Ye Chen woke up with a sharp gasp, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His head throbbed as if he had just escaped from a nightmare, but the pain felt too real. He wasn't supposed to feel anything—he had died.
Yet here he was, lying in a bed.
The room around him was small and unfamiliar. White walls, a sterile smell of disinfectant in the air, and the faint beeping of a machine beside him. A hospital? His brows furrowed. Why was he in a hospital? He slowly turned his head, taking in the sight of an IV drip attached to his arm and the soft hum of medical equipment.
Confusion surged through him.
"Where… am I?" he muttered, his voice hoarse.
As if triggered by his words, memories surged through his mind like a raging tide. His final moments replayed in vivid detail—the heavenly tribulation, the thunderous bolt that shattered his immortal body, the searing pain as his very soul was ripped apart. He should have perished in the vast cultivation realm, his existence erased like dust in the wind.
But then, new memories flooded in—memories of a life long forgotten.
His eyes widened as he looked down at his hands. They were smaller, smoother, and lacking the callouses of a warrior who had fought countless battles. He clenched them into fists, feeling the unmistakable weakness of a human body devoid of immortal energy. His heartbeat quickened.
With growing dread, he forced himself to sit up, his muscles weak but functional. His gaze flickered to the calendar hanging on the opposite wall.
March 15, 2015.
His mind reeled.
2015…?
High school…?
His breathing grew ragged. His pulse thundered in his ears.
"I've… gone back in time?" Ye Chen whispered, his voice barely above a breath.
This was his past—a time of weakness and humiliation.
Back then, he had been nothing but a struggling teenager, abandoned by fate. His once-prosperous family had been on the verge of collapse, their business crumbling under financial ruin. His mother—his only source of warmth in this cold world—had fallen ill, bedridden and frail. His so-called friends had turned their backs on him, mocking his misfortune.
And the one who had hurt him the most—his fiancée, the girl he had once loved and trusted—had chosen to betray him, leaving him in his darkest hour.
Ye Chen clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He could still remember the humiliation, the sneers, the way people had looked down on him.
But now…
Now, things would be different.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. This was not a second chance to suffer—this was a second chance to dominate.
Everything that was taken from him… he would take back tenfold