"N-No... NO!" Lu Feng was jolted awake by a nightmare, cold sweat running down his back.
The humiliating memory of being tied to a pole and whipped by the rising prodigy of evil sects had etched itself deep into Lu Feng's eclectic collection of past lives.
And much to Lu Feng's dismay, reincarnation doesn't magically delete traumatic and humiliating memories.
In one of his lives, Lu Feng was tasked with amassing a laundry list of evil techniques and macabre artifacts, igniting his evil streak. Twenty years later, he was elected President of the "Chamber for the Welfare and Promotion of Evil."
The sect he founded became the ruthless overlord of all evil sects.
However, Lu Feng neglected his cultivation in favor of completing the system's tasks. With a streak of bad luck, all the randomly unlocked skills proved to be utterly useless or mere gimmicks.
A small fry he let go when destroying his rival sect went on to have heaven-defying luck. With the help of an old ancestor in his ring, he became a peerless expert of the evil faction.
The day of reckoning soon came, and Lu Feng was ousted as the President of the "Chamber for the Welfare and Promotion of Evil." To exact his revenge, he overpowered Lu Feng, tied him to the flagpole, and whipped him until Lu Feng passed out, all in public view with scores of onlookers.
Lu Feng was later rescued by a prodigy from his sect. Unable to endure such humiliation, he handed over the sect to that prodigy and disappeared.
Lu Feng reemerged only after several years, with a new name and appearance. Ever since, the occasional nightmare of the whippings followed Lu Feng across lives and reincarnations.
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After an unsuccessful attempt at self-hypnosis to erase the humiliation, Lu Feng realized he had napped a little too hard, and it was already past midday.
Beep. A familiar sound interrupted Lu Feng's contemplation.
Achieved Breakthrough to Origin Level.
New Information Deduced:
You can now access the space ring.
You can now fly with the aid of a sword.
A stream of information flooded into Lu Feng's mind, detailing the methods for controlling the space ring and flying on a sword. They bore striking resemblance to techniques he had used in previous lives. With his wealth of experience and memories, he only needed to acquire a sword to master the art of flight.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Visibly excited, Lu Feng eagerly delved into exploring the contents of the space ring, a grin spreading across his face.
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Baihu City, Northern Lands, Godsfall Continent.
Baihu City may be small by continental standards, but its wealth and opulence more than compensated for its size.
The snowy roofs and hillsides provided a picturesque backdrop to the city's lavish buildings adorned with golden plaques and intricate decorations.
Residents, dressed in luxurious robes, enjoyed the comfort of numerous hot springs scattered throughout the city, offering respite from the winter chill.
In this winter paradise where anything green seldom grows, people indulged in vegetables, fruits, fish, and meats fresher and greener than those found in the sunny Eastern Lands, renowned as the land of plenty.
Such was the influence of wealth, and Baihu City stood as one of the wealthiest locales on the entire Godsfall Continent.
At the heart of the city stood a grandiose mansion, rivaling the Holy Palace found in any city across the continent.
This impressive structure was none other than the Baihu Palace, owned and established by the Baihu Clan, the namesake of Baihu City.
Unique among cities on the continent, Baihu City was wholly owned, controlled, and operated by a single organization.
In any other city, the presence of a Holy Palace, the leading faction of the Godsfall Continent, was a given— Not so, for Baihu City. The Baihu Palace served as the ultimate authority in this winter paradise.
Within a serene chamber of the Baihu Palace, Patriarch Baihu Zhaoyun and his son, Baihu Yunchang, observed a solemn silence. It marked the anniversary of the deaths of Baihu Yunfei and his wife, Mingxia.
Yunfei, Zhaoyun's eldest son and Yunchang's brother, was remembered on this somber occasion.
Upon exiting the room, the chief guardian of the Baihu clan awaited them with urgent news.
"We have information about Young Master Ming..."
A look of surprise and anticipation flashed across the faces of Baihu Zhaoyun and Baihu Yunchang.
Ten minutes later, in the central hall, an uproarious guffaw resounded through the chamber.
"Ming'er is definitely alive!! No one could have accessed the ring other than him. It has a blood seal, even if it was forced open, the ring would have self-destructed!"
"Yes, Master. Previously, the first young master was too far away to be located by his token, but now with his ring being activated, we should be able to locate him. His soul lamp, which was flickering and on the verge of extinguishing, has also rekindled and is glowing brighter than before."
"Good! Good! Good! Being in limbo for the last few years has been eating at my soul... If Ming'er died, how could I dare to face Yunfei and Mingxia in the afterlife... Thankfully, we can be sure he's okay. What else do we know?"
"That's pretty much it. By my estimation, Young Master should be somewhere in the Eastern Lands... We'll have to track him to be sure. Even though the assassin self-destructed as a result of our interrogation, we found that the assassin was a soul cultivator.
"That's how he was able to get close enough in the first place. There's a high chance Young Master's memory will be incomplete or even totally wiped out."
After a brief moment of deliberation, Baihu Zhaoyun heaved a sigh. "No matter, even if all his memories were wiped out, for Ming'er to survive the assassination of an Empyrean Soul cultivator is already the blessings of our ancestors..."
With a solemn expression, Zhaoyun gave a command. "Li Wei, take the clan guards and find my grandson. This time, even if it's someone from the Holy Palace interfering with the matter, cut them down. We've shown enough restraint by not waging a war on them. Go."
Li Wei, the chief guardian of the Baihu clan, turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished.
A few moments later, a large procession of black-clothed figures flying away from the Baihu Palace caught the attention of everyone in Baihu City. The general populace, unaware of the happenings, could only speculate that some sect or clan was about to have a very bad day.
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