The modern world had failed us. Our technology was unable to contend with the calamities humanity faced. Yet in their darkest hour, the cultivators emerged. They had been watching the mortals from a distance, but they never meddled in their affairs. Led by the seven masters, they helped humanity in times of need, achieving that which the wonders of modern technology could not.

The aftermath of the calamities was grim, but the cultivators were here to help rebuild. They taught the mortals about the marvels ki could achieve. With this enlightenment, a new age sprang from the remains of the old. The people, not trusting their technology anymore, started to use cultivation to replace it. Few were the cases where technology and cultivation mingled.

Too few, in Arun's opinion. He had a dream, one fueled by a promise as well as his love for crafting. He wanted to become the best forger, to spearhead the innovation. The cultivation age was only just beginning after all...

Yet his ambition was not going to be easily achieved. For what he had in determination, he lacked in cultivation. He was average, so average in fact that some people couldn't bear seeing themselves below him.

Such was the case with William. Arun had no problem handling the young master's insults. That was until he picked on his friends, the twins Bohdi and Aileen, which led to a confrontation between Arun and William.

Arun was not a stranger to confrontations, however, be it physical or verbal. He grew up in the slums, and that gave him a certain wit. It came in handy when he was ambushed by some thugs on his way home.

Not many people believed in Arun, not even his friends to some extent. The one that believed in him the most, however, was his grandma. She did her best to provide a good meal for him before he headed to the separation exam. She knew how important this exam was for Arun.

The separation exam was made to split the students between normal high schools and cultivation high schools. There were three rounds: one written, which he had already aced, one practical round at the taker's choice, and one to measure cultivation.

Arun was about to take the practical round, for which he had chosen forging. He was aiming for the best forging school around, so he had to ace this test as well. Unfortunately, due to an error, Arun got to his materials late and had to improvise. Wondering which remaining materials he could use, he eventually settled on steel. Steel was widely used in the prior technological age, but it was now mostly discarded. He also found a beast bone of impressive quality to complete his tasks. His choice of materials made Eike, William's cousin, laugh. He was there to search for a specific beast bone that was rigged in place by his uncle.

Not only had Arun made an uncommon choice of materials for his cat-shaped puppet, but he had also developed an unusual method of powering it. After inscribing thunder arrays where needed, he finally tried to activate it. The puppet worked as he had expected it to... until it didn't.

The backlash from the failed experiment had sent Arun into an unfamiliar environment. Everything was muted, and the only thing he could see was a crystal ball. He tried to get closer to it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to close the distance. The only detail he eventually discerned was a small crack in the globe, with a small stream of water coming from it. However, the world suddenly turned white, and he was kicked out of the vision.

When he woke up, he found himself in a hospital room with Bohdi, Aileen, and a steel cat by his side. His friends quickly filled him in on what had happened while he was unconscious. Arun had been in the hospital for some time, and his friends had already completed the exam. Aileen had bested William in the combat exam, while Bohdi had managed an okay result in pill-making. Arun also found out the grade he received for his creation: a mere 7. Although the now-named Paradox was by all intents and purposes working even better than intended, Arun was not happy with the result. Then he remembered that his last step was probably to blame.

There was another detail that his friends nearly forgot to tell him, however. The last part of the exam, the cultivation test, was almost finished, and Arun had nearly missed it. It took him considerable effort to arrive there, but even then, he only managed to take the test because the person in charge made an exception. The results from the test, however, were way lower than he had anticipated. Arun was certain his cultivation level was supposed to be higher.

It wasn't looking good for Arun. His overall end results were not great. As he made his way through the stalls, applying at different cultivation high schools, many threw him weird looks. Yet, Arun knew that even if he were to get drafted into a normal high school, it wouldn't make a difference. He was going to achieve his dreams no matter what.

Finally, the results came in. It was no surprise that Aileen had been accepted into a top combat-oriented cultivation school. What was unexpected, however, was that Bohdi had been drafted into one of the worst cultivation schools: Blue Flame. This caused friction between Bohdi and Aileen. Bohdi was content with the results, while Aileen was furious since she knew her brother could do better. The argument stopped just in time for them to see Arun drafted into the same Blue Flame high school.

With these results out of the way, Arun and his friends had finally parted ways. Missing home after a couple of days away from it, Arun stopped only to collect Paradox before departing. Surprisingly, along with his steel puppet, he also received a storage ring from his new school. However, he had to get through William and Eike, who ambushed him to get to his destination. With the help of Paradox and quick thinking, Arun managed to get past his assailants into the bus that would lead him home.

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Little did Arun know what would await him there. He was on a call with Aileen when he saw the busted door. Then he saw his ma lying unconscious on the floor. Then he saw the note. Then he saw red.

It appeared that the thugs he had escaped from a while back finally caught up with him. This was highly unusual behavior. They usually wouldn't go this far just for a little skirmish. Not that Arun cared, however. He would have his revenge.

But he was low on ki from his previous encounter with William. He would need a weapon. Paradox would help him get the materials. The low-grade furnace would be the forge. His sorrow and anger would be the fire. And so, the terrifying polearm named Black Rose was born.

Now, it was time to begin. Paradox's sense of smell led him to the target. He found one of the three thugs present that night in an alley. He had company. Arun made short work of them. The target was a little trickier, but he eventually fell too. He didn't have much information, it seemed like he wasn't one of the culprits. But his boss was, and Paradox had the scent. It led them to a back alley. Arun was confused. There was nothing there. Until he opened the lid of a trash container, and he found the last two targets.

Someone had gotten to them before him. Arun's anger swelled. They were his to take revenge on. His bloodthirst only worsened by this discovery. But before he could get swallowed by it, Paradox got his attention. It wanted Arun to follow him.

So they tracked through the same alley until Arun reached the spot where he had the fight with the first target and his goons. There he saw a sight he wasn't expecting. It was a little girl crying while the thug comforted her. Arun soon realized this was the thug's daughter. Then he saw the others get up and try to lighten up the situation, to get her to stop worrying.

Now, Arun realized they were thugs, outlaws, but even if they did some bad deeds, they were still human. And he nearly took their life. He slumped against the wall, dropping his weapon. He silently cried, the weight of the whole situation finally catching up with him. He only stopped when his companion reached out to him. Paradox did not stop until the object it was holding in its maw was in Arun's hands.

It was a watch. A watch with many memories. Memories of his grandfather. Memories of their promise. More importantly, memories of why the promise was made. His creations were supposed to help people. To create a world of plenty, surpassing the previous age. This was the nature of his promise. And by doing this, he would also make up for his wrongs.

Finally able to collect himself, Arun got up. He wanted to go home straight away, but then his gaze fell onto his weapons. He was blinded by rage before, but now he could see it. Black Rose was affecting him. It was asking for blood. Arun was horrified at his creation. He wanted to destroy it straight away, but he couldn't. He didn't have the tools nor the power. He couldn't keep it sealed either, as it would be able to affect the mind even from behind his storage ring. Out of options, he made a decision. He would hide it where no one would look, hear or sense. This was the only way to keep it from hurting anyone until he got something to destroy it with. So he threw the weapon away in the middle of a lake.

Free of his burden, he finally made his way home. His friends, as well as their parents, Thomas and Margery, awaited him. Arun knew they were coming and only left when he saw them arrive. They were glad to see him unhurt, and informed him that her ma was sent to the hospital.

In the aftermath, Arun took up residence with his friends. His grandma was still in a coma, but she was stable. Arun, however, suffered an injury he was only able to sense after the battle. He was crippled; he couldn't use ki anymore. Thomas had visited numerous doctors with him, but they had no solution or idea why this happened. Arun, on the other hand, had a good idea, thanks to his visions with the crystal globe. During the battle with the thugs, he was knocked unconscious at some point and sent into the world again. There he saw the globe completely cracked. The liquid that was previously there was all gone. Worse, it seemed that any drops generated inside would immediately fall through the cracks. Arun theorized the crack was formed during the creation of Paradox and Black Rose. He knew he had to fix it, as even Blue Flame would kick out a cripple such as him. And luckily, he had an idea how.

Thomas was the best blacksmith in town. Blacksmithing was an ancient craft, and it still differed much from what cultivators would call forging. Blacksmithing did not require as much, if any, ki. Instead of the cultivator shaping the metal, it would be the hammer or the blacksmith doing the job. This was also why blacksmithing was generally looked down upon in the current world. But even so, Thomas's craft was regarded so highly that even the Xu Corporation had a lucrative deal struck with him. This also meant that their family was well-off.

Arun stuck around Thomas, entranced by his craft. He was sure this craft could help him rebuild his ki globe. And he was right. When Arun's hammer struck the blade, he could feel ki swirling towards the dantian, repairing the damaged walls. This was even beyond expectations and felt different from what Thomas was doing. In a sense, it felt wrong. He finally found out why as the blade shattered in a couple of hammer strikes, as if it was glass. This turn of events injured Arun's arms and even managed to scratch the anvil. Confused himself, Thomas quickly sent Arun to Margery to get patched up and investigated the scene.

Not so happy about Arun's injuries, Margery ended up banning him from the forge until he was healed. Left with nothing much to do, Arun finally decided to join his friend Bodhi. Bodhi had been asking Arun to join him and his friends for a while, but he had always been busy.

Making his way towards the noise, Arun found Bohdi and his group. Bohdi was happy to see his friend, but not everybody in the group was so welcoming. It seemed like the weaker kids, like him, were being kept at the edge. Mael, seemingly the leader of the group, seemed friendly enough until the handshake turned into a contest of power. Eventually, he even tried to intervene between Bohdi and Arun. Not keen on being deprived of the one reason he came to the playground, Arun ended up in an argument with Mael, one that only ended once Bohdi took Mael's side. Feeling betrayed, Arun left the scene.

It did not take long after the incident for Arun's arms to heal, and he returned to the forge. This time, however, he was more cautious. He made more discoveries regarding his situation, such as the fact that he could only heal his dantian when he was out of ki. He was also able to sense when the blade was going to shatter and stopped before it happened. This impressed Thomas as he saw that Arun was right after tempering the blade and witnessing all the cracks in it.

More than impressed, however, Thomas was curious. He had not seen anything like this in his career. The blade also felt weirdly hollow. To get to the bottom of this, he would have to visit an old friend.