For one million years, Li Shen cultivated.
That sentence alone was enough to make any cultivator laugh.
One million years?
Impossible.
Even gods decayed.
Even immortals were forgotten.
Even heavenly laws shifted.
Yet Li Shen remained.
Not at the peak.
Not at the throne of divinity.
But at the very bottom.
He opened his eyes.
The cave around him was silent, old, forgotten by time.
Dust hung in the air like unmoving stars.
Outside, wind swept across barren mountains that had long ago lost their spiritual veins.
This place used to be the heart of the most powerful sect in existence.
Now it was nothing more than ruins.
Li Shen exhaled slowly.
A wave of spiritual pressure rippled outward—
—and then vanished.
If anyone were here to sense him, they would have seen only this:
Realm: Qi Refinement – Stage 1
The lowest possible level.
The level of beginners.
The level of children.
He had been stuck there for one million years.
"…Still sealed."
His voice was calm.
No anger.
No frustration.
Those emotions had died hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Inside his dantian, something ancient floated silently.
A book.
Thick.
Black.
Covered in cracks.
Bound by chains made of golden runes that pulsed faintly with suppressed authority.
The Heaven-Severing Scripture.
The cultivation manual that once allowed him to step beyond gods.
The scripture that triggered heaven's fear.
The scripture that caused his disciples to betray him.
The moment he tried to ascend beyond the True God Realm, the Heavenly Law descended.
Not to test him.
Not to challenge him.
But to seal him.
Not kill.
Seal.
Because heaven could not destroy him.
So it suppressed him.
Reduced him to Qi Refinement.
Locked his realm.
Left him alive as a mockery.
For one million years, Li Shen tried everything.
Forceful breakthroughs.
Self-destruction and reconstruction.
Reincarnation attempts.
He even allowed himself to die thousands of times.
Each time—
He returned.
Back to Qi Refinement.
As if the universe itself reset him.
He should have gone insane.
Instead…
He waited.
Today felt different.
The air trembled.
A crack appeared across one of the golden chains around the scripture.
Li Shen's eyes sharpened.
"…Finally."
Then—
A voice.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Ancient.
Not from the heavens.
Not from the earth.
But from within him.
[Boundless System Initializing…]
For the first time in a million years, Li Shen's heartbeat skipped.
[Host Identified: Li Shen]
[Cultivation Duration: 1,000,000 Years]
[Status: Abnormal]
[Suppression Level: Extreme]
[Error Detected in Heavenly Law]
[Override Protocol Initiated]
The cave shook.
Outside, dark clouds gathered instantly.
Lightning tore across the sky without warning.
The world reacted.
No—
Heaven reacted.
Li Shen stood up slowly.
"So… you finally woke up."
The scripture inside him glowed faintly.
[Primary Quest Unlocked]
Break the Heavenly Suppression.
Reward: Unseal Page One of the Heaven-Severing Scripture.
Failure: Permanent Erasure.
His lips curved slightly.
"Erasure?"
He had already tried to erase himself thousands of times.
The system continued.
[Sub Quest: Attend Azure Sky Cultivation Academy.]
Objective: Enroll as a new student.
Condition: Conceal true potential.
Reward: +1% Suppression Crack.
Li Shen looked toward the distant modern city visible beyond the mountains.
Azure Sky Academy.
The most prestigious cultivation academy in the modern era.
How ironic.
One million years ago, academies did not exist.
Only sects ruled.
Now cultivation had become institutionalized.
Standardized.
Measured.
Pathetic.
But interesting.
"If this is your method," Li Shen murmured,
"I will play along."
Suddenly—
The sky split open.
A massive bolt of golden lightning descended directly toward the cave.
Heavenly punishment.
Without warning.
Without announcement.
It was not testing him.
It was trying to erase the anomaly.
Li Shen did not move.
The lightning struck him head-on.
The mountain exploded.
Stone vaporized.
The cave collapsed entirely.
Dust swallowed everything.
Minutes passed.
When the smoke cleared—
Li Shen stood unharmed.
Not because he resisted.
But because the lightning dispersed the moment it touched him.
As if the world itself refused to damage him.
He looked up at the dark clouds.
"I told you," he said calmly.
"You cannot kill me."
The clouds trembled violently before slowly dispersing.
The system spoke again.
[Warning: Heavenly Law has detected system activation.]
[Surveillance Level Increased.]
[Host Advised to Blend In.]
Blend in?
For one million years, he had done nothing but exist in isolation.
Perhaps it was time.
Three days later.
Azure Sky City.
Skyscrapers stood beside spirit towers.
Flying swords crossed the sky like traffic lanes.
Digital screens displayed cultivation rankings and live tournament battles.
Cultivation had become entertainment.
Li Shen walked through the city streets wearing simple black clothes.
No aura.
No presence.
Completely ordinary.
People passed him without a second glance.
Inside the academy gates, thousands of young cultivators gathered for entrance assessment.
Excited.
Nervous.
Ambitious.
Li Shen stood among them silently.
A staff member shouted from the stage:
"Next! Step forward for spiritual measurement!"
One by one, students placed their hands on a crystal pillar.
The crystal glowed different colors depending on talent.
"Foundation Establishment — High Grade!"
"Core Formation — Early Stage!"
Cheers erupted.
Then—
"Next!"
Li Shen stepped forward.
Murmurs spread immediately.
"Who's that?"
"He looks… ordinary."
"Probably trash talent."
He placed his hand on the crystal.
For one second—
Nothing happened.
Then the crystal flickered weakly.
Very weakly.
The staff member frowned.
"…Qi Refinement. Stage 1."
Silence.
Then laughter exploded across the plaza.
"Qi Refinement?!"
"At his age?!"
"Is he serious?"
"Even children are stronger!"
The staff member sighed.
"You barely meet the minimum entry requirement. Are you sure you want to enroll?"
Li Shen withdrew his hand.
"Yes."
Simple.
Calm.
No shame.
The crowd laughed harder.
But at that exact moment—
A microscopic crack formed on one of the golden chains inside his dantian.
[Sub Quest Completed.]
Suppression Crack: 1%
A faint surge of ancient power rippled through him.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But somewhere—
Deep within the sky—
Something vast shifted uneasily.
Li Shen walked toward the academy entrance without looking back.
Behind him, whispers followed.
"Pathetic."
"Waste of resources."
"He won't last a week."
He did not react.
He had heard worse from gods.
As he crossed the gates of Azure Sky Academy, the system spoke again.
[New Mission Available.]
Mission: Be Publicly Humiliated Within 24 Hours.
Condition: Do Not Retaliate.
Reward: Unlock Minor Ancient Skill.
Li Shen stopped walking.
"…You truly are absurd."
But his eyes gleamed faintly.
For one million years, he had tried to fight heaven directly.
Perhaps the correct answer was not resistance—
But compliance.
If humiliation cracked the seal…
Then he would endure humiliation.
If weakness broke suppression…
Then he would play weak.
After all—
What was pride…
To someone who had already stood above eternity?
He looked up at the academy's towering structure.
Students trained in arenas.
Instructors lectured about cultivation theory.
Drones recorded sparring matches for broadcast.
Modern world.
Ancient power.
And hidden beneath it all—
The trembling fear of heaven itself.
Li Shen stepped forward.
Quietly.
Patiently.
For the first time in one million years—
The game had changed.
And this time,
He was no longer alone.