The air was thick with smoke.Screams echoed through the night.
Flames danced against the darkness as goblins shrieked and laughed, setting huts ablaze. The stench of blood and burnt wood filled the air of Vale Village, a humble farming settlement at the edge of the empire.
Inside one of those burning homes, a newborn child cried.
"Arden! Arden!" a desperate voice called.
A burly man with a scar across his cheek kicked open the door, clutching a small infant wrapped in cloth. His leather armor was torn, blood dripping from his arm.
"Hold on, son… your old man won't let them take you."
His name was Harris Vale, a village guard, farmer, and one of the few who dared to stand against the raiders. Behind him, his wife lay motionless, struck down by a goblin's arrow.
The baby cried louder as if understanding the tragedy that had occurred.
Harris gritted his teeth. "Don't cry, my boy. Live… even if I can't."
He turned, drawing his sword as goblins poured into the yard. His roar echoed through the flames—
"Come at me, you green bastards!"
Steel clashed. The goblins snarled. And then, silence.
Time passed. The fire was extinguished by dawn, leaving only ashes and ruin.
Among the wreckage, a crying baby was found beside his father's fallen body — still gripping his sword, impaled into a goblin's corpse.
That baby… was Arden Vale.
When consciousness returned, it wasn't the simple mind of a newborn.It was the awareness of a man who had lived lifetimes.
So… this is reincarnation.
A faint, deep voice echoed in his thoughts. The crying stopped. His eyes, though infantile, reflected calm intelligence.
My name was Jin Ryu-Seong… Heavenly Spear Saint of Murim. I died at the peak, surrounded by disciples, and now—
He paused, feeling the warmth of a stranger's hand lifting him.
—I'm reborn in another world.
The villagers murmured, mourning Harris and his wife, unaware that the soul inside the baby's body was that of a man who once crushed mountains with his Qi.
"Poor child," said an old woman. "He's all alone now."
A younger couple stepped forward. "We'll take him. Harris saved our lives… we owe him this much."
Arden's tiny fingers clenched. So… my new life begins here.
Five Years Later
The northern wind bit like knives, but the small boy standing in the field did not flinch.
He held a crude knife in one hand, practicing slashes against a wooden post. His movements, though childish, carried the essence of discipline.
My meridians are weak, and this world's Qi is strange… softer, diluted by magic.
He exhaled slowly, his breath forming mist.
But it will do.
Each day, before dawn, Arden meditated. The villagers thought it strange for a five-year-old to sit still for hours, unmoving. Yet no one interfered — he was, after all, the orphan son of their hero.
That night, as moonlight bathed the fields, a faint shimmer appeared around his body — the first sign of Qi circulation.
He opened his eyes, smiling faintly.At last… the first stage.
The next morning, he carried a small handmade bow slung across his back.
"Arden, where are you going!?" his adoptive mother called.
"Hunting," he replied simply.
"H-Hunting!? Alone!?"
He didn't answer, only waved and walked toward the forest.
Inside, the shadows moved — goblins. Their yellow eyes glowed in the dark.
Arden nocked an arrow, drawing silently. His breathing slowed, and his Qi focused at the tip.
Inhale. Exhale. Release.
The arrow flew — thwip! — piercing a goblin's skull cleanly. It collapsed without a sound.
One shot. One kill.
Primitive creatures. Crude movements. No discipline.
For a moment, the old man within him resurfaced — the strategist, the cultivator, the warrior who had once commanded armies.
He gathered his prey, dragging it home as the sun rose.
That night, while the villagers celebrated his safe return, Arden sat quietly beneath the stars.
This world has magic, monsters, and adventurers… fascinating.
He clenched his small fists, feeling the energy pulse within him.
If I could reach the peak of martial arts in Murim… then in this world, where both Qi and Mana exist—
A faint grin crossed his lips.
—I shall reach beyond Heaven itself.
The night wind howled through the northern plains, and under that moonlight, the destiny of a new Sovereign was born.