Blood rained from the sky.

The once-glorious Celestial Radiance Sect, the final bastion of righteousness, was nothing more than a ruined wasteland. Divine palaces lay in ruins, sacred mountains shattered, and rivers of golden qi now ran red with the blood of their last defenders.

At the peak of the crumbling Sacred Sky Altar, a man stood alone—Mo Tian, the Dark Emperor, ruler of the world.

His long black robes billowed in the stormy wind, tattered yet regal, soaked in the blood of heroes and martyrs. His jet-black hair, streaked with silver from centuries of cultivation, framed a face as cold as death. He stood atop a pile of corpses, gazing down at the final wretch struggling beneath his feet.

The old man coughed weakly, his golden daoist robes stained with crimson, his once-radiant aura flickering like a dying candle. Daoist Xuanyang, the last Grandmaster of the Celestial Radiance Sect. The last man who dared defy Mo Tian.

"You... monstrous devil..." Xuanyang gasped, struggling to breathe. "You have slain all who opposed you... burned the heavens... destroyed the path of righteousness..."

Mo Tian smirked, his golden eyes gleaming with malice. "Oh? You make it sound like a bad thing."

He slowly lifted his hand. Dark energy swirled in his palm—a sphere of absolute annihilation, blacker than the void itself.

"Beg," Mo Tian whispered.

Xuanyang spat out blood. "I would rather die a thousand deaths—"

"Then die," Mo Tian said coldly, and thrust his hand forward.

The dark sphere expanded, consuming Xuanyang's body in an instant. The old man didn't even have time to scream—his body, his soul, his very existence was erased from reality.

It was over.

The last righteous cultivator had fallen.

For a moment, silence reigned over the battlefield. No more screaming. No more resistance. Only Mo Tian remained, standing atop a world that belonged to him.

He had won.

He threw back his head and laughed. A deep, booming laughter that shook the heavens.

"IS THIS IT?!" he roared, spreading his arms wide. "IS THERE NO ONE LEFT TO OPPOSE ME?!"

Thunder rumbled in the sky. Black clouds churned violently, as if the heavens themselves trembled before his might.

Mo Tian took a deep breath, relishing the moment. The world was his. He had shattered fate itself, crushed destiny beneath his heel. No gods. No heroes. No one could ever challenge him again.

And yet…

A blinding light suddenly split the sky.

A divine radiance, purer than anything he had ever seen, descended from the heavens, illuminating the battlefield in searing golden light.

Mo Tian's smirk faltered.

What is this…?

The voice of the heavens echoed through the ruined land, ancient and absolute.

"MO TIAN, DARK EMPEROR OF THIS ERA… YOUR SINS HAVE REACHED THEIR LIMIT. THE BALANCE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH CAN NO LONGER TOLERATE YOUR EXISTENCE."

Mo Tian narrowed his eyes. "Oh? The heavens finally decide to act? Now of all times?"

Above him, the clouds parted, revealing countless celestial figures descending from the void. Ethereal beings of pure divine energy, wielding weapons of judgment.

The Heavenly Tribulation had come.

Mo Tian exhaled sharply. Then, his lips curled into a grin.

"So… the heavens themselves finally crawl out of their cowardly hiding place."

His right hand slowly rose. Dark energy surged through his veins, his aura expanding like an abyssal tide.

"If you wish to strike me down—" A blinding sphere of black and red energy coalesced in his palm.

"—then I say: COME!"

And he hurled the attack skyward.

A cataclysmic explosion ripped through the heavens as Mo Tian's ultimate attack clashed against the divine judgment. Light and darkness collided, shaking the very fabric of reality. Space cracked, mountains crumbled, and the world itself seemed to tremble under the sheer force of the clash.

For a moment… it seemed like an even match.

But then—

Mo Tian felt it.

A strange, impossible sensation.

His energy—his boundless, infinite power—was draining away.

"What…?"

His heart pounded as he saw his own attack turning against him—as if something greater than the heavens had interfered.

The divine light pierced through his power.

And in an instant, his own attack rebounded, fusing with the judgment of the gods.

A celestial blade of pure karma and annihilation crashed down upon him.

For the first time in centuries… Mo Tian knew fear.

"NO—!"

BOOOOOOM!

A divine explosion engulfed him. His body disintegrated, his soul unraveled, his existence erased from time itself.

Darkness. Silence.

Then, a distant sound—a voice.

"Mo Tian? Mo Tian, wake up!"

Mo Tian's eyes shot open.

He wasn't standing on a battlefield. He wasn't surrounded by the corpses of his enemies.

Instead… he was sitting on a wooden desk, in a classroom, in a familiar sect.

A group of young disciples—mere children—stared at him in confusion.

He looked down at his hands—small, soft, unscarred.

His heart pounded. His mind reeled. This was Azure Sky Sect. His old school. His childhood.

"...What?"

And then—

[Ding! System Activated!]

[Congratulations! You have been granted a second chance at life! However, due to your past life's overwhelming evil karma, the heavens have decreed that this time… you must walk the path of righteousness!]

[Any attempt at villainous behavior will be met with immediate punishment.]

[Good luck on your journey to being a hero!]

Mo Tian's entire body froze.

Slowly, he realized the horrifying truth.

He had reincarnated.

He had been given a second life.

And worst of all—

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO BE A HERO?!"