.
If he died today , Mingyin thought to huinself looking down it would not matter much to him
He had already experienced death countless times—countless lives, countless endings. Death itself had long lost its weight for him
But there was one thing he could never forgive himself for.
If he stopped walking this path.
Even if it killed him, the world would not care—so why should he care about himself?
He could only do what he could do.
Mingyin stared at the ring of flame, his expression darkening.
Fear.The thing he hated most. That ha hated the most
It crept back into him once again, slowly gnawing at his heart, threatening to devour him whole.
I fear dying.
His fingers tightened around his knee. His body trembled—not only with fear, but with a strange excitement mixed into it.
Mingyin suddenly pointed forward, straight at Magman.
Magman was caught off guard.
The boy leapt into the air, his arms spread wide, laughter spilling from his lips.
"Hehehe… I love this feeling," Mingyin said softly. "Fear. To feel it again."
A child like him was standing before a being far older than himself—older in power, in experience, in status.
If anyone else were watching, there would be discomfort around him .
Who could smile in the face of death?
But Mingyin was different and not was not a ordinary person
He had already wasted his life once. He had been nobody. He did not care if he died. He did not care if his skin were peeled away and his bones left bare.
To him, death was merely another step forward—another price to pay for the countless goals he still carried.
To make his parents proud.
To become strong enough to never be oppressed again.
Yet even those goals paled in comparison to what he truly sought.
Peace.
Not the fragile peace of comfort—but something deeper. Something the world itself could not destroy.
He wanted freedom from emotion. Freedom from fear. A peace that neither fate nor heaven could take away.
To Mingyin, no one had ever truly grasped peace.
Not even the strongest could there all have there own goal to look after .
Even the heavens themselves were bound—trapped like threads woven into a vast tapestry of fate, shackled by chaos.
And Mingyin knew something they did not.
Their weakness.
What even legendary immortals of the Nine Heavens had never realized.
They were nothing more than pawns.
Chaos against peace.
Which one would truly win?
Mingyin laughed—raw, unhinged, almost sick.
Then, slowly, he relaxed.
He tapped his chin lightly, his breathing steadying.
Go forward.
I am not afraid to die.
Even if fear exists—move anyway.
Magman's eyes widened.
Haven't I read about this before…?
Sweat slid down his face as his heart pounded violently in his chest.
Haven't I read about someone like this…?
Who is this monster
...
Ten years ago .
.
Beneath a towering mountain stretched a vast grassland, choked with tall trees whose roots cut sharply across the ground. Thick, dark liquid—like blood—flowed through the soil, seeping between stones and roots alike.
A young boy leaned weakly against a tree.
He was short for his age, his body slightly bulky, and his face often streaked with dried tears. Whenever fear overwhelmed him, he would flee into the woods—into solitude—where he felt safe.
That boy was Magman.
He rubbed his nose and sneezed loudly before letting out a long yawn. Wrapped in a thick fur-lined garment with loose sleeves, he sat atop a wide patch of bamboo, a book resting in his hands.
Magman loved books. He read endlessly—obsessively.
This world was filled with legends.
Legends of people who sought friendship.
Legends of those who retired to protect their families.
Legends of cultivators who chased strength above all else.
Legends of survivors who endured calamity after calamity.
Yet among them all, there was one legend that made every other tale pale in comparison.
[The First Mortal Ruler]
The First Mortal Ruler was said to have been born within a mountain saturated with Heaven-Rules Essence—where soul energy gather too with life force,
Even a divine blood gathered unnaturally. Flowing inside the crack
On the day of his birth, blood rained from the heavens.
A warning—delivered by Heaven itself.
To warn humans of something terrifying
Then, without warning, the mountain split in half.as countless rock fell down
At its heart lay a newborn baby, resting upon a massive stone slab, deep markings etched across his eyes like scars left by fate.
The child cried out loud sadly
For nine days straight.
Then—on the ninth day—the baby grew up .
In the span of a single breath, he became a youth, possessing the intelligence of a cunning beast, sharper than most men.
He was not naked.
Crystalline garments—sheer and dark—covered his waist, as if the world itself had clothed him.
The Mortal Ruler walked the world.
He crossed jungles and seas, plains and mountains. He befriended monkeys, tigers, buffalo—any living thing that could walk, run, or crawl.
He did not meat or any fruit .
He ate stone.
Black, sweet gems that filled his stomach.
To humans, such food would taste foul—repulsive.
But to him, it was sweeter than any feast.
But One day, the Mortal Ruler climbed a towering tree and gazed into the sky.with a daze epression
And he asked himself a question.
What is death?
Above him floated a black jade pagoda—and beside it, a small city of stone suspended in the air.
Clinging to a branch, he smiled faintly.
"I think death," he murmured, "is a sleep from which one never wakes. Breath stops. Skin rots. Bones remain… and then even those disappear."
His smile faded.
"I don't want to die."
"I want to live forever—away from suffering."
Then, with a single word, his voice shook the nearby beasts.
"I want true freedom from death!"
The Mortal Ruler laughed loudly.
His heartbeat thundered boiling with some exciment
But the mortal ruler didn't known that his thumb swelled with , muscles thickening without him even realizing it.
Then he leapt.
Down
.
"Come," he shouted, arms spread wide wanted to hug something . "Open the path for this mortal ruler !"
For some few second nothing had it was just quiet
Then The air rippled across the air
A massive black gate of white stone appeared, cracked and ancient, creaking open with a sound like a dying world.
The Mortal Ruler laughed even harder seeing such sight
"Look at this!" he roared. "Even Heaven fears me!"
Suddenly—
His thumb burst open.
From it emerged a small glowing sphere.
The sound of cracking bone echoed.
The sphere floated upward… and then plunged into his mind.
The gate shattered crumble into piece
Stones started to exploded in every direction, encasing the Mortal Ruler in a massive sphere of white rock.
"What's happening to me why I am teal " he screamed. "Someone help me!"please
Suddenly a voice answered from the darkness .
You monkey you better be quiet
The Mortal Ruler froze.
Before him stood a young man, his face wreathed in flame, wearing nothing but a simple garment around his waist.
"Who are you?!" the Mortal Ruler demanded.
Talking some step back
"Your brother, you fools ,
" the man replied calmly.
"Have you forgotten your memories from the Nine Heavens?littel brother ? "
Instead of fear, the Mortal Ruler laughed.
A single mad laught
"So that's why we fear death," he said slowly. "Immortals fear death because they know it exists."I was once a immortal in nine heaven
He lifted his head showing vein popinh from his forehead
"If we were truly immortal, death would hold no meaning."against us
His eyes burned with flame as his eye turn down
"To think you dragged me here in a divine body… It shows how much destruction I caused in the Nine Heavens."
He smiled—free, unchained.not caring even about his own life
"Now that I know this…I think fearing death isn't worth it anymore
I no longer care if I die."I - the mortal ruler point forward
Magman closed the book slowly, a faint smile lingering on his face.
To think—that story had been the First Mortal Ruler's encounter with one of his siblings.
Even as a child, Magman had not fully understood it.
Why would someone write such a legend for the mortal world?
What was the point of leaving behind a story filled with madness, defiance, and fearlessness toward death?
Back then, Magman had been too young to grasp its meaning.
Yet one question had remained with him.
Would I ever meet someone like that?
Someone like the Mortal Ruler.
Someone unafraid of death.
...
The present.
Magman's thoughts snapped back to reality.
Confusion filled his mind.
He could hardly believe it.
Someone was standing before him—someone who had accepted death without trembling.
Without begging.
Without hesitation.
Mingyin.
This was a man who had once found a life-and-death artifact.
A man who had experienced countless regressions.
A man who had outsmarted thousands of immortals while still mortal.
A man who had raced past and overwhelmed peak artists despite standing at the lowest rung.
Mingyin carried enemies beyond counting.
And yet—
He was nobody.
Or perhaps… that was exactly what made him terrifying.
He was not young.
He was not old.
He was something in between—something detached from time itself.
A man who had come from another world.
A being older than those who had lived for centuries, yet wearing the body of a youth.
As Magman stared at him, a chill ran down his spine.
This was not arrogance.
This was not madness.
This was peace.
A peace so complete that no one could take it away.
Not fate.
Not heaven.
Not even death.
And in that moment, Magman understood.
The thing standing before him was not a fearless fool.
It was something far more dangerous.
A man who had already lost everything… and therefore had nothing left to lose.
A mortal that is far terrifying than a immortal