"Every time there is chaos in the world, all demons come out to dance!"
Representative amongst them is the Bloodthirsty Holy Sect. A thousand years ago, when chaos descended, the Bloodthirsty Holy Sect swept across the world. Their bloodthirsty demonic arts used human blood as a catalyst to drastically increase their power, leaving corpses scattered across the world and terrifying dynasties.
There were four individuals who stood out most!
First, the River Dragon of Blood, who used the blood of common folk to perfect his unrivaled blood skills, attained the Formless state with his strength alone and managed to wipe out a country by himself!
Second, the Daoist Gui Yin, who claimed that death was redemption. He used living people as material to cultivate war corpses. In the end, he created an army of corpses that could sweep across and stand up to immortally.
Third, the Eternal Granny, who cultivated a nefarious skill using the blood of extremely yin women. She managed to stay forever young, causing a wave of panic among women all over the world.
And fourth, the Third Prince, unlike others, was born into nobility. He was originally a prince of a kingdom, but due to his craving for eternal life and power, he eventually went astray. No one knew his method, but as per records, he had once destroyed a city single-handedly!
"Then what happened? Then what happened?" Meng Chen, with excited eyes, kept asking the tattered old Daoist in front of him.
"And then..."
The old Daoist smiled and continued, "The demonic cultivators committed atrocities which evoked anger among numerous righteous cultivators. In the end, the downfall of the Bloodthirsty Holy Sect marked the victory of the righteous side, and thus the current world order established!”
"That's it?" There was a hint of disappointment in Meng Chen's naive eyes.
"Otherwise?" The old Daoist kindly inquired.
Meng Chen fell silent, pondered for a moment, and then started to say: "Actually…"
Before he could finish, a young girl dressed in a maid's outfit ran over, panting heavily. She looked helplessly at Meng Chen and said with some anger, "Third Young Master, why did you run out again? If the master finds out, he will be angry!"
After speaking, the young girl slightly nodded towards the old Taoist on the side: "Thank you again, Taoist master. Our third young master really enjoys listening to your stories!"
"No bother, no bother!" The old Taoist chuckled quietly. He slowly stood up and gently patted the young boy, Meng Chen, on his small shoulder and laughed: "Chen'er, you're a clever and witty lad, I really like you too... After I send my regards to your family's master, I should bid my departure as I seem to have overstayed my visit here!"
"Ah, Taoist master, you're leaving?" The young girl was somewhat surprised, although her eyes did not show much reluctance, but rather a sense of relief.
While Meng Chen's eyes were filled with an extreme reluctance, he choked up as he watched the old Taoist, asking, "Then... will you come back in the future?"
Shaking his head gently, the old Taoist smiled at Meng Chen. He used his rough palm to wipe the boy's tears away before saying, "Chen'er, I am not from this world to begin with. I've only stayed here for two years due to certain circumstances, and now I really have to leave... In the future... I'm afraid it's going to be quite difficult to see each other again."
"Oh, then you can leave!" Meng Chen, forcing back his tears, turned around abruptly. A rebellious look appeared on his face as he lightly bit his lip.
"Hehe!" Seeing this, the old Taoist didn't mind, he just continued laughing: "Alright, Chen'er, go home. Don't forget our secret. If you have the chance in the future, you can come to the Divine Tomb and find me!"
After he finished speaking, the old Taoist's figure instantly disappeared before their eyes. Regardless, neither the eight-year-old Meng Chen nor the maidservant was surprised; they were already used to it.
Looking at the spot where the old Taoist had vanished, after a long time, the maidservant finally smiled and said, "Young master, let's go. The master is still waiting."
"Oh." Meng Chen nodded unenthusiastically, still preoccupied with the old Taoist's words and face.
He, Meng Chen, was the third son of the Protector of the Xuantian Kingdom in the continent of Tian Ming Empire. And the Protector, Meng Tian, was an entity ranking at the very top in the Xuantian Kingdom, except for the royal family.
Everything could be inferred from the title 'Protector'. This honor could only be obtained by those who once saved the kingdom from the brink of extinction with absolute strength.
Back when the demonic cultivators were wreaking havoc across the world, even the empire was unable to protect itself, let alone the kingdoms below it. Xing Chen Kingdom was almost destroyed by a powerful evil cultivator. Thankfully, the ancestors of the Meng family stepped forward at that time, preventing the imminent collapse. Later, when the royal family forgot to be grateful, they conferred the title of Protector to the head of the Meng family, guaranteeing him the status equivalent to the royal family and the right to inherit the title in perpetuity.
Moreover, it was said that when he was born, there was an unusual phenomenon in the sky above the Meng family's residence, where a golden dragon made its appearance. It's worth noting that a dragon is one of the four divine beasts that protect the empire and is a symbol of good fortune!
And now, it was said that three geniuses, two boys and a girl, had been born in the empire, revealing the spirit beasts of the White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird. Considering this scenario, there was speculation that Meng Chen himself would have the spirit of a Green Dragon; he was expected to become the hope of the kingdom's future rise, as the lead amongst the four divine beasts.
One could say that Meng Chen was born with a golden key, adored by all from the moment of his birth. Countless hopes and expectations were cast upon him. Even the royal family promised him to a princess who shared his birthday. He was affianced as a babe, regardless of his personal consent.
To outsiders, he was someone who was born at the finish line, a goal that countless strived for.
Endless envy, jealousy...
However, only he knew that he wasn't happy. Today was his eighth birthday but he could vaguely remember what happened two years ago…
As members of King Meng family who protected the country through their martial skills, martial prowess was essentially the bedrock of the Meng family. Therefore, learning martial arts from a young age was inevitable.
In this world, the ultimate martial arts was cultivation. To cultivate, one needed to possess a bloodline and a martial soul; both were necessary.
Being six years old was a crucial period for anyone in the Meng family. This was the time when their futures were determined and their martial souls awakened. In order to awaken a martial soul, one needed a specific bloodline. Each bloodline corresponds to a different level of martial soul, facilitated by the family’s special stimulation.
But during the ceremony of his martial soul awakening, he failed. Martial soul divided into seven levels: red, orange, yellow, green, bluish, sapphirine, and purple.
Normal members of the Meng family could awaken their martial souls, at least at basic orange level. There were some, like his two elder brothers, who possessed yellow martial souls. But him… he had no martial soul.
His failure to awaken his martial soul caused some members of the Meng family even doubted his bloodline. They doubted whether he was truly a member of the Meng family. Conveniently… he and his two elder brothers shared the same father but had different mothers. As a result, people suspected that he wasn’t actually his father's son, not a true member of the Meng family.
Thankfully, these whispers were effectively silenced by his father, Meng Tian. However, this didn't stop people from looking down on him or even hurling insults!
His two elder brothers were geniuses, but he was... This made Meng Chen feel extremely dejected and self-doubtful. At one point, he fell into a deep depression and felt inferior!
It was during these times that he met an old Daoist priest while outing. When he first met the old Daoist, who was covered in blood, he was terrified. But perhaps due to his youthful curiosity, fear turned into interest. Faced with an unrewarding life at home, he found something to occupy his time with and ended up saving the Daoist priest.
Over the next two years, he seized any chance to visit the old Daoist priest. The old man seemed to possess an endless supply of stories that brought great joy to him.
Needless to say, the old Daoist helped him get through the most difficult two years of his life.
He had already grown accustomed to this style of living. But now, the old monk... he's gone. Perhaps they would never meet again.
Feeling utterly distraught and helpless, Meng Chen forces a bitter smile onto his face, turning to the maid walking beside him, "Sister Xue'er, do you know why Father summoned me all of a sudden? He has not done so for quite some time. Could it be that he finally plans to drive this disuse out of the Meng family?"
The maid fell silent at his question. Her heart ached at the sight of a dejected Meng Chen.
Meng Chen was someone she had watched grow, from when he was a child who was adored and doted on by everyone, to the target of public ridicule now. She had seen it all.
In her eyes, young master Meng Chen was a genuinely decent person. Apart from his lack of martial arts talent, he was...even towards servants like her, he never raised his voice, even when he was upset or heartbroken.
Sometimes, she just couldn't understand why...why would the heavens mistreat such a kind-hearted young master?
When she heard Meng Chen's question, the maid fell into deep thought, unsure of how to respond, mainly because she couldn't bear it.
Of course, she knew what had happened...but she was afraid. She feared that the truth would cause the young boy more distress.
But after a moment of silence, she relented. Even if hidden, the truth would eventually come to light. After Meng Chen's visit to the main hall, he would know everything.
Sighing resignedly, she softly begun, "Third Young Master, a representative from the Imperial Family has arrived."
"The Imperial Family?" Meng Chen paused, puzzled.
The maid simply nodded.
"What did they come for? Do they wish to see me? Are they here to mock me?" Even though the words were filled with grievance, Meng Chen's tone remained unnaturally calm.
The maid fell silent again. Finally, under Meng Chen's innocent gaze, she sighed and said, "I suppose...they've come...to call off the engagement..."
