Myriad Mountains Border Lands, Blue Lotus River Free County, Small Lotus City.
Inside the Xu families' backyard.
In the dark night, a young man walked out of his room.
He stopped for a moment when he saw the ring on his finger, then took it off.
This action wasn't unusual for him, as he wouldn't always keep the ring on his finger.
After he walked out, he didn't move around much, just turning around his small room.
He stood there for several minutes, staring at the ground below, before he stopped hesitating.
Taking a stick on the side, he started drawing a certain symbol.
It was the eight trigrams with the earth as the focus.
He walked into the centre of the trigram, then knelt down towards the earth.
"O' mighty and generous earth! Your lowly servant Xu Liyun begs you for help!"
His voice was low, seemingly impossible to hear, but there was a slight glow on the earth's symbol.
The boy's eyes lit up as he continued "For two years I have suffered!
In the first year, my body suddenly stopped absorbing spiritual power – as if I've lost my spiritual roots! My family was worried about me and did everything possible to find a solution…
When the second year started, people began doubting me. Maybe I had done something for heaven to suddenly punish me? Maybe the fault wasn't with others but with me?
In my life, I have respected my ancestors, parents, siblings, family, teachers, even the master that hasn't yet acknowledged me…
I have no fault, yet I am punished!
Earth, I beg you, I won't be able to stand this any longer!
Please guide my little soul!"
The young boy was a bit dramatic, but from his looks, he was only around fourteen, an age where everything feels like the world would be destroyed the next day.
A small light flew out of the earth, it was earthy yellow and entered the boy's mind.
Eyes dimmed for a moment before recovering again.
The boy was hesitant – but thinking of his parents which suddenly started questioning him half a year ago, of his sister that stopped calling him elder brother… even of his fiancée that paid even less attention to him.
These thoughts made the boy's eye resolute – he kowtowed to the Earth symbol, hitting his head on the ground but seemingly feeling no pain.
"I accept the earths summons… let me enter the river of reincarnation once more! I allow the agents of earth to take over my body and… seek revenge!"
The boy didn't know why, but when he thought of the unjust feeling he experienced, he felt that he needed revenge.
He didn't realise at this moment that the revenge was based on what he would have experienced if he stayed there – not the current revenge.
After nine kowtows, the boys eyes seemed dead.
But, just a second later, a golden light rushed from the ground, entering the boys mind that had been prepared by the earthy yellow light from before.
The boy seemed to have lost all of his ability and couldn't move even when his eyes became lively.
Time passed and after the first hour, there seemed to be a slight crack from the depths of the mind – the earthy yellow light flew out and fell back into the earth.
The golden light on the other hand remained, closing the crack.
With full control, the boy stood up and looked at the ground below.
'No one told me that this is how protagonists reincarnate!' the golden light was perplexed.
'Or maybe this one is just special?
Really… a fourteen year old boy who lost his spiritual power two years ago, well, it's a cultivation world, which isn't difficult to guess based on the Earth Devil Palace…' the golden light couldn't really believe the situation.
But, trying to understand the matter, he continued thinking.
'So, this little boy Xu Liyun somehow learned a ritual that allowed him to communicate with the earth at great cost… it should be the earth that set its eyes on him, giving him this revelation.
In exchange for giving up his body, he will get his revenge… but this time, just looking at the situation, the boy probably got a lot more than just revenge.
First of all… isn't this the template of a protagonist?!
Losing spiritual power suddenly, a clan that started doubting you, a family that drops you the moment you lose worth, a talented fiancée who had an engagement since her birth, and then… the ring!
An heirloom of his late mother, the only person that really cared about him!
She was a simple commoner woman that seemed to have a cultivation family background, which allowed her to become a concubine in the Xu family.
This heirloom… it should be the reason why the family behind this boy's mother fell… at least part of the reason.
On top of this, the time this heirloom was given was exactly his twelfth birthday, just a few days after, his mother died of over exhaustion somehow.
A bit later, he began losing control of his spiritual power.
There are rumours outside that he and his mother are cursed.
After all, there are numerous arts, and cursing isn't too rare among them…'
The longer he looked at it, the more he felt that this was exactly the template of an abandoned protagonist who would go through untold hardships to survive and finally rise into the sky.
He looked weird at the ground, muttering 'You really know how to choose… you could have given me any kind of situation, but instead, what I got is this…
I don't know whether it's my fortune or misfortune…
After all, Liyun basically gave up right before "digging the gold", now I benefit from it.
Then again, it's really unjust to make a young teenager go through all those hardships.
It's fine if you stop thinking of him as a talent, even if other give up on him… but why is his own father turning on him like that too?
This was the real reason why Liyun broke down – his family, teacher, friends, all of them didn't matter too much.
But when even his father looked at him with disdain, he couldn't bear it no more and tried to ask the Earth for help.
Well, at least he took of the ring before leaving, else this wouldn't have succeeded at all!'