C1 The Great Dream of Nine Thousand Years

Nine thousand years ago, foreign invaders wreaked havoc upon the world.

Ling Chen, along with four close friends, brought peace to the land and saved its people.

Following this, heeded by the will of the heavens, Ling Chen ascended to the throne amidst the jubilant cheers of countless individuals. He renamed the continent to Heavensfall and declared that year the First Year of the Heavensfall.

Unexpectedly, shortly after his coronation, his wife Zi Xia conspired with her ally, King Jiuyou, to assassinate Ling Chen.

...

"Am I... am I still alive?"

"Or... have I been reborn?"

Ling Chen's voice was raspy as he spoke.

He slowly opened his eyes to a cobweb-laden ceiling.

With a slight frown, Ling Chen attempted to sit up.

The moment he stirred, his body creaked loudly, and he was overwhelmed by a surge of intense pain that contorted his face.

Ultimately, Ling Chen ceased his efforts and let his eyes fall shut.

Suddenly, memories flooded his mind like a torrential force.

In this life, he was no longer the revered Almighty of his past life, but a descendant of the Ling family from the Nacuan Empire.

His father had once been the family's most formidable warrior, but a cultivation mishap in his early years had scattered his powers and left him debilitated.

Consequently, Ling Chen's own potential was diminished. At eighteen, he was still languishing at the Second Heaven of the Warforged realm.

The martial path was divided into Warforged, Battlemage, Warbringer, and High King, each with nine ascending Heavens.

By eighteen, a typical warrior would have reached the Third or Fourth Heaven of the Warforged realm. Yet, Ling Chen remained at the Second Heaven, a testament to his perceived inadequacy.

"To think that I, the esteemed Celestial Emperor, would be reborn into such a worthless body," Ling Chen murmured, his gaze awash with complexity.

But...

This was no obstacle!

With rebirth came the retention of his unparalleled skills in martial arts and alchemy, setting him far above the rest.

He was now living a second life, and the skills, martial arts, and alchemy he mastered far surpassed those of others. Transforming this useless body was hardly a challenge for him. But first, he needed to manage the seemingly simple task of getting out of bed...

The room he found himself in was his own from his previous life. It was ironic that as the eldest grandson of the Ling family, he lived in such a humble abode. But that's the way of the warrior's world—if you lack talent, you forfeit your resources to those who are blessed with it. No amount of effort could ever bridge that gap.

A sigh escaped Ling Chen as he reflected on the state of his body. The frustration was palpable. He was immobilized because every bone in his body had been displaced, a cruel act perpetrated by his kin, Ling Hui. Ling Hui, a son of an elder in the Ling family, possessed formidable cultivation and was not someone Ling Chen could currently match. Taking advantage of his talent, Ling Hui wreaked havoc within the family, frequently assaulting Ling Chen in secret.

Due to Ling Chen's timid nature and reluctance to fight back, Ling Hui's behavior only grew more reprehensible. This time, he had gone too far, inflicting such severe injuries on Ling Chen that he couldn't rise from his bed. Shortly after being returned home, Ling Chen succumbed to his injuries and died.

As Ling Chen pieced together his memories, he let out a wry smile. Faced with such a plight, he was at a loss for words. "However, it's fortunate it's only dislocated bones. If it were internal organs, that would be a real problem..." he murmured to himself. Closing his eyes, he focused inward, and a feeble spiritual power emerged on the surface of his body.

Suddenly, Ling Chen's eyes snapped open, turning a vivid purple. His spiritual power, mirroring the color of his eyes, weaved into his body like a slender thread. It pierced in and out with increasing speed, stitching his body back together as if mending a tear. In no time at all, Ling Chen's body was enveloped like a silkworm in a cocoon, and when the spiritual power ceased its dance, his eyes reverted from purple back to black.

Ling Chen's eyes finally shifted from purple back to black as the spiritual power ceased its flow through his body. He whispered to himself, "Thankfully, my memories are still intact, and the skills I cultivated in my past life are all in my mind. Otherwise, I would have been at a complete loss..."

The technique Ling Chen had just employed was the renowned Rebirth Technique, a signature move of a dear friend from nine thousand years ago. This skill was a one-time use for any given body, meant only for dire life-and-death situations. Normally, it would be pointless, merely altering one's physique and appearance. But at death's door, it could facilitate a complete transformation, even bringing someone back from the brink of death.

Now, after using the Rebirth Technique, Ling Chen simply had to wait for his body to heal. During this time, his mind replayed the scenes of his demise at the hands of Zi Xia and King Jiuyou over and over.

"Zi Xia, Jiuyou! I was good to you, so why did you turn on me?" he pondered. "Could it be true, as the rumors suggest, that you've always coveted my throne in Heavensfall?"

With a cold laugh, he continued, "To think that our friendship of tens of thousands of years couldn't withstand the lure of power and wealth!" A chilling murderous intent flashed in his eyes. Regardless of their reasons, the moment they struck, they had sealed their fate on Ling Chen's list of targets.

Minutes later, Ling Chen had regained control over his aura. He glided to the wardrobe, light as a feather, and donned a robe that was quite presentable. His gaze then settled on the copper mirror before him. The reflection showed a face that was quite handsome, befitting the Celestial Emperor, though his cultivation level was disappointingly low. But now, with the memories of his past life, reclaiming his former glory was just a matter of time.

"Next, I'll purchase some medicinal herbs to enhance my strength," Ling Chen murmured to himself. He strode to the door and pushed it open with both hands. As he stepped out, the sunlight bathed his face, and a gentle breeze caressed his cheek. A smile, unlike any he had worn before, graced his features.

"Why bother talking to him? Just dump this mess and let's get back..."

Suddenly, two grating voices cut through the air.

Ling Chen's gaze instantly zeroed in on the two servants carrying buckets of waste in front of his room.

He recognized them as servants from Ling Hui's courtyard.

Without a care, they dumped the buckets' foul contents into the flowerbed outside Ling Chen's room, the stench quickly pervading the courtyard.

One servant sneered, "Young Master Ling Chen, our Young Master Hui remarked that the flowers here aren't blooming well, so he sent me to fertilize them! You don't mind, do you?"

"Yeah, you don't mind, right?" the other servant chimed in.

After their mocking words, they shook the last drops from their buckets, chuckling as they prepared to leave. Throughout, they hadn't given Ling Chen a single glance.

To them, it seemed Ling Chen might as well have been invisible.

But before they could take another step, a strong gust of wind swept past them.

The next thing they knew, one servant was sent flying into the flowerbed by Ling Chen's kick.

"Ah!!!" he screamed in terror, covered in filth, leaving his companion utterly dumbfounded.

Regaining his composure, the other servant pointed at Ling Chen and shouted, "What are you doing, Ling Chen? We're under Young Master Hui's command, and you dare strike us... You, a mere Second Heaven Warforged, dare to lay hands on us!"

Crack!

A sharp slap resounded off the servant's face, which flushed red and quickly swelled.

Clutching his face in shock, he stared at Ling Chen.

He now saw clearly that Ling Chen's once timid expression had transformed.

Ling Chen stood before him, an imposing figure with a gaze as piercing as if it were from the depths of an icy cavern.

Silenced by fear, his body shook uncontrollably.

Ling Chen fixed a cold stare on him, his tone mocking, "Go on, keep talking... Why so silent now?"

"Ling Chen! You're nothing but a Second Heaven weakling, how dare you kick me!"

At that moment, the servant drenched in filth suddenly bellowed with rage, unleashing a surge of spiritual power.

Spiritual power of the Third Heaven... It was no surprise that a mere servant had the audacity to confront him.

Ling Chen's demeanor shifted dramatically as his eyes took on a deep purple hue.

Under Ling Chen's piercing purple gaze, the servant felt as though he was plummeting into an abyss, endlessly falling without a bottom in sight. Shortly after, he was shaking uncontrollably, his previous bravado evaporated in an instant.

"Do you want to hit me?" Ling Chen's voice boomed in the servant's head like a resounding gong.

The servant hastily shook his head, his voice quivering, "We were just following Young Master Hui's orders... Please, have mercy on us..."

"I'm sorry, we'll leave at once and never return..."

Suddenly, the two servants dropped to their knees, bowing as if in the presence of royalty, careful not to show any disrespect.

Ling Chen cast a brief glance at them and commanded, "Clean this mess up and relay a message to Ling Hui: if he dares to trouble me again, I won't hesitate to end him!"

They nodded vigorously and set about tidying up.

Observing their fearful demeanor, Ling Chen snorted dismissively, his eyes brimming with an icy detachment.

At present, he could only intimidate these men with the Divine Sense he retained from his past life. Given the state of his current body, a real confrontation might not end in his favor.

But those days were over.

From this point forward, no one would dare to bully him!

Absolutely no one!

...

Before long, the two servants were seen nodding and bowing to Ling Chen, hastily carrying the bucket of stolen items out of his yard.

Their retreat was a comical sight.

Ling Chen didn't linger; he strode purposefully toward the Alchemy Branch.