The world felt… small.
Too small.
Jin Baiyu stood still for a long moment, letting this fragile mortal shell settle around him. He could feel everything with frightening clarity:
The thin blood trickling through veins too narrow.
The shallow breaths struggling to fill weakened lungs.
The dantian — cracked, unstable, on the verge of collapse.
And the faintest trace of spiritual qi, like a dying candle in a storm.
This body was a joke.
A pitiful mockery of what he once was.
But the Asura Emperor did not complain.
He adapted.
He always adapted.
A Memory Not His Own
As he stepped toward the cracked mirror, a sudden flood of foreign memories surged through his mind.
A boy with the same name — Jin Baiyu.
Bullied.
Mocked.
Beaten by villagers for having a "dead meridian body."
Orphaned.
Poor.
Barely enough talent to be considered human, let alone a cultivator.
He died a week ago.
From starvation.
Jin Baiyu exhaled slowly.
So this is the child whose body I now wear…
He touched the mirror.
The reflection showed a thin, underfed youth with messy black hair and dull, tired eyes. Nothing like his former appearance — the ancient fiend who struck fear into gods.
But beneath the weakness, Jin saw something else.
A spark.
Not of talent… but of potential for change.
This boy had been stepped on his whole life.
Now, someone else stood in his place.
Someone who would not be stepped on.
Ever again.
The Annoyed Companion
"Oi, Baiyu! Why are you staring at yourself like that?" the boy in the doorway repeated, scowling. "We're going to be late!"
Jin blinked, finally acknowledging his presence.
The boy was tall, broad-shouldered, and carried himself with the frustrated arrogance of someone who wanted to be a genius but wasn't. His robes were cleaner, newer. His hair tied neatly.
A childhood friend.
A bully.
A rival.
The memories blurred together, but Jin understood enough.
His name was Wu Hao.
He pointed an accusing finger.
"If we miss this exam because of you, I'll—"
Jin cut him off.
"You'll what?"
Wu Hao's voice died in his throat.
The energy in the room shifted — cold, crushing, ancient. Something predatory flickered behind Jin's quiet gaze. A pressure that didn't belong in a mortal village.
Wu Hao staggered back, unable to breathe for a moment.
"Wh-What…? Did you break through overnight?"
Jin Baiyu straightened his tattered robes.
"No."
He walked past him, hands clasped casually behind his back.
"I simply woke up."
Wu Hao swallowed.
Something was wrong with him. Terribly wrong.
But he followed, shaking off the unease.
The sect entrance exam was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He couldn't afford to be late.
The Road to Azure Heaven Sect
The village road was filled with hopeful youths wearing their best robes, families giving tearful farewells, chants of blessings filling the air.
But as Jin Baiyu walked among them, the atmosphere shifted.
People stared.
Not because he looked impressive, but because he looked like he didn't belong.
"That's the Jin orphan…"
"I thought he died."
"His talent is zero. Why bother going?"
"Maybe he wants to humiliate himself."
A woman whispered loudly as he passed:
"Even the sect dogs have more talent than him."
Jin stopped walking.
He turned his head slightly.
His voice was soft.
Too soft.
"Repeat that."
The woman flinched, stunned by the sudden chill in the air.
Her husband grabbed her arm. "Let's go."
They hurried away.
Jin resumed walking, expression calm.
Inside, however, his rage flickered.
This world forgot its place.
In his past life, sects bowed when he spoke. Kings knelt. Immortals feared to breathe in his presence.
To be treated as trash again… was amusing.
Let's see how long their arrogance lasts.
Approaching the Sect Gates
Hours later, the mountain path opened to reveal a breathtaking sight:
Floating stone peaks lingering among the clouds.
Rivers of spiritual energy winding like glowing serpents.
Massive stairways carved from jade.
The main gate — a colossal arch of blue-light crystal — towering over thousands of hopeful applicants.
A dozen outer sect disciples guarded the entrance.
One stepped forward arrogantly.
"Papers. Name. Place of origin."
Wu Hao presented his slip.
"Wu Hao of Clear Wind Village."
The disciple nodded. "Next."
Jin Baiyu stepped forward silently.
The disciple glanced at the slip, then froze.
"…Jin Baiyu?"
"Yes."
"You're the one with the dead meridian body."
A few applicants snickered.
"Why bother coming?"
"He'll probably be kicked out instantly."
"Isn't he weaker than little kids?"
The disciple tossed Jin's paper on the ground.
"You're wasting our time. Get lost."
Wu Hao smirked. "Told you he'd embarrass us—"
Before he could finish, a gentle gust of wind brushed past him.
Jin Baiyu moved.
Silent.
Effortless.
Like a shadow shifting in moonlight.
He appeared before the outer disciple and placed a hand on his shoulder.
The disciple's knees buckled instantly.
Jin's grip didn't hurt.
It crushed.
His qi — though faint — was controlled with terrifying precision.
"You dropped something," Jin said softly, picking up the paper and handing it back.
"You may return it properly."
The disciple trembled, barely keeping himself standing.
"Y-You—"
Jin leaned closer.
"If you wish to stay alive, step aside."
The disciple stumbled backward.
Applicants stared in disbelief.
Wu Hao's jaw dropped.
"That… that wasn't possible! You barely have qi!"
Jin continued walking, unbothered.
"Qi is a tool," he said calmly. "Power is a truth."
Entering Azure Heaven Sect
As Jin passed through the gate, a sudden pressure fell upon him — a spiritual scan meant to detect talent and cultivation.
Usually gentle.
Barely noticeable.
But the moment it touched Jin—
CRACK!
The scanning pillar trembled violently.
Several disciples gasped.
"What was that?!"
"The detection array misfired!"
"No, it recoiled—!"
"From a mortal realm boy?!"
Jin kept walking without turning back.
Behind him, the disciples shivered.
Something was wrong with him.
Something deeply, fundamentally wrong.