Chapter 1: Rebirth in a Cruel World
In the bustling city of Shanghai, under the dazzling lights of stardom, Lin Feng was a name that echoed in the hearts of millions. With his chiseled features, piercing eyes, and a smile that could melt glaciers, he was the idol of an era. Every drama he starred in shattered viewership records, every endorsement deal made headlines. Yet, beneath the glamour, Lin Feng carried a heart bound by a vow.
"Feng'er, love only one woman in this life," his mother had whispered on her deathbed, her frail hand clutching his. "Save your heart and body for your destined wife. Never taint your soul with fleeting desires." Lin Feng, barely sixteen then, had sworn to honor her words. He believed in love that transcended time, a sacred bond meant for one alone.
But such purity invited calamity.
She was a shadow in his life—a fan whose obsession grew into madness. Her love letters, drenched in perfume, arrived daily. Her gifts, extravagant and unsettling, piled up at his doorstep. Lin Feng, ever polite, rejected her gently, his heart unmoved. He had no room for her, for his mother's teachings were his guiding star.
One fateful night, under the dim glow of a streetlamp, she cornered him. Her eyes, wild with desperation, gleamed with a twisted love. "Why won't you accept me?!" she screamed, clutching a crumpled letter. "I gave you my heart!"
"Sister, my heart is not mine to give yet," Lin Feng said softly, hoping to calm her. "I seek my destined one."
Her face twisted into a mask of rage. "If I can't have you, no one will!" A flash of steel, a searing pain in his chest—Lin Feng staggered, blood pooling beneath him. The dagger in her hand dripped crimson as she fled into the night.
As his vision faded, Lin Feng's last thought was not of anger, but of regret. Mother, I failed to find her…
Darkness claimed him.
When Lin Feng awoke, he was no longer on Earth. His body felt strange—smaller, frailer, yet brimming with an unfamiliar energy. He lay on a carved wooden bed draped in silk, the air heavy with the scent of incense. Ornate tapestries adorned the walls, depicting dragons soaring through clouds. This was no hospital, no modern room. This was a palace.
Memories flooded his mind, alien yet vivid. He was no longer Lin Feng, the actor. He was Shi Feng, the Ninth Prince of the Shia Family, rulers of Qingyun Province in the Celestial Dominion—a world where cultivators defied the heavens, wielding powers that could shatter mountains and sunder seas.
Shi Feng, the Ninth Prince, was a name spoken with disdain. Born to a lowly servant girl, he was the unwanted son of Shi Tianhao, the lascivious patriarch of the Shia Family. His eight elder brothers, each born to a different mother, were prodigies of cultivation, their names revered across the province. They were also notorious playboys, their courtyards filled with concubines and debauchery. Shi Tianhao himself was a man of insatiable lust, his harem numbering in the hundreds.
Shi Feng's mother, Lian Xue, had been a peerless beauty, a servant in the Royal Palace. Her grace and purity had caught Shi Tianhao's eye, but her refusal to submit enraged him. In a drunken rage, he forced himself upon her, leaving her broken and pregnant. Shi Feng was born in shame, and Lian Xue, unable to bear the humiliation, withered away soon after his birth, her last words a plea for her son to live with dignity.
As these memories merged with Lin Feng's soul, a fire ignited in his heart. Hatred, pure and unyielding, surged through him. This family… these beasts… they destroyed my mother! His fists clenched, nails biting into his palms. Shi Tianhao, my so-called father, and those eight brothers… I will make you pay!
Yet, reality was cruel. Shi Feng's body was weak, his cultivation talent deemed trash. At sixteen, he lingered at the First Layer of the Qi Condensation Realm, while his brothers, the youngest of whom was eighteen, had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. In the Shia Family, strength was everything. Without it, Shi Feng was less than a servant in their eyes.
A knock on the door snapped him from his thoughts.
"Ninth Prince, the Patriarch summons you to the Grand Hall," a cold voice called. It was a guard, his tone dripping with contempt.
Shi Feng rose, his heart heavy but resolute. This is my new life. I will not live in shame. Mother, both on Earth and here, I will honor you. I will rise above these dogs and carve my own destiny!
The Grand Hall of the Shia Family was a monument to opulence, its golden pillars engraved with coiling dragons, its floor paved with jade. Shi Tianhao sat on a throne of black obsidian, his presence dominating the room. His face was handsome yet cruel, his eyes glinting with arrogance. Around him stood the eight princes, each exuding the aura of a cultivator far beyond Shi Feng's reach. Their gazes, filled with mockery, pierced him like knives.
"Shi Feng," Shi Tianhao's voice boomed, "you dare keep me waiting? A useless whelp like you should crawl here on your knees!"
Shi Feng's heart burned, but he suppressed his rage. He bowed stiffly, his voice steady. "Father, I am here."
The First Prince, Shi Hao, smirked. "Father, why bother with this trash? His mother was a mere servant, and he's no better. He shames our bloodline."
The Second Prince, Shi Lei, laughed. "Perhaps we should send him to the mines. At least there, he can be useful."
The others joined in, their taunts echoing. Shi Feng's hands trembled, but he recalled his past life—how he had faced paparazzi and critics with grace. These fools think they can break me? They know nothing.
Shi Tianhao raised a hand, silencing the hall. "Enough. Shi Feng, the Annual Clan Tournament approaches. If you fail to reach the Third Layer of Qi Condensation by then, you will be stripped of your title and banished to the outer sect. Do not disgrace me further."
Shi Feng's eyes flashed with defiance, but he nodded. "Understood, Father."
As he turned to leave, the Eighth Prince, Shi Yun, whispered mockingly, "Run along, servant's son. Maybe you'll find a ditch to die in."
Shi Feng paused, his back to them. A faint smile curved his lips. Laugh now, brothers. One day, you will kneel before me.
Outside the hall, Shi Feng gazed at the starry sky, the air tingling with spiritual energy. This world was vast, its secrets endless. He could feel the faint pulse of Qi in his dantian, weak but present. In my past life, I was bound by fate. In this life, I will shatter it. I will cultivate, grow stronger, and destroy those who wronged my mother. And one day, I will find her—the one destined to share my heart.
With newfound resolve, Shi Feng stepped into the night, unaware that the heavens had already begun to stir, sensing the rise of a new star in the Celestial Dominion.
To Be Continued
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