Chapter 1
"Cough… cough-cough…"
The hospital room was suffocatingly quiet, save for the rhythmic, mechanical wheezing of the ventilator.
Li An lay huddled on the bed, his translucent fingers clutching the white sheets with a strength born of pure desperation. He pressed a trembling hand to his lips, but he couldn't stop the startling streak of dark crimson from seeping through his fingers. It blossomed across the sterile linen like an ill-omened spider lily.
He forced his eyes open, staring at the flickering fluorescent light on the ceiling. Every breath felt like swallowing jagged shards of glass.
"Am I… finally going to be free?"
A helpless, bitter smile tugged at his thin lips. Even as death's shadow loomed, his face—sharpened and thinned by years of illness—possessed a haunting, fractured beauty that commanded attention.
"Those people… they should be celebrating now. The 'eyesore' of the Li family is finally going to vanish from their perfect world."
He let out a dry, broken chuckle. A single tear traced a path down his temple, vanishing into his hair. Was it relief? Or was it the cold, stinging embers of resentment? At this point, it hardly mattered.
"So tired… so sleepy. If I just close my eyes… the pain will stop, won't it?"
As his consciousness drifted into the void, he vaguely heard the piercing shriek of the heart monitor and the frantic patter of nurses' boots in the hallway. But he only closed his eyes tighter, a faint, peaceful curve on his lips, as if stepping into a dream he had never been allowed to have.
Nineteen years.
Li An was the true-born heir to a global empire, yet fate had played a cruel joke on him. Switched at birth by a vengeful nanny, he had been raised in the shadows, enduring neglect and abuse that shattered his health. Meanwhile, the nanny's own son lived his life—showered with the love, wealth, and prestige that belonged to Li An.
By the time the truth was accidentally uncovered at age eighteen, it was too late. His billionaire father didn't cast out the imposter; instead, he treated Li An like a shameful secret, a "charity case" hidden in the backrooms of the mansion.
One year of "luxury" was all he got. One year of watching the thief who stole his life continue to be the star, while he withered away in a sickbed.
[Intense obsession detected. Soul preservation initialized.]
A voice, playful yet laced with a dangerous edge, echoed within his fading mind.
"Hello, dear Host."
"I am a Trader from Planet R1. I've caught your soul just as it was about to flicker out. Tell me… do you want to play a game?"
Li An opened his eyes again, but the hospital was gone. He was floating in a vast, silent abyss. "Is this… hell?"
"You can call me the System," the voice replied with a light, annoying chirp. "Think of this as a business meeting. Bind with me, travel through the collapsing worlds to collect energy, and in return, I'll give you a chance at rebirth—with a body that won't break at the slightest breeze."
"And if I say no?" Li An asked, his voice a ghostly rasp.
"Oh, nothing serious~" The System let out a soft laugh. "At worst, your soul just dissipates. You'll be dead beyond dead. Not even a memory left."
Li An lowered his lashes, casting long shadows over his pale cheeks. "Do I even have a reason to refuse?"
"Don't be so gloomy! Think of what you can do with a healthy body. And more importantly…" the System's tone dropped, dripping with temptation, "don't you want revenge? That 'beloved brother' of yours… he isn't exactly a saint. Your body didn't just 'happen' to fall apart, you know. He played a very active role in ensuring you'd never be a threat to his throne."
Li An's breath hitched. "What did you say?"
"He knew he was a fake from the start," the System sneered. "The nanny's abuse? His idea. Your 'sudden relapse' after returning to the Li family? Also his handiwork. He wanted you dead before you could even say the word 'inheritance'."
Boom.
Anger—cold, white-hot, and suffocating—erupted within Li An's soul. Every "apology" the imposter had whispered at his bedside, every "tear" shed for his health… it was all poison.
"Take me with you." Li An looked up, the last traces of gentleness in his eyes dying out, replaced by a jagged, manic resolve. "If I'm going to live, I'm going to make them bleed for every second I spent in that bed."
"That's the spirit!" The System let out a delighted cackle. "Contract established. Loading the first world…"
The System paused, sounding suspiciously gleeful. "Oh, by the way. To test your soul's compatibility, I've prepared a special 'gift' for your first identity. In this world… you won't be human."
Li An froze. "What?"
"You'll descend as a beast," the System chuckled. "A 'defective' White Tiger cub, born with shattered meridians and destined to be a sacrifice for an alchemist's cauldron. Small, weak, and at the mercy of others. Just like your last life."
"How about it? Ready to see if you can survive being a 'discarded' thing all over again?"
Li An slowly clenched his soul-form fist. A low, dangerous laugh escaped his throat.
"A sacrifice?" he whispered, his eyes burning with a terrifying light. "We'll see… who ends up on the altar."
[World Transfer—Initiating!]
[Target: The Azure Continent.]
[Drop Point: The Bloodstone Altar.]
[Good luck, my little tiger.]
A violent swirl of vertigo pulled him under. When Li An opened his eyes again, the scent of antiseptic was gone, replaced by the heavy, metallic stench of blood and bitter herbs.
He tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak, trembling, and unmistakably feral growl.