C1 A Thousand Years ago

In the chill of a narrow alleyway, Ye Feng's eyes, previously sealed shut, snapped open, a glint of sharpness passing through them. But before he could fully come to his senses, waves of pain coursed through his body.

Bang!

A cold, hard shoe pressed down on Ye Feng's face.

"I'll say this one last time," a voice filled with scorn rang out, "Stay away from Su, the campus belle, in the future. She belongs to Mr. Tao."

"She's out of your league, you loser."

"Only Mr. Tao is worthy of her."

"Make sure I don't see you tomorrow, got it?"

Ma Wen stood with his arms folded, a cigarette dangling from his lips, grinding his foot into Ye Feng's face with a look of utter contempt and disdain.

That gaze was as if he were staring at garbage.

"Ptui."

"Remember, this isn't a warning; it's a threat."

"If there's a next time, I won't hesitate to make sure you spend the rest of your life lying in a bed."

Ma Wen spat the cigarette onto Ye Feng's face and, with a forceful push of his leg, sent Ye Feng rolling away.

"If it weren't for Mr. Tao, I wouldn't even bother wasting my time on trash like you."

With a sneer, Ma Wen turned and walked away.

Ye Feng lay on the ground, trembling slightly after a few minutes. Fighting through the pain, he forced his nearly broken body to rise.

"Was that Ma Wen just now?"

"Ma Wen... the same one who, a thousand years ago, along with Lin Tao, cornered me to a dead end."

A brilliant light flickered in his eyes as he took in his surroundings, and suddenly, tears began to stream down his face.

"This isn't the Mental Demon Tribulation."

"The heavens haven't forsaken me."

After drying his tears, Ye Feng slowly closed and then reopened his eyes, which now bore a hint of profound age.

In that moment, he seemed to have endured millennia of solitude.

"Reborn a thousand years in the past, I will not leave behind any regrets this time. The humiliations, the blood feuds—I will let none escape my retribution."

"With your blood, I shall pave my way to immortality."

Ye Feng, also known as Heavenly Emperor Ye, found his destiny altered at the age of fifty. A twist of fate whisked him away from Earth and set him on a path of cultivation. After a millennium of relentless battles, he emerged as the youngest half-step Sovereign in recorded history, just one step shy of ascending to an Immortal Sovereign.

Yet, as he approached this final threshold, a coalition of formidable sects launched a sudden assault. Compounded by the emergence of his inner demons at that critical juncture, even his unparalleled strength couldn't prevent his downfall. Among those inner demons were Ma Wen and Mr. Tao, whose relentless mockery had driven him away from Su Qiyue. The departure of Su Qiyue, along with the betrayal of the Wang family, haunted Ye Feng deeply.

Gazing into the night sky, he vowed, "One day, I will ascend to the Immortal Realm and exact vengeance upon each and every one who has wronged me."

Returning to his empty home, Ye Feng was reminded of his orphaned status. His father, Ye Guyun, and his mother, Wang Luo, had perished in a car accident when he was just twelve—a tragedy that had seemed like a mere accident. However, with the insights from his past life, Ye Feng had unraveled the truth: it was a sinister plot by the Wang family that had led to his parents' demise.

A bitter, rigid smile crept onto his lips as he pondered their fate. "Wang family, oh Wang family. Wang Xin, oh Wang Xin. In my past life, no matter how desperately my parents and I fought, we could only gaze up at the likes of you and the Wang family. To you, their lifelong toil was nothing more than a joke."

"They aspired to make a mark and earn the Wang family's approval, only to meet a tragic end at your hands."

With a chilling look in his eyes, Ye Feng resolved, "In my past life, I was powerless against you. But this time, I will make my way to Devil City and shatter the gates of the Wang family myself."

"I'll teach you the true meaning of being untouchable."