Prologue Chapter 1 - Encounter

Year 202_, In a large city center, countless pedestrians are on and about with their everyday lives. On a cross walk, a man is busy talking on the phone with his boss...

As he rambled on and on, a piercing noise sounded, so deafening that his ear drums felt like it is going to burst.

'What was that? did something explode?' His boss said over the phone.

But there's no reply.

The man took a look at the origin of the sound and dropped the phone out of fear and surprise.

"Just... what is that?"

As he stood stunned in place, crowds around him had reacted. Screams are heard around him as people pushed and ran as quickly as they could, away from the city center.

...There's nothing wrong with the city itself.

...There's no attack, nor is there any crazed people violating peace.

...It's just that...

The sky is broken...

Cracks that resembled spider webs spread across the entire atmosphere. Pieces of what seemed like large chunks of glass fell and dissipated, scattering into tiny specks of light. Beyond the crack, there's nothing but darkness.

At the bizarre sight, the man only had one thought:

'Is the world ending?'

-----------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND:

Centuries ago, two individuals brought about a change that shaped the world into something no one could have predicted.

From another world, two individuals emerged, known as: The Esteemed Sovereign, and The Demonic Sovereign. The day they arrived, a large crack appeared above Country Y, known as the "Broken Sky Phenomenon."

These two are incomprehensibly powerful, enough to cause an imbalance in the world. This lead the will of the world to awaken, limiting their strength. Even so, their overall power is more than enough to threaten the world.

During this time, strange energy penetrated through the partial crack, entering the ordinary world, changing a small portion of the population into what's called: "a cultivator."

Both Sovereigns were wounded heavily before arriving in this world. The Demonic Sovereign treated himself by absorbing life force from others while The Esteemed Sovereign received treatment from the people of this world. Due to the violent and savage ways of the Demonic Sovereign, The Esteemed Sovereign soon obtains a large number of followers who hoped for him to vanquish the demonic being. The majority of the awakened cultivators rallied under him, confronting against the vicious faction of The Demonic Sovereign.

After a long struggle, the faction under the Esteemed Sovereign won. The Demonic Sovereign's physical body perished as his soul escaped by using a forbidden scripture.

During the battle, The Esteemed Sovereign suffered irreversible wounds and exhausted much of his life force. Before his death, he used the energy from his core to form an upper realm for awakened cultivators, hoping for the non cultivators to live with limited disturbance in the lower realm.

He also gathered animals that had awakened into spiritual beasts and split his soul into ten fragments and merged those fragments within the soul of those beasts. With a part of The Esteemed Sovereign's soul, they were able to take on a human form while having prowess surpassing all other cultivators substantially.

As time went on, these beasts came known as The Legendary Beasts. Their descendants later on also inherited some of their predecessor's power, with a selected few chosen to inherit The Esteemed Sovereign's legacy.

Sects also form under the leadership of the legendary beasts and main supporters of The Esteemed Sovereign. They serve to maintain order and peace in both upper and lower realms.

The common people were grateful to the cultivators under The Esteemed Sovereign, so much that the faction became known as the Righteous Faction.

The Demonic Faction weakens, but never fades completely. The supporters of the faction will always find the host of The Demonic Sovereign's soul, hoping to achieve their aspirations under his leadership.

Even centuries later, the conflict between The Demonic and Righteous Faction sees no end.

.

.

.

.

.

The faint smell of blood mingles with the bitter night breeze. It's late in the night and long past the curfew. At this time, not a single light could be seen from the nearby houses.

Only a few shadows could be seen dashing throughout this area, looking for someone as they overturned all objects they laid their eyes upon. If an average person encountered one of these individuals, they would be, without a doubt, slaughtered without reason.

Suddenly, one of these pursuers caught a glimpse of what seems like the corner of a white robe. Before he could blink, it had already disappeared behind an alleyway.

He knew it wasn't just a trick on his eyes. Quickly relaying the message to the other members, soon a crowd of shadow like figures chased after the trail of the person in white.

"Why's this brat so hard to catch when he's already wounded?" The leader of the squad muttered darkly as he led the pursuit.

But at last, he had caught sight of the target: a young boy dressed in a white and gold robe.

Knowing that he had been found, the boy no longer escaped using the covers of the night. Instead, he prioritizes speed over concealment as he lands himself on top of a roof.

Due to his foot skills, his steps were silent, but quick. Each leap he takes is as light as feather yet takes him far from one roof to another. Soon, he increased the distance between him and his pursuers.

"Hurry! We can't let him get away! The direction he's heading in leads to the Golden Tiger's Manor!" The squad leader yelled, obviously not intending to go about this pursuit silently.

He can't allow himself to lose this target. His status would be greatly impacted if it's known that he can't even catch a wounded boy!

The members of the squad each took out a number of flying daggers, quickly flinging the weapons out in hopes of hindering the boy.

The daggers are quick, not to mention the sheer quantity, the squad leader is sure at least some will land on the target.

But as if having eyes on the back of his head, the boy leapt and turned in the air, evading most of the daggers like a graceful bird. For the ones he can't evade, he drew a sword from his core dimension, skillfully blocking the last of these daggers and returned it back to his pursuers. With this unexpected attack, a few of the men in black fell from the roofs, their safety unknown. During this process, not a single dagger had scraped against the ends of the boy's sleeve.

All of this occurred in a blink of an eye.

His pursuers were stunned. Even the squad leader could not evade an onslaught of flying daggers at full strength. Just what abnormality is that brat?

But they can't ponder on the thought, as they had lost sight of him!

Beyond this road is a forest, and in the center of this forest stood the territory of the descendants of a Legendary Beast, the Golden Tiger.

The head of this family is not someone they can stand up to, as their power and status are among the highest in the upper realm. If the target manages to gain their protection, their pursuit would end in complete and utter failure.

But despite their efforts, the trees served well to hinder their movements while the boy was no where to be seen. Once the squad had finally gotten a clear view of the surroundings, they no longer stood amongst the trees, but rather reached a large clearing in the center of this forest.

The squad leader is faced with the tall iron gates separating him and the large manor within. Clearly the gate itself does not prove an issue if one really has to get past. However, most would not do so. The gate is not an obstacle, it's a warning which clearly indicates that danger can easily befall upon trespassers.

Being a follower of the demonic sovereign, the squad leader is on the opposing faction. He truly could not risk entering this territory.

At the same time, he's unwilling to return back without the head of that brat.

"Spread out and keep an eye out, but do not enter Golden Tiger's territory. That brat might not have entered the residence yet and is hiding somewhere.

Luckily, while the target is of the same faction as the master of this territory, the descendants of the ten legendary beasts have intense rivalry with each other. Some could be said to despise another. Perhaps the brat did not get assistance and is waiting for them to leave before escaping.

Before the target has recovered, he still has a chance!

Seeing how there are no signs of movement within the manor, there's a high chance that his assumption is right!

----------------------------------------------

The cold spring night seemed ordinary just like any other. At this time, most would be asleep within the comforts of warm sheets in their homes.

However, Xu Cheng awoke. Still half asleep, the 11 year old boy tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position to continue his dreams.

Such movement only irritated him, as the beddings are warmed by his body temperature, causing him to sweat.

Whats more is that there's an indescribable feeling of aggravation, but he can't find the reason.

Annoyed, Xu Cheng flipped open his sheets to welcome the cool air and got up from his bed. Scratching his head, he walked to the window and pulled open the curtains.

Only the dark sky greeted him.

The moon, which was supposed to appear quite large this night is covered by dark clouds, not allowing the slightest bit of light to shine through.

Xu Cheng unlocked the window latch, and pushed it open.

A faint breeze blew, carrying the pleasant scent of plants surrounding the manor, as well as....

.....The smell of blood.

The realization shocked him. Xu Cheng turned towards the direction the wind, his sight lying upon the large flowering tree standing tall near the open window.

A strong gust blew...

The crowds of clouds parted. The brilliance of the moon shone, illuminating the dark night and uncovering the view which had been hidden.

Partially hidden by leaves and petals, is a young boy around his age. He's perched on a high branch that's surprisingly able to withstand his weight.

The boy's white robe is stained with blood, most coming from the the deep wound by his waist. The contrast of white and red only made this cut seem all the more ghastly.

"You..."

Xu Cheng was stunned. Then the belt accessory hanging by the boy's waist caught his eye. A jade pendant in the shape of a cloud.

"Heavenly Cloud Sect?"

----------------------------------------------------