Chapter 1
5
On a fateful day in 2020 CE, a certain post suddenly went viral on a specific campus forum.
7The viral post contained a video.
1In that video, a young boy, who looked to be around 17 or 18, suddenly sprouted branches out of his body. Within seconds, he had morphed into a humongous tree.
2“What the freak was that?! I’m shook. What special effects did they use? That’s freaking impressive!”
3“It’s so far-fetched that it puts our local dramas to shame. Save some dignity for our national TV, at least, thank you very much!”
2“I’ll bet on a pack of Spicy Strips that these are not special effects. Don’t even bother asking me why I know this. As a professional special effects artist, I am certain that this was not something created using special effects!”
Otherwise, it would be impossible for Lu Xuan to clear the stage of Core Foundation in just a night. One should know his previous incarnation had taken several years to establish the Core Foundation.
“The era of spiritual reawakening is the best era for me!” Lu Xuan stood up and stated, “However, to my once sworn enemies, your nightmares have just begun!”
3In his past life, people honored him as the youngest Celestial Lord in history. However, his cultivation journey was all but smooth-sailing. Riddled with failures and setbacks, he had made quite a fair share of sworn enemies along the way.
11However, he was not in a hurry to exact revenge. The day would come when he settled his scores with them, one by one.
“The sun is up. Time to head home!”
A light leap from the boulder was enough to propel his body several yards forward. After a night of cultivation, his physique has been changed from head to toe. He has broken free from the constraints of the human body.
Agile like a panther chasing wind!
3To the current Lu Xuan, the once dangerous and precarious mountain routes now looked no different from well-paved roads.
Halfway down the mountain, he began to hear intermittent cries for help.
“Help, help!”
4Lu Xuan stopped at once and followed the cries. He soon arrived at an abandoned factory.
That was where the cries were coming from.
“Please, I beg you to save my brother. He has heart disease. Please save him!”
6More panicked cries for help drifted out of the warehouse.
Peering in from the decaying windows, Lu Xuan immediately saw a woman in her early twenties. It was a beautiful woman with porcelain white skin, her makeup perfect and exquisite. She was dressed in a black floral blouse, a pair of straight-cut pants, and sneakers. An expensive-looking formal purse hung from her shoulder. Her long straight hair flourished at her shoulders, giving her an air of exceptional elegance.
12However, this woman was currently tied to a chair. She looked extremely anxious.
3Beside her was a young child who looked no more than eight, also tied to a chair. It was easy to see their similarities. He must be her brother. The child was taking sharp breaths as his face flushed red, and he looked like he was in pain.
A man in his thirties stood in front of the young woman. He was well built, tall, and muscular. This middle-aged muscle head glared at her fiercely.
Slap!
He threw a slap across the woman’s face, which quickly swelled.
“Try making another sound. I’ll rape and kill you!” that middle-aged man threatened viciously.
5That woman sensed his menace and froze in fright. However, she quickly shook off her fear and began pleading once again.
“Please, I beg of you to save my brother! Aren’t you guys doing this for money? My dad will definitely pay up. Please, save my brother first. He cannot die!” She could not hide the desperate plea in her beautiful eyes.
“Well, I guess I could consider saving him. So long as you make me feel good!” A lewd smile spread across that middle-aged man’s face.
2However, before he could finish, he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head. He slipped and tripped forward, almost falling on his face.
Instinctively, he shot a murderous glare at his attacker, only to turn meek the instant he saw who it was. It was a young man in his late twenties of average build. He looked mild-mannered with a pair of glasses above his nose.
However, the murderous glare in his eyes was enough to chill a man to his bones.
“If you wish to die, die alone; don’t drag us into your mess. Keep your hands to yourself. This woman is not someone you can touch.” The young man added eerily, “Daring to disrupt Boss’s plans. How many lives do you think you can offer to quell Boss’s anger?”
The menacing middle-aged man deflated the moment that the young man mentioned their boss. He quickly paled, as if recalling something horrendous.
“You can have all the women in the world once we get our hands on the money. Boss is the only one who decides whatever that may happen to this woman. You’re courting death!”
“Right, right, right. You are absolutely right!” the middle-aged man said, nodding in hasty agreement. “We’ll take off once we get the money tonight!”
Only then did the young man nod in approval. He instructed, “Seal her mouth. Although it’s usually quite deserted around here, we must not slip up at this crucial time. We must be cautious. As for that brat, so be it if he dies. We’ll have the money once Boss returns. Why bother ourselves with his life?”
3The young man scoffed, his tone laced with chilling apathy and utter disregard towards human life.
That middle-aged man quickly pulled out a cloth and stuffed it into the woman’s mouth. He then laughed, “So what if someone passes by? Consider him or her unlucky to pass by at this time. I’ll crush their skull!”
That middle-aged man’s face scrunched into an ominous smile as he showed off the bulging muscles on his forearm.
“Boss promised to teach us that breathing technique once we finish this job. We’ll have a chance to become one of the Awakened!” A tinge of excitement flashed past that young man’s eyes as he pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose.
1“Well, you guys can kiss that chance goodbye!”
A clear voice came from outside the abandoned factory. Immediately after, a figure kicked the warehouse door open.
The worn-out door came crashing down as the force proved too much to bear.