"Thirty thousand years ago, I was renowned throughout the world, reached the Saint Origin Realm, and with an angry sword I pierced the sky, yet I was besieged and killed by the five villains - Gumang, Zhu Ming, Mother Earth, Luxhou, and Hades. After a three-month fierce battle, I died, not expecting to be reborn thirty thousand years later."
"The story that the Five Emperors founded the Five Emperors continent is all a lie! Those five villains had no power to create the world, they were just petty people jealous of others' capabilities.”
“Those five elderly men who helped gather my soul, could they be the legendary Ancient Five Emperors? They allowed me to be reborn, but why?”
Guo Nan shook his head vigorously, slowly coming to his senses. His sharp brows and star-like eyes made him look rather handsome, although he was slight in stature and his face was sickly pale.
"If fate has lent me your body, henceforth, I am you, and you are me. Your enemies are mine to avenge, your loved ones are mine to protect."
"My name from the past life is too conspicuous. If the Five Emperors notice it, they will kill me early. How can I talk about revenge? In this life, I am Guo Nan."
Guo Nan looked up, discovering that he was in a dilapidated room. A chain was tied to his ankles, and his body was tied to a column in the hall, beneath him was a pile of hay.
"So this is how it is... the legitimate grandson of the mighty Fen Yang King has fallen to this extent, it's truly pathetic..."
At this moment, anxious voices came from outside the house.
"Brother Cheng, why isn't the boy dead yet? He's been starving for four days."
Outside the house stood two burly men, the speaker named Wang Cai. The other man had a tough-concentrated face; it was Cheng, Li Cheng. In Chungyang City, they were specifically involved in taking people's money to eliminate disasters.
Li Cheng rawly declared, "If it weren't for Master Guo Yao’s order to make him starve to death, would we have this much trouble? We wait a few more days, there's no rush."
"That boy is so weak, how is he worthy of inheriting a noble title? Lord Guo is really old and confused," sighed Wang Cai.
The inheritance dispute between the eldest legitimate grandson and eldest collateral-line grandson of the Guo Mansion was well known to all in Chungyang City.
"He is the legitimate grandson of Lord Guo, although young Master Guo Yao is the eldest grandson, his father is from a collateral-line, and traditionally, the noble title belongs to Guo Nan," explained Li Cheng.
"Anyway, he can't escape since he's tied up with this iron chain. Brother Cheng, let's go find ourselves some girls to have fun with?"
"Hehe, let's head to YanYu Tower, the girls there are the best in all of ChangYang City."
These two voices fade into silence, footsteps echoing as they gradually fade into the distance.
A cold smirk appears at the corner of Guo Nan's mouth.
"After my rebirth, no way I can starve to death! The Five Elemental Essence serves as the best supplement. Guo Yao, that mixed-breed wants to kill me, yet he lacks the ruthlessness required!"
Lowering his head, Guo Nan grabs the iron chain, but gives up after several tries. With his current strength, he can't possibly break the chain. Coupled with his hunger, the forceful tugs leave him somewhat breathless.
"I can break this chain once I gain the strength of the fourth level of the Yuan Realm. Those two fools need to wait a few more days, giving me such a good opportunity…" Guo Nan gives a scornful laugh. Not killing the enemy outright and giving them a chance to turn the tables is the greatest mistake!
As the former supreme power of the Sacred Yuan Realm on the continent fifty thousand years ago, he has faced innumerable dangers. He is not worried about the current predicament.
After a moment of contemplation and sorting through the memories of the previous Guo Nan, he starts to inspect his own body.
"This guy... is almost sixteen, but is merely in the second stage of the Yuan Realm. When I was his age, I was already an expert at the ninth level of the Dan Yuan Realm."
Guo Nan gives a bitter smile. Lucky as he is to be reborn, the qualifications of this body are explosively poor.
"The five meridians of this body are obstructed. Its cultivation talent is virtually non-existent compared to what I used to have…"
Guo Nan sighs while a copper coin-sized, multi-colored jade ring appears in his hand.
Seeing the jade ring, his face brightens and he softly chuckles, "Old friend, it's been a long time."
Guo Nan bites his finger with a drop of blood soaking into the jade ring.
In an instant, a strong five-colored light burst out from the jade ring, enveloping Guo Nan’s entire body. Only in a moment, the light disappeared, completely penetrating into his body.
Excruciating pain followed, as if his internal organs were all ablaze.
His body was drenched in cold sweat, grinding his teeth together, the pain on his face severe.
"Endure it, and it will be a true rebirth!"
Guo Nan let out a low growl, his body going through a profound transformation.
The gentle coolness of the cyan light passed through Guo Nan's Weimai, the fiery and furious red aura burst through Chongmai, solid and humble yellow energy converged onto Renmai, the white light passed through Dumai, while a black light beam carrying the relentless power of water infused the Daimai.
These five major veins are key to cultivating elemental powers of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The openness of the vein represents one's gift for cultivation. This body’s veins were blocked, causing poor talent for cultivation. Despite being born in Guo's royal mansion and enjoying the finest edibles and resources, it only made it to the second stage of the Gathering Element Realm.
And now...
Guo Nan's eyes sprung open, showing a ruthless look. He held the jade ring in his palms, rapidly changing hand gestures, as the jade ring slowly merged into his body.
"I've succeeded!"
Guo Nan roared in his heart, a joyous look appearing on his face as his body slumped to the ground.
Inside him, the jade ring settled in the region of his heart, connecting all five major veins. The veins writhed like dragons, with the jade ring as the center and the five veins forming the lines of a Hidden Primordial Array within his body.
"Embrace all streams, my body is the ocean, gathering elemental powers from all directions, fusing a balanced body of Five Elements, breaking the void and controlling the eternal universe!"
"In the past life, there were too many regrets. In this life, I will live freely, never compromising, never grudgingly surviving!"
After roughly an hour's rest, Guo Nan sat in cross-legged position, assuming a posture of the five hearts facing the sky, and entered a state of cultivation. The Primordial Array autonomously activated, causing loose Five Elements power around him to madly rush towards his body, like moths to the flame. It swarmed around his body before converging into his Dantian.
"Strive to break through to the fourth stage of the Elemental Gathering Realm, and kill those two riffraffs first!"
...
Three days later, Guo Nan ended his cultivation, opened his eyes, and a brilliant light burst forth from them.
"I didn't expect this body to retain so much medicinal power. It allowed me to advance two stages in just three days! Being born into a good family is extremely beneficial to a martial artist's cultivation. Compared to my previous life, this is the only advantage." Guo Nan murmured, his hands gripping the iron chain, the veins on his arms standing out, his muscles bulging with raw power. His tremendous strength exploded in an instant!
Crack!
The iron chain broke at the sound. Guo Nan rose to his feet, a cold smirk on his face.
His body had undergone intense cultivation over these three days. His dantian stored a vast amount of five-color qi, which was extremely pure elements.
Feeling the surging energy of the five elements in his dantian, a smirk of pride crossed Guo Nan's face. "Relying on the cultivation of the Five Meridians, I became the strongest person of that era. This life, I will retake the peak! Five cursed rogues, wait for me!"
"Brother Cheng, that kid must be dead. Shall we go in and check?"
"Fair enough, once we've done this job and get the reward, we can leave the Li Tang Kingdom."
Two voices sounded.
"You vile bastards! Nice timing!"
Bam!
Guo Nan kicked open the door, his face cold as he stared at the two men in the courtyard.
Li Cheng and Wang Cai stared, astonished, at the door that had been kicked flying. They turned their gazes towards Guo Nan, surprised beyond belief that someone who has been starving for so many days could kick a door flying.
"You two worthless thugs, thought you could starve this young master?" Guo Nan's eyes sparkled with an unreadable cold light, scoffing in contempt.
That gaze chilled Li Cheng and Wang Cai to their spine.
"Today, you shall die!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he pounced like a cheetah, his fists slamming hard into their guts.
Following the dull thud sound, the two of them cried out miserably and were thrown a dozen meters away, breaking through the fence and falling onto an empty land outside the courtyard.
The two were not lacking in strength, both being at the 3rd level of the Concentration Realm, but how could they compare with Guo Nan at the 4th level of the Concentration Realm?
Guo Nan slowly stepped out from the courtyard.
Li Cheng and Wang Cai lay on the ground clutching their bellies, staring in horror at the approaching Guo Nan.
"Young Master Nan, spare us! It was all Guo Yao's idea to have us do it, spare us, Young Master Nan!"
"We have elders and young ones at home, show us mercy, Young Master Nan!"
Li Cheng and Wang Cai sobbed pleadingly, constantly kowtowing to Guo Nan. The aura of the 4th level of the Concentration Realm coming from Guo Nan suppressed any thoughts of resistance from them.
In the world of martial arts, each level makes a significant difference.
"Reaping what you've sowed, yet you plead for mercy," Guo Nan told them coldly. "I have already shown mercy by not annihilating your nine generations."
"Spare us..."
Guo Nan struck down with his palms, and the plea for mercy from Li Cheng and Wang Cai abruptly ended.
"Your mistake lies in giving me the opportunity. When killing, you should be decisive and resolute." Guo Nan looked at the two men whose heads had exploded, wearing an impassive expression.
He looked around at the desolate outskirts of the city of Changyang.
He identified his direction and headed towards the city of Changyang.
"Guo Yao, oh Guo Yao, for the sake of inheriting the title of the Fen Yang king, would you even kill your own brother? I fear, your goal is not merely for the title, but also for the princess, isn't it? If you truly cared for me, what harm would there be in giving you the title? What harm would there be in stepping back for you to have that woman?"
"Unfortunately, you chose the worst way possible..."
