The stone ground was cold.
Not naturally cold—
but suppressed.
An Bo Tiankong felt it the moment his bare feet touched the cracked platform.
A pressure.
Thin.
Almost invisible.
Yet real.
His heartbeat slowed.
This place…
It's suppressing energy.
Around him, the ruined arena stretched wide, broken pillars leaning like fallen giants. Ancient runes were carved into the stone, most shattered beyond recognition. Time had erased their meaning, but not their intent.
This was not a battlefield.
It was a seal.
Tiankong clenched his fingers.
He was still weak.
Cultivation Level: 1 – Early Stage.
The lowest realm of existence.
Yet—
The air reacted to him.
Dust trembled.
Cracks along the ground faintly widened.
Tiankong frowned.
That shouldn't happen.
Even a Level 1 – Peak Stage cultivator couldn't disturb sealed ground like this. And he was only Early Stage.
Unless…
His gaze slowly dropped to his chest.
A faint warmth pulsed beneath his skin.
Not energy.
Not aura.
Something deeper.
Cultivation System (Known to the World)
Mortal Foundation Realm
Early Stage
Mid Stage
Late Stage
Peak Stage
Spirit Vein Realm
Core Condensation Realm
Domain Manifestation Realm
Void Shatter Realm
Heaven Ascension Realm
Saint Sovereign Realm
???
???
God Realm
From Level 8 to 10, the world had no sub-stages.
Because no one had ever truly reached them.
Tiankong exhaled slowly.
His aura leaked—just a thread.
It wasn't powerful.
But it was clean.
Pure.
The kind of presence that didn't roar…
but distorted reality by simply existing.
The broken pillars creaked.
From the shadows beyond the arena, something stirred.
The Demon Appears
A low growl echoed.
Then footsteps.
Heavy.
Measured.
A massive figure stepped into the dim light.
Black-scaled skin.
Crimson horns.
Four burning eyes.
A Void-Claw Demon.
Its aura exploded outward.
The ground shattered beneath its feet.
Cultivation Level: 3 – Late Stage.
A being that could easily slaughter an entire city.
Tiankong's pupils shrank.
Late Stage…
At his current realm, even surviving one attack should have been impossible.
Yet—
The demon halted.
Its eyes locked onto Tiankong.
Confusion flashed across its monstrous face.
The demon's aura wavered.
Just slightly.
"…Human?"
Its voice was rough, ancient.
Then it stepped back.
A single step.
Tiankong felt it.
The pressure around him shifted.
It… retreated?
Impossible.
A Level 3 – Late Stage demon feared a Level 1 – Early Stage human?
No.
It wasn't fear.
It was instinct.
Aura Suppression Phenomenon
Though Tiankong's cultivation was low,
his existence carried a pressure that didn't belong to his realm.
A pressure that ignored levels.
The demon growled again, this time deeper.
"You… are wrong."
Its aura surged.
Black energy wrapped around its claws, forming distorted space.
A Low-Grade Demon Technique – Void Rend.
Technique Level: 1 – Mid Tier.
Tiankong's breath hitched.
I can't block that.
His body moved before his mind did.
Technique Used: Shadow Drift
A movement technique.
Technique Level: 1 – Early Tier.
Explanation:
Shadow Drift did not increase speed.
It removed the user from the enemy's perception for a fraction of a second, allowing repositioning.
Tiankong vanished.
The demon's claw struck empty air.
The ground behind him split open.
A deep crack stretched dozens of meters.
Void Shatter Realm damage.
Tiankong reappeared behind a broken pillar, breathing hard.
My energy consumption is insane…
Early Stage techniques drained him far faster than they should.
Because his body was holding something greater than his realm.
The demon slowly turned.
Its four eyes narrowed.
"This presence…"
Its voice dropped.
"…is sealed."
Tiankong froze.
It knows.
The demon raised its head, sniffing the air.
"You carry the origin of something that should not awaken."
The arena trembled.
Deep underground, something responded.
A distant pulse.
Not loud.
But absolute.
Tiankong's heart skipped.
A Name Almost Spoken
The demon took another step back.
For the first time—
Fear.
"Impossible… that clan was destroyed."
Clan?
Tiankong's fists tightened.
Clan…?
Before he could speak, the demon's body suddenly stiffened.
Its aura was crushed.
Flattened.
As if an invisible hand pressed down on it.
From the sky above the ruined arena—
A cold, ancient presence descended.
Not energy.
Not cultivation.
Authority.
The demon's eyes widened.
"…Heaven?"
No answer came.
Only pressure.
The demon screamed as its body began to disintegrate—
not destroyed,
but erased.
Before vanishing, it locked eyes with Tiankong one last time.
"Child… when he awakens—"
Silence.
The demon ceased to exist.
Aftermath
The pressure vanished.
The arena fell quiet.
Tiankong stood frozen, heart pounding.
His aura receded.
The ground slowly stopped trembling.
He looked at his trembling hands.
Who… am I?
No prophecy answered.
No voice guided him.
Only a truth burned into his chest—
Someone had been planning something long before his birth.
And whatever slept inside him…
The world was not ready.
Tiankong lifted his head.
Far away, beyond mountains and space—
An ancient pair of eyes opened.
And smiled.
"So… the origin has begun to stir."