The Beidou Starfield.
South of the Eastern Wastelands. The Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone.
On a picturesque mountain peak, the lush greenery of ancient trees and bizarrely-shaped rocks added a touch of wild elegance to the surroundings.
A young man dressed as a recluse sat cross-legged on the ground, murmuring an indistinct chant.
Around him, a group of beasts crouched low, attentively listening, as if absorbing some profound truth. Their eyes, full of intelligence, occasionally flickered with traces of powerful auras—clear proof these were no ordinary animals but creatures that had grown formidable over time.
When his sermon ended, the beasts gradually dispersed. Not far from where he sat, a pile of spirit fruits remained as payment. The young man’s calm expression betrayed no surprise—this was routine by now.
"Unbelievable—it's already been a hundred years since I came to this world..." the young man mused, his tone carrying an undertone of disbelief.
His name was Adrien Ward, a wanderer of worlds—a fact he kept well hidden. A century ago, he’d awakened here, alone except for the mysterious 《Solar Sutra》 he’d inherited.
Why the Solar Sutra was his to possess remained a mystery. Perhaps, Adrien guessed, the original owner of his current body had ties to the lineage of the ancient Solar Emperor.Unfortunately, this body wasn’t the Solar Sacred Body, leaving Adrien Ward disappointed for nothing.
The "Solar Sutra" was the supreme emperor’s scripture of the human race. Cultivating it would transform one’s spirit into solar divinity, purify mortal impurities, and refine true yang, ultimately seizing destiny itself.
However, Adrien soon realized the harsh truth: his aptitude was mediocre at best. Even with the "Solar Sutra," his progress was painfully slow.
Just opening the Sea of Bitterness took him over a year. As for proving the Dao and becoming an emperor, the odds were slim, bordering on impossible.
Still, the heavens seemed to leave a sliver of hope. Not long after, Adrien discovered he had something invaluable—a system.
The Teaching System. If he imparted knowledge and his disciples succeeded in cultivation, he would receive a tenfold return of their achievements.
This thrilled Adrien to no end. He envisioned himself continuously teaching, his strength skyrocketing in the process.
But reality soon poured a bucket of cold water on his excitement. Adrien realized the timeline he had crossed into wasn’t right.
The Feathered God Dynasty was in the prime of its glory, ruling half of Central State. The death of Feathered Emperor had only been tens of thousands of years ago.
This wasn’t the timeline of the "Covering Heavens" story; it was a far older era, the Archaic Age.
To be precise, it was the era of Ruthless Emperor, a time still twenty millennia away from the birth of Heavenly Emperor Ye.In this era, proving one's path to become an emperor meant directly challenging Ruthless Emperor.
As the most dazzling and unparalleled emperor in history, Ruthless Emperor’s era saw every other prodigy pale in comparison.
Even though Adrien Ward had the Path Preaching System, he held no confidence when it came to facing Ruthless Emperor.
Forget it! Adrien had some self-awareness—he wasn’t about to die before he even started.
Maybe sealing himself in the Source would be smarter? Wait things out until it was safe before releasing the seal?
To be honest, Adrien was seriously considering it. It seemed like the safest bet. Avoid Ruthless Emperor’s era and make his move when the time was right—his hopes of proving his path might actually come true then.
Once that was settled, Adrien chose to live as an aimless wanderer, playing the casual Daoist.
If he came across a kid with some talent, he’d preach the Dao. If he liked a passerby, he’d offer a tip or two.
But Adrien knew better than most how treacherous the Beidou Starfield was—a depthless pool of danger.
Be it forbidden zones of life or the looming threat of the dark turmoils, survival took cunning here.
Whenever he saw disciples from some Holy Land or major sect, Adrien would steer clear.
No choice! The last thing Adrien wanted was to get chased down by someone wielding an ultimate imperial weapon before he could even tread his path.In the Beidou Starfield, Adrien Ward wouldn't dare to step within ten thousand miles of any forbidden life zones.
Not everyone’s like Ethan Lovett, wandering through life zones before reaching peak cultivation—that’s just asking to die.
After a hundred years of effort, balancing his teachings with cultivating the Solar Scripture, Adrien had reached the Saint Realm, standing at the fourth level of the Celestial Stage.
Even in a place as packed with experts as the Beidou Starfield, he was a force to be reckoned with. But still, few even knew his name.
It couldn’t be helped. Some of the factions in Beidou Starfield owned Extreme Emperor Weapons, terrifying relics capable of devastating anything should they awaken.
A Saint’s strength wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t Ethan Lovett—bare-handedly contending with one of those weapons wasn’t exactly in his arsenal.
In the grand tapestry of the world, Adrien was just another figure passing by, leaving no mark behind.
Recently, he’d made his way to the Desolate Forbidden Zone and decided to settle there.
After all, the ruthless Great Emperor wasn’t a deity yet, and the Nine Great Sacred Bodies hadn’t been revealed. The zone was still an unclaimed wild land.
To be precise, it wasn’t even considered a forbidden life zone at this point.One million years ago, the Ancestor led humanity to descend upon the Beidou Starfield, where they established their roots.
Inside the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone, there stands a Five-Color Altar and a key node to the Path of Immortality. None of this, however, has drawn Adrien Ward's attention. His daily focus remains on preaching, though his audience has shifted to beasts. Soon, Adrien plans to seal himself within the source, waiting for a more opportune era to emerge. Perhaps, when Maximilian Arland is freshly born, he can take Ace Yeats as an apprentice ahead of time — a tempting thought.
But on this fateful morning, Adrien was midway through his sermon when an unexpected visitor crossed into the Forbidden Zone. It was a young girl, about eight or nine years old, her hair tied into twin horn-shaped braids. Her worn clothing, patched and tattered, spoke volumes about her impoverished background. Even her shoes had holes at the toes. The only thing hinting at uniqueness was a crude bronze ring she wore—a solitary ornament amidst her poverty.
Her face, smudged with dirt, had only one redeeming feature: a pair of large, gem-like black eyes that evoked compassion. Quietly, she stood not far from Adrien, seemingly absorbed in his teachings for the beasts. Adrien didn’t acknowledge her presence, continuing his preaching as usual.
When his sermon concluded, the girl silently turned and left. Adrien did not stop her, nor did he give her any special notice.When the girl was about to leave, Adrien Ward flicked a finger, and a new set of clothes appeared beside her.
The girl hesitated, her timid nature showing as she stood there, unsure. After a long pause, she finally picked up the clothes and left.
The next day, as Adrien began his sermon again, the girl appeared once more. This time, she wore the fresh clothes he had given her.
One spoke, the other listened. Neither disrupted the other, and no words were exchanged between them.
For over ten days, the routine remained the same. Every time Adrien gave his lecture, the girl would show up right on time.
On that day, as usual, the girl sat quietly, absorbing Adrien’s words and finding solace in the peace they brought.
But as he wrapped up his teaching, something happened that stunned the girl.
Normally, the beasts would leave behind their spirit fruits and depart after Adrien’s sermons.
This time, though, they stayed.
Suddenly, an uproar broke out. The beasts threw their heads back and roared to the heavens, their powerful auras surging upward like a tide.
