The sky was broken.
Not cracked—shattered.
Above the ruins of the Divine Realm, the heavens burned in fractured layers of gold, violet, and abyssal black. Laws that once governed the world screamed as they collapsed, space itself folding and tearing under the weight of god-level power.
Somewhere there Nie Li stood alone.
Blood ran down his arm, soaking into the shattered marble beneath his feet. His breathing was steady—not because he wasn't injured, but because fear had long since abandoned him.
Before him hovered six Deity Rank demon spirits, each one an incarnation of destruction.
Nie Li could no longer tell how long he had been fighting. His soul force flickered weakly, like a candle burning at the end of its wick. Every breath felt borrowed.
Yet his eyes—
His eyes shifted.
Not toward the demon spirits.
But far away.
At the edge of the collapsing heavens, another battlefield existed—one even the gods dared not approach.
And there, the balance was clear.
The Sage Emperor was retreating.
Barely.
Jade light tore through the heavens like a divine verdict. Space buckled wherever it passed, laws cracking and reforming in its wake. At the center of that devastation stood a single figure, wrapped in a Robe of the Sage and a divine sword in his hand that radiated absolute authority.
Karma Uzumaki.
His cloak flowed like living jade, sigils blazing, suppressing heaven and earth alike. Each step he took forced the Sage Emperor back, blood staining the void with every exchange.
The Sage Emperor's expression—calm to all others—was tight.
Pressed.
For the first time in that war, he was not in control.
Karma's breathing was heavy, his body riddled with wounds—but his aura was overwhelming, dominant, victorious.
It should have ended soon.
It would have ended soon.
Then—
Karma's body jerked violently.
His expression changed—to that of immense pain.
His hand rose instinctively to his heart.
The Robe of Sage dimmed.
Just for an instant.
Nie Li felt ice flood his veins.
No…
Not now—!
Karma's bloodline disease.
Why would it surface now of all times?!
That single moment—
That fraction of a breath—
Was enough.
The Sage Emperor's eyes sharpened.
He did not hesitate.
He did not waste the chance.
A weapon condensed from pure law pierced forward—silent, merciless—
Straight through Karma's heart.
The heavens screamed.
The Robe of Sage shattered, fragments of divine sage robe dissolving into nothingness.
Karma staggered.
Then fell backward through the broken sky.
Nie Li's mind went blank.
"KARMA—!!"
His voice tore through the void, raw and broken, but no sound reached the other battlefield.
Karma's head lifted.
His gaze—dim, unfocused—found Nie Li across the collapsing heavens.
For a moment, the chaos faded.
Just the two of them.
Karma smiled.
Weak.
Apologetic.
His lips moved.
"I'm… sorry," he said quietly.
"I failed."
Then—
The light in his eyes went out.
The Jade Emperor fell.
Nie Li's scream never finished.
The six demon spirits surged forward, but Nie Li no longer saw them. His soul had already burned past its limit.
Exhaustion swallowed him whole.
Darkness encroached, but his mind lingered on faces that had shaped his life:
Ye Ziyun.
Karma.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "In the end… I couldn't protect you."
Karma, the proud heir of the Uzumaki Family, had stood against the Sage Emperor alone. He had almost won—almost. But fate intervened, and Nie Li was left shattered.
(Back to present)
Beyond the Saint Ancestral Mountains, the outside world had long since fallen into ruin.
Snow Wind Beasts roamed freely across the land, ruling what was once humanity's domain. The people who lived within the mountains had been completely cut off for hundreds of years, unaware of the fate of the rest of mankind.
No one truly knew the truth of the world beyond the mountains. Legends spoke of a distant age when human civilization stood at its peak, when powerful empires ruled vast territories and cultivators challenged the heavens themselves. Yet, one by one, those empires had been wiped out.
Only this city endured.
Hidden deep within the Saint Ancestral Mountains, concealed from the eyes of powerful demon beasts, it had survived the brutal Age of Darkness. From above, the city lay in a secure mountain basin, its massive walls bearing countless scars from repeated assaults. Demonic beasts attacked time and again, yet after suffering heavy losses, they were forced to retreat.
Those weathered walls became an indomitable monument—a symbol of human resilience.
This city was the final refuge of humanity.
It was called Glory City.
Within the city stood the Holy Orchid Institute, a place where the next generation of cultivators honed their skills. Its tiled rooftops gleamed in the sunlight, and its orderly halls reflected the discipline instilled in its students.
Inside one classroom, the Fighter Apprentice Class sat quietly, rows of young cultivators facing the podium at the front.
A woman stood there, arms crossed, her long red hair cascading down her back. Her presence alone commanded silence. She was the instructor—a member of the Sacred Family, one of Glory City's four major families.
Whispers spread among the students.
"I heard the new teacher is from the Sacred Family."
"And she's a Silver-ranked Demon Spiritualist."
The instructor ignored the murmurs and began calmly, her voice steady.
"In cultivation, both fighters and demon spiritists are divided into ranks—Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black Gold, and Legend Rank. Each rank is further divided into star levels."
She raised her hand slightly, her eyes sharp.
"Fighters rely on their own strength, tempering their bodies and cultivating their soul force. Demon spiritists, however, integrate a demon spirit into their soul realm. By merging with it, they gain power far beyond that of ordinary fighters."
Her lips curved faintly.
"Just like me."
Flames suddenly erupted around her body, and the air trembled with raw energy. Behind her, a fox-shaped spirit formed, wreathed in blazing scarlet fire.
"Scarlet Flaming Fox!"
Heat and light flooded the classroom as the students stared in stunned silence.
"As a Gold-ranked Demon Spiritist, my demon spirit is also Gold-ranked," she explained. "That means the highest I can reach is Gold Rank."
The flames slowly faded.
"Once my cultivation advances further," she added, "I can replace it with a stronger demon spirit."
The room fell silent, fully aware of the vast gap between them and true cultivators.
Then—
Nie Li's eyes snapped open.
He gasped, heart pounding, sweat soaking his back. The familiar wooden ceiling came into view—the classroom. The Holy Orchid Institute.
Glory City!!.
His hands shook as he turned his head.
Du Zhe. Lu Piao.
They were all there—alive, unharmed, arguing quietly like they always had.
They're alive…
Then his gaze landed on her.
Ye Ziyun.
Purple hair glinting in the sunlight, calm expression.
"…Ziyun…"
Tears welled up uncontrollably.
And then—he saw the figure sitting beside her.
For a brief moment, the noise of the classroom faded into the background. Sitting there, relaxed as if nothing in the world could trouble him, was Karma.
His crimson-red eyes were open, clear and steady, carrying a calm depth that made Nie Li's chest tighten without warning. They weren't fierce, nor arrogant—just quietly aware, as though he had already seen too much to be surprised by anything.
His hair fell loosely around his face, dark red at its base, threaded with faint orange highlights that caught the light in thin, ember-like lines. They were subtle enough to be overlooked at first glance, yet once noticed, impossible to forget.
The familiar sight struck Nie Li like a blade to the heart.
Alive.
Breathing.
Unscarred.
Nie Li's fingers clenched beneath the desk. In his past life, that same face had been framed by blood, those same eyes dimming as the heavens collapsed.
And yet now—here he was, sitting only a few steps away, unaware that he had once stood alone against the Sage Emperor himself.
Nie Li forced himself to look away before the emotion in his eyes betrayed him.
Suddenly, panic struck him.
The Temporal Demon Spirit Book—gone.
It had been with him through countless battles, stained in his own blood. Memories surged, vivid and painful.
Nie Li's eyes stared at the ceiling, but his mind wandered into memories of another life—a life burned into his soul.
Glory City. Once humanity's beacon, reduced to a battlefield.
Snow Wind Demon Beasts attacked without warning. Chaos reigned. Fire, frost, and steel collided.
The guardian of Glory City, Ye Mo, fell first. Even legends could not withstand such fury.
Thousands fled east toward the endless desert beyond the Saint Ancestral Mountains.
One by one, survivors succumbed to hunger, frostbite, and predatory beasts.
Yet amidst the nightmare, there was light:
Ziyun's smile. Her laughter. The playful banter with Karma.
I grew stronger because of them… because of their courage… because of their laughter.
Then fate struck.
A demon beast lunged. Ziyun threw herself forward, shielding me. She died.
Karma, protecting the others, was swept away, separated from them.
I was alone.
Then I crossed deserts, wandered continents, met survivors, and found the Temporal Demon Spirit Book.
But it was too late.
Family—gone. Friends—gone. Every bond vanished.
As death claimed him, he whispered:
If I could live again… let me see them. Let me protect them properly.
Nie Li's lips curved into a confident smile.
"Now that I'm back, I definitely won't let Glory City be destroyed again."
He looked around the classroom. Familiar surroundings. A chance to do things differently. Though he wasn't born into a powerful family, he had a tool now—knowledge, experience, and determination.
"Nie Li, why are you smiling?" Lu Piao beside him asked.
Nie Li laughed, leaping toward him. "Just being happy! Good brother, glad to see you!"
" Who is good brother with you,Release me, you gay lord!" lu piao said.
"No matter what you think," Nie Li said warmly, holding him tight, "you're my good brother!"
"Weirdo!" Lu Piao said looking at him.
Lu piao "I know you are also one of the nobilities in the glory city. But let me warn you don't get any ideas for that girl" Lu Piao said looking at the girl "Her identity is very mysterious. When she joined the school. The Principal himself arranged her dorms."
Nie li turned to Ye Ziyun, his eyes soft but resolute.
"She's my woman."
"I'll protect you and grow up together," Nie li thought, determination filling his chest.
And looking at the person beside her, Karma's presence reminded him that the bonds of his past life were not entirely gone—they could still guide him.
This time, everything would change.