Li Yuan died quietly.
There was no lightning tearing through the sky, no dramatic final battle, and no one kneeling beside his bed in tears. His death came without ceremony, as if the world itself had decided he was not worth remembering.
The small room was dim and cold. A single oil lamp flickered weakly, casting trembling shadows against the cracked walls. The scent of old books and dust lingered in the air, heavy and stale.
Li Yuan lay on the wooden bed, his chest rising and falling ever more faintly.
Forty-three years.
That was the sum of his life.
In the vast cultivation world, where geniuses rose like stars and sects spanned continents, forty-three years was nothing. Less than nothing, even. It was barely enough time for others to lay their foundations.
For Li Yuan, it had been everything.
He was an outer disciple of the Azure River Sect—one of thousands. His spiritual root was average, his comprehension ordinary, and his background nonexistent. He had entered the sect full of hope, believing that effort could make up for talent.
Reality had crushed that illusion slowly and mercilessly.
While others advanced, he stagnated.
While others were noticed, he was ignored.
While others left their marks, he faded quietly into the background.
In the end, even his death was lonely.
His vision blurred. The oil lamp trembled, then dimmed.
Li Yuan felt the last warmth leave his body.
So this is how it ends, he thought.
No regret.
No satisfaction.
Only exhaustion.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
---
Then, a voice echoed in the void.
[Bloodline detected.]
Li Yuan's fading consciousness jolted violently.
The darkness did not recede, yet awareness returned as if someone had forced his eyes open from within. He could not move, could not feel a body, yet his thoughts were clearer than they had ever been.
The voice was cold and mechanical, stripped of emotion, but impossibly close.
[Evaluating lineage…]
Lineage?
Li Yuan felt confusion ripple through his thoughts.
[Evaluating legacy…]
Legacy?
A bitter laugh rose within him, though no sound emerged.
What legacy could I possibly have?
[Evaluating continuation potential…]
The words felt absurd.
Li Yuan had lived alone. He had died alone. No disciples bore his teachings. No children carried his blood. No accomplishments bore his name.
If his existence were erased from the world, nothing would change.
[Evaluation complete.]
The voice paused.
That brief silence made his consciousness tense, as if something important was about to be decided.
[Result: Zero existing bloodline.]
As expected.
Li Yuan felt no surprise, only a dull sense of confirmation.
Then, another line appeared.
[Status: Eligible.]
Eligible?
The word struck like a hammer.
Before he could form a thought, a torrent of images surged into his awareness.
Vast cities floating among the stars.
Ancient thrones buried beneath time.
Banners emblazoned with unfamiliar crests, stretching across entire worlds.
Countless figures kneeling, standing, fighting—each bearing traces of something strangely familiar.
Blood.
His blood.
The visions were fragmented and overwhelming, spanning eras far beyond his comprehension. Just as panic threatened to consume him, they vanished.
Silence returned.
[Eternal Progenitor System activated.]
---
Li Yuan gasped.
His eyes snapped open.
Blinding light flooded his vision, forcing him to squint as air rushed violently into his lungs. His heart hammered against his chest, strong and steady.
Too strong.
He pushed himself upright, his movements instinctive and smooth.
This was not his dying body.
He stared at his hands. The skin was unwrinkled, the fingers long and firm, veins filled with vitality. His arms were lean but powerful, filled with youthful strength.
His breath quickened.
He slowly looked around.
He was outdoors.
Above him stretched a vast sky the color of pale jade. Spiritual energy flowed visibly through the air like gentle currents, brushing against his senses. The ground beneath him was solid stone, engraved faintly with ancient runes.
Voices echoed nearby.
"Is this the Azure River Sect?"
"I heard they only accept one out of ten thousand!"
"If I can pass, my whole family will rise!"
Li Yuan's pupils shrank.
These voices…
This place…
He knew it.
This was the mountain gate of the Azure River Sect.
His mind reeled.
This was not reincarnation.
This was regression.
Time had been pulled back.
This was the very day he had first arrived at the sect—six years before his death. Before he wasted his opportunities. Before he was reduced to an unnoticed outer disciple. Before his name became meaningless.
His heart pounded so violently it felt like it might burst.
I'm back…
Before he could steady himself, a translucent interface unfolded before his eyes, slow and solemn, as if acknowledging the weight of this moment.
---
Eternal Progenitor System
Core Directive:
Ensure the continuation, expansion, and transcendence of your bloodline.
Primary Rule:
Your strength is determined not by what you destroy, but by what endures after you.
Current Bloodline: None
Descendants: 0
Legacy Influence: 0%
---
Li Yuan stared at the interface for a long time.
There was no cultivation realm displayed.
No martial techniques.
No divine weapon waiting to be claimed.
Only one concept.
Bloodline.
Continuation.
A final message appeared, heavier than all the others combined.
[First Bloodline Required.]
[Condition: Establish a legitimate lineage.]
Below it, a single line pulsed faintly, as if deliberately withholding its meaning.
[Completion Reward: Unknown.]
Li Yuan swallowed hard.
In his previous life, he had believed that strength came from personal cultivation alone. He had trained, struggled, and survived—for himself and only himself.
And when he died, everything he had accumulated vanished into nothingness.
This time was different.
Slowly, Li Yuan lifted his gaze toward the towering gates of the Azure River Sect. Countless young cultivators stood there, their faces filled with ambition, fear, and hope.
Among them—
—or beyond them—
—were people who would one day carry his blood.
People who would live entire lives, shape civilizations, wage wars, create miracles, and leave marks upon history long after he should have faded.
Li Yuan clenched his fists.
"If my power must come from what I leave behind," he whispered, his voice steady, "then I will no longer walk this world alone."
A calm, resolute expression settled over his face.
"I will become the beginning of something eternal."
[System Notice:]
The first child will define the foundation of your eternal legacy.
Li Yuan raised his head.
The sky above the Azure River Sect felt impossibly vast.
But this time—
It no longer felt out of reach.
....