Amidst a grand hall, Jin knelt on a cold stone floor. Limbs chained, a gun aimed on the back of his head. The execution rite was witnessed by the grandmaster of Hidden Hall.
"So, this is how it ends? Well played, Yu Rongrong." Jin said, glancing at the woman with a black mask behind him.
The masked woman smirked, she was so satisfied with all of her plan to put the infamous assassin who had killed many Gods all across the cosmos and timelines on his knees.
"You can't run to another timeline, old man. Hand over the Chronosphere and we might let you live."
"Hahahaha!" Jin laughed crazily. Grinning from ear to ear. "My finest creation is not for the likes of you."
The grand hall went silent for a moment. Suddenly, an ominous voice resounded.
"This is your last test, Yu Rongrong. Kill him and the power of time will be yours."
The woman sneered, leaned a tad closer, whispering. "See you in hell, master."
When the trigger was about to be pulled, Jin crushed a tooth, detonating the device which was hidden inside his body.
A blinding light filled the room, triggering a space-time disruption, a void suddenly appeared amidst the room and Jin was nowhere to be found. As soon as the hollowed dimension collapsed, an explosion wiped out the entire Hidden Hall, marking the end of an era.
****
Everything was blurry in his sight, his body tensed while crying uncontrollably. Though everything was vague and sound muffled, he could hear the panting breath of the mother who just gave birth to him.
"It's a boy!" Said the midwife excitedly, wrapping the baby with a towel.
"Liu'er!"
Suddenly, a one-legged man burst into the room, he deliberately tossed his crutch away to see his newborn son. Tears flowed on his cheeks as he saw his little baby and wife were okay.
"I have a son? Haha! I have a son! Thank God!"
"Yes, my husband… He will be as strong as you someday." Ling Liu replied. "What are you going to name him?"
"Hmm, it would be Huo Jin. An ember that never fades away."
****
His whole childhood was like distant noises. Fractured memories began to form and reconstructed as he grew up.
Huo Qubing, the father of his current lifetime, noticed his son's abnormal intelligence. Huo Jin could walk and speak when he was two years old. By three years old, Huo Jin was able to write calligraphy and solve complex arithmetic problems from time to time.
However, those signs of giftedness were nothing to compare when Huo Qubing witnessed terrifying killing intent in Huo Jin's eyes whenever he returned home after he was bullied by the disciples of Mountain Peak Hall. He was just a five years old mortal boy.
"Huo Jin… I know you are capable of doing the impossible as a mere mortal. But, remember this, other's jealousy is the root of one's downfall. Keep your ability to yourself and hide your wealth well." Huo Qubing gave him a gentle reminder while sharpening a commissioned blade.
"Yes, father. I understand."
"Good."
Huo Jin nodded amicably.
****
It's been ten years since Huo Jin was reborn as a common mortal into this world, the Zhou Continent, one of many mortal worlds in the Nine Heavens Cosmos. A world where the strong reign supreme, the weak are suppressed and have no rights to voice their mind.
Though he had successfully reconstructed his modern world knowledge, Huo Jin already forgot the reason why he was reincarnated in this world or how he died in the first place. However, there was a lingering feeling of resentment and an unquenchable thirst for revenge in the back of his mind.
He tried to make sense of it but failed.
Despite being born without any SpiritRoot, Huo Jin didn't lose hope. He knew there were so many things that he could do to survive another day.
"Jin'er…" His mother, Liu Ling, called from the kitchen. "Could you fetch some water from the creek?"
"Yes, mother!" Huo Jin replied. Promptly picked up a wooden basket and went outside.
The path toward the creek was narrow and uneven, carved by years of rainwater and foot traffic.
The water flowed fast this time of year, cold enough to numb the fingers within moments. He knelt by the bank and washed his hands, scrubbing away dirt and charcoal from morning work. The stains clung longer than he liked.
He heard voices before he saw them. The village kids were coming down from the training grounds, talking over one another, laughing without restraint. Their wooden swords were slung casually over their shoulders. Some of them were already circulating faint traces of Qi.
"Those damn kids again." Huo Jin muttered. He promptly changed the spot, a bit further away from the mountain footpath.
Huo Jin finished filling the bucket and straightened his back, fingers numb from the cold water and the weight pressing into his palms. The creek behind him swallowed any sound as he turned to leave.
Just as he had expected, the five so-called geniuses of the Rongyan Village waylaid him with arrogant and cocky faces.
One of them reached out and yanked the bucket from his hands without asking. He ran toward the biggest boy.
"Hahaha! Look at this, Big Brother! He carried it all the way here for us."
"That's very kind of you, Huo Jin. Haha! Thanks to you, we don't have to wet our precious robes." The biggest boy aged twelve or so grinning wide.
Another boy squatted and plunged his feet into the bucket, scrubbing mud from his toes. The water darkened almost instantly. A third washed his hands, rubbing his palms together until grime and sweat bled into the bucket.
His fists rounded tightly until his nails dug into his skin. Eyes reddened while his cheeks twitched. However, he quickly averted his gaze to the side before his killing intent was detected.
When they were done, one of them lifted the bucket and dumped it over his head.
"Here's your bucket, go fetch some more."
"Hahaha!"
Cold, filthy water crashed down his face. Mud slid into his eyes, soaking his clothes. The empty bucket followed, slammed upside down onto his shoulders with his head inside.
Just when he was about to lift the bucket from his head, a foot hooked around his ankle, effortlessly dislocated the joint.
"Arrgg!" Huo Jin swallowed the pain, grimacing while holding the internally burning ankle.
His teeth clamped shut, jaw trembling as he forced the scream back down his throat.
The five bullies just laughed out loud seeing his suffering.
"Hahaha! Look, his ankle broke with just one sweep!"
The boys pointed and laughed, voices bright with amusement. One of them kicked dirt toward his face.
"Look, he is crawling like a worm! How amusing!"
"Hmph! So weak! Rongyan Village is not a place for a weakling like you!"
"Get out of here! This mountain is ours!"
"Go dig your own well! This is our turf!"
The leader whose body was twice bigger than the others snorted, looking at him with a punitive gaze.
Huo Jin tried to alleviate the pain by blocking the acupuncture point. His ankle was twisted to a different direction, pain pulsing with every heartbeat.
He couldn't do anything but wait until they were satisfied and left him alone. It worked quite flawlessly. However, they have crossed the line when they actually hurt him.
Notwithstanding the pain, Huo Jin stood upright, limping his way to the creek. He submerged his ankle until it went numb.
Afterward, his grip tightened until his knuckles went white. Without hesitation, he popped the joint back to its place with one move.
"Damn it!" Huo Jin cursed inwardly, punching the ground. "I'd be dead before I reach adulthood at this rate! I need to find a way to eliminate them!"
Huo Jin promptly returned to the creek, filled up the bucket once again and limped back home.
As he showed up in the kitchen, Liu Ling's face lost its color when she saw Huo Jin was limping.
"Jin'er! What happened to your ankle?! Are you okay?!" She checked his whole body as if he was a vase or something, rotating him to left and right.
Huo Jin shook his head. "It's nothing, mother. My feet slipped at the creek. Don't worry, it's just a sprain, it'll heal itself in no time."
"Don't underestimate a simple injury! Go inside, mother will pick some medicine and whip up some balm for your ankle.
"Yes, mother…" Huo Jin rolled his eyes in annoyance.
During his recovery, Huo Jin wasn't allowed to do the house chores and was helping his father in the workshop. While watching Huo Qubing forging a long tube, an idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
He mused inwardly. 'A flintlock gun would be the best choice to survive in this harsh world. As long as I don't stumble onto a cultivator, facing common mortals would not be an issue.'
A week had passed, his ankle was perfectly healed thanks to Liu Ling'er exceptional medical knowledge.
When his mother was away picking some medicine herbs and wild veggies in the valley, Huo Jin went downstairs and found his father was working on a complicated piece.
"Father…" Huo Jin said as his father was pounding a red hot steel.
"Yes?"
"May I borrow the workshop?"
Huo Qubing promptly halted his hammer in mid air then placed it on the anvil, looking straight into his son's eyes.
"Are you going to make a weapon?"
"Yes."
"Then it's a no. Go back to your room."
"But!"
Huo Qubing struck the red hot metal a bit harder to warn his son. He then spoke unapologetically. "No is a no. I know what you are going to do, but you are a mortal, Huo Jin. Remember that. You can't win against those kids."
'Fine, I'll make my own workshop and produce the gun.' Huo Jin muttered to himself.
He knew further arguments would not work against his hard-headed father and opted to leave the workshop quietly, keeping everything to himself.
"Hey, Jin'er! Where are you going?! Get back here!"
Huo Jin kept walking toward the mountain pass, ignoring Huo Qubing.