A man was riding a black dragon whose body was covered in wounds, while a group of experts chased after them. Sensing their approach, the dragon increased its speed despite its injuries.

After an hour of flying, the wounded man looked back and saw that they had lost their pursuers.

"We are about to enter the Western Lands," he said. "We must part ways. You are a spirit beast and cannot hide your aura. Drop me on that mountain and head toward the Spirit Beast Forest. They won't be able to sense your aura there because the place is filled with spirit beasts."

The dragon replied, "What about you? Will you be alright on your own?"

"Don't worry. I'll manage."

The dragon landed on the mountain, and the man stepped off its back.

"Hurry and leave before they trace your trail," he said.

The dragon nodded. "I hope we meet again soon, Brother Han."

The dragon flew toward the forest, while Han entered one of the mountain's crevices and used his power to widen it from the inside. His body continued to bleed, especially from one of the holes in his chest.

He knew that these were the final moments of his life.

He took out a scythe from his Void Ring and grasped it firmly before activating a strange technique. The blade of the scythe glowed red, and a mysterious energy began to flow out of his body. The scythe absorbed it all.

The moment that energy stopped leaving his body, his heart ceased beating, and he died.

---

One Hundred Years Later

The scene shifts to the Wang family in Luochun Village, which consisted of four members: the father, Wang Kai; the mother, Ling Er; the elder brother, Wang Lin; and the younger brother, Wang Yang.

Wang Lin woke up early and headed to the kitchen to prepare his breakfast. On the way, a maid carrying a ready-made meal passed by him on her way to his younger brother's room.

There was a clear difference in the treatment of the two brothers.

While Lin prepared his own breakfast, Ming ate his meal in bed while a maid sat beside him.

The reason for this difference was talent.

The younger brother, Ming, had already reached the Second Realm of Body Tempering, while the elder brother, Lin, had not even managed to open the Energy Pathway within his body.

This vast difference in talent earned the younger brother far better treatment than the elder one. He even received the larger share of the family inheritance, leaving only scraps for Lin.

After finishing his breakfast, Lin returned to his room to change his clothes. At this time of day, he was accustomed to going out for a walk.

After changing, he left the house and wandered through the village. His eyes eventually fell upon a beautiful young woman walking hand in hand with her five-year-old younger brother.

She was the love of his life—someone he had also lost to his younger brother.

Lowering his head, he walked out of the village and headed toward the mountains nearby.

The climb was not difficult. He soon reached a relatively flat area on the mountainside and began walking while talking to himself, lamenting his weakness.

As he mourned his own helplessness, his foot slipped and he fell into a crack in the mountain.

His body slammed against the ground.

When he opened his eyes, he discovered that this crack was different from the others. It appeared narrow from the outside, yet was surprisingly spacious within.

Turning around, he saw the skeletal remains of a dead man wearing a red ring. To the left of the skeleton lay a black-handled scythe whose blade emitted a faint red glow.

Lin was shocked to discover a spirit weapon. His smile nearly split his face with excitement.

He stepped forward and grabbed the scythe.

The moment his grip tightened around it, the scythe began glowing with a brilliant red light. Lin tried to let go, but it had become fused to his hand.

A strange energy flowed out of the blade and entered Lin's body.

He felt an unusual sensation. His soul began to fade away, while another soul started forming in its place.

When the energy finally stopped flowing from the blade, Lin collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Half an hour later, he opened his eyes and stood up.

A sinister smile appeared on his face, and he burst into loud laughter.

"It worked! I have returned once again in the body of this weak young man. How much time has passed since my original body died?"

Suddenly, Lin fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"What is this terrible pain?!"

The memories of the body's previous owner began flooding into his mind.

After five minutes of intense agony, he finally managed to stand.

"So the owner of this body was called Wang Lin. A worthless nobody who couldn't even open the Energy Pathway in his body."

He took the ring from the former owner's hand and retrieved a Fifth-Grade Body Tempering Pill from it.

After consuming it, he sat down to meditate.

Five minutes later, he opened his eyes.

He had successfully opened the Energy Pathway within his body and reached the First Realm of Body Tempering.

Fortunately, there were still some useful items inside the ring.

He took out a jar.

"Good. There is still some Seventh-Level Spirit Beast Blood left."

He drank the blood and threw the empty jar aside.

Removing his clothes, he began training.

His muscles and tendons started tearing apart. The pain was so intense that he nearly fainted.

"What nonsense is this? Why is this body so weak?"

He took out a Fifth-Grade Healing Pill from the ring, swallowed it, and continued training.

The healing pill accelerated the recovery of his muscles and tendons, but the pain remained unbearable.

Finally, after half an hour, the training was complete.

His muscles had become stronger and more defined, while his tendons had grown tougher.

He put his clothes back on and prepared to leave.

Picking up the scythe from the ground, he stored it inside his Void Ring.

He stepped out of the crevice and looked at the bright sunlight with a smile.

"Here we are again. I have returned from nothingness to pursue everything."

His gaze shifted southward, toward the Spirit Beast Forest.

"I should head to the Spirit Beast Forest to meet the Black Dragon. But with this weak body, I would probably die before reaching him. For now, I should return to the village."

He descended the mountain and headed toward the village.

This time, however, he was not returning as the weak and timid Lin who always walked with his head lowered.

No.

This Lin was completely different—stronger, smarter, and walking proudly with his head held high.

After entering the village, he looked at the familiar faces around him.

He made his way to the Wang family residence, opened the door, and headed toward his room.

As he passed by his father, Wang Kai noticed something different about him.

He examined his son carefully.

"What am I seeing? He has opened the Energy Pathway in his body and reached the First Realm of Body Tempering."

Wang Kai called out to him.

"Wait, Lin."

Lin stopped and turned around to find his father approaching him.

Wang Kai placed a hand on his shoulder.

"This is incredible, my son. How did you manage to open your Energy Pathway after being unable to do so for so long?"

Lin looked at his father with a strange smile.

"There is nothing remarkable about it, Father. I simply trained harder this time, and it seems fate finally smiled upon me."

Wang Kai felt something unusual about his son's smile, but his attention remained focused on Lin's breakthrough.

Lin entered his room and closed the door.

"I need to be more careful with my training. This old man asks too many questions."

He took a crystal sphere from his ring.

"For now, I should remain patient before carrying out my plan."

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

He returned the sphere to the ring and said,

"Come in."

The door opened, and Ming stepped inside.

"This is wonderful. You've finally managed to take a single step forward."

Lin responded with the same strange smile.

"Thank you for your concern, little brother. But I'm very tired and need some rest."

"I see. Sorry for disturbing you."

Ming left the room and closed the door behind him.

As he walked away, he thought to himself:

"There's something different about Lin. It's as if I'm speaking to a completely different person."

---

The next day, the Village Chief arrived accompanied by ten examiners, all of whom had reached the Fifth Realm of Peak Body Tempering.

The Village Chief prepared to deliver a speech to the novice cultivators.

Lin arrived late and saw numerous trainees gathered around the Village Chief.

The Village Chief began speaking:

"Talented youths of Luochun Village, you are the future of the Western Lands. You are the ones who will elevate this small village to greater heights.

I have brought with me these distinguished seniors, who will select the best among you and train you so that you may be prepared for the Immortal Dragon Gathering Youth Trials.

The trials will take place three months from now.

I know we have started late, but arriving late is better than never arriving at all."

Lin muttered to himself, "Wasn't the Immortal Dragon Gathering meant only for adults? Since when did they add a junior tournament for young talents?"

The Village Chief continued his speech.

"When midnight arrives, all trainees are to gather here before departing with the examiners for the selection tests. The purpose of these tests is to determine who is worthy of advancing to the preliminary tournament."

Lin thought to himself,

"As far as I know, the Immortal Dragon Gathering is a grand tournament where the finest disciples of the Four Great Sects compete against one another. The victorious sect receives a fortune in Spirit Stones from the Immortal Dragon Sect. Moreover, the most outstanding disciples are given the opportunity to join the Immortal Dragon Sect itself, allowing them to cultivate under the greatest experts and with the finest resources. However, this junior tournament is different. We don't represent any sect."

"It doesn't matter. The owner of this body was extremely poor. My priority is obtaining Spirit Stones, and this tournament seems like the perfect opportunity."

Lin stepped closer to the crowd.

Suddenly, several trainees around his age blocked his path.

"Look who's here! Lin, the talentless nobody, finally managed to open his Energy Pathway."

"So the worthless trash has finally taken his first step forward."

"Do you actually think you can keep up with us, weakling?"

Lin paid them no attention and continued walking toward the Village Chief.

He stepped forward respectfully and bowed.

"Excuse me, Sir. May I ask about the monetary rewards for this tournament?"

The Village Chief replied,

"The prizes vary depending on one's final ranking. However, as far as I know, both first and second place receive five thousand Spirit Stones. Still, those rewards are insignificant compared to the honor of joining the Immortal Dragon Sect."

"I see... Five thousand Spirit Stones. That's worth taking the risk."

---

Midnight soon arrived.

Around twenty trainees had gathered in an open square—fifteen boys and five girls—standing before ten examiners.

The girls were separated from the boys. Two examiners went to supervise the girls, while the remaining eight stayed with the boys.

Standing among the fifteen male trainees, Lin wondered what kind of test awaited them.

One of the examiners took out several First-Grade Energy Recovery Pills.

"Listen carefully. The examination consists of two parts.

The first test is to completely exhaust the energy within your bodies.

The second is to restore your energy using these First-Grade Energy Recovery Pills.

Prepare yourselves."

Everyone sat down in a meditative posture.

"The first test will begin in three...

Two...

One...

Begin!"

For the first ten minutes, nothing happened.

Then, energy began leaking from Lin's body.

Soon after, it started flowing from Ming, then Gu Chang, followed by two female trainees.

A few minutes later, the energy leakage stopped.

Only five people had successfully passed the first test, while everyone else failed.

The examiners ordered those who had failed to leave immediately.

Among those leaving were the same trainees who had mocked Lin the previous day.

In the end, they had failed, while Lin had passed the first stage.

One examiner stepped forward and handed each of the remaining trainees a First-Grade Energy Recovery Pill.

"Hurry. There's no time to waste.

The second test will begin in three...

Two...

One...

Begin!"

Lin and the others swallowed the pills and entered meditation.

For Lin, the test was effortless.

Thanks to the experience he retained from his previous life, it took him only five minutes to completely restore the energy within his body.

The others needed several more minutes before they could do the same.

One examiner turned to another and said,

"Five out of twenty trainees passed the examination. That's a promising result."

Another examiner addressed the successful trainees.

"Please state your names."

Meanwhile, another examiner took out a jade tablet.

"Begin recording the names."

"Wang Lin."

"Ming."

"Gu Chang."

"And the female trainees..."

"Bai Ling."

"Zhou Qin."

"Tomorrow, we will prepare a special training room to begin your instruction.

For now, you are dismissed."

---

Lin and Ming returned home.

Lin entered his room and stood by the window.

His thoughts drifted to the past.

"Back then, they called me the Immortal Demon. I hated that title at first, but eventually I grew accustomed to it. I was considered one of the strongest beings of my era. I had even achieved immortality."

"And now... I am Wang Lin—a weak, mortal youth."

"I have returned to the very beginning."

"But this won't stop me. It will only delay me."

"Sooner or later, I will reclaim both my power... and my immortality."

Suddenly, Lin noticed something unusual.

Someone was leaping rapidly across the rooftops, as if being chased by something.

Moments later, the mysterious figure disappeared into one of the nearby houses.