The Heaven Defying Academy was no ordinary academy.
While most students practiced sword techniques, spells, and alchemy in the outer fields and cultivation halls, there existed an inner sanctum that not even the elders dared to enter without permission—The Hidden Library.
This library wasn't made of bricks and stone.
It was forged from Dao Crystals, floating in the air in spiraling formation, creating an illusion of endless space. The moment someone stepped in, time slowed, and knowledge poured directly into the mind.
But only one door led there hidden beneath the Stone Lotus Pavilion, sealed with a technique known as Heaven's Forbidden Seal.
That day, the boy who had once begged for food, now known as Lin Feng, stood before the sealed door. His cultivation had already reached the Late Golden Core Realm—a miraculous rise that baffled even the instructors. Some whispered it was luck. Others murmured it was fate.
Only Dev Yadav, still disguised as a sleepy caretaker, knew the truth.
Lin Feng's eyes sparkled as he stared at the inscription glowing faintly: "Only those who carry the burden of the heavens may enter."
"I don't know what burden I carry," Lin Feng muttered, "but I feel something pulling me…"
As he touched the gate, the Dao Symbols flared violently. The seal rejected him once… then again… but on the third attempt, it cracked open with a hum that echoed through dimensions.
[Ding! Hidden Library Activated.]Welcome, Candidate of Heaven's Chosen Path.
Inside, Lin Feng gasped.
Thousands of floating scrolls hovered in the air, whispering ancient techniques:Nine Suns Devourer Technique, Void Lightning Emperor Sutra, Myriad Incarnations of the Celestial Dao, and even Primordial Beast Contracts.
Each one of them was enough to dominate a world.
But Lin Feng was drawn to only one scroll—unmarked, dusty, tucked behind ancient runes of time.
As he touched it, the room stilled.
A deep voice thundered:
"He who reads this bears the Will of the True Ancestor. The path ahead is no longer mortal. Choose—will you seek power for yourself, or to protect others?"
Lin Feng, after a pause, clenched his fists.
"…I will become strong enough to protect everyone. No one will live in fear like I did."
The scroll glowed, then exploded into golden light and surged into his body.
Far above, on the roof of the academy, Dev Yadav opened his eyes for the first time in weeks.
"He chose… protection," Dev whispered, a rare smile curling on his lips. "Then I must ensure the world won't crush him."
Behind him, cracks began forming in the sky above the academy.
The first Interdimensional Rift had awakened.