The sky above was not the sky he remembered.
It was pale—thin—mortal.
Instead of an endless expanse of stars kneeling beneath his will, a cracked wooden ceiling loomed overhead. Dust hung in the air. A drop of water slid from a hole in the roof and struck his cheek.
Cold.
"Oh… shit…"
His voice came out hoarse and frail, like an old man who had shouted too long at an uncaring world.
"Where… am I?"
He forced his eyes wider. Agony exploded through his skull, sharp and violent, like heavenly tribulation lightning splitting apart his divine consciousness. Memories clashed inside his mind—celestial palaces floating above golden seas, armies bowing beneath chaotic flames, endless rivers of qi surging through immortal meridians—
Then darkness.
"Is this… my Holy Palace?"
His vision slowly cleared.
Mud walls.
A broken wooden table.
A damp, leaking roof.
The smell of mildew and rotting straw.
"No… this is not my Holy Palace."
His breathing turned uneven.
"Then where am I now?"
He attempted to sit up. His body trembled violently, weak as though it had starved for days. Every muscle felt brittle. Every breath felt heavy.
"What happened to my body…? Why does it feel so weak?"
He lifted a trembling hand.
Pale.
Thin.
Mortal.
Where once divine veins pulsed with eternal qi, now fragile meridians lay clogged and dry like cracked riverbeds.
"Where are my powers…?"
His heart pounded wildly.
"I am the Lord of Reincarnation!"
The declaration echoed hollowly within the small hut.
"My name is Immortal Xiao Jun! I was one step away from becoming a Supreme Immortal!"
Pain intensified.
Images surged violently.
A throne forged of chaos flames.
An army kneeling beneath him.
Mo Chan laughing confidently beside him.
Sister Su smiling beneath blooming peach blossoms.
And then—
Betrayal.
A sword piercing through space.
Immortal seals crushing his soul.
Cold, arrogant laughter.
His eyes snapped open.
"Ahh—!"
The memories returned in full.
The Immortal Court Summit.
The feast celebrating his breakthrough into the Half-Step Supreme Realm.
Wine laced with soul-freezing poison.
A formation array hidden beneath his throne.
Twenty-seven peak immortals revealing their true faces.
"The Bastard Immortals…"
His voice turned icy.
"They backstabbed me."
They had feared his rise. Feared that once he stepped fully into the Supreme Realm, their fragile balance of power would shatter.
And leading them—
The Sword Immortal.
His sworn brother.
The one who vowed to protect Sister Su with his life.
Killing intent seeped from Xiao Jun's eyes.
"So that's how I died…"
He clenched his fists weakly.
"No. That's how they thought I died."
Suddenly—
Ding!
A mechanical voice echoed within his consciousness.
[System of Chaos Activated.]
Xiao Jun froze.
"…What?"
[Host detected. Soul synchronization complete.]
His heartbeat quickened.
"This voice…"
A faint, disbelieving smile formed on his lips.
"Is that you?"
[Yes, Immortal.]
His pupils trembled.
"The System of Chaos… Mo Chan's invention…"
Mo Chan, the eccentric genius who believed the Heavenly Dao itself could be rewritten. While others mocked him, Xiao Jun had funded and protected his research.
And now—
"System," Xiao Jun whispered, "what happened to your master?"
Silence lingered for a breath too long.
[After news of your death spread across the Upper Realm…]
A pause.
[Master Mo Chan activated the forbidden Chaos Core.]
Xiao Jun's fingers tightened.
"…Don't."
[He sacrificed his immortal foundation and shattered his soul to power the Reincarnation Array. Using his final strength, he tore open the River of Samsara and sent your remnant soul into reincarnation.]
Xiao Jun's breath stopped.
"No…"
[Master's final words were: "If Heaven betrays you, then we will break Heaven."]
The hut felt unbearably small.
Mo Chan.
That stubborn fool who laughed at destiny.
"He sacrificed… himself?"
[Yes, Immortal.]
Xiao Jun closed his eyes.
Silence consumed him.
Then—
A terrifying killing intent erupted from his frail body. The wooden walls creaked as invisible pressure rippled outward.
"Aah… you bastard immortals!"
"I am Immortal Xiao Jun!"
Even in a mortal shell, his voice carried ancient authority.
"I will break every single one of you!"
His fury slowly condensed into something colder.
Resolve.
"Mo Chan… I'm sorry."
His voice softened.
"But I swear your sacrifice will not be in vain."
A translucent panel appeared before his vision.
[Current Body Status:]
— Name: Xiao Jun (Reincarnated)
— Realm: Mortal (Qi Severed)
— Talent: Ruined Spiritual Roots
— Health: Extremely Weak
— Danger Level: High
He clicked his tongue.
"Ruined spiritual roots? How ironic."
Once hailed as the greatest genius in ten thousand years.
Now reduced to trash.
[System of Chaos provides alternative cultivation path.]
His eyes sharpened.
"Explain."
[Traditional qi cultivation unavailable. Chaos Devouring Art unlocked. This technique ignores spiritual roots and cultivates directly through chaotic absorption.]
He laughed softly.
"As expected of Mo Chan…"
"Begin."
Black strands of chaotic energy gathered invisibly from the air—wild, violent, untamed. No orthodox cultivator could sense it.
Xiao Jun could.
The energy surged into his fragile meridians.
Pain exploded.
But he did not scream.
Compared to betrayal… compared to imagining Sister Su imprisoned… this pain was nothing.
His body trembled violently.
[Warning: Body may collapse.]
He smirked.
"I've already died once."
The chaotic energy twisted his brittle meridians, reconstructing them into something darker, unpredictable.
After what felt like eternity—
[Congratulations. Host has stepped into Lower Chaos Mortal Realm.]
He exhaled slowly.
"So it begins."
Outside, the sun set over a quiet mortal village.
None of them knew.
That inside this fragile youth—
A former Lord of Reincarnation had awakened.