Asura

"J...I...N...Z...H...A...O...," Ronin enunciated each letter slowly, his resentment growing with every word he uttered.

He vanished from his previous location, reappearing in Jin Zhao's room. "There are no traps; it seems he truly trusts his strength," Ronin thought inwardly. He surveyed the room, spotting a scorpion symbol. With a swift movement, he stood before the symbol on the wall, pressing it. A stone with the scorpion symbol receded, revealing a door that opened into a secret room.

Cautiously, Ronin stepped inside, immediately sensing the presence of the sword. With a snap, the sword materialized in his hand. Upon leaving the secret room, the door closed automatically. Ronin teleported out of Jin Zhao's room and appeared beside Mei Ling.

"Mo...mo...mo...ther..."

Startled by the trembling voice next to him, Ronin widened his eyes and turned towards Mei Ling.

"Mei… Ling…," Ronin reached out, gripping her shoulders and calling her name, but she remained frozen.

"Boy, she has experienced extreme shock. Her consciousness is damaged. She won't recover until you repair her consciousness," a human-shaped light in Ronin's mind informed him.

"No… no… That wretched author! He never revealed that Jin Zhao was a dark cultivator in the novel I read in my past life. Has he rewritten his story? Ahhh…" Ronin exclaimed, holding both Mei Ling and Xin Ling tightly in his hands.

He teleported several kilometers away from Jin Zhao's mansion.

Following his disappearance, guards arrived at the location and surveyed the area.

"I heard a loud noise here, but there's no one around."

"Yeah, hey, look, the woman's body is gone."

"Could he be stealing corpses?"

"Seems likely."

The guards exchanged words before eventually returning to the mansion to resume their duties.

Meanwhile, atop a large hill...

"I promised your mother that you would be safe," Ronin said, gazing at Mei Ling cradled in his left arm.

"I promised your daughter that you would be safe," he added, looking at Xin Ling nestled in his right arm.

His eyes bloodshot, his body trembling, his skin covered in raised nerves like slithering snakes beneath the surface, he once again roared at the sky, as if questioning why these two deserved such a ruthless fate. "Kill... Kill... Kill..." Ronin continued to murmur, words in an unknown language forming in his consciousness. A human-shaped light within him opened its eyes as though struck by lightning — "Asura," the light muttered under its breath.

The symbol of Asura began to materialize on his forehead, and the silhouette of Asura emerged behind him. The land and sky quaked for a brief moment.

The Ten Hells and Ten Celestial Realms trembled violently...

In the realm of Gods...

"The birth of the God's candidate," all the seated gods turned their attention in a certain direction, their faces registering surprise.

In the first hell, deep within the dungeon...

"Master," a peerless beauty opened her eyes, a captivating glint flashing within them.

"Master, I won't lose you again," declared the young girl. The chains that bound her shattered into pieces, crashing noisily around the dimly lit chamber.

"Alert God Youming Wang. A prisoner in the special prison is attempting to escape!" the guard yelled, his face marked by fear.

"Asura," a merciless glint appeared in Youming Wang's eyes.

Meanwhile, atop the mountain...

"Master, this crystal can preserve a body and prevent decomposition. Just place the crystal on the body you wish to store, then say 'store'," Ronin recalled Hafiz's words and inquired within his consciousness.

"Bro, I'm committed to keeping my promise. How can I revive this woman?" Ronin's voice carried a determined tone.

"Birth and death are inevitable. Do you wish to defy nature by resurrecting the deceased?" questioned the human-shaped light.

"I'll defy anything to honor my promise, which means more to me than my own life," Ronin affirmed, his expression resolute.

"Very well said. I can provide you with details on how to revive her, but beyond that, I won't assist you in anything else," stated the human-shaped light.

"Okay," Ronin consented.

"You must retrieve her soul from Samsara. Her soul will reside there for a century; if you fail to recover it within that time, reviving her becomes impossible. To retrieve her soul from Samsara, you require a unique treasure that can contain souls — an exceedingly rare item. I believe there is only one such item in the mortal realm: the 'Soul Pearl.' This treasure is currently held by the mightiest individual in the mortal realm, the Sea Lord. If you manage to secure the Soul Pearl, there is a chance to bring her back," explained the human-shaped light.

Pausing briefly, the human-shaped light continued, "Once you possess the 'Soul Pearl,' you will also need to obtain Nirvana Dew, an extremely scarce substance found only within the top secret realm of the most powerful human sect. A single Nirvana Dew is produced every thousand years, making it highly coveted. Competing for the Nirvana Dew within this human continent will be intense."

"Top human sect? Jade Immortal Sect, I'm on my way," Ronin declared with a deep breath.

"I must fulfill her dying wish," Ronin muttered to himself, unaware of the changes occurring within his body and his surroundings as he underwent a transformative baptism to become a god's candidate.

Placing the crystal on Xin Ling's body, he uttered, "Store," then carefully lifted the unconscious Mei Ling and secured her to his back using pieces of his clothing.

Stowing the crystal within his garments, he vanished from his location, following the path outlined by Xin Ling's instructions in the scroll. Eventually, he arrived at a town where guards were conducting a thorough search throughout the area.

Ronin vanished, reappearing on a rooftop. He closed his eyes and heightened his senses to their peak, picking up the sound of heavy breathing from a specific direction. "Ha…ha…ha…" the breaths came, and he pinpointed the source. "There she is," Ronin thought to himself, vanishing from his current location and reappearing on a rooftop near the girl, the sound of her labored breathing guiding him with precision.

With lightning speed, Ronin materialized behind her, swiftly covering her mouth. In an instant, he disappeared once more, emerging on the outskirts of the town. Urgently, he accelerated away from the town, moving at full speed.