Jin

Jin remained still, his gaze unwavering as he watched Alex leave, his slightly older form disappearing further into the darkness. “Everyone faces the consequences of their choices,” Jin murmured softly, his voice steady. “We’ve both been chosen to wield power that will make us targets.”

Jin breathed deep and considered the sheer difference of his new life. It had not been long since his rebirth ritual had succeeded.

Sixteen years of age—Barely a blink in the vast span of time that stretched across his two lifetimes. It felt as though only a short period had passed since the entire empires had fallen under his foot and his enemies had crumbled under his hand. But in reality hundreds of years existed between his death and rebirth-a fault within the ritual, perhaps. Jin recalled the thrill of his past life, how he had toyed with entire worlds and watched them crumble at his command, obliterated on a whim like sandcastles before the tide.

In that life his Dao of the heavens had turned legions into ashes and challenged the empire itself. They had called him a demon, and the title still pleased him—hadn’t he proven his mastery over the heavens themselves by tearing an emperor from his throne? "How futile," he muttered to himself. How futile was it that hey believed themselves indomitable despite him having proven otherwise. Now, those same worlds and cities, once united, lay divided among four rulers who had barely equalled a portion of his former strength.

He could still picture his past glories with startling clarity. After all, from his perspective it had only been less than a few decades ago— practically yesterday. Back then he had carried a name that was feared by all, a name that carried terror across the realms;

The Blood Seer Marshall.

Now reborn as a child. A teen with the wisdom of a destroyer.

Jin's thoughts turned to the latest subject to have caught his full attention. The new disciple, Alex.

Alex had once been a passing curiosity to him, little more than a solitary blade of grass pointing in a direction that was slightly different from the rest. A fleeting distraction, one of many and ba rely worth his attention. But the strange man joining the 1% of the Empire to gain a spirit beast core without suffering the usual adverse effects had captured Jin’s interest— slightly.

But defeating a creature of a much higher level of cultivation? Considering he only held a few basic manuals, his latest feat had altered Jin’s opinion of him altogether.

A first-level Qi gathering disciple defeating a ninth-level spirit beast was the kind of thing only heard of in stories and legends.

And without a world treasure at that.

To do so without a world treasure was simply unfathomable. He still remembered the awe that surged through him the first time his dantian absorbed the energy of a World-Treasure, the way his very cells had sung with power. Those treasures—capable of harnessing the mana of an entire world and converting it into physical reinforcement Qi—had made even the weak among them into juggernauts of physical might.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sensing the spirit beast’s death, he had thrown out the possibility of the mother tigress’s defeat by his hands as something of a joke, but Jin’s breath had nearly hitched when Alex had confirmed it. Jin sighed a breath filled with excitement. He had intended on a brief period of relaxation to grow his power, for the next few decades, or less. But encountering someone so promising so early in their journey had sparked his ambition.

Perhaps he would take over the empire much sooner than he anticipated.

Jin’s gaze lingered on the spot where Alex had vanished, and he found himself recalling his younger self—a boy of humble origins, stumbling upon the power and talent that would alter the course of his life. Alex was beginning to remind him of that path, a spark ignited by circumstances beyond his control, now drawn toward the potential of something far greater.

He wondered how far Alex could go.

Reaching for his Dao, Jin let his senses extend outward, feeling the pulse of his blood and the whisper of time that lingered there like an echo. Blood had always been his path. It was primal, the essence of all life, the thread that linked all existence. Through blood, he could understand a being, wield their vitality like a weapon, twist it into creations of his own making. And time—time was his forbidden lover, a mystery he had touched but not yet fully mastered. He had glimpsed its vast tapestry in moments of heightened clarity, felt the weight of potential and inevitability interwoven, but he had only been able to peer, never grasp.

Now, as he meditated, he reached for that tapestry again, his consciousness brushing against the delicate fabric of futures and pasts, each thread a fragile possibility. In his previous life, his control over time had been limited to visions, foreseeing the most likely outcomes. Yet he had sensed there was more, far beyond his reach, a path where one could do more than merely observe—perhaps even shape, bend, rewrite. But the deeper he had plunged, the more he’d sensed the universe’s resistance, as if existence itself recoiled from his ambition. Even his death, he suspected, had been a final act of resistance by that omnipresent force, preventing him from fully manifesting his vision. He peered into Alex's future and saw glimpses of what could happen next. But he didn't care for the immediate future. Jin wanted to see the possibilities of Alex's full potential. He glimpsed as far as his vision would go and saw...

Nothing.

Not even emptiness, or the absolute end. He had seen those things already, many times, in fact. This was different, new. The absence of information. Something within the realm of forms— the realm of the Dao, was blocking his vision. He could sense the future still running behind the block, like a clock unhindered.

Jin's blood ran cold. But he soon calmed down, realising that the interference stemmed from within the Dao, not without. This was different from the Jade Emperor he had killed so long ago. There was nothing to worry about. But still, if Alex's influence on the Dao could cause such a reaction, Jin would benefit from keeping him on his side. The benefits of keeping Alex alive were beyond counting. It could speed up his plans. It could even help him regain full access to his Dao and recover the parts of himself he had forgotten;

Like the secret of rebirth.

Perhaps a gesture would be in order—a symbol of goodwill, an acknowledgment of Alex’s potential.

And if Alex were to resist? Well, Jin had more than a few methods to ensure loyalty. His stores held treasures, techniques, artifacts of such potency that even the most hardened sect elders would kneel in awe, their resolve tempered by the sheer allure of what he could offer.