Frascoia Continent. A long time ago, many races lived on this continent, and it was the battlefield for the Celestials and the Demons.

Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Sea Folk, Beasts, Rockmen, Spirits, and many other phantasmal creatures lived on this continent.

However, the ancient war between the Celestials and Demons purged many of the minor races, and only the major ones survived. The strange part about the ancient war was that it was neither the Celestials nor the Demons who were victorious. Instead, it was the united force of the humans that enjoyed victory over the Celestials and the Demons.

The one who led them to victory was none other than the strongest warrior of the human race: Qin Feng.

Qin Feng became the founder of the largest empire in the world, known as the Great Qin Empire. This empire didn't just possess the greatest territory on the Frascoia Continent, but it was also a symbol of humanity's power!

It was spread all over the continent that as long as the Great Qin Empire remained standing, the Celestials and Demons could never invade the Frascoia Continent.

The Great Qin Empire's fall was necessary for the Demons or the Celestials to establish their foothold once again on this continent.

The Celestials remained connected to the Frascoia Continent by spreading their respective religions.

Meanwhile, the demons also created multiple portals and resided in their Underground Labyrinths, which had been spread all over the Frascoia Continent.

~~

Nearly six years earlier, the Kingdom of Jorailia split apart into two territories. The Zhongxing Kingdom and the Qishan Kingdom.

Both these kingdoms were fierce rivals as they tried to seize each other's territory to expand their own. Unfortunately, they soon realized the consequences of weak foundations in their respective territories.

They immediately signed a peace treaty for the next twenty years and were focused on setting a solid foundation that could withstand any difficulties for the next hundred years.

This was easier said than done since there were many factions in both nations. Moreover, the remnants of the Kingdom of Jorailia's Royal Family created a strong rebel group in both these countries.

This rebellion group was known as the Jorailian Revolutionary Army. The Zhongxing Kingdom was accustomed to calling this Jorailian Revolutionary Army: 'JRA'.

The JRA snuck its members into administration while these kingdoms were attempting to build a solid foundation.

It wasn't difficult since kingdoms had to recruit talented individuals to spread their control over the entire territory. The JRA held a solid foundation in these nations and used instilled their contacts into these kingdoms' administration.

These two kingdoms caught some spies, but JRA succeeded in its objective.

One of every fifty officials in these kingdoms was a JRA spy. Thus, JRA managed to extend its reach to all departments of these kingdoms.

Long Chen was also one such spy of the JRA. He lived in a town named Suqui. It was a small town on the southern side of the Zhongxing Kingdom.

At this moment, Long Chen was sleeping in his house.

Long Chen's eyes suddenly snapped open as he whispered, "…Did that technique work? Am I back?"

He looked around and observed his surroundings. It truly seemed like his old room.

Long Chen soon stood up and looked in the mirror.

He saw a man with silver, short yet silky hair revealing a round, warm face. Glinting blue eyes set elegantly within their sockets. Soft skin beautifully complements his nose and mouth and leaves a fascinating memory of his reckless luck.

He stood gracefully among others with his thin frame.

"Considering my physique at this moment, I should be 21 or 22 years old at this moment. I should find out what year it is from someone else."

"I should have 12 to 13 years until the great disaster. I must gather up my forces and prevent that Devil God from coming back to life!"

There was a sense of urgency within his beautiful blue pupils.

'…The Heavenly Discus managed to turn back time by 13 years. The Heavenly Discus spirit mentioned that it would require the next hundred years to recharge. I only have one shot at this, and I can't mess it up!'

It was clear that this Heavenly Discus had something to do with this time travel that Long Chen experienced.

"I should go out and gather some information."

Long Chen soon entered the bathroom and stripped naked. He was getting ready to take a bath before leaving the house.

He couldn't help but grow a bit emotional as he saw his smooth, scar-free skin. Those terrifying scars always reminded Long Chen of his failures.

"…I haven't committed those mistakes yet! I can do everything perfectly this time!"

He soon regained his calmness and finished taking a bath.

This season was rather hot and humid, so Long Chen pulled out a light shirt and trousers from his wardrobe.

Long Chen took a deep breath as he left his house.

Long Chen lived alone in this house. He was an orphan whose parents died in the war against the Glerian Kingdom nearly 22 years ago.

He lived in an orphanage until he was 11 years old before he was thrown out.

Long Chen started doing some jobs while studying side-by-side, like helping on the farm, moving stuff, and some other jobs.

At the age of seventeen, Long Chen cleared an entrance exam and became a clerk in prison. His task was to keep a record of the daily activities of the prisoners and ensure their attendance.

It wasn't a very reputable job, but he earned enough to live a happy life.

In reality, a part of this background information is false.

It was true that Long Chen was an orphan. He witnessed the Kingdom of Jorailia splitting into the Zhongxing Kingdom and the Qishan Kingdom at the early age of fifteen.

Long Chen lived in the Zhongxing Kingdom then and did not desire to change his location. He was relatively comfortable living in this town after so many years.

That year, the JRA was created and quickly recruited various individuals. They even taught many officials while training many individuals to create an army.

Long Chen's physique was tested, and it was revealed that he held a poor talent for fighting. Thus, the JRA decided to implant him into the Zhongxing Kingdom as an official.

Long Chen's role was straightforward and essential. He had to send a list of prisoners to the JRA members.

JRA required an official in prisons in case they had to contact a prisoner or free one.

Until now, Long Chen hadn't been ordered to conduct a prison break. The criminals sent to the Suqui Prison were unremarkable, and they couldn't enter the JRA's eyes.

Long Chen entered a store that sold various rare metals and materials.

"Greetings, Customer. What would you like to have?" The merchant spoke with a wide grin on his face.

He recognized Long Chen.

Long Chen observed all the metals in his shop and spoke with a short pause, "I want three hundred grams of Blue Quartz. How much will it cost?"

Three hundred grams of Blue Quartz meant three stones of Blue Quartz weighing a hundred grams each. Seven stones were currently on display.

"It will cost 5100 Ela. But since this is the first time the customer buys from my shop, I will give you a 30% discount. It will cost you 3570 Ela," The merchant spoke, all the while maintaining his smile.

Long Chen knew that the merchant was definitely earning a massive profit from this deal. He spoke, "Alright. But see if you can increase the discount since this won't be the last time I will be buying the Blue Quartz from you."

"This is already the maximum discount I can offer without earning from this deal. However, the price can be negotiated if the customer is willing to increase the quantity of the order."

"I see. What will be the discount? And what is the minimum quantity required to avail of that discount?"

"I can offer you a maximum of 40% discount if you place an order of 20 kilos or above of Blue Quartz," The merchant responded.

"I understand. For now, just pack these three hundred grams," Long Chen spoke. This three hundred grams of Blue Quartz was worth nearly three months of Long Chen's salary.

Fortunately, Long Chen had enough savings that he could afford these three hundred grams of Blue Quartz.

"So, what's going on these days? Anything new?" Long Chen asked the merchant while the latter was packing the three hundred grams of Blue Quartz.

The merchant instantly responded to Long Chen's question rather offhandedly, "It's the same old days. It's the sixth year of the Zhongxing Calendar, and the prices are increasing without any limits. Fortunately, the Zhongxing Kingdom has signed a trade deal with the Sinyalian Kingdom; it should improve things."

"Yeah. The Sinyalian Kingdom has become extremely prosperous ever since it took over the Glerian Kingdom's territory. Its land was extremely fertile and richly endowed with minerals and alloys," Long Chen spoke with a look of admiration in his eyes.

The merchant was a bit startled. He didn't think that the Sinyalian Kingdom had benefited greatly from their acquisition of the Glerian Kingdom's territory.

"Didn't they lose much of their original territory to the kingdoms in the west?" The merchant spoke while rolling his eyes.

Long Chen had to control himself from responding. In reality, the Sinyalian Kingdom was prepared to lose that territory, and in the next ten years, that land wouldn't give out any resources.

Long Chen fell into deep thought as he recalled information about the Sinyalian Kingdom from his previous life.

'David Vermillion, the Monarch of the Sinyalian Kingdom, is truly a rare talent. By the time of the great calamity, he broke through to Emperor Rank and was responsible for killing many Demon Emperors. Until that Devil appeared, the demons couldn't actually break into the Sinyalian Kingdom's borders all because of the countermeasures set up by David Vermillion. Unfortunately, Zhongxing Kingdom wasn't as prepared…We fell after the fifth wave.'

Long Chen clenched his fists with great anger. All his friends, including his wife, were forced to sacrifice themselves to the Heavenly Discus so that he could reverse the time and return to save them from that calamity.

'Since it's the sixth year of the Zhongxing Calendar, it means I am 21 years old. This is good. I have nearly thirteen years to prevent that great calamity from occurring.'

"…I shall take my leave now," Long Chen spoke while holding the Blue Quartz in a thin and elastic package.

"Thank you for your patronage. Please choose this shop if you wish to buy metals. I don't mean to brag, but I can guarantee the best quality metals for the customer," The merchant spoke with a grin.

Long Chen didn't respond back. He left the shop in a hurry and returned to his house.

Long Chen naturally had a reason to buy this Blue Quartz. As of this moment, he hadn't even begun training his Ardor. In fact, Long Chen didn't even possess Ardor at this moment.

He couldn't be blamed since the Zhongxing Kingdom kept a tight hold over its cultivation techniques.

Fighting techniques or skills were still a bit common, but cultivation techniques were exceedingly rare. And it was impossible to acquire even the poorest quality cultivation technique.

In the entire Zhongxing Kingdom, only the JRA possessed the capital and cultivation techniques to train warriors from common families. And this JRA judged that Long Chen didn't possess any fighting talent.

Even the JRA couldn't be blamed. They possessed limited resources, manpower, and time. They couldn't be bothered to spend those on some hopeless warriors.

However, in his previous life, when the demons were let loose, the Zhongxing Kingdom suddenly made the knowledge of cultivation arts public.

Even an orphan like Long Chen could acquire the highest grade of cultivation technique. This was all because the Zhongxing Kingdom urgently required high-rank warriors who could deal with the demons.

If not for facing such an urgent threat, they would never undertake such an action.

During that time, Long Chen cultivated a technique known as the Nine Suns True Scripture. He could cultivate this technique during the daytime only, but his speed of cultivation was incredibly quick.

In just three years, Long Chen managed to reach the 4 Star Rank from no cultivation. However, there was a massive risk in cultivating this technique.

Long Chen's vitality was slowly burned while he cultivated this technique. In a sense, his vitality was transforming into his cultivation.

Only after reaching the 4 Star Rank did Long Chen realize this issue. He had almost exhausted his vitality and could never reach the 5 Star Rank.

Long Chen began to look for a method to counter the effects of the Nine Suns True Scripture. During that time, he found many legacies. However, Long Chen realized that if he wanted to change his cultivation technique, he would have to cripple himself.

Long Chen might have considered restarting his cultivation if it was a peaceful time. However, the entire world was flooded with demons after the great disaster. He couldn't cripple himself in that situation, so he never managed to cultivate any of those great techniques.

But now that he was cultivating from the beginning, he was determined not to choose the Nine Suns True Scripture.

Although this technique was incredibly powerful and Long Chen would be much stronger than those of the same rank, he still decided to give up on it.

He realized that pure power couldn't solve the problems in his previous life. Even if Long Chen cultivated fanatically from now on, he could barely reach the 6 Star Rank in thirteen years.

Moreover, Long Chen's true motive wasn't to increase his power. He knew it wouldn't have much use during that great disaster.

Long Chen's ambition was far greater. He wanted to unite the entire Zhongxing Kingdom and put up a combined front against the demons.

It would be better if he could bring the Qishan Kingdom to the fold. But that was easier said than done.

Thus, Long Chen decided to focus only on the Zhongxing Kingdom for now.

However, uniting the entire Zhongxing Kingdom would require power, so Long Chen couldn't choose an average cultivation technique. At the least, the speed of cultivation had to be extremely quick.

"Moonlit Phantasm True Scripture!"