Location: Yun Clan, Mortal Realm
A scream tore through the silence. Thunder rolled across the skies, and the rain lashed down on the humble rooftops of the mountain village. In a dim, half-rotten wooden hut, a young man gasped and sat bolt upright, his chest heaving, eyes flashing with a strange and ancient light.
Yun Tian.
That was the name of the weakling boy whose body now held the soul of a god.
But within... was Lin Feng, once Celestial Emperor of the Supreme Realm, betrayed and cast down in a burst of divine treachery.
Where am I…?
This… this body…
His hands trembled as he touched his chest—fragile, bony, covered in scars. Pain screamed from every nerve. A flood of memories surged forward—some his, some not. Beatings, starvation, ridicule… Yun Tian had known nothing but suffering. And now, Lin Feng knew it too.
But another memory shimmered behind his closed eyes: a black void, the moment before death. The Eye of the Void. His secret. His last resort.
So I succeeded… My soul fused with the Eye… and it brought me here.
He was alive.
But this life was soaked in shame.
A Body Abandoned by Fate
The Yun Clan, a once-respected family of cultivators, had long since fallen into mediocrity. Yun Tian, born of a disgraced servant and a woman with an unknown bloodline, was the lowest among them. They called him cursed, unclean, useless. He had never awakened to Qi cultivation. To the clan, he was less than dirt.
But the boy had now become the vessel of a legend.
This body is weak. But it is mine now. And I—
I am Lin Feng.
He sat cross-legged, closing his eyes, drawing his spirit inward. There, within the spiritual sea of his new body, he saw it: a swirling mass of pitch-black energy, pulsing like a sleeping star.
The Eye of the Void.
Ancient runes flickered in his mind, celestial glyphs older than time. His lips curled slightly. The artifact was already binding to him—his soul, his essence. It was waiting. Watching.
Good. Soon I'll be able to use its power. But first… I must endure.
Scorn and Scraps
Before dawn, two disciples yanked open the door to his hut.
"Wake up, trash. The elders want the courtyard cleaned before the visiting sect arrives."
No greeting. No kindness. Just contempt.
Yun Tian rose slowly, playing the role. Too early to reveal anything. As he swept the stone courtyard, bent under the cold wind, he scanned every face. Names, bloodlines, affiliations—his emperor's mind noted every detail.
Some of them, he recognized. Vaguely. A few elders had once bowed to him in the Celestial Court. Now they spat at his feet.
So low I've fallen… Yet no throne stands forever.
Later, a group of teenagers surrounded him.
"That's him—Yun Tian the bastard."
"Sixteen years old and still can't sense Qi! What a disgrace!"
"Should've drowned at birth."
He stared at them in silence, his face a mask of emptiness.
Mock me while you can. You won't even see it coming when I rise.
The Girl Who Saw
That night, as he fetched water from the temple well, a voice broke the silence.
"You're Yun Tian, aren't you?"
He turned. A girl in pale robes stood under the moonlight, watching him. Her eyes were bright, intelligent, yet sad. A quiet strength radiated from her.
"And you are?"
"Lan Xue. I'm a disgrace too… in my own way."
He didn't respond, but his gaze lingered. There was something in her Qi—unrefined, but unique. A flickering resonance. Spiritual affinity.
"I saw you yesterday… when you helped that wounded crow in the courtyard. You're not weak. Just… misunderstood."
He looked away. The mask had to stay on. But somewhere deep within, something stirred. Not trust. Not yet. But… perhaps a sliver of respect.
First Spark of Power
Two nights later, Yun Tian crept into a crumbling shrine at the edge of the compound. Dust and cobwebs covered the statues. No one had worshipped here in years.
He knelt. Closed his eyes. Placed his palm on his chest.
Eye of the Void… hear me.
A shockwave blasted through his mind. Suddenly, he was floating in a void lit with streaks of pale blue fire. Echoes of his former life shimmered around him—celestial battles, divine formations, sacred scripts.
A voice whispered from within the Eye:
Access Granted: Forbidden Technique – Cosmic Rupture Pulse.
He exhaled slowly. The Eye allowed him to reclaim fragments of his old techniques—but too much, too fast, and the mortal body would collapse.
For now, he chose something small: a simple Qi-enhancement. He activated the technique. His veins glowed faintly.
Qi… I can feel it again.
A Shift in the Air
The next day, he carried buckets of water across the training yard. One of the clan's favored disciples tried to shove him to the ground—like always.
This time, Yun Tian moved. Effortlessly. Like water slipping around stone.
"What the—?!" the disciple cried, stumbling.
Others turned to stare.
"He… moved like a third-stage cultivator!"
"No way… it must've been luck."
Yun Tian bowed his head.
"Maybe I slipped."
But inside, he was smiling.
Let them wonder. The seed of doubt has been planted.
The Hermit's Voice
That night, a dream unlike any other gripped him.
A figure appeared—an old man surrounded by broken hourglasses and flickering stars.
"Lin Feng," he said, "the Eye has awakened. And so have I."
"Who are you?"
"Bai Chen. Keeper of Fractured Time. A memory, a whisper… called back by the artifact you wield."
"You're dead."
"Not entirely. As long as the Eye pulses, I exist… somewhat."
"Will you help me?"
"I'll guide you. But tread carefully. The Eye watches all. And others are already watching you."
Public Humiliation
The next morning, Yun Tian was dragged before the ancestral altar.
A yearly ritual: every non-cultivating clan member had to kneel in shame before the elders.
"Bow, filth. Swear your servitude," one elder barked.
He knelt. Calm. Still. Stones were thrown. Spit landed at his feet.
But then—something stirred.
A surge of invisible Qi pulsed from his body, just enough to unbalance the air. One of the elders stumbled.
"What… was that?!"
He quickly clutched his chest.
"Just… felt faint."
"Hmph. Even your blood rebels against you."
They laughed. But the elder's gaze lingered.
They noticed. Not enough to accuse… but enough to fear.
A Glimpse into Karma
That night, Yun Tian sat in meditation. The Eye of the Void hummed within him.
He focused. And suddenly—he saw.
Golden threads connecting every being in the clan. Threads of fate, tension, and hidden malice. He could feel the weight of their karma—decades of cruelty, ambition, betrayal.
This… is the true gift of the Eye.
He could see weaknesses. Secrets. Lies woven into their destinies.
Soon, I'll use this to unravel them all.
In the dark of his hut, his reflection shimmered in a bowl of water. A faint rune flickered on his forehead—then vanished.
"Xuan Mo… Zhi Lan… You think you've ascended above justice. But justice wears my face now."
Cliffhanger Ending
Outside, in the shadows of the compound walls, a hidden figure crouched, having seen the glowing rune.
A spy. Sent by a rival clan. His eyes wide with fear and wonder.
"He… he awakened something… something ancient…"
He turned, vanished into the darkness, and fled to report to his master.
And thus, rumors of the cursed boy's awakening began to stir the wider world…
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