The scent of plum blossoms filled the air.
Ye Tian opened his eyes slowly, staring at the cloudless sky above. For a moment, he didn't move. He simply breathed.
"Where... am I?"
Then it hit him—all at once. The weight of centuries, the sting of betrayal, the cold blade piercing his heart… and the divine light that pulled him back.
"I've returned… to my youth."
He sat up slowly, then crossed his legs into a meditative posture. His instincts took over. In this life, there would be no hesitation.
"Focus. I need to verify everything."
He sent his spiritual sense inward, scanning his condition. As expected, his cultivation level was at the 2nd Stage of Body Tempering—low, but manageable.
His meridians were underdeveloped, his qi pool shallow. And yet... something was different.
He paused.
Near the base of his spine, tightly wound around his life root, he found something—a sealed node, pulsing faintly with ancient energy.
"This… I never noticed this before. Or rather, I missed it."
In his previous life, he had only encountered fragments of this energy—long after it had been damaged. But now, he had discovered it early. A sealed core hidden within his body, responding to his rebirth.
He focused on it carefully, pushing his limited qi toward the seal.
For a moment, it reacted—flashing softly with faint runes.
[Unknown Energy Signature Detected][Initializing compatibility scan...]
"A system message…?"
Before he could dive deeper, a powerful force pulled his soul away—not violently, but deliberately.
His consciousness plunged into an endless void.
◆
He stood now within his Sea of Consciousness—a massive, dark-blue space of infinite depth. But unlike before, it pulsed with an unfamiliar pressure.
Floating at its center was a single, silent object.
A small black bead.
It didn't glow. It didn't spin. It simply existed—and bent the space around it in complete silence.
Ye Tian approached slowly, every instinct in his body screaming that this bead… defied reality itself.
"What... is this thing?" he whispered.
The moment he came within reach, ancient golden runes lit up across its surface. A cold, mechanical voice echoed through the void.
[You have awakened the dormant presence of the Heaven-Defying Bead.][This artifact exists beyond the laws of Heaven, beyond logic, reason, and reality.]
[Function 1: Elemental Convergence]
Fuse all elemental types within the bead to unlock its true potential. Elements Required: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Ice, Metal, Wood, Light, Darkness, Void, and Origin.
[Function 2: Infinite Storage]
The bead can store limitless resources across space and time. Access to stored resources is bound by the user's cultivation realm.[Example: Foundation Establishment unlocks Tier 1 Treasures.]
[Function 3: ???] – Locked.
Ye Tian stared in awe.
"Even gods would slaughter each other for something like this."
And now, it was his.
In his last life, it must have gone unnoticed—damaged, buried, or perhaps stolen before it could awaken. But this time, he had discovered it early.
"I'll fuse the elements. I'll unlock its powers And when the time comes… not even the heavens will be able to stop me."
The bead pulsed once more, then everything faded.
◆
Ye Tian's eyes snapped open in the physical world.
His breath fogged the air. Heat rippled off his body as a soft crackling sound echoed from his bones.
"My qi… it's moving faster."
He scanned himself again.
4th Stage of Body Tempering. He had broken through two stages… instantly.
"The bead didn't just show itself—it nourished me."
His lips curled into a calm, confident smirk.
"So this is what it means to go against the heavens."
He rose to his feet.
Today, he wouldn't avoid the sect bullies. He wouldn't fake weakness. He wouldn't chase illusions or waste time on those who couldn't see his worth.
He would dominate.
"They took everything from me in my last life. But now? I hold something that defies fate itself."
His gaze turned toward the training field, where a familiar voice echoed in the distance.
"Ye Tian! You trash! Still pretending to be a cultivator?!"
"Ah," he muttered, brushing plum petals off his robe. Perfect timing."
Just as Ye Tian turned toward the training field, there was a knock at the door.
"Hmph."
The door creaked open without permission.
A maid stepped inside—young, pretty, and dressed in Azure Moon Pavilion colors. Her tone was casual. Too casual.
"Oh, you're awake? I thought you'd be lying around useless again."
Ye Tian didn't turn. He knew the voice—Lan Mei, a maid assigned to clean the disciples' quarters. Low-ranking, but loud-mouthed and arrogant to those with no status.
In his past life, she had humiliated him often. Spat in his tea. Talked down to him. Slapped him once when no one was around.
"Still alive, huh? Don't worry, trash like you always sticks around like a bad smell," she snorted. "I only came because Elder Wei said to check if you were sick again. Tch… what a waste of effort."
Ye Tian slowly turned his head. His eyes, calm and cold, locked onto hers.
"Lan Mei."
She blinked. Her name, spoken in that tone, felt different. Wrong.
"Y–Yeah? What?"
"I don't recall giving you permission to enter."
She scoffed. "What, you think you're a young master now?"
He stepped forward, just once.
Lan Mei's legs instinctively backed away.
"You came here to bully me. To laugh at me. Again.""But the weakling you knew is gone. And if you ever walk into my room without permission again…""You'll leave it without your legs."
Her face paled.
"Y-You dare threaten me?! I'll tell the elders—!"
"Do.""Tell them everything. Tell them how you harassed a core disciple candidate without cause. Let's see if they listen to a maid… or me."
For a second, she looked like she might speak. Then she turned and fled—nearly tripping over the doorframe.
Ye Tian turned back to the window, as if she never existed.
"Annoying insects… still buzzing around."
The sun shone gently on the courtyard outside, but in his heart, only coldness remained.
"One by one, they'll all pay. Even the smallest ants."