C1 Chu Feng

The Edora Kingdom, sprawling and densely populated, was the easternmost vassal kingdom of the Slegeon Empire. At this time, within an unassuming room in the royal palace of the Edora Kingdom, a boy around fifteen or sixteen lay on a bed, his face deathly pale. His body shook uncontrollably as if caught in the throes of a horrific nightmare.

Darkness enveloped him. Chu Feng felt himself plummeting towards an endless abyss at breakneck speed. The darkness was all-consuming. As Chu Feng's body hurtled downwards, he desperately tried to grasp at something, anything, but it was in vain.

Just then, Chu Feng felt a sudden thud as he hit the ground, and a distant voice began to call out to him.

"Feng, Feng..."

The voice grew from a whisper to a shout, drawing closer.

In the blink of an eye, a beam of light illuminated Chu Feng's face.

"Master!"

The boy let out a loud cry, his body jolting upright in bed.

Drip.

A bead of sweat, large as a pea, fell onto the bedding.

"Where am I..."

The boy was Chu Feng, formerly a disciple of a secretive sect within the Spiritlands. His master, the sect leader, had recognized Chu Feng's exceptional intelligence from a young age. In a mere twenty-five years, Chu Feng's prowess in martial arts had soared, placing him at the pinnacle of the continent's younger generation.

But prosperity was fleeting. As Chu Feng prepared to break through his martial arts constraints and ascend to the continent's summit, his sect came under siege by many of the continent's formidable warriors.

In that fateful battle, the mightiest warriors of the Spiritlands converged. They first decimated the sect, then captured Chu Qingyun, Chu Feng's master, in an attempt to coerce him into disclosing the location of the Rune of Power.

Chu Qingyun chose death over betrayal. To prevent his soul from being searched and the secrets of the Rune of Power from being exposed, he chose to self-destruct.

Before his capture, Chu Qingyun entrusted Chu Feng with a white jade pendant and imparted a sacred chant, urging him to safeguard it at all costs.

Following Chu Qingyun's self-sacrifice, the continent's warriors turned their attention to Chu Feng. With nowhere left to turn and determined to keep the Rune of Power from enemy hands, Chu Feng made the fateful decision to leap into the Duan Soul Cliff.

The Duan Soul Cliff was the most treacherous location in the Spiritlands, its depths unfathomable. For any warrior who fell, death was certain. Unexpectedly, after Chu Feng's plunge, he awoke in a place completely unknown to him.

Chu Feng's head throbbed painfully. He massaged his temples and scanned his surroundings.

Suddenly, a flood of memories invaded his mind, and he gritted his teeth in response.

"I've been... reborn..."

An hour later, a more composed Chu Feng appeared visibly dazed.

The memories revealed that he was the eighth son of Chu Batian, the King of Edora, and at fifteen, he was still unable to open the All-Seeing Eye and become a warrior. The thought brought on a fresh wave of headache.

"Master..."

Memories continued to pour in. Witnessing his master's self-destruction, Chu Feng's fist tightened, and his body shook with uncontrollable tremors.

Once discarded by others, it was his master who had rescued him and imparted martial arts wisdom. Yet, when his master was coerced by numerous experts for the location of the Rune of Power, leading to his self-destruction, Chu Feng was powerless to intervene.

He could only watch in agony as his beloved master perished before his eyes, unable to do anything.

At that moment, Chu Feng's nails dug into his flesh, and tears dropped onto the bedding with a soft patter.

"Master! Rest assured, if I couldn't avenge you in my past life, this life will be different. I will personally take the heads of those responsible!"

Chu Feng's fists were clenched tight, his eyes ablaze with an unusual glow.

The vendetta for his master's death was unresolvable. The heavens had granted him a second chance at life!

Creak...

Just then, the closed door slowly opened. A woman dressed in a pink servant's gown entered, carrying a bowl of food. As she took a couple of steps and looked up, she caught Chu Feng's intense gaze from the bed.

"Your Highness! You're awake!"

Upon seeing Chu Feng, the woman paused, shocked. The plate clattered to the floor, but she barely noticed, her face etched with astonishment.

"Lingling?"

Chu Feng had a faint recollection of the woman before him. She was his sole maid, Lingling.

"Oh, thank goodness! Your Highness, you're awake!"

Upon hearing Chu Feng's voice, she blurted out a sentence and then dashed off without a backward glance.

"…"

Watching the maid's reaction left Chu Feng momentarily taken aback, but then it dawned on him.

Shortly after Lingling's departure, Chu Feng heard several sets of hurried footsteps approaching.

"Feng!"

A voice called out, and he saw a beautiful woman in a court dress hurrying in. Catching sight of Chu Feng, she exclaimed in surprise and flung herself toward him.

"Mother~"

Upon seeing the beautiful woman, Chu Feng instinctively called out.

"Feng, you've given me such a fright... Wuu, wuu, I was afraid... afraid you'd never wake up again..."

The beautiful woman sat beside Chu Feng's bed, embracing the bewildered young man as tears began to flow.

Feeling the warmth emanating from the woman's body, Chu Feng's mind was flooded with memories of her. This body had been frail since childhood, too weak to even open the All-Seeing Eye and become a warrior. Because of this frailty, they had been relegated to the cold palace, enduring constant humiliation. Yet, she had always been there, using her frail body to protect him from life's harshness... Su Yun, the mother of this body.

"Mother, please don't cry. See, I'm alright."

The memories brought a profound sense of warmth from the beautiful woman before him.

In his previous life, Chu Feng had no knowledge of his parents, never experiencing paternal or maternal love. In this life, he was grateful to the heavens for bestowing upon him the gift of a mother, even if she was the mother of this body.

"Yes, Your Grace, please don't cry. Look, His Highness is awake. That's a cause for celebration, not tears," Lingling chimed in, approaching the tearful woman. She offered a handkerchief and a smile as she gently wiped away the tears.

"Indeed, indeed, it's a joyous occasion. I won't cry, I won't cry..."

Hearing Lingling's comforting words, the beautiful woman suddenly looked up at Chu Feng, dabbing at her eyes as she spoke.

"Lady Shuyu has arrived."

As the trio's tears turned to laughter, a piercing voice suddenly echoed from outside.

"Lady Shuyu! What brings her here?"

Upon hearing the name "Lady Shuyu," the once-smiling Su Yun's expression turned blank. Chu Feng, seated on the bed, involuntarily furrowed his brow.

In Chu Feng's recollection, Lady Shuyu had been a constant thorn in the side of him and his mother, using her status to cause them endless trouble.

"Why, aren't you happy to see me?"

At that moment, a voice drifted in from the doorway. A striking woman in a purple gown entered the room, supported by two maids, her gaze fixed coldly on Su Yun as she mocked.

"Wow, you're quite the survivor. I was expecting to find your corpse, yet here you are, very much alive."

Simultaneously, a voice emerged from a young man standing beside Lady Shuyu. He appeared to be in his late teens, clad in a python robe, with a tall, imposing stature and a remarkable face. He looked at Chu Feng, his eyes revealing a hint of surprise.

He was Chu Lang, the fourth son of the King of Edora, Chu Batian.

"You!"

Su Yun's face flushed with rage at Chu Lang's words, her body shaking with fury.

"What's wrong? Isn't it true? At fifteen, without having opened the All-Seeing Eye, aren't you just a waste? If you're a waste, then death would be fitting. They say the worthless are lucky, and fools live long lives, and it seems to be true."

Chu Lang's sneer only intensified as he regarded Chu Feng with disdain.

"You're talking nonsense! My son is no waste. He will surely open the All-Seeing Eye and become a warrior!"

Su Yun, her face beet red, retorted to Chu Lang after a tense pause.

"Oh, really? He can open the All-Seeing Eye? When might that be? This year? Hahaha..."

Chu Lang burst into mocking laughter at Su Yun's declaration. Not just Chu Lang, but Lady Shuyu and the maids around them all joined in, laughing uproariously as if they'd heard the funniest joke.

Typically, young men with potential would awaken their All-Seeing Eye before the age of fifteen, thus becoming warriors. After sixteen, it was virtually unheard of for anyone to unlock this ability. Those rare few who did manage to awaken the All-Seeing Eye at sixteen were considered too late to the game, essentially no different from being useless.

"Lady Shuyu, can you truly treat my son and me this way?"

Su Yun's lips quivered as she faced Lady Shuyu and her entourage, questioning her with a tremble in her voice.

"Hehe, remember when the King favored you? I, as your sister, implored you to plead with him on my behalf to spare Lin'er from going to war. Yet, you failed to persuade him, and as a result, I lost Lin'er... It's all because of you! Had it not been for you, Lin'er would still be here! Therefore, you must face the consequences!"

Lady Shuyu, overcome with emotion, recalled the past and lashed out at Su Yun.

Chu Feng also had memories of the incident Lady Shuyu mentioned. Her eldest son, once a Great Lord, had been sent to war by the King of Edora, Chu Batian, due to his misdeeds. Tragically, he was assassinated en route.

Su Yun had indeed tried to counsel the King at the time, but her words fell on deaf ears. Ultimately, the King sent Chu Lin, Lady Shuyu's son, off to war.

Following Chu Lin's assassination, Lady Shuyu directed all her bitterness towards Su Yun. After Chu Feng failed to awaken the All-Seeing Eye, Su Yun was relegated to the Cold Palace, where she endured frequent humiliation at the hands of Lady Shuyu.

"I did counsel the King about the Great Lord's actions, but he had gone too far, and the King wouldn't heed my advice. My repeated attempts to persuade him only led to his disdain for me... But I assure you, I did everything in my power to advise the King back then..."

Su Yun, with fists clenched, confronted Lady Shuyu with her truth.

"Shut up! Still trying to persuade me... Enough with your pretense; when you were the favored one, how could the King have ignored your advice?! No matter what, I will make sure you regret it! Let's go!"

Lady Shuyu was seething with rage as she spat these words at Su Yun. With that, she spun on her heel and stormed off, flanked by her entourage.

As Su Yun watched Lady Shuyu and her group retreat, she was consumed by a sense of helplessness. She had indeed tried to influence the King of Edora, but to no avail. And now, Lady Shuyu was unfairly attributing the agony of her loss to Su Yun...