The Great Chu Dynasty, Imperial City.
Under the bright moonlight, a lone figure dashed swiftly toward the Western Mountains from the grand estate of the Jiang family, one of the city's four great clans.
His posture was straight and tall, his youthful face full of vigor. His every movement exuded boundless energy that would make anyone sigh and think, "A fine young man in his prime."
This was Isaac Carter, the Imperial City's number one prodigy, a name that inspired awe among his peers. At a young age, he'd crushed all competition and dominated the martial tournament three years ago, securing the champion’s throne ever since.
Today was no different. After his daily training, he made his way toward the Western Mountains with a spring in his step, his face radiant with anticipation. It wouldn’t be long before he’d see Lily Winters, his childhood companion and the woman destined to be his bride. The thought sent a rush of excitement through his veins.
At his age, it wasn’t uncommon to be swept up in thoughts of romance. Isaac was no exception, especially when that someone happened to be one of the four famed beauties of the city. Their families had arranged their match long ago, a union that seemed all but perfect.
Before long, he arrived at a cliff in the Western Mountains. There, standing still against the breeze, was the figure that had been waiting for him.
Sensing his arrival, Lily Winters turned her head. Her lips curved into a gentle smile.Her lips were like fiery clouds, brows arched like willow branches, skin as smooth as jade, and hair cascading like a dark waterfall—such was the vision of the perfect woman in the minds of all men in the imperial city.
She walked over with a jar of wine, each step graceful and measured.
Ever since Isaac Carter discovered the Ninefold Ascension Mystique, they had been coming here every few days to train together.
Training as a pair doubled the effectiveness; their cultivation levels soared rapidly.
“Isaac.”
Lily Winters greeted him, a flicker of excitement lighting up her eyes.
Isaac stepped forward, clasping her hand tightly, his chest warming with affection.
“When I master this technique, Lily, I’ll bring you home as my bride.”
“Okay.”
Her face, radiant and beautiful, flushed faintly pink, leaving him momentarily mesmerized.
She playfully lifted the item in her hand.
“Stop staring, silly. Look what I’ve brought. Wine brewed from Spiritfire Herbs—drinking this will give our training a boost.”
She placed two jade cups on a nearby stone and poured the wine, sliding one cup toward him.
“You’re so thoughtful.”
Isaac chuckled, ruffling her hair with a tender smile. That moment, she was his world.
The tranquil evening stretched on, laughter mingling with the fragrance of wine as the two shared a fleeting bliss.The two of them began their training as usual.
The Ninefold Ascension Technique, a force of pure yang, unleashed scorching heat from within them, raising the temperature of the entire area.
As Lily Winters had suggested, after drinking that wine, their cultivation soared like never before.
The bottleneck of the first stage, which had trapped them for so long, started to waver under the surging heat of their true energy.
Half an hour passed.
Sweat dripped from Isaac Carter's forehead. Their aura grew increasingly intense, like two rising suns.
The heat around them scorched the land, causing grass and trees to wither and die.
Suddenly, a terrifying wave of golden light surged across the cliffside, disintegrating trees into ashes in an instant.
Isaac's face lit up with joy as he opened his eyes. “Lily! We’ve done it! We’ve reached the second stage of the Ninefold Ascension Technique!"
But his delight didn’t last. His vision blurred, and his head grew dizzy. His body felt weak, almost collapsing under its own weight.
“What... what’s happening?”
He tried to clear his head, forcing himself to stay awake, but his limbs felt heavier with every passing second.
“Is there something wrong with the technique?” he muttered, his voice trembling with confusion.
Across from him, Lily Winters gave him a slow, measured smile, one filled with a strange amusement. Her voice was calm, almost mocking.
“How did the wine taste?” she asked softly."What... what do you mean?"
His brows furrowed, voice tense.
A chilling force emerged from their clasped hands. From Lily Winters' side, a terrifying suction roared to life.
Isaac Carter felt his second-turn power spiraling out of his control, getting violently dragged away. His cultivation reversed its flow, wreaking havoc through his body. The backlash shattered his meridians one by one, leaving nothing intact.
"What are you doing? Stop this now!" he roared, anger and disbelief bleeding into his voice.
"Stop? Then what becomes of all my effort and plans?" Lily sneered, her eyes cold as steel.
"Why? Lily, why are you doing this?" His voice cracked with pain, not just from his wounds but from her betrayal.
"Why?" She chuckled cruelly, her gaze like frost. "Your Carter family? A mere stepping stone for my Winters family to claim a place among the Four Great Clans. And you, Isaac... you're nothing but my tool. If it weren’t for your little talent, do you think I’d even look at you? Fool."
Her voice sharpened, cutting deeper than any blade. "Now, I’ll take it all!"
With a powerful roar, the suction surged stronger. It mutated into a dragon-like force, spiraling through Isaac’s broken meridians, devouring him from the inside. His foundation—shattered. His Dan Tian—collapsed entirely.
In that moment, Isaac Carter was no longer a cultivator. He was nothing but a hollow shell, drained of every ounce of strength and hope.
He stared at her, helpless, as the last traces of his power vanished into her. Stripped bare of everything he ever was, he had nothing left. Nothing. Stripped of all his strength, Isaac Carter collapsed to the ground like lifeless wood, his fingers digging desperately into the dirt.
"You drank the wine too... why?" he gasped weakly.
Lily Winters sneered. "Why not let you die knowing? The wine's harmless, but the poison... it was on the cup."
"You...!"
From the shadows, a figure emerged. Adolf Knightley, dressed in pristine white, strolled closer, a mocking smile on his face.
"Isaac, who would've thought the untouchable prodigy of the royal city would end up like this? Look at you, crawling in the dirt like a beaten mutt."
Isaac's body trembled, his nails clawing into the ground as blood seeped from his raw fingertips. The realization of betrayal hit hard, his heart igniting with rage. His face flushed red, veins bulging in fury.
"You! Adolf Knightley! I’ll kill you both!"
Mustering every ounce of strength, he dragged himself toward them, but it was an agonizingly futile effort—his limbs were powerless, his movements pitiful.
"Save your energy," Adolf chuckled coldly. "Your meridians are destroyed. You're nothing but a cripple now. Get used to living as trash!" His laughter rang sharp and sinister, cutting through the silence like a blade.
Isaac had once been the pride of his clan, the shining star of the younger generation—even the royal court recognized his brilliance. But now, felled in such a merciless and calculated manner, the bloody hand of the Knightley family reared its ugly head. A tree as tall as him was bound to be struck down by the storm. Today, they got what they wanted.Lily Winters stepped toward Isaac Carter, her gaze meeting his. A faint, cold smile tugged at her lips.
"Isaac, I’ve been with Adolf Knightley for a long time. Compared to him, you’re just... laughable. The Carter family might be strong, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the prestige of the King's mansion, does it?"
"Traitor!" Isaac roared, his voice raw with rage as he summoned every ounce of strength he had left.
Adolf Knightley sauntered over, chuckling, his hand pulling Lily close to his side. Their intimacy mocked Isaac’s pain as the two stood shoulder to shoulder before him.
"Let me give you clarity, Isaac. My Northern Nether Technique thrives on pure yin energy. Every ounce of yang energy you helped Gou’er gather—faithful fool that you are—she channeled to me, completing the balance between us. Guess you see it now, don’t you?” His laughter burst forth, sharp and triumphant.
Isaac's entire body quivered uncontrollably, a tempest of grief and rage swelling within him. Bloodshot eyes burned furiously at the pair before him, hatred pouring out as he fought the crippling weakness that anchored him to the ground. His efforts—his dreams—they had been nothing but fodder for these two!
"No!" he snarled, spitting up a mouthful of blood as the realization crushed him further.
Lily noticed his pitiful state, gesturing toward Adolf and whispering softly into his ear. Adolf smirked, crouching down next to Isaac with an unsettling calmness. His hand pressed against Isaac’s chest, and an utterly horrifying force gushed forth—it wasn't energy he was draining this time, but blood.
“Ah, nearly forgot you’ve been hiding that innate combat bloodline of yours. Lucky me—such a prize falling straight into my lap,” Adolf sneered, savoring his power.Mad laughter echoed in his ears.
Isaac Carter felt his strength draining away, the pain dulling to numbness as his vision blurred completely.
In merely the time it took for a cup of tea to cool, his battle blood was entirely drained.
"Since you're a cripple now, let me make sure it's thorough," Lily Winters sneered, stepping forward. Without hesitation, she kicked him off the edge of the cliff.
As he fell, the wind roared louder and louder against his ears.
Then, he laughed—wild, bitter, tragic.
"I, Isaac Carter, swear… as long as I live… I will kill you! Kill you both! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Boom!
He slammed into the ground below. Darkness swallowed his consciousness.
Within his mangled body, a faint red glow flickered, awakening the last shred of true energy still inside him.
That remnant of energy began to reverse the heart technique!
The surrounding spiritual energy surged madly into him, transforming into torrents of true energy that flooded through his limbs and bones.
Ninefold Ascension Technique, once the epitome of blazing yang power, now burned like an inferno, igniting within his shattered dantian!
The broken dantian was incinerated completely.
Flames coursed through his meridians, their searing heat forging his flesh anew, as if tearing him apart, piece by piece, only to rebuild him from the ashes. Under the surge, the spiritual energy condensed into a dense flow of red essence, rushing toward the hollow where the dantian once existed.
A cluster of red light began to gather, thick as storm clouds. The momentum didn’t waver, and the red essence collapsed inward, condensing further.
Slowly, within the crimson mist, a blood-red pearl emerged, its surface etched with a faint golden mark. Beneath the pearl, a three-inch black cauldron took form.
Flames descended, igniting within the cauldron.
In the darkness, Isaac Carter's consciousness drifted, weightless and disoriented.
Amid the black void, red eyes, glowing like fire, slowly opened. Their piercing gaze shattered the shadows, blazing fiercely.
A thunderous voice echoed, deep and resounding, like a primal bell ringing out in desolation. The words boomed with clarity and power:
"Heaven overturned!"
"Nine deaths, unyielding!"
"Rise from doom!"
"Shatter to rebuild!"
"Forge the throne of destiny!"
"Nine pearls aligned!"
…
