Chapter 1 - Born Anew

Martial artists cultivate their physiques and temper their souls. They strive to seize the luck of heaven and earth to enhance their strength, seeking immortality.

The Tianwu Continent was a world where martial artists vied for supremacy. The strong were like kings, overlooking the world, while the weak were like ants, living an ignoble existence.

The Great Chu Empire, Spring Autumn Sect, a remote mountain path:

Bang!

A young man, no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, flew backward, slamming heavily onto the ground. His face was slick with blood, and the three primeval stones he had been clutching tightly slipped from his grasp, rolling toward the feet of another young man dressed in black.

“Ptooi!”

The young man in black spat and cursed, “You don’t know what’s good for you. Refusing to surrender the stones until I had to teach you a lesson. You truly deserve this! Do you honestly believe that martial arts trash like yourself deserves to utilize primeval stones for cultivating?”

Another young man, clad in gray, picked up the primeval stones and offered them to the black-clothed teenager respectfully, laughing. “Brother Feng, this trash is just feeling the itch. He wouldn’t feel comfortable unless you loosen him up a little.”

Chen Fan lay face up on the ground, his fresh blood blurring his vision.

Although he felt indignant, he couldn’t do anything, as Liao Feng's beating had left him battered and bruised. His tendons and bones ached like they were broken, and he felt weak and powerless. He struggled to even stand up.

Today was the day that the Spring Autumn Sect’s outer sect handed out the monthly allowance. After receiving his three primeval stones, Chen Fan had left the Resources Hall. However, as soon as he had reached a secluded mountain path, Liao Feng blocked his way and demanded that he hand over the stones.

Chen Fan refused, so Liao Feng had decided to convince him with his actions.

Chen Fan's meridians were blocked, and his dantian was as hard as iron. Despite being in the sect for three years, his cultivation had stagnated at the peak of the Body Refinement realm, failing to progress to the Qi Gathering realm. As a result, he was no match for Liao Feng, a third-level Qigong martial artist.

Liao Feng easily defeated Chen Fan, leaving him battered and bruised. Like a dead dog, he couldn’t even climb to his feet.

Rumble!

Suddenly, a thunderous sound rang out.

A dark cloud, black as ink, suddenly loomed over the area, casting a menacing shadow. The lightning flashes and thunderous rumblings were terrifying.

A lightning bolt abruptly plummeted from the sky, striking Chen Fan. He was still lying on the ground, gasping for breath, when the bolt hit him.

However, before the bolt had even struck him, Chen Fan sensed a terrifying power locking him down. The lightning bolt streaked through the sky, descending upon him menacingly.

Crackle!

As the lightning bolt descended, Chen Fan attempted to roll out of the way, but it was too late.

Immediately, electricity surged through his body, causing his skin and flesh to tear apart and char beyond recognition. Every strand of his hair stood on end, giving off a burnt smell.

“God damn it! Like getting beaten black and blue wasn’t enough. Now, I’m actually getting struck by lightning. Fu...”

Chen Fan stubbornly clung to his last breath, cursing as smoke came out of his mouth. Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

Liao Feng and the youngster in gray were scared out of their minds.

They were also utterly unprepared for the lightning strike and were paralyzed with fear. It was truly too terrifying.

A good while passed before the two returned to their senses. They looked up to the sky, puzzled.

The dark cloud that had enveloped this whole area earlier had scattered, seemingly having gathered only to unleash its fury upon Chen Fan.

“How strange?” Liao Feng couldn’t help but wonder out loud.

The other teen looked around, smiled, and said, “Brother Feng, that trash must have done something to infuriate the heavens in his past life. That’s why he is a martial trash and even got struck by lightning.”

Liao Feng nodded and said “You’re right. The heavens could no longer stand the sight and wanted to strike him to his death. I have actually served the people by thrashing him and taking his stones. It’s a good deed.”

“Brother Feng... he won’t really die due to the lightning strike, right?”

“Why should we care? It’s none of our business. He was struck to death by lightning. And even if he died at my hands, we don’t have to worry. My older brother is a member of the Heaven’s Alliance. Do you know about it? Even the Outer Sect Master has to show some respect to them. If he dies, then so be it. I didn't kill him anyway.”

The other teen nodded repeatedly. “Brother Feng is right.”

“Come on, let’s go search this trash’s place. He must have saved up quite a few primeval stones over the last three years. The Outer Sect Grand Competition is just three months away. I want to break through to the fourth level of the Qigong realm. Perhaps then I’ll be able to enter the top 1,000 this time.”

Liao Feng said and walked ahead; before long, Chen Fan was again alone on the mountain path.

Unbeknownst to many, Chen Fan was currently undergoing a tremendous transformation.

A golden light streak was hidden within the terrifying lightning bolt from before. This golden light had rushed into his body and swam rapidly along his meridians.

Chen Fan's meridians were jammed with impurities, hindering the proper circulation of his primeval qi. However, the golden light was clearing these impurities..

As a result, black, oily impurities seeped onto the charred surface of his skin, emitting a foul odor.

Chan Fan’s meridians were being destroyed and rebuilt. After a few cycles of this process, his meridians had become incomparably wider and tougher.

The golden light darted through Chen Fan’s meridians, soon completing a cycle and removing all the impurities. Next, it rushed into his dantian, which was like a steel block. Under the impact of the golden light, his dantian opened up as if heaven and earth were being split apart. As the space expanded gradually, it soon became ten times the size of an ordinary martial artist’s dantian.

After purifying Chen Fan's meridians and opening up his dantian, the golden light faintly diminished in intensity as if it had expended most of its energy. With a flash, it rushed into Chen Fan’s mind along his meridians.

The golden light exploded with a bang. A part of it integrated with Chen Fan’s mind, changing his level of martial arts comprehension, while the other part transformed into small golden characters that emitted the teaching of the Great Dao; it echoed in his mind continually.

Chen Fan finally woke up, but it was already late at night.

Chen Fan examined himself. His clothes were shredded and stained with blood. Apart from that, he noticed the noxious black residue that emitted a strong odor, threatening to render him unconscious again.

“This is... the impurities in my body!”

Chen Fan came to a realization, his face revealing a pleasant look of surprise.

Chen Fan examined his meridians and dantian, and immediately let out a cheer of wonder and joy.

“This is... primeval qi! I’ve broken through to the first level of the Qigong realm!”

He realized his blocked meridians had become incomparably wide, its flow smooth and unobstructed. His iron-like dantian had also opened up, and he could see a strand of primeval qi coiled in the middle of his dantian.

“I remember getting struck by lightning, and then...”

Chen Fan’s eyes moved as he tried his best to recall what had happened. With an odd expression on his face, he said, “Could it be that I became like this after I was struck by lightning?”

Boom!

Chen Fan's mind suddenly erupted with an infinite amount of golden light, accompanied by the sound of the Great Dao ringing out. The golden characters within his mind flew out, effortlessly integrating into his consciousness.

“Ah...”

Chen Fan shouted in pain, pressing both his hands against his head. He felt as if his brain was about to blow up.

Wave after wave of intense pain assaulted him. Chen Fan gritted his teeth tightly, trying not to faint from it.

Half an hour later, Chen Fan exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

“Heaven Seizing Art...”

In the dark of the night, Chen Fan’s eyes shone bright like stars as he uttered those three words softly.

The teaching of the Great Dao echoing in his mind was a qi cultivation technique called Heaven Seizing Art. One would know just from its name that this qi cultivation technique was very formidable.

To seize was to plunder.

To plunder the primeval qi of heaven and earth for their own use. To plunder the force of heaven and earth to strengthen their physique. To plunder even the cultivation talents of martial artists, thereby becoming increasingly demonic.

“What a domineering cultivation technique!” Chen Fan’s eyes shone.

Compared to the Heaven Seizing Art, the Guiding Art basic cultivation technique he currently practiced was simply trash of the trash.

“Could all of this be the great fortune bestowed to me by that lightning bolt?” Chen Fan mumbled to himself.

He realized that after lightning struck him, his meridians were now clear, his dantian had opened, and he had gained a powerful cultivation technique. This was simply paving the way for his rise to power.

Chen Fan was feeling incomparably ecstatic inside. He clenched his fists tightly, trembling with excitement.

For three years, cultivating had been extremely difficult for him due to his blocked meridians and iron-like dantian.

Consequently, the primeval energy he absorbed wouldn’t circulate well, and his rigid dantian couldn't accommodate it, causing him to remain stagnant at the peak of the Body Refinement realm for three years. Despite his efforts, he failed to progress to the Qi Gathering realm, making him an easy target for bullies.

Now, his meridians were clear, his dantian was open, and he had reached the first level of the Qigong realm.

“Haha, I can now cultivate! My meridians are clear, and my dantian is open! I’m no longer trash! I, Chen Fan, will rise from this moment on!”

Chen Fan roared with laughter at the sky, venting all the pent-up grievances in his heart.

It had been three whole years. Today, he felt the clouds were especially clear, and the moon was dazzling.

“I want to trample everyone who ever bullied me!”

“I want to reach the peak of martial arts, rule over all martial artists, and overlook the world while reigning supreme!”

"I want to pierce the heavens with my gaze and shatter the earth's limitations on my ambition!"

Tears streamed down his face. Only those who had experienced such sorrows could ever understand his pain.

With everything fresh and new, he could now cultivate properly. But before that, he wanted to vent to his heart’s content.

After venting, Chen Fan could no longer endure the pungent smell. The black, oily impurities not only smelled, but they also made him feel terrible.

“I should go take a bath and clean myself up first. This is unbearable.”

Chen Fan stood up. His figure flashed under the moonlight as he made his way to a nearby river and jumped in to wash himself.