The pain was nothing.
Compared to his final moments as the Demon Sovereign, the bruises and broken ribs of this body were laughable. Liu Shen, now inhabiting the frail form of a servant boy, slowly rose to his knees in the mud.
Around him, the laughter faded.
"Oi... is he still trying to get up?" one of the Feng clan outer disciples muttered, frowning.
Another scoffed, "This trash again? Just stay down and die."
But Liu Shen didn't hear them—not really.
His soul pulsed inside this new vessel, probing it. The body was weak, cultivation crippled, meridians nearly dried up. No spiritual energy flowed within.
Crippled at birth? No… this is a seal.
A weak one. Sloppy craftsmanship. Was this done intentionally?
He looked up.
Five youths stood in a half-circle around him. All wore the insignia of the Feng Clan Outer Court, though none of them were from the main family. Just arrogant outer disciples who delighted in stepping on the lowborn.
The leader, Feng Bai, stepped forward, drawing a thin wooden practice blade. His smirk widened. "Still not dead, Liu Shen? Maybe I'll break a few more ribs to speed it up."
Liu Shen stared at him, golden eyes calm.
Feng Bai raised his blade.
Liu Shen moved.
No one saw what happened. Only the sharp snap of the wooden sword being caught mid-swing—and shattered into splinters by bare hands.
Silence.
Feng Bai's eyes widened. "Y-You…"
Liu Shen didn't give him time.
His palm struck Feng Bai's chest—not with spiritual force, but with precise, brutal pressure on a weak meridian point. The boy collapsed, wheezing, unable to breathe.
The others panicked.
"Monster! H-He's gone mad!"
"Get the elders!"
Liu Shen didn't chase them. His breathing was steady. Calm.
These fools... this body may be weak, but my soul remains that of the Sovereign. And my will... has never broken.
He looked down at his hand. Just for a moment, black mist coiled around his fingers like smoke. Ancient. Hungry.
The Demonic Codex stirred within him.
Sealed, yet intact.
They tried to erase me. Seal me. Destroy me.
But the heavens forget… demons are not so easily slain.
He turned his gaze toward the Feng Clan's towering inner walls, barely visible from the servant quarters.
Somewhere beyond those walls was power. Cultivation. Status.
And answers.
If this clan dares to step on me… then I'll rise from beneath their feet.
And crush them from within.
---
Later That Night – Servant Quarters
The room was small. Damp. Smelled of mold and dust.
Liu Shen sat cross-legged on a tattered mat, breathing slowly. Carefully. His memory of the Void Soul Breathing Technique returned to him like instinct.
But this body's meridians were still blocked.
The seal is layered with three nodes. Whoever did this feared potential more than the present threat. Typical cowardice.
He pressed his fingers to his chest, tracing invisible lines. Then—he struck.
A sharp jolt of pain ran through him.
His breath caught. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
But in the silence, something broke.
Crack.
A faint pulse.
Then, for the first time in fifteen years… spiritual energy trickled into his dantian.
Weak. Barely noticeable. But there.
His lips curled into a slow, cold smile.
Step one: begin again.
---
Meanwhile – Inner Court, Feng Clan Main Hall
"You said the servant boy struck Feng Bai?"
"Yes, Elder," the disciple trembled. "He… he broke his ribs. With one palm. Feng Bai still can't stand."
The old man narrowed his eyes. "A cripple did that?"
The disciple hesitated. "There was… a black mist, Elder. Around his hand. Just for a second."
Silence fell in the hall.
The elder stood, voice cold. "Bring him in. Now."