Riyue stepped on grass that let out a crunching noise. Trees blurred as he ran through the forest, gasping for breath and clutching an egg-shaped artifact.

How did this happen? Riyue did not know. However, he knew he had to run, for he was being chased. Riyue looked back and could see three blurry figures amidst the thick fog of the forest, all chasing him, swords in hand. Fighting was not an option; each one of them was at least a Stage 3 practitioner, while he was only a Stage 1.

Thinking that, Riyue continued to run. His legs felt stiff as if weights had been tied to them, and exhaustion threatened to overcome him, but he endured, because as weak and talentless as he may be, now, he was the only survivor of the Zhang Clan.

‘Fortunately, they do not know much about the forest terrains, and the thick fog has special properties that not even a Stage 3 practitioner could see through easily. Therefore, if I hid in that cave, they wouldn’t be able to find me.’

As someone who often sneaked out into the forest and had expeditions with his family, he was quite knowledgeable about the forest terrains. Riyue took a deep breath, used the last bits of his Qi to further enhance his body, and headed towards the cave in his mind.

Riyue then felt chills as he dropped to the ground immediately. Daggers filled with Qi flew by, piercing through the trees in front of him. Even if there was thick fog, and they were unaware of the terrain, and even if Riyue was good at hiding, they were still Stage 3 practitioners and professional assassins at that.

Realizing that anew, Riyue gritted his teeth as he moved on. Still, the situation wasn’t hopeless. The fog surrounding the Mi Zong Forest was special, and unless it was someone like Riyue who held the badge of the Zhang Family, others would be considered intruders, have their senses distorted, and get lost in the forest. That was why he had fled here in the first place.

After looking back briefly and confirming that the assassins had disappeared, Riyue calmed his breathing and slowly walked. The entrance to the cave had many fearsome monsters surrounding it, but there was one relatively safe path. He still had to fight, but it was manageable.

As he walked through the path he memorized, wolves the size of a human started appearing throughout the foggy forest. There were three of them. Riyue gritted his teeth and unsheathed his sword.

As a mere Stage 1 practitioner, he could only enhance his body with Qi and not his weapon. Fortunately, his sword was of the highest quality; therefore, he wouldn’t have any trouble slicing the wolves.

The wolf in the front, whose mouth was dripping with saliva, lunged at Riyue, and the other two followed. Riyue’s robes fluttered as he enhanced his body with Qi and stabbed through the head of the first wolf with precision. Blood splurted out of the wolf’s head, it's body grew limp and collapsed to the ground. The other wolf disregarded its comrade’s death and opened its mouth wide to chomp down on Riyue’s left hand.

Riyue swiftly retrieved his sword and jumped back. He then deflected the claws of the attacking wolf before slicing its head. The last wolf remaining looked as if it had realized that they had made the wrong choice, but it was already too late. With a clean swing, the wolf’s head flew through the air. Riyue looked at the wolves’ corpses before wiping off the blood and grime from his sword with his loose sleeves. He sheathed his blade and moved on. After a while of walking, a familiar cave entered his sight, and he breathed out in relief as he entered.

This cave was surrounded by fearsome monsters, and without prior knowledge of their movements, habits, and who they were, it was not easy to enter this cave without fighting. Of course, the cave itself was not dangerous, which is why the practitioners of his family often used it to rest.

Suddenly, Riyue crumbled down onto the cavern floor, tears streaming down his face as the egg-shaped artifact dropped and rolled on the floor.

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‘Why? Why did this happen? Oh heavens, what wrong did the Zhang Family, my mother, my father, my siblings do?’

As someone born in the prestigious Zhang Family of the Shen Lei Kingdom, he was, of course, very proud of his identity. It was not due to his high position but due to the attitude of his family. He thought of his father as honorable, his mother as caring, and his siblings as lovely children, all of them whom, despite Riyue lacking talent in martial arts as the eldest son, kept caring for him like a true family.

Not only that, the Zhang Family was also renowned throughout the area as a well-reputed ruler, a family of principles, and many more by the citizens. They were fair and just… Yet despite that…

‘Those Jin family bastards!’ Riyue’s fist clenched as he struck the floor many times until his hands bled and his eyes became bloodshot.

Overnight, his family had been branded as a family who follows the Demon Sect, a preposterous statement. Yet, the royal family they all had been loyal to sent their Royal Guards, as well as their assassins, and the Jin Family also assisted in the eradication of their family. Due to a surprise attack, none of his family members could resist well despite their strength, yet, despite it, they still managed to let Riyue run away.

As for why it was Riyue in particular, it was because he was the eldest son and because he was weak. He would be no help in a fight, so they had him run away, for it was one of the things he was good at.

Thinking to that moment brought shame to him and sadness threatening to rip his heart apart. Many thoughts and what-ifs came through his mind, but what does it matter, when his family was already dead?

‘I too, why should I keep on living when my family are all dead?’

He had lost everything and everyone he had cared for, so why must he keep on living?

His eyes then flickered as he caught sight of the egg-shaped artifact. It was a peculiar artifact with black on one half and white on the other. It was made of unknown materials and also had delicate carvings throughout it depicting the sun and moon.

Yet despite the peculiarity of its looks, he knew of its importance. It was the Divine Artifact called God of Sun and Moon’s Heavens Blessing. It was said that a long time ago, the honorable family blessed by the God of Sun and Moon were the ancestors of the Zhang Family. They were an illustrious family rivaling the Li Imperial Family from the Jin Long Empire, and the Gu Royal Family from the Cang Qiong Kingdom.

Time passed, and the once illustrious family slowly fell from prominence and became a mere vessel of another family. However, it didn’t change the fact that they were an illustrious family once, and had a Divine Artifact given by the God of Sun and Moon itself.

Riyue’s eyes shone as he looked at the egg-shaped artifact.

It was said that whoever used the Heavens Blessing could call upon an extremely strong Ancestor and be granted powers that could rival the heavens itself. However, it came at a steep cost of sacrificing one’s own body and life.

But in exchange, he could make one wish towards that Ancestor, and that wish would be fulfilled even after his death. As he thought about the powers of the Divine Artifact, Riyue’s lips curled up into a smile.

It was not as if he had not thought of committing revenge. However, he was just too weak to do any real damage, and as for becoming a practitioner of the Demonic Method and becoming a Demon… Such a thing had not even crossed his mind due to how shameful it was for his family. Not to mention, he suspected the Demon Sect to be behind the ruin of his family, so how could he even join them?

However, this Divine Artifact was perfect in that regard. He would only be calling out an Ancestor and, by sacrificing his life, he could take revenge on the demons.

‘I’m sorry, Father. You told me to live, but… I just can’t.’

With trembling hands, he grasped the Heavens Blessing as he kneeled on the ground. With tears streaming down his face, he prayed. He didn’t know how to use the artifact exactly, but despite that, he could feel it reacting. The carvings started to light up as a bright golden and purple light emerged from them.

“Oh great Ancestor, I call upon you by my name. I shall sacrifice this body of mine to you, and I ask for you to fulfill a wish of mine… Please, please, avenge my family with the blood of the perpetrators!”

The Divine Artifact glowed with a golden and purple radiance as it enveloped Riyue’s body and the surroundings. He could feel his consciousness slowly dimming as a warm feeling enveloped him like an embrace from a loving mother.

Slowly, he felt his vision darken, and his life slipping away as his body plunged hard onto the cold ground. After a while, his fingers twitched, and his upper body rose. Riyue’s eyes widened as he looked around, up, and down at his outfit.

“What the fuck?”

Riyue, or rather Joshua, said, as he woke up in a completely unfamiliar body.