At dawn, a ray of sunlight rose from the east, crossing the undulating mountain ranges and shining down on the ancient city of Cloud City, nestled at the foot of the mountains.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Early in the morning, a teenage boy, with his hands wrapped in thick cloth and his thin upper body bare, stood under a black pine tree over ten meters tall in the martial courtyard of Cloud City, practicing his punches.
Heavy echoes reverberated around the black pine tree. After prolonged striking, the tree bark had collapsed into a large dent, and fragments mixed with traces of blood scattered in the air.
Crimson blood trickled from the jagged crevices of his battered fists.
"My strength isn't enough. After over a year of rigorous training, why does my strength remain stagnant?" The boy, with crimson-red eyes and sharp, chiseled facial features, bit his lip and muttered to himself with frustration, "Am I destined to be a failure because I don't have a spirit beast?"
"No! I can't give up. I refuse to believe that even if I push all my potential to the limit, I still can't break through the limits of my body."
Thinking of his adoptive father, who treated him like a son but was now resting beneath the earth, the boy's determination grew even stronger. Clenching his injured fist tightly, he continued practicing his punches.
The boy's name was Yin Tianxuan, a disciple of the Yin family, one of the four great families of the Verdant Serpent Kingdom. However, he was not a direct descendant of the Yin family but an abandoned child they had taken in.
Although Yin Tianxuan's status as an adopted child was unusual, he had once brought pride and glory to the Yin family. At the age of six, during a talent test, he was found to possess an astonishing sixth-grade talent, which shocked the entire Verdant Serpent Imperial City.
In the Verdant Serpent Kingdom, the majority of people lacked the talent for cultivation, and a sixth-grade talent had not appeared in the kingdom for centuries.
It could be said that if everything had gone smoothly, Yin Tianxuan, with his sixth-grade talent, would have undoubtedly entered a sect to cultivate, becoming someone of great importance, with a future full of endless possibilities.
It was precisely because of Yin Tianxuan's astonishing talent that the Ji family, another one of the four great families of the Verdant Serpent Kingdom, was willing to take a risk and form a marriage alliance with the Yin family. They arranged a betrothal between their family's little princess, Ji Jiuyue—who possessed a fifth-grade talent—and Yin Tianxuan.
But fate played a cruel joke on Yin Tianxuan.
Though, Fate, like a spiteful puppeteer, yanked the strings with a cruel smirk, playing a cruel joke on Yin Tianxuan, turning dreams into a tragic tragedy.
At the age of thirteen, during his soul beast awakening ceremony, it was shockingly discovered that his soul was incapable of forming a soul beast—a phenomenon so rare it only occurred once in a century.
While having sixth-grade cultivation talent promised Yin Tianxuan a glorious future, on the Soul Continent, mere talent simply wasn't enough.
Only by fusing one's talent with their soul to form a soul beast could one embark on the path of extraordinary cultivation and become a Soul Master.
Talent merely determined the speed at which a soul beast could absorb soul power to grow. Without a soul beast, no amount of talent mattered.
Then Yin Tianxuan's life plummeted into despair, painting halos into jester's hats, only for the stage to collapse beneath him when tragedy dealt another hand. His adoptive father, who had raised him since childhood, passed away under mysterious circumstances.
Adding insult to injury, Yin Tianxuan was expelled from the Yin family, disowned, and cast out of his home.
Time continued to pass, as Yin Tianxuan's clenched his teeth and pushed himself to the limit in training, Yin Tianxuan's face turned deathly pale, as his sweat mixed with the mist in the morning air, blurring into one.
Feeling his body on the verge of collapse, Yin Tianxuan was forced to stop his practice, breathing heavily as he tried to recover.
"Yin Tianxuan's, you're still training so recklessly? Do you still refuse to accept your fate? Pushing your limits like this—are you doing it all for an empty reputation? Without a soul beast, you're destined to remain an ordinary person."
At that moment, a woman appeared behind him. She wore a flowing white dress adorned with floral patterns, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders. Her skin was pale and flawless, and her frosty tone matched her cold, striking beauty.
"I'm no longer a member of the Yin family. My life and death are none of your concern," Yin Tianxuan replied calmly, raising his head slightly to glance at her before speaking.
The woman admonishing Yin Tianxuan's was named Yin Yi.
She possessed a third-grade talent and a soul beast called Snow Swallow. At only sixteen years old, she had already reached the Fourth Realm of the Spirit Beast realm, making her an undisputed genius in the White Emperor Martial Court and the prized gem of the Yin family in the Imperial City.
On top of her exceptional beauty, her cold demeanor and unique charm made her a radiant figure, standing out no matter where she was.
"So, you've grown bold enough to speak to me like that?" she sneered.
Hearing Yin Tianxuan's cold response, Yin Yi frowned slightly, her expression carrying a trace of anger.
"I just don't want you wasting your time on someone like me—a useless person," Yin Tianxuan let out a self-deprecating laugh and turned to leave without looking back.
Yin Yi's anger faded completely when he saw his despondent figure disappear into the distance.
She let out a soft sigh in her heart, feeling both pity for him and regret for the Yin family's loss.
"I still have fifty taels of silver. That should be enough to buy some cheap medicinal herbs for healing."
After parting ways with Yin Yi, Yin Tianxuan headed straight to the apothecary within the White Emperor Martial Court, intending to purchase some affordable herbs to treat his injuries and prevent further damage to his meridians from accumulated wounds.
As he stepped into the apothecary, Yin Tianxuan noticed Feng Jingyuan, a tall and graceful woman dressed in a black lace dress that accentuated her elegant figure. Her lightly made-up face carried a seductive charm as she selected medicinal herbs.
Feng Jingyuan was the eldest daughter of the wealthy Feng family in White Emperor City. In the past, when Yin Tianxuan was at the peak of his glory, she had been close to him. But ever since his soul failed to form a soul beast, she gradually distanced herself and ceased contact with him.
"Well, isn't this the great genius of White Emperor Martial Court? Why are you all battered and bruised again?"
Just as Yin Tianxuan tried to bypass Feng Jingyuan to purchase a few cheap herbs and leave quietly, a mocking voice filled with ridicule sounded from behind him.
Dressed in luxurious clothing, tall and handsome Zi Tianye strode in, holding a folding fan in his hand. He was accompanied by two followers, and his eyes lit up with desire the moment he spotted Feng Jingyuan's elegant figure.
"I say, do you enjoy self-inflicted abuse? If that's the case, I could help you out," Zi Tianye sneered at Yin Tianxuan, deliberately making a show, in front of Feng Jingyuan to capture her attention.
As expected, Feng Jingyuan, who had just picked out two expensive herbs, turned around slowly upon hearing Zi Tianye's voice. She glanced coldly at Yin Tianxuan behind her and then at the arrogant and flamboyant Zi Tianye, who was walking toward her.
However, neither Yin Tianxuang nor Zi Tianye managed to pique her interest. After a brief pause, she turned back around and continued selecting herbs suited for herself.
But just as she turned, Yin Tianxuang, with lightning speed, snatched the folding fan from Zi Tianye's hand and used it to deliver a sharp slap to Feng Jingyuan's ass.
Without waiting for Zi Tianye's, whose eyes were wide with shock and disbelief, to react, Yin Tianxuang swiftly stuffed the folding fan back into his hand and prepared to leave, as if he didnt see anything.
Feeling a sudden sharp sting on her backside, Feng Jingyuan, who had been selecting herbs, froze momentarily.
Her mind went blank as a wave of heat rushed to her face, spreading from her pale neck and leaving her entire countenance flushed with embarrassment.
The next moment, overwhelmed by fury and humiliation, Feng Jingyuan spun around. Her eyes immediately locked onto the folding fan in Zi Tianye's hand, and an uncontrollable rage surged through her.
Without a second thought, she raised her delicate, pale hand and slapped Zi Tianye across the face—twice, in quick succession.
Gritting her teeth, she shouted, "Zi Tianye, are you courting death? Do you want me to chop off your filthy hand and cripple you?"
"No, no, Jingyuan, you've got it all wrong! It wasn't me who smacked you—it was him! I was framed!" Zi Tianye stammered in panic, his heart trembling as he faced Feng Jingyuan's intense glare.
"Zi Tianye, a real man owns up to his actions. Although Jingyuan and I are no longer friends, I would never stoop to such despicable behavior," Yin Tianxuang declared righteously as he came to a stop, turning to face them.
"Damn it! You're the one who did this! Dare you swear it wasn't you who slapped Jingyuan's backside? Go on, swear!" Zi Tianye was so furious at Yin Tianxuang's audacious accusation that he nearly coughed up blood.
His frustration bordered on homicidal.
"Zi Tianye, whether you did it or not, is there any need to shout so loudly and make it worse for her? You may have no shame," Yin Tianxuang retorted, completely ignoring Zi Tianye's increasingly venomous glare.
His tone was deliberately provocative.
"You…!"
Just as Zi Tianye, looking like he was about to pounce on Yin Tianxuang, prepared to act, Feng Jingyuan's fury reached its peak, as she noticed the mocking glances from the surrounding crowd, which only deepened her rage.
As her soul power erupted like a breaking storm, and in an instant, her soul beast burst forth—a majestic White-Winged Bird ablaze with radiant brilliance, its dazzling white aura illuminating everything in its wake.
"Whoosh!"
A piercing whistle tore through the apothecary as Feng Jingyuan's White-Winged Bird streaked forward like a flash of blinding white lightning, slamming into Zi Tianye's chest.
"Crack!"
The force of the impact fractured several of his ribs.
"Pfft!" A mist of blood sprayed from Zi Tianye's mouth. As Zi Tianye was severely injured by Feng Jingyuan's soul beast.
Shadows swallowed his vision, the world tilting into oblivion as his knees buckled and he crumpled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut