1: Fall and Rebirth

Winter had arrived, and the cold wind was like a knife.

In a dilapidated small courtyard on the back mountain of the Ye Family in Qingyun City.

Ye Chen suddenly sat up from the cold wooden bed, his forehead covered in fine beads of cold sweat, his chest heaving violently. He looked around, seeing roof beams covered in spiderwebs, window frames leaking wind, and this broken bed beneath him that made his body ache from the hardness.

A flood of memories, both strange and somewhat familiar, surged into his mind like a tide, bringing waves of tearing pain.

After a long time, he slowly raised his hands. These were the hands of a youth, with rough skin covered in chilblains and calluses, completely different from the fair and slender hands in his memory that could summon the Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation.

“I... actually didn't die?”

Ye Chen, once hailed as a once-in-ten-millennium Sword Dao Genius in the Nine Heavens realm, had touched the threshold of the Emperor Realm at only three hundred years old. Yet, at the most critical moment of crossing the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning Tribulation, he was stabbed through the heart from behind by his most trusted close friend and Protector—Luo Feng!

That sword tip coated with Netherworld Cold Poison, and Luo Feng's cold and greedy eyes; even thinking about it now caused a pang of sharp pain in his chest.

“Luo Feng... what a cruel heart you have! For that ‘Chaos Sword Embryo,’ you actually spent a hundred years setting this trap!”

Endless hatred surged in his eyes, almost manifesting into substance.

But immediately, this hatred was replaced by a deeper sense of powerlessness. He looked within himself; the original cultivation of this body was pitifully at only the third level of the Quenching Body Realm. Moreover, the three main martial veinss were broken inch by inch, like a stream blocked by stubborn rocks, no longer able to contain a single shred of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

“Ye Chen, a Branch Disciple of the Ye Family in Qingyun City. His parents died early, and because he possessed a ‘Medium Grade Profound Rank’ martial veins, the Family once held high hopes for him. Half a month ago, during a spar with the Main Family Genius Ye Chenfeng, his martial veins was forcibly extracted by him. He became a waste, was abandoned by the Family, and confined here...”

Fusing with the memories of this body, Ye Chen understood his situation.

The law of the jungle is the same everywhere. It was so in the former Nine Heavens realm, and it is the same in this small Ye Family of Qingyun City.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

A series of crude knocks—no, it should be called pounding on the door—interrupted his thoughts. The already shaky wooden door let out a groan of being overburdened.

“Ye Chen! You dead waste, aren't you dead yet? Hurry up and get out here to work! If you don't chop ten loads of firewood today, see if I don't beat you to death!”

Outside the door was an arrogant and domineering duck-like voice.

Memory told Ye Chen that this was the head of the servants sent by the Ye Family to “oversee” him, Ye Fu. A fellow at only the fourth level of the Quenching Body Realm. In the past, Ye Chen could have crushed him countless times with a single finger. But now, when a tiger falls to the plains, it is bullied by dogs; it was this Ye Fu who usually beat and scolded him, doing everything possible to humiliate him.

Ye Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the murderous intent churning in his heart. In his current state, even walking was difficult; he was simply no match for Ye Fu.

He struggled out of bed and pushed open the creaking door.

Outside stood three youths wearing the Ye Family servant attire. The leader, Ye Fu, was short and fat, with his hands on his hips and a face full of disdain and impatience. The two lackeys behind him also had sneers as if watching a good show.

“Dawdling around, do you really think you're still that Genius young master?” Ye Fu spat and casually threw a rust-covered wood-chopping knife at Ye Chen's feet. “Hurry up, that forest on the back mountain—if you don't finish chopping ten loads of wood today, forget dinner, you won't even get slop to drink!”

In the late winter on the back mountain, the snow had not melted, and the cold wind was bone-chilling.

Ye Chen dragged his weak body, picked up that dull wood-chopping knife, and walked toward the dense forest step by step. With every step, his broken martial veinss sent stabs of pain, making his face pale and cold sweat pour down.

“Look at that pathetic waste, he can't even walk steadily. Chopping wood? I bet he can't even snap a twig.”

“Hehe, Brother Fu, I heard he used to be our Ye Family's rising star. Now... he's not even as good as a stray dog!”

The blatant mockery of Ye Fu and the others came from behind. The voices weren't loud, but they clearly reached Ye Chen's ears.

He tightly gripped the wood-chopping knife in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.

To think that he, Ye Chen, who had traversed the Nine Heavens and suppressed his generation with his sword, had ever suffered such a humiliating disgrace!

“Power... I need power!” he roared silently within his heart.

Arriving at a grove of withered trees, he raised the wood-chopping knife and struck hard at a withered Branch the thickness of a bowl's rim.

“Clang!”

With a dull sound, the wood-chopping knife was bounced back, leaving only a shallow white mark on the withered Branch. The massive counter-force made his arm go numb, and it almost slipped from his hand.

This body was truly too weak.

Refusing to believe it, he raised the wood-chopping knife again, mobilized the minuscule amount of strength in his body, and struck down with all his might.

This time, the withered Branch snapped. But he himself, because of the excessive force, aggravated the injuries to his internal organs. A sweetness rose in his throat, and a surge of metallic blood came up, which he forcibly swallowed back down.

He leaned against a nearby tree trunk, gasping for breath. An unprecedented sense of humiliation and despair almost swallowed him whole.

Could it be that he, Ye Chen, a generation's Sword Venerable, having returned through Rebirth, was going to spend his days chopping wood on this dilapidated back mountain like the lowliest servant, and finally die in obscurity?

He was not reconciled!

“Luo Feng! Just you wait! As long as a shred of my Divine Soul remains, one day I will surely return to the Nine Heavens to take your dog life and wash away this hatred!”

He made a vow in his heart, his gaze becoming sharp once again.

Just then—

“Buzz!”

A slight vibration abruptly rang out deep within his Soul.

Following that, an ancient, vast, and grand voice that seemed to span across endless time and space echoed in his mind:

【Detected host's strong unyielding will and obsession for revenge, binding conditions met...】

【Myriad Worlds Sword Venerable System, activating... 1%... 50%... 100%!】

【Activation successful! Bound host: Ye Chen!】

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, followed by wild joy!

A System! It was actually the legendary System! He had seen brief records of it in ancient texts in the Nine Heavens realm; it was a supreme creation involving the rules of the Universe's Origin!

Before he could think further, that grand voice rang out again:

【Newbie Gift Pack has been issued, please check it, host!】

【First System Mission issued: The Beginning of Revenge!】

【Mission Content: Holding the ‘blade of ruin’ temporarily granted by the System, fight back against the servant Ye Fu who humiliated you, and make him pay the price for his words and actions!】

【Mission Reward: Newbie Gift Pack opening authorization x1, 100 System Points.】

As the System voice faded, Ye Chen felt a weight in his hand. He looked down and saw that the rust-covered wood-chopping knife had undergone a massive change!

Although it was still simple and even had many rust spots and cracks on the blade, its form had turned into the outline of a three-foot green blade. The hilt felt warm in his hand, and a faint but incomparably pure sharp aura subtly emanated from within the blade, causing the coldness around him to dissipate.

【blade of ruin (Temporary)】: Formed from System energy, contains a trace of supreme Sword Dao true intent, sharp enough to cut a hair or slice through iron like clay. Duration: One incense stick's time.

At the same time, a faint stream of heat surged from the ancient sword's hilt into his body, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones. He felt the pain on his body decrease by more than half, and the sense of weakness also receded significantly. Although his martial veinss were still broken, he had at least recovered some strength for movement.

Hope! This was hope in a desperate situation!

Ye Chen tightly gripped this “blade of ruin,” a blazing fire burning in his eyes.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the sparse trees to see Ye Fu, who was sitting on a large rock not far away with his legs crossed, shouting and cursing.

“Ye Fu.”

Ye Chen spoke, his voice calm yet carrying an unprecedented coldness.

Ye Fu was in the middle of cursing when he was startled. He turned his head in annoyance: “What are you shouting for? You waste, have you finished chopping the wood or...”

His words came to a screeching halt.

Because he saw Ye Chen's eyes. They were no longer filled with the usual numbness, forbearance, and despair, but a kind of... a kind of coldness and sharpness he couldn't describe. It was just like... just like the gaze he had once seen in the eyes of the Family's law enforcement Elder, one that viewed human life as mere grass!

What made his heart jump even more was that the broken wood-chopping knife in Ye Chen's hand had, at some point, turned into an ancient sword emitting an aura that made his heart tremble!

“You... what do you want to do?” Ye Fu subconsciously stood up and shouted with feigned bravado, “I'm warning you, Ye Chen, if you dare touch a hair on my head, the Family will never let a waste like you off!”

The two lackeys behind him also sensed something was wrong and pulled out their short clubs, staring at Ye Chen nervously.

Ye Chen didn't answer. He just held the sword and walked toward Ye Fu step by step, steadily. The snow crunched under his feet, sounding like the approaching footsteps of the God of Death.

“Stop him! Beat him to death!” Ye Fu shrieked.

The two lackeys looked at each other, gave a loud shout to bolster their courage, and rushed forward waving their clubs.

Facing the incoming club shadows, Ye Chen's eyes didn't flicker in the slightest. Countless sword Move and techniques from his past life had long since merged into his Soul's instincts. He just flicked his wrist, and the blade of ruin drew an extremely fine arc of light.

“Swish! Swish!”

Two soft sounds.

Those two solid hardwood clubs snapped, the cuts as smooth as a mirror!

The two lackeys only felt their hands lighten. Before they could understand what had happened, Ye Chen had already passed between them like a ghost, his footsteps never stopping as he bore down on Ye Fu.

“You... don't come over here!” Ye Fu was scared out of his wits and turned to run.

But how could his speed compare to Ye Chen's?

A flash of sword light!

“Ah—!”

A shrill scream pierced the silence of the back mountain.

Ye Fu fell to his knees with a thud. Behind his left knee, a wound deep enough to see the bone was gushing blood, instantly staining the snow beneath him red.

Ye Chen stood before him, the blade of ruin in his hand pointing diagonally at the ground. A drop of blood was sliding down the tip of the sword, dotting the snow with a striking crimson.

He looked down at Ye Fu, who was trembling all over from pain and fear, his voice as cold as this midwinter:

“Today, I take one of your legs as interest.”

“Go back and tell Ye Chenfeng that what he took, I, Ye Chen, will personally come to take back.”

“Get lost!”

The word “Get lost” was like a thunderclap, exploding in the ears of Ye Fu and his two already terrified lackeys.