Darkness.
That was the last thing he remembered. The chill of steel against his neck, the soundless thud of a suppressed round, and the metallic tang of his own blood filling his mouth.
He should have died. He did die.
But when his eyes opened again, the first thing he heard was not silence — it was a cry. His own cry.
A blinding lantern burned above him. He could feel warmth pressing against his tiny body, hands trembling as they held him.
"My child… my son," a gentle woman whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. "You will be the glory of the Ye Clan…"
He blinked. In his past life, no one had ever held him like this. No one had ever spoken to him like this.
Another voice followed, deep and commanding: "Good. Very good! With blood like his, he will shake the heavens in time!"
A man with sword-straight brows and a gaze sharp as blades leaned over him. That aura… it was unmistakable. A predator among men. His father.
The infant's lips curled—barely, almost imperceptibly. In his past life, he had been a ghost in the shadows, a disposable weapon. Now, he had status from birth. A powerful clan. Parents who looked at him not as a tool, but as a legacy.
And yet… the assassin's heart remained unmoved.
Warmth? Love? He had killed too many to be swayed by such illusions. Strength alone was truth.
That night, as the newborn slept, a voice unlike any human's stirred within his mind.
[Night Cultivation System Activated]
[Host: Ye Tian]
[Age: 5 Days]
[Constitution Detected: Night Immortal Physique]
[Restriction: Cultivation possible only at night]
[Effect: All progress amplified x10 under moonlight]
The child opened his eyes. His gaze, though soft and round, carried an impossible depth.
A system…?
In his past life, he relied only on his own skill, his own blade. Now, the world itself handed him a weapon sharper than any dagger.
He would not waste it.
As the moonlight streamed through the paper windows, Ye Tian stared at the ceiling of his cradle. His lips curved into a faint, unnatural smile.
"I was born in blood. Now, I am reborn in shadow. The night belongs to me."