Lu Zheng quickly averted his gaze.

His heart continued to palpitate as his mind fell into disorder.

‘Who is he? What am I doing here?’

Such questions continued to pop up in his mind.

Gradually, he was being swallowed by terror.

“I guess it’s normal for you to fear me.” The imposing, mysterious voice echoed a giggle. “Come here.”

Before Lu Zheng could regain his composure and act to his command, the ocean of blood suddenly trembled.

He looked below and panicked as he saw the blood swirling violently.

It suddenly formed into a pillar, bringing him up into the sky.

It halted when it reached a certain height.

He did not even dare to imagine looking below.

He remained frozen for a while, before seeing another pillar stopping in front of him, as though they were creating a path.

It continued until it extended towards the mountain of bones.

However, it did not even reach the peak.

Somewhere in the middle of the peak and the center.

He knew the purpose of the path in front of him.

What he only needed to do was to walk towards it until he reached the end of the path.

However, whenever he thought a single blunder would lead to his death, he could not muster the courage to stand up.

He continued to hesitate and contemplate, until the impatient, imposing voice echoed again.

“Don’t make me wait.”

His body unconsciously stood up by itself.

He fell into panic, but strangely, his body remained still.

He continued to observe his body and was horrified when he saw it moving on its own.

His body continued to walk on the path of pillars.

He was anxious for a while before regaining his composure.

Despite his heart palpitating, fearing to face the unknown, he had to remain calm.

When he arrived at the end of the path, standing on a single pillar, he did not dare to look back, below, side by side, as he only stared at the single direction.

Even when he could not dare to gaze at the terrifying pair of eyes again, he dared to, since it appeared the voice did not mean to scare him.

Only that…

‘He is stronger to the point he can instill fear on me without even trying to.’

He deeply sought to obtain such power.

When he met the pair of crimson eyes again, shaped into beasts, this time, he tried to stop his palpitating heart beat.

He tried his best not to be scared.

“Oh?” His voice echoed again.

Aside from his crimson eyes, his face was obscure.

Even the bloody light from the sky could not reveal his face.

His crimson eyes were what he only saw.

“Now that you are back to yourself again. I have a question.”

Lu Zheng gulped and nodded.

“Alright, I ask you, how come I am here?”

Suddenly, there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere.

Sweat crawled out of his skin, especially his forehead, slithering downward.

Even when he felt irritated by it, he was not concerned.

No, he could not be concerned by unnecessary things right now.

After all, he only had one thought in his mind.

‘If I lie, I die.’

So, he was pondering how to answer his question.

However, he also knew he could not waste any more time, after imprinting on his mind that the voice above him hated to wait.

Hence, he had no choice but to answer truthfully, “I-I don’t know..”

“Hmm…” The voice hummed and the crimson eyes suddenly vanished.

When it appeared again, he said, “I thought so. A being like you can’t summon me. Last thing I remember was being ganged up on and dying. I thought this was the after life until I saw your memories and what you see in your eyes.”

Lu Zheng was lost for words.

He was shocked, too.

The imposing voice continued, “Is this karma?”

The voice sighed.

Lu Zheng remained quiet for a while, before it echoed again.

“What year is it now?”

“It’s the year of the Rising Phoenix.”

Lu Zheng could finally communicate with him without stuttering.

“Year of the Rising Phoenix? What nonsense is that?”

The voice snorted.

“Oh, right. We have that one in my world, too.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The voice paused for a while before continuing, “Have I returned to the past? What timeline is this?”

It was a question that Lu Zheng could not answer.

The voice asked again, “What country is this?”

“Country?”

It was a foreign word to Lu Zheng.

“The name of your place.”

“Ah.” Lu Zheng quickly understood. “We are currently in Ebonshade City, a city under the White Tiger Territory.”

“White Tiger Territory?”

“Yes. The White Tiger Clan governed the White Tiger Territory, even naming it by themselves. They currently reside in the White Tiger City, the only larged-sized city.”

“How arrogant. To rule a province and call it their territory.” The voice hummed in amusement. “How interesting.”

Lu Zheng did not reply.

“What grade is Ebonshade City?”

“Middle-Grade.”

“How many provinces are there?”

“There are known five territories, or provinces. They are named after the five Great Sects: Azure Dragon Province, White Tiger Territory, Vermillion Bird Domain, Black Tortoise Region, and Golden Serpent Domain.”

He paused, ruminating, and continued, “There was also the legendary Central Plain, too. It was surrounded by these five territories but divided by the seas. However, others said that it was a mystery how to get to that place.”

The voice hummed.

Lu Zheng could see the crimson eyes disappearing again, as though the owner was closing it, then slowly opening them again.

It gazed at him, causing his soul to shiver in terror.

Yet, Lu Zheng maintained staring at those eyes, as the voice echoed again.

“I still have many questions, but you need to stay alive first. Do you want me to take care of that person?”

The thin crimson pupils left and gazed at his back.

He followed his gaze and his heart trembled to see a projection of his benefactor’s back, entering the treasure trove of his clan.

He was furious, even growling, as he heard the voice echoed again in a mischievous tone, “Do you want me to take care of that man for you?”

“Y-”

Lu Zheng was about to reply before shaking his head.

He turned around and met the gaze of the crimson eyes again.

This time, he was bolder and daring.

“I want to avenge him by myself, but I beg for you to give me power to do so. Even if I sold my soul to you, I wouldn't mind.”

“Hmm…” The voice hummed in interest, as it replied, “How about this? You acquire power by yourself as I will help you.”

The crimson eyes gazed on the projection again, as it continued, “You remember the two corpses you killed? Stab them with your nails. I will absorb their blood and I will help you recover your strength and even get rid of the poison.”

Lu Zheng’s eyes sparkled.

He did not dare to question his ways anymore and nodded.

“You better worry if you can move, first.”

Those were the last words he heard from him, as Lu Zheng regained his consciousness in reality.

***

When Lu Zheng woke up, he was assaulted by searing pain, escaping a grunting noise from his mouth.

He quickly tried to suppress the noise to avoid alerting the person inside, who he wanted to take revenge on, who was supposed to be his benefactor.

Soon, he felt numb all over his body, as he could not even find the energy to move his limbs.

He gritted his lips, attempting to awaken every fiber of his being as he searched for the corpse he killed not long ago.

To receive the mysterious voice’s blessings, he only had a simple task.

Stab his nails to the corpse.

Such a simple task yet appeared to be so difficult.

His blurry eyes swept to his surroundings, determining the position of the corpse based on what he remembered.

Finally, he could somewhat assume what he was seeing through his blurry vision was a corpse.

Hence, he moved his arms, but it only trembled before it froze.

Lu Zheng was furious.

How could his body fail to listen to his command?

However, he also acknowledged the fact it was suffering from the unknown poison.

He now had no choice but to forcefully move it.

‘Move! Move! Move!!!’

He kept screaming in his thoughts as he stared at his arms, which were quivering after he was trying to move them.

He exhaled and relaxed his muscles for a moment before taking a deep breath and attempting to move his arms again.

His face reddened, and so was his bulging cheeks, full of oxygen, as he was trying to move his arm.

Finally, he lifted his arms a milliliter from the ground, but it soon fell.

He gasped for breath.

‘For my sake. Move!’

He attempted once again, now veins popping out of his forehead.

He felt the adrenaline rush, discerning the energy returning to his body.

The body heard the distress call of its owner and thus did not hesitate to move its limbs.

Lu Zheng was supposed to smile in delight, but his face continued to contort in anger.

He was furiously trying to crawl towards the corpse, with his thoughts swallowed by the unending desire to take revenge.

For himself, for his mother, for his clan.

He recalled the time he made friends in a year.

They were just a child, playing innocently, proving who was better by fists, being scolded by the instructor, and making enemies with other groups of children.

He could remember his brothers, but he had a feeling that they had long ceased to exist.

After all, a single sight of an Azure Tide Clan’s disciples was quickly killed.

He knew too well the temperament of his brothers, the same as him, hot-blooded and too attached, especially to their clan.

If he was thinking and feeling the same thing as them, they should have long attempted to take revenge.

But with their meager strength?

It was futile against a clan that ruled a middle-sized city.

They might be able to kill one, two, or three external disciples by themselves, but would they be able to fight against tens, hundreds, or even a thousand of them?

No!

Hence, he knew that only through time and patience could he be able to take revenge.

It would only be feasible if he obtained the treasures of the clan.

However, he was betrayed.

He was too foolish to think he could still trust someone.

The world was too cruel.

He now believed there was no one, not anyone in this world, who would help someone without gaining benefits.

After all, would his supposed benefactor help him if it were not for the treasures of his clan?

Lu Zheng would not have suffered in the current circumstances.

He would have been smiling from ear to ear as he collected the treasure of the clan and cultivated it to become stronger, proving that the impossible could be possible through hard work.

As a result, he would have been able to repay the favor his benefactor did to him.

Such a future materialized in his head before coming here.

However, who would have thought…

“Who would have thought?” Lu Zheng barely mumbled those sentences as he gritted his teeth, crawling near the corpse.

When he finally arrived in front of it, he arduously raised his arm, his hand turned into a claw, as he growled.

‘Who would have thought that it was nothing but a fantasy?!’ He screamed in his mind as he could not dare make any noise.

At the same time, he did not hesitate to stab four of his nails into the arms of a fresh corpse.

As if he was not satisfied, he also pierced the nail on his thumb on the arm, closed his eyes, and thought,

‘Sir! I have finished the task you have given to me. Please give me power!’

***

Meanwhile, inside the consciousness of Lu Zheng, the mysterious voice had his full face shrouded by darkness.

He was closing his eyes while there was a projection in front of him, appearing like a film, playing the memories that Lu Zheng manifested as he was crawling.

Despite closing his eyes, the mysterious voice was aware of it, as he did not even need to open his eyes to watch it.

He only needed to feel it.

Soon, he received the call of Lu Zheng, and his thin, crimson eyes, like a predator, slowly opened.

Finally, apart from his eyes, there was a yellow curve opening upward.

There were four canine teeth, with two each from above and below inside the yellow curve.

A trace of a cold smile appeared on his shrouded face.

Suddenly, his body, which had not been blurred completely, saw a trace of his arm motioning to raise his hand.

The crimson sky brightly lit his hand, showing its cold-white skin as though it was lacking any blood.

Furthermore, his nails were yellow and long, with each end as sharp.

He pointed his index finger to the projection, and the world inside the consciousness trembled.