Ziang Empire. Han Lian Village, Jian Ning Mountain.
This mountain was the furthest place from the Ziang Empire; even beyond the mountain, many demonic beasts roamed, making it so that no one dared to approach it.
In this village, there were many dark slaves unknown to the Ziang Emperor. The village was so far from the Imperial Territory that it would not be detected by anyone outside the mountain.
The sound of whips echoed everywhere; many slaves died on the spot. This place was a mining site for yin moon spiritual stones, which were often used by demonic cultivators for cultivation.
The slaves there died from being exposed too often to the evil spiritual energy.
However, one young man in the village was different. He was unaffected when dealing with the energy from the yin moon spiritual stone.
"Good work as usual, Lin Jiang," said the mining foreman, laughing happily because Lin Jiang was very good at his job.
Lin Jiang was the name of the young man who was unaffected by the energy of the yin moon spiritual stone. He was born in that village. At the age of five, he did not know that his parents had died from being whipped repeatedly.
Since his parents died, he had been cared for by the old grandmothers in the village who usually looked after orphaned babies.
"Yeah, whatever," said Lin Jiang with a flat face, ignoring what the foreman said.
"As usual, you're always cold. It's almost lunchtime; go eat and let others continue your work."
Without saying a word, Lin Jiang immediately left the mining site and walked away from the foreman.
On the way, the smell of corpses permeated the air; it had become the characteristic scent of the village. Scenes of starvation and weeping had become daily occurrences. Bones were scattered everywhere.
Everyone living in the village had no other choice but to mine to survive and get food.
Lin Jiang no longer cared about others. He always prioritized his rights and did not care about the suffering of others.
"Hah, what an unlucky fate for the babies born in this place," he murmured as Lin Jiang walked past the place where the babies were being cared for. "That place doesn't even deserve to be called a baby shelter. Is fate real? If it is, why does it give such a bad destiny to this village?"
Lin Jiang sighed heavily, bowed his head for a moment, and then looked up at the sky with a face of utter resignation. "Is fate fair? Why do the good and the evil have different destinies? The evil will always trample the good, and the good will continue to be used until the end of their lives."
Lin Jiang finally arrived at a shabby place. There was a wooden sign that was old but still had some legible writing that read 'Food Queue.' Many people were queuing to get food. The food didn't even deserve to be called decent food.
The food looked like animal feces. They all had no choice but to eat it to survive. Lin Jiang was used to eating it; perhaps those who tried it for the first time would immediately vomit.
While they were eating, a demonic cultivator passed by. Everyone jolted up and paid their respects. The demonic cultivator was Bai Zing; he was the owner of the place and was known as a cruel dictator in the village.
Bai Zing looked at them all, and there was one person who did not pay his respects. "Hey, you! Stand up! I am the owner of this place; why don't you respect me?!"
The person stood up and turned to face Bai Zing. His gaze was flat and indifferent to what Bai Zing said.
That person turned out to be Lin Jiang. He was already too sick of the rules in the village.
"Who are you? Just disturbing my meal," he said, turning back and sitting down to continue eating.
"How dare you!" shouted Bai Zing, annoyed, his hand clenching tightly, wanting to kill him immediately.
"Why wouldn't I dare? We are all humans living in the same world; the only difference is that you are a cultivator, and I am just an ordinary human," said Lin Jiang, continuing his lunch.
All the slaves were shocked by Lin Jiang's audacity to speak like that to Bai Zing.
"Lin Jiang, stop it and apologize to the owner before something happens to you," said an old woman who had taken care of him since he was five years old.
Lin Jiang sighed heavily, stopping his lunch. He stood up again, turned around, and stared sharply at Bai Zing.
"He is not fate or a god. How can he always do whatever he wants? Even God himself wouldn't want to see the suffering that happens in this village."
"Lin Jiang, just apologize quickly!" shouted the other slaves who wanted this matter to end as soon as possible.
The atmosphere became increasingly tense; the wind began to blow strongly, causing leaves to fall.
"You!" Bai Zing growled at Lin Jiang. "I will make sure you have a quick death!"
Bai Zing shot forward quickly, tearing through Lin Jiang's body, and leaving a gaping hole.
Lin Jiang's eyes widened as he received the attack; blood poured from his mouth. Bai Zing's hand was covered in Lin Jiang's blood. Bai Zing withdrew his hand, turned around, and slowly walked away from Lin Jiang's body, which had fallen to the ground with a large pool of blood.
"This is the consequence of daring to go against me!" Bai Zing exclaimed, pointing at Lin Jiang's body, showing his cruelty to the other slaves.
"Now all of you go back to mining, and there will be no dinner tonight!" he shouted at the slaves present.
Leaves slowly fell onto Lin Jiang's body. Everyone had left and continued their respective tasks, leaving behind the unfortunate event of that day.
Night had fallen; the slaves went to rest and sleep. The night was calm and quiet. Suddenly, a bright light shone on Lin Jiang's corpse. The light slowly lifted his body. Suddenly, the wounds on Lin Jiang's body healed and rejoined.
The light came from the full moon, and the power originated from the yin moon spiritual stone. Lin Jiang's heart began to beat again slowly. His eyes opened, seeing himself absorbing something strange.
"What is happening?" said Lin Jiang, feeling a little dizzy and confused by the previous events.
"Am I alive again?" he wondered, confused about what was happening.
"You have finally awakened your true power, Lin Jiang," echoed a voice similar to a woman's, but no form was visible.
"Who are you?" asked Lin Jiang, confused. "How do you know my name? And how could I come back to life?!"
A woman descended from the moonlight. She wore a black blindfold, her long hair was partially tied up, and her clothes were adorned with ornaments of night stars.
"Calm yourself, Lin Jiang. I am the Goddess of the Night. You possess a unique body, so I will choose you as my successor."
"What do you mean by successor? I don't want to be anyone's successor if it's only to be exploited," said Lin Jiang to the Goddess of the Night.
"Rest assured, Lin Jiang, I have no other intention than to give you this power," the Goddess of the Night's face became slightly nervous.
"In this world, there is no such thing as free goods, let alone this great power. Quickly tell me what you want."
The Goddess of the Night exhaled heavily; her face became slightly pale. "Alright, since you are too clever to be deceived, I will tell you the truth. There has been chaos in the realm of the gods. There is a cursed god who wants you as a pawn to destroy the world, so I hurried here and chose you first before that god."
Lin Jiang chuckled softly, looking up at the night sky and the stars. "So this is the fate I get? Will I always be someone's pawn? Do I not have the freedom to live? Hahaha. Fate, you truly have no fairness towards everyone."
While the two of them were talking, Bai Zing suddenly woke up with glowing eyes, sensing a strong aura in the place where he had killed Lin Jiang.
"This aura?! Could it be that a cultivator from the Empire knows this place?!"