The Ji Clan, Azure Sun City.
A quiet courtyard in the eastern inner residence, filled with the faint scent of spirit incense and the soft rustle of bamboo leaves swaying in the wind. Morning light spilled through the lattice window, forming broken patterns on the wooden floor, while the air carried a thin, refreshing trace of spiritual energy.
On the bed, a young boy slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear, cold, and far too calm for his age.
For a brief moment, he didn't move. He simply stared at the ceiling, letting the unfamiliar sensations settle into his bones. His limbs felt light, his meridians narrow, his dantian empty. It was the kind of weakness that made even breathing feel like a burden.
But instead of panic, he felt only one thing.
Certainty.
Because he remembered everything.
He remembered how he had died.
He remembered how his family had been slaughtered down to the last servant, how the ancestral hall had burned for three days, how the clan's secret realm had been plundered clean. He remembered kneeling in the ashes with blood in his mouth, hearing the "righteous" laughter of those who called themselves heroes.
And he remembered the face of the one who had done it.
A young man, shining like the sun, surrounded by fate itself.
A protagonist.
Someone who could fall off a cliff and find a supreme inheritance. Someone who could offend every great power in the world and still walk away alive. Someone who could steal treasures meant for others and be praised as "destined."
Ji Wuyuan's lips curled slightly.
In his last life, he had been the stepping stone.
The arrogant young master.
The villain whose death made the protagonist's path smoother.
His eyes slowly shifted to the bronze mirror beside the bed. The reflection was youthful, delicate, almost gentle. If anyone saw him now, they would only think he was a harmless noble child raised in silk and protection.
But Ji Wuyuan knew the truth.
This face was only a mask.
A mask he would use to survive.
A mask he would use to win.
He sat up, crossed his legs, and placed his hands lightly on his knees. His breathing gradually became steady, his posture straightening like a blade being sharpened. In the next instant, he began circulating the cultivation method of the Ji Clan.
A faint warmth rose from his abdomen.
It was weak, thin, barely enough to be called qi.
But it was there.
The first step of cultivation was always the hardest, because it was the moment one's mortal body began transforming into something beyond human. His meridians stung slightly, like needles running through them, while his bones gave off faint cracking sounds.
A quarter of an hour later, a thin layer of dark impurities seeped out of his pores.
Ji Wuyuan opened his eyes.
Body Tempering Realm, First Layer.
In a low-level city like Azure Sun, an eight-year-old reaching Body Tempering First Layer would already be called talented. Many children of ordinary families wouldn't even sense qi until they were ten or eleven.
But Ji Wuyuan wasn't satisfied.
Not even close.
In his last life, the protagonist had stepped into Qi Refining before the age of nine, then entered the sect with a halo of glory. By fifteen, he was already a famous genius across the entire region.
And by eighteen…
he had returned, leading "righteous allies," and personally wiped out the Ji Clan.
If Ji Wuyuan wanted to change his fate, he needed more than talent.
He needed something that could crush fate itself.
Just as this thought surfaced, his soul suddenly trembled.
A strange coldness spread from the depths of his consciousness, as if something ancient had awakened. His vision blurred for a heartbeat, then a line of text appeared before him, suspended in midair like a divine decree.
It wasn't a hallucination.
It wasn't a dream.
It was real.
[War Archive System has successfully bound to Host.]
Ji Wuyuan's expression remained calm, but his heart beat once harder.
A system.
So this was the reason he had been reborn.
In the cultivation world, there were countless legends—immortal inheritances, supreme bloodlines, forbidden arts, and heavenly treasures. But a system that could appear directly in the soul was something far beyond what a low-level world should contain.
Ji Wuyuan's eyes narrowed slightly.
If it truly came from a higher world…
Then it might be his only chance.
The text shifted again.
[Host: Ji Wuyuan][Age: 8][Cultivation: Body Tempering First Layer][World Layer: Low Realm][Clan Status: Weak][Merit: 0][Authority: Dormant]
Then a final line appeared, heavy with pressure.
[Founder's War Authority — Newbie Package available.]
Ji Wuyuan didn't hesitate.
"Open."
The moment he spoke, his entire room seemed to dim, as if the sunlight itself had been suppressed. A black page unfolded in front of him like an ancient scroll, covered in faint golden lines that resembled a war ledger.
This wasn't a cheerful reward screen.
It was a record of slaughter.
A tool meant for building forces.
For founding empires.
For hunting protagonists.
[Newbie Package claimed.]
[Reward 1: Founder-grade Subordinate — Summon available.][Reward 2: Heaven-grade Spirit Spring (Sealed) — Stored in system space.][Reward 3: Supreme Body Tempering Manual — "Nine Tribulation Ironbone Art" — Stored.][Reward 4: Nightveil Token — Shadow Slots: 0/9 — Stored.]
Ji Wuyuan's gaze sharpened.
Heaven-grade Spirit Spring.
Supreme body tempering manual.
A token tied to a shadow army.
And a founder-grade subordinate…
Every single one of these rewards was enough to shake a low-level world.
Even a mid-level world might fight over them.
If he used them properly, his family would not merely survive. They would rise.
They would become a clan that stood above sects.
A clan that made kingdoms kneel.
A clan that could step into higher worlds.
Ji Wuyuan's eyes fell on the first reward.
He spoke calmly.
"Summon."
The air behind him instantly distorted.
The shadows in the room deepened, thickening like ink poured into water. A human outline slowly formed, as if a living being was walking out of darkness itself.
Then the figure stepped forward.
Black armor.
A half-mask.
A terrifying calmness in his aura.
The pressure alone was enough to make ordinary Body Tempering cultivators kneel.
The figure knelt on one knee, head lowered in absolute obedience.
"Shadow Court Executor, Wei Yan greets Master."
The system displayed information instantly.
[Subordinate: Wei Yan][Rank: Gold Star][Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Peak][Role: Shadow Court Executor][Talent: Shadow Thread Divine Sense][Loyalty: Absolute]
Ji Wuyuan's heart steadied.
Foundation Establishment Peak.
In Azure Sun City, even the strongest clan patriarch was only at Qi Refining Ninth Layer. Foundation Establishment was the realm of true experts—people who could destroy a city wall with one palm strike.
With Wei Yan at his side, he now had a blade hidden in the dark.
And the best part was—
No one knew.
Ji Wuyuan stood up slowly, his face returning to that gentle, harmless expression. He walked toward Wei Yan, stopping a few steps away, and spoke softly.
"From today onward, you will act in the shadows. No one will know you exist unless I allow it."
Wei Yan's voice was steady.
"As Master commands."
Ji Wuyuan nodded lightly.
His first order was simple, but it carried the weight of future bloodshed.
"Investigate the Ji Clan. I want every secret, every hidden grudge, every disloyal heart. Especially those who have been in contact with outsiders."
Wei Yan didn't ask why.
He didn't question.
He simply accepted.
"As you command."
Ji Wuyuan turned his gaze toward the window, watching the sunlight spread across the courtyard. The birds chirped, the servants moved about, and the clan looked peaceful.
But Ji Wuyuan knew the truth.
Under this peace, there were worms.
And in the future, those worms would open the gate for the protagonist.
His smile deepened slightly, warm enough to fool anyone.
But his eyes were colder than ice.
"In this life," he murmured, "I won't be the villain who dies in the background."
"I will be the one who writes the script."