Southern Domain.
Yangzhou City, the Yun Family estate.
Inside a richly decorated bedroom in the estate, a youth with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes slowly opened his eyes.
"This is...? I, Su Qinghe, have actually been reborn! And reborn a hundred years later! Huh? The original owner of this body is also named Su Qinghe!"
After merging with the original owner's memories, Su Qinghe instantly gained an understanding of his current situation.
Su Qinghe was originally the young master of the Su Family, the premier family of the God Realm on the Divine Martial Continent. Blessed with monstrous talent, he became the youngest Tianxuan Realm expert on the Divine Martial Continent at the age of eighteen, shocking all directions.
However, during an expedition, Su Qinghe was afflicted by a deadly poison for which there was no cure.
Desperate to save his son, Su Qinghe's father, Su Family head Su Wuxie, charged into the illusory and ethereal Nine Heavens to seize a supreme divine crystal, intending to reshape Su Qinghe's body.
Yet just as Su Wuxie returned from the Nine Heavens heavily wounded, bringing back the divine crystal, he was ambushed by Su Qinghe's second uncle, Su Lie. Risking his life, Su Wuxie shoved the divine crystal into Su Qinghe's hands and told him to escape the Su Family. Unexpectedly, Su Lie pursued him relentlessly and destroyed Su Qinghe's dantian with a single palm strike.
Already afflicted with the deadly poison, Su Qinghe could only wait for the poison to spread through his entire body after escaping the Su Family.
On the verge of death, Su Qinghe intended to destroy the divine crystal, but he never expected that the divine crystal would be reborn along with him.
This matter had caused a sensation in the God Realm, startling countless factions. The premier family of the God Realm changing hands, and its top prodigy perishing prematurely—this was a momentous event rarely seen in a century.
"Father! I wonder how you are doing now? Even though you were severely injured, that old dog Su Lie shouldn't be able to kill you," Su Qinghe thought with worry in his heart.
The original young owner was actually the adopted son of Yun Tian, the head of the Yun Family in Yangzhou City, and also the youth prodigy of Yangzhou City, having reached the Third Layer of Life Palace Realm at the mere age of sixteen.
A Third Layer of Life Palace Realm cultivator at just sixteen years old was undoubtedly the top prodigy in Yangzhou City.
However, heaven is often jealous of outstanding talent.
Just a few days prior, when Yun Tian went to the Myriad Beast Mountain Range to seek a breakthrough, he accidentally encountered a Tier 4 demonic beast, the Crimson Flame Tiger. His dantian was shattered and he was left on the verge of death, which was why Su Qinghe was able to take over this body and revive.
From the original owner's memories, Su Qinghe learned that Yangzhou City was located in the Great Xia Kingdom within the southernmost region of the Divine Martial Continent. It was unimaginably far from the God Realm, lacking in cultivation resources, and the strongest expert in the Great Xia Kingdom was merely in the Tianxuan Realm.
"Young Master, you're awake!" Just as Su Qinghe's thoughts were racing, a joyous voice pulled him back to reality.
The speaker was Wan'er, Su Qinghe's maid, who was roughly the same age as him.
Hearing the voice, Su Qinghe looked over and saw a pair of expressive, blinking eyes, an adorable cherry mouth, and a slender, graceful figure that was quite charming.
"Wan'er, how long have I been unconscious?" Su Qinghe asked aloud.
"Young Master, you've been unconscious for three days. When you came back covered in blood that day, it really scared Wan'er to death. Now that I see you've woken up, Wan'er can finally rest easy," the young girl said, still lingering with fear.
"Right, where is Adoptive Father?"
Su Qinghe's adoptive father was none other than Yun Tian, the head of the Yun Family. Since he had merged with the original owner's memories, Su Qinghe would accept everything belonging to the original owner, including his affections.
"Young Master, after you fell unconscious, Master searched all of Yangzhou City for renowned doctors. Extremely worried, he has already come over seven or eight times. At the time, you remained unconscious while your body was completely normal, leaving the doctors helpless. They all said your condition was special and we could only wait for you to wake up."
Listening to the young girl's account, a warm current surged through Su Qinghe's heart, and a trace of anticipation welled up for this adoptive father he had never met.
"Wan'er, take me to see Adoptive Father." With that, Su Qinghe stood up.
"Ah, Young Master, your... your injuries are all better?" Wan'er asked, looking at Su Qinghe with a mix of surprise and doubt.
"No problem at all. This young master has suffered even worse injuries than this before," Su Qinghe said, a nostalgic look flashing in his eyes.
"Ah, when has the Young Master ever been injured before?" The young girl looked at Su Qinghe's expression in contemplation.
"Hey, Young Master, how come you feel somewhat different after waking up?" Wan'er asked aloud.
"Oh? Then tell me, Wan'er, how is this young master different?" Su Qinghe looked at the young girl and smiled faintly.
"Where... where it's different, Wan'er doesn't know either," the young girl said, somewhat flustered.
"Let's go."
With that, the two walked out of the bedroom, crossed a lush garden, and spotted a quaint, solemn hall—it was none other than the Yun Family's council hall.
Right now, in the center of the hall, a robust middle-aged man was pacing back and forth. His face looked as if it were chiseled from stone, radiating natural authority. This middle-aged man was none other than Yun Tian, the head of the Yun Family.
"Hmm? Qinghe?" Sensing the gaze from afar, Yun Tian raised his eyes to see a tall, slender, aloof youth with a slightly pale complexion slowly walking toward the council hall, while the maid Wan'er had stayed behind in place.
Joy welled up in Yun Tian's heart. He took two steps in three and hurried forward, saying, "Qinghe, you're finally awake! How are your injuries?"
"I am very well now, Adoptive Father." Su Qinghe looked at the man before him, and the face of Su Wuxie flashed through his mind in a blur. "Father, wait for me. I will definitely find you!" Su Qinghe felt deeply moved inside.
"Very well. Qinghe, your dantian..." Yun Tian's expression turned gloomy.
"Adoptive Father, rest assured. My martial path will not be constrained by this," Su Qinghe said indifferently, knowing what Yun Tian was worried about.
From once being the top prodigy of Yangzhou City to now having a shattered dantian—for a martial artist, losing one's dantian was no different from becoming a cripple.
"Qinghe, Father knows you've had high aspirations since childhood. Father will do everything in his power to reshape your dantian," Yun Tian sighed, a flash of worry and reluctance quickly vanishing from his eyes.
Even though Su Qinghe had fallen from his pedestal, Yun Tian had no sons of his own and had always treated Su Qinghe as his own flesh and blood since he was a child.
"Alright, Qinghe, your injuries have not yet fully healed, so you still need to rest more these next few days. As for other matters, leave them to your adoptive father." Seeing the deep sternness in Yun Tian's eyes, Su Qinghe knew that perhaps some discordant voices had arisen within the Yun Family due to his severe injuries.
"Adoptive Father need not fret. Three days from now, I will show up." Leaving behind a sentence that left Yun Tian baffled, Su Qinghe walked away directly.
Watching Su Qinghe's receding figure, Yun Tian vaguely felt that this adopted son was somewhat different from before. The former Su Qinghe was gentle and refined, but now the impression he gave Yun Tian carried a trace of aloofness.
"I heard the young master's dantian was shattered a few days ago, and he's become a cripple."
"Yeah, it was so hard for our Yun Family to finally produce the top prodigy of Yangzhou City, only for him to be reduced to a cripple overnight. It really makes one sigh."
Right now, a group of youths was discussing animatedly on the Yun Family's martial arts arena.
"Hmph, a prodigy who is already crippled is no longer a prodigy. The title of Yangzhou City's top prodigy is about time it changed hands."
The speaker was a handsome youth dressed in yellow brocade: Yun Nantian, the son of the Yun Family's First Elder. Aside from Su Qinghe, he was the strongest member of the younger generation in the Yun Family.