of all the neibhouring clans during the day, while the awakening ceremony would take place at night.
On this day, Jingxuan woke up late, knowing the ceremony would be held at night. His room was on the second floor, and after cleaning himself, he went downstairs to the living room.
There, he saw a very thin man advising two children before sending them off. By his side stood a middle-aged woman , her hair were starting to turn white from sides. This was his uncle and his family. His uncle had been injured, leaving him thin and frail, while his wife was only average in beauty.
When they noticed Jingxuan coming down, his uncle and aunt turned around. His uncle asked warmly,
"Jingxuan, are you excited for today's ceremony?"
Jingxuan replied with excitement,
"Yes, Uncle."
His aunt Jingyi said enthusiastically, with a warm smile,
"Our Jingxuan is sure to awaken an outstanding talent."
Hearing this, Jingxuan smiled like a naive child.
"Aunty, I will try my best not to let you down."
But inwardly, he sneered in disdain. He knew he didn't have an outstanding talent like his father. In his past life, once it was revealed that his talent was only average, his life had turned into hell. His uncle and aunt had then shown their true colors. The scars on his body which he saw after being reborn were made by this very aunt.
Now, with the awakening ceremony drawing near, she feared he might awaken with outstanding talent, so she had begun her act of kindness. He clearly saw through their schemes. In his past life, he had been a naive child, and at that time, their act had worked. But now—how could it possibly deceive a demon?
After that, he received some pocket money from his uncle and left the house. Si Fanghu Town was structured around a large lake at its center, with the four clans occupying the lake equally. The lake lay in the middle, and the four clans settled on each side, forming a square around it. The Zhou Clan was located to the east of the lake.
Although every clan in Si Fanghu Town held its own awakening ceremony, they were conducted separately. The only joint event was the martial competition for graduates, held by the lake, which served as the alliance's shared territory. The ceremonies themselves took place facing the lake, but always within each clan's respective grounds.Seeing that he still had time before the ceremony, Jingxuan decided to roam the town a little before going.
Night soon fell. It was a full moon night, with only a few stars glowing faintly.
The streets were lit with lamps, creating a beautiful festival atmosphere under the moonlight. The candidates began moving toward the Zhou Clan pavilion. Zhou Jingxuan also made his way there, seeing many familiar faces among the other candidates.
But his memories were incomplete. Too many faces from his past had faded with time.To him, they were insignificant. Only after three days of effort had he managed to recall a handful of people who had once left a impression on him.
But now, he could care less about these people, as his thoughts turned to the legendary lore of this world—a story known by everyone, from immortals to mortals. There was hardly a person who had not heard the legendary tale of Hao Tian and Fan Ren, also called the Tale of God and Devil.
There were many versions of the tale, as it had been passed down from ancient times, generation to generation. Over time, countless variations emerged, and people believed whichever version suited them.
But Jingxuan, having been a Divine Rank Immortal in his previous life, naturally knew the most accurate story.
Although there were many versions of the story, the meaning of "devil" was almost always the same. Here, the devil did not represent a true devil, but rather an ordinary human who became the devil in the life of the god. Because of this, people did not despise the devil, Fan Ren.
The tradition of holding the awakening ceremony at night came from this very story of the devil, and it was a custom followed by the entire world.
Tale of the God and the Devil, Devil's Chapter One –
In the beginning of the world, the world was created by the Great Miracle. Afterwards, the Miracle was destroyed after creation. Humans were also created by the Great Miracle. A human named Hao Tian luckily obtained a fragment of the Great Miracle after it exploded and became God. Soon, he reigned over humans and led the human race.
On one night, a group of humans under the God disappeared mysteriously in their sleep. The Devil, or Fan Ren, was among the group of people who disappeared. After waking up from their sleep, the group of people found that they were not in their homes but in a mysterious dark place. Many deemed it a dream and tried various methods to wake up from it. But they soon realized this was not a dream but reality.
The group of people were extremely nervous and fearful of this new dark environment. Fortunately, there were no beasts near the place they were teleported to. Although there were no beasts here, they soon found out that a large number of plants and trees were dangerous, and some were even able to move. They barely managed to scrape some dry twigs and leaves that had fallen from normal trees and started a fire, soon forming a mini village. They prayed to their God daily, except when they were sleeping, hunting, or eating. Even Fan Ren prayed sincerely.
Soon they found a new problem—food. The people were gathering what little food was near the village, but they didn't have the courage to go farther in search of it. Eventually, they began to starve, having neither food nor water. Still, they believed their God would save them, and they prayed blindly.
Before long, people started to die from starvation. They ate the dead to sustain themselves for a while. Yet even then, they still believed in their God and trusted that he would save them. But Fan Ren soon realized that God would not come. He became determined to leave the village. He tried to convince the others to escape the dark place together, but they mocked him, saying he could go if he wished while they waited faithfully. Fear held him back from venturing alone, and so, for a time, he remained among them.
Days passed, and the situation grew worse. Their God never came to save them. How could He? This place was the Last Level of Hell, though neither the ignorant people nor Fan Ren knew it.
Soon, Fan Ren realized his only hope of escape was to leave alone. Though fear weighed heavily on him, he became fully determined. Better to rely on himself than wait for God and die.
He took his first step out of the village. At that moment, the 'First Step Mingji' moved into his lower abdomen and awakened his ring aperture. A ray of light flashed in his eyes and vanished just as quickly. Fan Ren began his journey, walking in the direction where the light had shone.
This first chapter of the Devil shows that one must rely on oneself; only then can a ray of hope appear, even in the worst situation. If Fan Ren had been like the others and stayed behind praying, he would have surely died. But because he chose to rely on himself, even though he was fearful, the moment he took that most difficult First Step, he saw a ray of hope.
Jingxuan stopped pondering as he stepped in front of the grand pavilion. Two words were written on the board: Zhou Pavilion.