"Old Zhang needs more firewood. Can you go to the forest tonight, Zhou Yu?"
The sound of an axe splitting wood echoed outside their wooden house. A pile of chopped logs was stacked neatly beside him, layered three levels high.
His hands were sweaty, but strong and rough—a simple sign that he had spent his entire youth doing hard labor.
Not fighting, but working.
"He should move down from the hill soon. The weather up there is too cold for his wrinkled skin."
"HAHA! Even if you tempt him with a thousand taels, he won't leave that place."
Zhou Yu, the son of Zhou Han and Xie Lan. His family was simple, making a living by selling firewood and wooden carvings.
A modest life had taught them gratitude. Zhou Han often said that too much money could make a person lose their sense of self.
But too little money could give birth to crime. Nothing good came from either excess or shortage.
"Looks like Old Zhang ran out of firewood for tonight. You should go now, Yu'er."
CHOP!
The last log split in two as Zhou Yu brought the axe down. He wiped the sweat from his face with the towel draped over his shoulder and glanced at his father.
"How much?" Zhou Yu asked.
"Not sure. Maybe fifty small bundles."
The eighteen-year-old chuckled and walked toward the table where Xie Lan, his mother, was sitting.
He reached out, grabbed the teapot, and filled his wooden cup. The green tea was refreshing, washing away his fatigue.
"That much firewood will make him famous as Zhang the Roaster," Zhou Yu joked.
"You love teasing him. But when he comes here, you don't dare say a word," Xie Lan said.
"That old man has been picking on me since I was little… just looking at the wrinkles on his face annoys me."
Xie Lan smiled and let out a soft laugh. Zhou Han stepped over to the chopping area, taking Zhou Yu's place.
"It's not good to keep mocking him. Remember your karma, Yu'er," Xie Lan reminded him.
Zhou Yu sighed, pressed his palms together, and muttered a quick apology to the gods.
He didn't really care which god would hear it.
Xie Lan handed him a cloth bag filled with food and told him to stay at Old Zhang's house if it got too late.
"It's dangerous to stay in the forest at night. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Mother."
After preparing everything, Zhou Yu left his home.
He walked along the village road, passing by other villagers. Some smiled and greeted him. Zhou Yu's name was already well known among them.
He waved back casually. Ahead of him stood the village's outer gate.
There were three hours left before sunset. It would take about an hour to reach Old Zhang's house.
That meant Zhou Yu had two hours to cut and prepare the wood.
He began chopping down trees and splitting them into smaller pieces.
Step by step, he moved deeper into the forest, searching for suitable trees to cut.
Zhou Yu stopped when he reached the third tree. He gripped his sharp axe and swung it hard at the trunk.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
But gradually, the ground beneath his feet softened and sank inward.
What the—
Before Zhou Yu could react, his body plunged downward. The surrounding area collapsed with him, forming a large pit.
Panic flashed across his face as the firewood in his basket scattered.
He acted quickly.
He drove his axe into the rocky wall around him. The blade lodged firmly into place, stopping his fall.
Zhou Yu let out a breath of relief. He was alive, even if trapped.
Old Zhang would nag me to death if I'm late with the firewood.
However, when he looked down, he caught a faint blue light glowing below. His eyes narrowed. Maybe the place was filled with gems.
Curiosity surged within him.
Zhou Yu carefully climbed down until he reached the bottom of the pit.
There were no gems. Only damp grass and wet stones.
But his attention was drawn to a stone altar.
On top of it sat a stone statue of a woman in meditation. Grass nearly covered the entire statue, except for her face.
As a woodcarver, Zhou Yu admired its beauty. There were no flaws, no carving mistakes.
"It's like a human turned into stone. So realistic."
Curiosity pushed him to reach out.
His index finger touched the forehead of the stone statue.
CRACK!
The statue suddenly cracked, releasing a dazzling blue light. Zhou Yu panicked, stepping back and raising his axe defensively.
In an instant, the statue shattered completely.
Blue light shot out from within, forming a beautiful woman floating in midair.
Silk ribbons extended from her arms. She wore a golden dress—elegant and luxurious. A golden crown adorned her black hair, tassels hanging from it.
"A ghost?!"
Her eyes slowly opened, meeting Zhou Yu's gaze.
"A ghost… a beautiful woman ghost?"
The woman narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a ghost!"
Confused, Zhou Yu crouched down and picked up a stone, throwing it at her.
The stone passed straight through her body.
"No… you're definitely a ghost."
"Let me guess. You're a mortal, right?" she asked, crossing her arms.
Zhou Yu fell silent for a moment, realizing what that term meant.
Ordinary people didn't call others mortals.
That was a term used by cultivators.
"You… are you a cultivator?"
"Correct. I am a cultivator. The first Immortal of the Tianyun Sect."
"Tianyun… what?" Zhou Yu asked.
She glared at him, hands on her hips. "Tianyun. Tian as in sky, Yun as in cloud."
"I know what it means. But does it really exist?"
"What do you mean?"
Zhou Yu walked around her in a circle.
"I may be a mortal, but I know the cultivator sects within the Xiao Empire."
He stopped in front of her.
"Tianyun Sect… isn't on that list."
"The Xiao Empire? You must be joking. A lowly clan like Xiao could never form an empire."
"They did," Zhou Yu said firmly. "Xiao Yan raised the Xiao Clan to the strongest and defeated the Gu Dynasty."
"Gu Dynasty? What's that?"
Zhou Yu stared at her carefully. Something was off.
"Who do you think rules this land?" he asked.
"The Great Han Dynasty."
He paused, recalling the history lessons from the village school.
Then his eyes widened.
"The Great Han Dynasty ruled the largest territory on the continent in its time. That was five thousand years ago."
"WHAT?! Five thousand years ago?"
Zhou Yu nodded and even explained the detailed cause of the Great Han Dynasty's fall.
The woman was stunned.
"I… have been in closed-door cultivation for five thousand years? What about the Tianyun Sect?"
She formed a hand seal and directed her qi essence into Zhou Yu's mind.
With that technique, she could view his memories from birth until now.
Zhou Yu was shocked, unable to resist.
It took her only five minutes.
"Why are your memories filled with wood and wood carvings?"
Zhou Yu snapped back to his senses and stepped away.
"I'm a woodcutter. And what did you just do to me?"
The woman fell silent. She looked at her own body, now nothing more than soul essence after cultivating in seclusion for too long without breaking through.
Clear misfortune.
"I have become soul essence. I still remember my techniques. But in this condition, it's difficult to perform the Immortal Body Revival Technique."
"What?" Zhou Yu asked.
Despite that, she did not lose hope. She looked at the young woodcutter before her. A new idea formed.
"What is your name, boy?"
"Zhou… Yu."
"Zhou Yu. Very well."
She formed another complex hand seal.
When she finished, a magical rune appeared on the rocky ground, shocking Zhou Yu.
Blue qi light shot into his body. He gasped, clutching his chest as he fell to his knees.
"What… did you do to me?"
"My condition is fragile. I am passing down the Dao of the Evolution Path to you," she explained.
"The Dao of… what?"
Another wave of qi entered his body, burning like fire inside him.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
She had no other choice. Zhou Yu was the only one there when she awakened.
She had to trust him.
"You are inheriting my Dao of the Evolution Path. I will make you the greatest cultivator in the entire Great Han Dynasty."
"It's… the Xiao Empire," Zhou Yu corrected through gritted teeth.
"Right. The Xiao Empire."
The runes vanished as all the dao qi was absorbed into Zhou Yu's body.
He lay flat on the ground. The pain faded, replaced by exhaustion.
[Dao EVO-Path System Activated]
[The host can identify weaknesses in techniques and formations, replicate, and improve them beyond their original limits.]
"What… is this?" Zhou Yu asked, staring at the mysterious panel.
"That is your dao now."
"Dao? I'm not even a cultivator."
"You will be," she said. "As the Ancestor of the Tianyun Sect, I appoint you as the Sect Master of Tianyun."
She floated closer.
"You have one task… restore the glory of the Tianyun Sect and prepare for the revival of my Immortal body."
"Wait," Zhou Yu said weakly, his breathing heavy. "I need to sleep for a bit. I'm really tired."
She smiled faintly.
A mortal had inherited a dao that even other cultivators would struggle to obtain. In her eyes, Zhou Yu was extremely fortunate.
But to Zhou Yu, it meant nothing. He had no idea how powerful that dao truly was.
The young man fell completely asleep, shocking the Tianyun Sect's ancestor.
"Heavens!"
"What have I done? I passed the strongest dao among the Immortals to such a foolish boy?"
"…Forget it. Sooner or later, he'll understand his responsibility."