Eastern Wasteland, Daxia Kingdom.
Noon sun burned overhead.
Inside the Huntian Academy, Aaron Collins held a black sandalwood box with both hands, racing down the path toward Mirror Lake.
“This gift... she’s gonna love it. She won’t believe it’s a Peiyuan Pill.”
Not far ahead, a girl in a white dress stood by the forest near the lake. Sweet-faced and gentle-looking—Emma Young. Spotting her, Aaron quickened his steps.
“Emma! It’s your birthday today, I brought you—”
Aaron wore a faded gray outfit, coarse and threadbare. His short hair was slightly messy, handsome face still marked with bruises. Despite being sweaty and disheveled, his eyes glowed with true joy as he offered up the wooden box.
“Aaron.” Emma’s voice cut in before he could go on. She didn’t even glance at the box. Her tone was cold, unfamiliar, and sharp enough to stop him in his tracks.
“It’s been six years. You’re still stuck at Body Tempering Stage Three. I’ve already reached the peak of Stage Six, about to break into Stage Seven. A month from now, I’ll pass the trial and enter Huntian Sect, soar to the skies. And you? You’re just crawling in the mud. You think you deserve to be near me?”
She pulled out a black crescent-shaped pendant and flung it at him.
“And this junk pendant—who knows where you picked it up—calling it a family heirloom? Take it back. From now on, we’re nothing. I’m sky-high. You’re dirt-low.”
The pendant hit his face and dropped to the leaf litter.
Pain snapped Aaron out of his daze.
He stared at Emma’s face just a few paces away—still pretty, but now cold as a stranger’s. Six years… he had given her all the Body Tempering Pills he had, taken beatings as her sparring partner just to save enough for a Peiyuan Pill. Even this pendant from his mother, he gave her without a second thought.
And now, that love was what she hated most.
Dizziness struck. Aaron stumbled back, hitting a tree. The box slipped from his hands and fell into the leaves.
For a few heartbeats, he just stared at Emma.
Then, he found his voice.
“Why? You wanted to join the Huntian Sect, and I gave you everything I had. Did a full month of sparring just to scrape together silver for that pill. The pendant my mother left me—you said you liked it, I gave it to you. I did everything for you. So tell me—what did I do wrong?”
He stepped forward. His voice was low but full of anger and grief. Eyes burning with hurt.
Emma couldn’t meet his gaze. She turned her eyes away, silent, looking suddenly uneasy.
“Because you’re a loser,” said another voice, full of mockery.
A boy stepped out from behind a tree next to Emma. He wore a deep green fitted shirt, a longsword slung across his back. With a smirk, he slid his hand around Emma’s waist like he'd done it a thousand times.
“She’s too good for a worthless worm like you.”
Aaron's eyes narrowed.
“Who the hell are you?”
Even a fool could see what had happened. His voice cracked like a whip."Aaron Collins, listen up," Emma Young said coldly, leaning against the tall youth in a dark green tunic with glinting eyes full of pride. "This is Lucas Barrow, ranked fourth among the top ten Body Tempering cultivators at the Dao Institute."
"Lucas just turned eighteen and he's already reached the peak of Body Tempering Stage Eight. He’s also the heir to the strongest noble family in Great Xia," Emma raised her chin, eyes filled with scorn. "What do you have to compare? That runaway mother of yours? You're nothing but a useless bastard."
"Shut your damn mouth!"
Aaron snapped, fury exploding. He lunged forward and swung, aiming a slap at Emma.
"Get lost!"
Lucas stepped in with a swift kick. Aaron was sent flying back several meters, slamming into the base of a tree. He sat there dazed, glaring at the two.
"Alright," Aaron panted, blood in his mouth, voice hoarse with rage. "Thirty years east, thirty years west. The disgrace today… I’ll pay it back tenfold."
He pushed himself up, trembling, eyes locked on them.
"Hah! What a joke," Emma sneered. "Give it up, Aaron. You’ll always be a loser. Be smart. Since we used to come from the same city, kneel down, knock your head three times, and maybe Luc will spare you—"
"Kneel to your damn whore mother!" Aaron roared with hatred. "You filthy dog—"
"Courting death!"
A cold shout cracked the air as a blur of green flew at him. Aaron caught a glimpse of Lucas just in time to raise his arms—but too slow. A thunderous blow crashed into his forehead. Pain exploded. Glass-sharp agony burst in his face. One eye felt like it had burst. He was thrown into the tree, blood spraying from his mouth as he crumpled.
Lying under the tree, half-conscious, his skull felt cracked open. Sounds dimmed, but Lucas's voice still pierced like a blade.
"Useless trash."
Then Emma's voice, uneasy now, reached him too. "Luc, if he dies... will the Institute punish you?"
"He’s a bug. Dead or alive, who cares? They’ll understand," Lucas scoffed, his tone ice-cold.
"Let’s go. It’s your eighteenth birthday, remember? I brought a Barrow Family elite Essence-Nourishing Pill for you. With it, you'll break into Body Tempering Seventh Stage and strengthen your core. After that, you’ll enter the selection of the Hun Tian Sect with me."
"Luc, you're so good to me," Emma's voice sparkled with excitement.
"Then how will you repay me?" Lucas quirked an eyebrow, sly grin in place.
"You're bad..." Emma blushed, voice soft like water.
"Wanna see how bad?" Lucas burst out laughing, lifted her into his arms, and strode off. Their laughter faded in the wind.
Aaron's vision blurred, but he watched them disappear. Bloodied fingers trembled as they reached out and grabbed the black crescent-shaped pendant lying hidden in the leaves.
Suddenly, the pendant lit up, swallowing his blood like a starved beast. A surge of black light burst forth and shot straight into his forehead. Neither Lucas nor Emma noticed a thing.
Pain ripped through his mind, like lightning striking his soul. Then everything went dark—he was falling, spiraling into endless nothing.