"Sikong Jing, you were the Invincible God General of the Great Shang Dynasty, an Alien Surname King."
"You deemed your achievements lofty and did something worse than a beast to Ninth Princess Ruyu. Now, you are demoted to a commoner and exiled to Yunzhou, never to be employed again!"
In the remote borders of Great Shang, within the boundaries of Yunzhou!
From inside a thatched hut, a heaven-shaking roar erupted, "I, will not accept this!"
Inside the hut, a man in his early twenties fiercely sat up from his straw mat, his teeth clattering violently. However, his complexion was deathly pale, as if he were severely ill.
He was once the Invincible God General of the Great Shang Dynasty, a side-by-side prince, Sikong Jing!
At twelve, he joined the Great Shang Army.
At fifteen, with only eight thousand wounded soldiers, he quelled a million northern bandits and was appointed General.
At seventeen, he ventured deep into enemy territory alone and rescued the Emperor Yang Tianmo, who was on a personal campaign, hence he was appointed the First General of Great Shang.
At nineteen, he led his troops to quell the rebellion of the Seven Countries, slaying countless enemies and was appointed the Invincible God General, a side-by-side prince!
His military exploits were unparalleled, making him the greatest general in the eternity of Great Shang!
Time froze at that moment.
When Sikong Jing entered the Great Shang Imperial City with the heads of the kings of the Seven Countries, he was met with Emperor Yang Tianmo's sword.
At the victory banquet, Sikong Jing was poisoned and thrown onto the bed of Ninth Princess Ruyu.
When Ruyu woke up, her hair was disheveled, her clothes disarrayed, and her face streamed with tears, making her look pitiable and lovely.
On the spot, Sikong Jing was thrown into the Heavenly Prison, Emperor Yang Tianmo personally gouged out his Dantian, shattered his meridians, and the very next day, he was shackled and exiled to Yunzhou, falling from a Divine General to a prisoner in less than a day.
"Wow!"
Inside the hut, Sikong Jing spurted a mouthful of fresh blood that soaked into the straw mat.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand and hoarsely said, "Yang Tianmo, you are ruthless, just with a sentence about being too proud of my achievements, you destroyed me."
While in the Heavenly Prison, Yang Tianmo smiled and patted his face.
"Sikong Jing, at the age of nineteen you were made an Alien Surname King. Are you planning to take my throne next?"
"Thus, you had to be destroyed!"
At this moment, Sikong Jing said again, "Ruyu, you are cruel, our past vows have turned into accusations of my beastly behavior."
Ninth Princess Ruyu, beautiful as her name suggests, an unrivaled beauty."
She was recognized by Great Shang as the foremost beauty, who had repeatedly shown favor towards Sikong Jing before, vowing to marry no other but him.
What he got in return was still a sentence in the prison.
"I, Ruyu, a Princess of Great Shang, and you Sikong Jing, a mere commoner, you think you are worthy of me?"
"Your Dantian, your Martial Arts Talent, I will give to the man who truly deserves them."
With that, Ruyu took the Dantian extracted from Sikong Jing from Emperor Yang Tianmo's hands, laughing coquettishly as she turned to leave, not sparing Sikong Jing another glance.
"Creak..."
Just as Sikong Jing was recalling this overwhelming hatred, the broken door of the hut was pushed open.
A graceful figure entered, carrying a bowl of medicinal soup.
Her figure was delicate and beautiful, yet her face was covered with a thick black veil, making it impossible to see her features.
"Ah? You're awake." The woman, seeing Sikong Jing sitting up, exclaimed without thinking.
The next second, seeing the blood at the corner of Sikong Jing's mouth, she hurriedly said, "You're spitting blood? Are you alright?"
In three steps, she reached Sikong Jing, took out a white handkerchief, and gently wiped his mouth. Her boneless, delicate hands softened Sikong Jing's vengeful eyes slightly.
"Miss, who are you? Where am I?" Sikong Jing asked.
The woman's hand paused slightly, her eyes involuntarily filled with sorrow and shyness as she softly replied, "Have you forgotten? My name is Su Yuexi, and I am now your wife."
Sikong Jing was startled. Wife? What a foreign title.
His memory quickly unfolded. When he was shackled and exiled to Yunzhou, an old eunuch from the Great Shang Dynasty had also hurried, asking the Lord of Yunzhou in front of Sikong Jing.
"Within Yunzhou, who is the ugliest woman?"
Shortly thereafter, a masked woman was brought before the Old Eunuch, and she was indeed Su Yuexi standing before him.
At the scene, Old Eunuch harshly removed her veil and the terrifyingly ugly face greatly pleased him. He immediately announced the betrothal of Sikong Jing to Su Yuexi and left with a big laugh.
At the same time, Sikong Jing vomited blood and fainted, unconscious even now.
Seeing Sikong Jing in a daze, the somber shade in Su Yuexi's eyes deepened as she said, "I'm sorry, if you find this title unsuitable, then I shall not mention it again."
Sikong Jing snapped back to reality, giving a bitter smile, "There's nothing about suitability, how long have I been asleep?"
To him, beauty or ugliness no longer mattered. What use was Yan Ruyu, whose beauty was heavenly but had a heart as venomous as a viper's?
As long as someone truly cared for him, Sikong Jing would repay them a hundred, a thousand-fold.
Su Yuexi replied, "It has already been five days."
Five days had passed, Sikong Jing looked at his neatly dressed attire and the clean straw beneath him, understanding that during these five days, he had been carefully tended to by Su Yuexi, and warmth surged within his heart once more.
In his mind, fragments of the memories from these days faintly surfaced.
Su Yuexi changing his clothing, wiping his body, feeding him water, meals, and medicine, taking meticulous care of him...
Across from him, Su Yuexi could no longer bear Sikong Jing's gaze and, in a fluster, set the medicine soup on the wooden table, saying, "I have other things to attend to, I must go out now. Can you drink the medicine soup by yourself?"
Sikong Jing nodded, watching as Su Yuexi hurriedly left.
Looking at the medicine soup on the wooden table, he gave a bitter smile and said, "I, Sikong Jing, am now a broken man, how could a mere common medicine soup cure me? Yet, I am not resigned to this!"
He strenuously sat up cross-legged, attempting to mobilize the True Qi within his body, but his Dantian was gone, his meridians shattered, he had nothing left!
Whoom!
Suddenly, the fresh blood he had just spit out on the straw mat lit up with a blood-red glow.
In the blink of an eye, the light intensified and solidified into a translucent Blood Pearl.
Even as a broken man, Sikong Jing could still feel an immense, oppressive aura emanating from within the Blood Pearl.
Sikong Jing's face filled with disbelief, this was definitely not just his blood.
The next moment, a cold, vast voice sounded in his mind, "Swallow the Blood of Ten Thousand Beasts, and you shall become the Master of Ten Thousand Beasts!"
Sikong Jing's body shook tremendously, his eyes widening, "Who?"
"Swallow the Blood of Ten Thousand Beasts, let the beast blood boil, be reborn anew, dare you? Dare you?"
The voice, vast as before, seemed to be provoking Sikong Jing, also carrying an undeniable authority!
Sikong Jing fixed his gaze on the Blood Pearl, then asked again, "With beast blood boiling, am I still human?"
"Dare you? Dare you?" The voice did not answer but continued to urge.
Crack!
Amidst his hesitation, a sudden loud lashing sound came from outside.
"Ah..." Su Yuexi screamed as she flew into the hut, immediately sending straw flying and the door bursting open.
A wild woman stepped in, grabbing Su Yuexi by the collar, her features fierce, "Ugly freak? A pig is missing from the Su Family Pig Farm, did you slaughter it to feed your sickly husband?"
With that, the wild woman pointed at Sikong Jing on the straw mat.
Su Yuexi struggled to shake her head, "I did not."
Crack!
The wild woman slapped Su Yuexi's face again, viciously saying, "Still dare to say no? Apart from you, the ugly freak, who else dares to steal pigs from the Su Family Pig Farm?"
A drop of fresh blood fell from Su Yuexi's thick veil, as she desperately shook her head, "It really wasn't me."
Sikong Jing witnessed this scene, his eyes suddenly turning blood red.
Wanting to intervene, but his body wouldn't respond, his mind still filled with the vast voice chanting, "Dare you? Dare you?"
Suddenly, Sikong Jing roared to the heavens, "What is there not to dare!"
Grabbing the Blood Pearl, he swallowed it in one gulp, and inside his body... the beast blood boiled!