"Did you ever think, even for a second, that I'd love you?"

Xu Yantian had been a fool, believing her words, convinced her love was real.

Once an unrivaled genius, he had left everything behind, even his family, to elope with her. He worked tirelessly to gather enough spirit stones for their future together.

Now, he knelt broken on the ground, his meridians shattered, his source core ruptured.

And the one responsible was the very woman he'd given his talent to.

"Why…? I gave you everything. My body-refining pills, my cultivation talent…"

"Pftt…" His former lover sneered, spitting at him as she laughed.

To her, his love was like a fish dreaming it could soar through the sky.

She had only ever seen him as a stepping stone, a means to a brighter future. With his cultivation, she could join a prestigious sect, marry a prince, and rise above those she scorned.

And he was just another fool in her eyes.

"Any last words?" she asked, ready to end the life of the man who'd given her everything.

Shame, regret, and anger consumed Yantian. He'd cut all ties to his family for her, and now she would be the one to kill him.

With his last breath, he shouted, "Bai Yan Yan! If there's a next life, may the gods curse me if I ever love you again!"

Enraged, she plunged her blade into his chest. It was no ordinary weapon; it seemed to have been fused with primal chaos qi, a qi so dark and evil. all those who come in contact with it, either die or become a Chaos Beast.

She watched him fall lifeless to the ground, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. With a final sneer, she spat on his lifeless body and turned away, erasing him from her mind.

Thirty minutes passed. Silence filled the clearing.

An hour passed. Still nothing.

But in the third hour, the essence around Yantian's body began to stir.

The primal chaos qi reacted with his remaining qi. As the chaotic energy fused with his essence, his body was tempered beyond the mortal realm.

When Yantian finally stirred, he felt his body had transformed—it was as though he'd been reborn. His meridians, his source core, everything felt different.

He inspected his core. "It's… golden?" he whispered, quickly clamping a hand over his mouth to stay silent in the dangerous forest.

"It's golden…" he repeated, his voice trembling with awe.

Trying to contain his excitement, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. "I can't believe it. My source core, my veins, my meridians—even my martial heart. I now have the Heavenly Reverse Blood."

The Heavenly Reverse Blood was legendary, known to have belonged to five cultivators thousands of years ago.

Though it had no rank, it had the potential to evolve, though the method was lost to history. Only when one's inner world turned fully golden would the bloodline reveal itself.

Yet, this gift came with a price. Instead of the typical nine stages, those with this bloodline had to reach a tenth stage before advancing to the next realm.

But to Yantian, this didn't matter. All he cared about was one thing: revenge.

As he refined the chaotic qi within him, his meridians solidified. First, second, third—until all twelve of his meridians shone with a golden glow.

By the time he noticed, he'd climbed from the second stage of the Body Refining Realm to the eighth.

With his newly refined body and the power of the Heavenly Reverse Blood, his strength now rivaled that of a Soul Forging Realm cultivator.

When he opened his eyes, he brushed the dirt from his robes, combed the leaves from his hair, and rose to his feet.

He would return. He would have his revenge. And he would kill her.

**Three Days Later*

After days of traveling, Yantian reached the gate of his family's estate. After two years away, he was finally back.

At eighteen, he stood before his childhood home with mixed feelings of shame, regret, and longing.

How could his parents possibly forgive him? He'd stolen over 100,000 spirit stones to elope with a girl, only to return penniless and his cultivation shattered.

He had once been the son of the city lord, a respected prodigy who'd reached the True Qi Realm at sixteen. Now he was a fallen cultivator, a disgrace.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the gate. Silence followed, the seconds dragging on like years.

Finally, an old man with dark, kind eyes opened the gate. His hair, gray and long, fell to his elbows, his hunched frame comforting yet strong. It was Zhang Qingsong, his childhood caretaker—like a grandfather to him.

Yantian hesitated, unsure of what to say, but Zhang's warm presence wrapped around him. The old man stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

"I'm happy to see you again, young master Xu."

Those words, words Yantian thought he'd never hear again, brought tears to his eyes. Before long, both of them were crying in each other's arms.