Prologue

In the northern part of the Capital City of the Great Xia Empire stood a large manor. It had been the residence of a few ministers before an old and retired Martial Artist brought it a few years ago.

Jiang Tianji sighed as he remembered the rumors he heard a few hours ago while coming back home. He was the Martial Artist mentioned in those rumors. By now, he had already lived in the capital city for ten years and had become an old man.

Jiang Tianji was not someone from this Great Xia Country. He had transmigrated more than sixty years ago and occupied the body of an orphan. Back then, he woke up surprised but adapted quickly, able to fit into this new world just right.

The orphan named himself Tianji before his transmigration because he dreamed of accomplishing great things. Out of respect for the former owner of the body, Jiang Tianji decided to keep using this name.

Living frugally for a few weeks, he made a small sum of money in the market using his modern knowledge and cunning, allowing him to eat his fill and find a place to sleep.

It was then that he met his Master, Jiang Weixian, a famous Martial Artist in the Northern Province. When they first met, the old man had been heavily injured, and Tianji decided to take a risk and save his life. It paid off, and the old man recovered, taking Tianji as his disciple.

Jiang Tianji's life changed when he met Jiang Weixian, who became his Master and introduced him to the world of Martial Arts. He learned about the existence of powerful Martial Artists who could crush rocks with their fists and even live for up to 200 years. Jiang Tianji was thrilled to learn about these abilities and was reminded of his own act of heroism when he saved an old man.

Under Jiang Weixian's guidance, Jiang Tianji started on his Martial Journey and discovered his talent was quite good. He managed to become a 3rd-rate Martial Artist within just two years, a feat that impressed the old man and his acquaintances.

Martial Arts had three realms of cultivation - the External Realm, where one refined their skin, bones, and muscles with medicine and plants; the Internal Realm, where one produced Internal Force to refine their organs; and the Transcendent Realm, where one refined their marrow and brain with Internal Force. Each realm had three states: early, intermediate, and completion. To become a 3rd-rate Martial Artist, one only needed to reach the Early State of the External Realm.

However, this step was not easy for many, as Martial Arts consumed a lot of money, and obtaining the Refinement Medicine Recipe was a challenge. It was a precious resource that could bring about the rise of an entire clan, which made Masters cautious when choosing disciples.

Jiang Tianji was excited to embark on his Martial Journey and looked forward to the challenges ahead. He knew that it wouldn't be easy, but he was determined to become a powerful Martial Artist and reach the Transcendent Realm.

Jiang Weixian was a martial artist who belonged to the fallen Jiang Clan. He was the only survivor of his clan, but unfortunately, he was also injured in his youth and unable to produce descendants. Thus, everything would belong to Jiang Tianji after his death.

Jiang Tianji's constitution was determined to be an intermediate-grade constitution, which meant that his talent was only above average. After practicing martial arts for another ten years, Jiang Tianji reached the completion of the external realm at the age of 25.

It was also this year that his master died two days after teaching him the corresponding mantra of his martial arts.

Since his master was dead and he was now without anyone's protection, Jiang Tianji decided to go into seclusion in the mountains until he entered the internal realm. This step took him another three years.

At 28 years old, Jiang Tianji finally exited the mountain and began to explore the Jianghu. With strength in the Early State of the Internal Realm, he was considered very good no matter where he went. He made allies, but he also made a lot of intermediate State enemies. After another five years, Jiang Tianji could no longer count the number of people who had fallen under his sword. He had also reached the Intermediate State of the Internal Realm, further increasing his standing.

At the Intermediate State of the Internal Realm, Jiang Tianji could finally use his internal force outside of his body. At this stage, people became renowned across multiple provinces. He had also caught up to his master's level. Having won the title Collapsing Sword in the Jianghu thanks to his heavy and powerful sword, he became well known in the circle.

This year, Jiang Tianji slept with the youngest daughter of the Jade Flower Pavilion's master. That man had reached the Completion State of the Internal Realm, and Jiang Tianji was forced to escape injured.

Jiang Tianji went back to the mountains to recuperate from his injuries, and this took him another three years. When he exited the mountain, Jiang Tianji had reached the Completion State of the Internal Realm and directly went back to the Jade Flower Pavilion. He killed the man who had injured him in the past and helped his youngest daughter ascend to the position of Pavilion Master.

Jiang Tianji had three children with this woman: two boys and a girl. Unfortunately, his youngest daughter died early due to sickness, and this caused the relationship between him and his woman to completely die. He left the Jade Flower Pavilion after saying goodbye to his children. At that time, he had been 45 years old.

Jiang Tianji explored the world for the next 20 years, but unfortunately, he was never able to reach the Legendary Transcendent Realm. However, he had the luck of meeting one of them once - the Senior Elder of the Yang Sword Sect, one of the ten most powerful factions in the Empire. Back then, he had asked the old man for pointers and was defeated in three moves.

After the fight, Jiang Tianji went back into seclusion due to what he had discovered during the battle. Unfortunately, even with his greatly enhanced strength, he was not able to reach the Transcendent Realm.

At 65 years old, the old man decided to finally settle down in the capital. He bought a large estate with the vast wealth he had acquired during his travels.

During the following ten years, Jiang Tianji lived a contented life in the capital. He was wealthy and could afford anything he wanted. He made friends with officials and rich merchants and also kept in touch with the Jianghu to have some news about the world.

He had heard a few rumors about his family. His Lady had died a few years ago due to illness, and his eldest son became the Pavillon Master of the Jade Flower Pavillon. He became well known in the North as the Jade Light Swordman. His youngest son's fate was a lot more surprising. The young man had a very good talent for martial arts, with a High-Grade Constitution, and he put it to full use. He reached the Internal Stage at the age of 22 and even became the son-in-law of the Noble Xu Clan, another of the ten most powerful factions in the Empire. Their previous Patriarch had entered the Transcendent Realm a decade ago.

Seeing that both of his sons were doing well, Jiang Tianji was able to continue his life peacefully. During the next few years, he heard that one of his sons at the Xu Clan had a grandson, and the one that had the Jade Flower Pavillon had taken a few concubines.

At 75, the old Jiang Tianji could feel that his body was on its last legs. He knew that even though his martial prowess remained strong, he was probably not too far from death. This brings us back to the present moment.

The Old Jiang Tianji walked toward his bedroom like every day. It had become a routine of his to drink some tea in his bedroom before going to sleep.

"What the..!" Jiang Tianji entered his bedroom with steady steps, but usually, the moment he stepped into his bedroom, he felt a weightlessness on his body.

"Where did this hole come from?!" Jiang Tianji had lived in this mansion for more than ten years and never had this type of issue. Even as he was falling, he couldn't help but curse his luck.

After a fall of three to four seconds, Jiang Tianji finally touched the ground. He was not harmed by such a small fall.

"Sigh, I'll need to get someone to fix this tomorrow."

Just as Jiang Tianji prepared to jump back up, he saw the hole close itself above his head. The moment Jiang Tianji was surrounded by darkness, a row of oil lamps lit up. The flame in the lamps burned purple as it gave the place a majestic feel.

Before his eyes, Jiang Tianji was able to see a large door that looked extremely ancient. It was made of a metal Jiang Tianji had never seen.

"I'm not far from death anyway, let's have some fun for the last time," Jiang Tianji said.

Jiang Tianji advanced toward the large door. Just as he was about to wonder how to open it, the door opened on its own. A large hall appeared in Jiang Tianji's eyes. From his standing point, the only thing he could see in the hall was a stone altar with an old-looking scroll displayed on it. The altar stood alone in the middle of the hall.

"Let's see…" Jiang Tianji took a pebble on the ground and flicked it through the door to see if there was any trap present but nothing happened so he decided to proceed toward the altar.

"What a place… Even my whole manor is not as big as this place." The further he advanced in the hall, the more he began to marvel at what he was witnessing.

"For all I know, this place could be even older than the whole Great Xia Empire. What is this scroll..?" Jiang Tianji said.

When Jiang Tianji finally arrived at the scroll, he was able to read the content without any issues. The Ink didn't seem to have been affected in the slightest by the passage of time.

"[Nine Yin Soul Manipulation]" Jiang Tianji took the scroll in his hands and read the title.

Just as he was about to proceed further, the scroll transformed into a bright purple light and flew through his eyebrows.

Jiang Tianji's body began to emit a purple light and his eyes had become fully purple.

At the moment, Jiang Tianji's brain was being fed information at an unimaginable speed. He began to learn about the abstract concept of the soul and the whole Nine Yin Soul Manipulation Technique.

This went on for a few minutes before Jiang Tianji finally fell to the ground unconscious.

Time passed quickly. The moon left the place to the sun and the next day began.

The Old Jiang Tianji finally opened his eyes.

Looking at his surroundings, he was able to confirm that what he experienced last night was not a dream.

"Hahahaha! It seems that my time hasn't come yet!" The Old Man had an ecstatic expression as he looked toward the roof of this giant hall.