The night sky was drowned in storm clouds, thick and oppressive like the very will of heaven had turned against him.
On the shattered cliff outside the Crimson Dawn Sect, Lian Hong knelt in a pool of his own blood. His robes were torn, his meridians ruptured, and his spirit root—once praised as a prodigy's gift—had been completely destroyed.
A former genius, reduced to a cripple.
Behind him, footsteps echoed across the rocks.
"Still alive?" a cold voice mocked.
Three young men in Crimson Dawn inner-sect robes stood nearby. Leading them was Wei Changbai, the senior brother Lian Hong once admired and trusted the most.
Lian Hong's vision blurred. He forced his head up, staring at them with eyes filled with disbelief, anger, and despair.
"Senior Brother… why?" he rasped.
Wei Changbai smirked.
"You did nothing wrong," he said casually. "Your only mistake was being too talented. A genius like you would've overshadowed me eventually. Naturally, I couldn't allow that."
He stepped closer, crouching before Lian Hong like one would before a dying beast.
"Don't worry," he whispered. "After you die, I'll take… very good care of your little sister."
Lian Hong's heart clenched with fury so intense it felt like flames were eating him alive.
"You… won't… get away with this…"
Wei Changbai's smile widened.
"Who will stop me? You?"
He placed his palm on Lian Hong's chest—and pushed.
A thunderous crack echoed as bones shattered. Lian Hong's body flew backward, plunging off the cliff into the endless darkness below.
His final sight was the stormy sky above, swirling like a cruel mockery of his fate.
Then, everything went black.
…
…
A faint breath escaped his lips.
"…I'm… alive?"
Lian Hong gasped awake.
Sunlight spilled across his face, warm and blinding. He jerked upright in reflex, heart pounding, expecting agony—but instead felt… whole.
No ruptured meridians.No shattered spirit root.No crippling pain.
Instead—
A small, worn-out wooden room surrounded him. A rickety bed. A cracked stove. Stacks of yellowed beginner scrolls.
This was…
The outer-sect servant dormitory.
His room.From ten years ago.
Lian Hong's breathing caught.
"Did I… return to the past?"
He pressed his hand to his chest, feeling the faint yet stable spiritual energy within.
His cultivation was back to Qi Gathering, First Layer. Weak—but intact.
Exactly where he had been when he first joined the Crimson Dawn Sect.
The memories came rushing in:
The betrayal.The humiliation.His sister's tragic fate.His path toward ruin.
All of it—still years away.
"This time…" he whispered, trembling slightly, "I won't let any of it happen."
Just as determination surged in his chest—
A cold, mechanical chime rang inside his mind.
[Ding! Detecting unstable soul resonance…][Conditions met. Initiating binding sequence…][3%... 27%... 88%... 100%][Binding Complete!]
A golden, translucent screen materialized before his eyes.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––[Supreme Ascension System]Status: DormantInitialization Quest:"The First Step of Defying Fate"
Objective:• Achieve one breakthrough before the Sect Entrance Trial
Reward:• Attribute Points ×10• 1× Basic Technique Draw––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Lian Hong stared at the glowing text, stunned.
Then slowly, a smile—cold, sharp, and utterly determined—rose on his lips.
In his previous life, he had nothing.
No protection.No backing.No second chance.
But now—
He clenched his fists, feeling power stir where only despair had existed before.
"Wei Changbai… Crimson Dawn Sect… the heavens themselves…"
His voice grew calm, yet carried the weight of a storm.
"Watch me. I will rise from the ashes you buried me in."
He looked at the hovering system screen, eyes blazing.
"In this life, I will ascend."