Ming was once a weak and helpless boy whose home was burned to the ground. The empire took everything from him—his family, his future, and his peace. Several years later, Ming assumes the identity of a noble family’s son in order to grow stronger and eventually take his revenge.
But before that, we start at the beginning. Ming has been on the run for seven years and is currently being hunted by a squad of executioners through a dense forest. He leaps from tree to tree, desperately trying to escape. One of the executioners begins to question who this boy really is—no ordinary person could move so fast. But their captain dismisses the concern, saying that even if Ming is slightly above average, he’s still just one person against their entire squad.
Suddenly, fireworks light up in the distance, signaling that one of their men has spotted Ming. As the leader heads off to assist, Ming continues weaving through the treetops, but with his location exposed, the executioners are rapidly closing in. To make things worse, the forest is filled with deadly monsters, so Ming must be careful where he lands.
He tries to swing back into the trees, but one of the executioners intercepts him and kicks him down to the ground. Now surrounded, the squad prepares to finish him off. But Ming refuses to surrender. As one executioner lunges to stab him, Ming counters, disarms him, and drives the blade into his neck. He was about to do the same to the others when an arrow suddenly flies toward his head, forcing him to retreat.
He kicks two enemies away to create space, then parries and dodges until he finds an opening and cuts them down. Thinking he’s finally safe, Ming starts looting the corpses for anything valuable—only for another arrow to land next to him. Realizing it’s no ordinary arrow, he jumps away just before it explodes.
Looking up, Ming is shocked to see two warriors from the Ministry of Justice. They’re surprised that Ming recognizes them but say that it saves time—because anyone who meets them doesn’t survive. Ming asks why the Ministry would come after a law-abiding citizen like him. In response, one of them reads the charges aloud: Seven years ago, Ming’s father was accused of treason against the emperor, and the entire family was sentenced to execution. Somehow, Ming escaped—and now they’re here to finish the job.
Refusing to die quietly, Ming throws rocks at the warriors to stall for time. The archer fires back, pinning him down. As Ming tries to flee, the barbarian woman cuts him off and grabs him by the ankle. She attempts to slam him into the ground, but at the last second, Ming uses a technique to shift the bones in his leg and slips from her grip.
The archer warns his comrade to be cautious, noting that Ming clearly has some tricks up his sleeve. At this point, Ming is barely standing. He senses that while the barbarian is powerful, the archer is far more experienced—and much more dangerous. He drinks a healing potion he’d taken from one of the earlier enemies to recover.
The barbarian charges again, forcing Ming to retreat slightly, though he can’t afford to create too much distance or the archer will strike. With no other choice, he imbues his blade with energy. When the barbarian lunges, she’s caught off guard by his strength—he shatters her weapon and, while she’s still stunned, sneaks behind her and stabs her in the neck.
The archer, enraged by the death of his partner, swears to cut Ming to pieces. Ming notices the archer using talismans—he’s a chi cultivator, and Ming knows firsthand how dangerous they are. He doesn’t stand a chance in a straight fight, so he tries to escape. The archer chases him down, activates his lightning ability, and kicks Ming nearly a hundred meters through the forest.
Now cornered at the edge of a waterfall, Ming has nowhere left to run. As the archer lunges, Ming makes a split-second decision—he leaps off the waterfall, dragging the archer down with him. Both plunge into the lake below.
Underwater, as Ming tries to swim back to the surface, the archer grabs him from behind and begins to strangle him.
Ming manages to slip free from the archer’s grip and gets behind him, locking him in a chokehold. The archer struggles, reaching for his blade to fight back, but it’s just out of reach. Eventually, he suffocates to death and sinks to the bottom, while Ming slowly floats to the surface.
Some time later, Ming washes up on the shore of a lake—but he’s not alone. Two old men find a badly injured young man propped against a tree. They’re disappointed to see that, although the man had strong potential as a cultivator, the massive hole in his chest means even an immortal couldn’t save him.
The short one insists they can’t just let the young master of the B Family die, especially since they were supposed to escort him to the Savage Ghost Sect for his spiritual awakening. The tall one suggests they ditch the body and run, but they’ve already accepted payment—and worse, they swallowed a Heart-Relaxing Pill that will kill them in six months if they fail to return and give a report to the B Family. In short, they’re screwed.
Frustrated, the tall one fires off a blast, which accidentally hits a rock that Ming is hiding behind. Realizing there’s a witness, the two men attempt to eliminate him. As the tall one tries to punch a hole through Ming’s chest, Ming subconsciously activates an energy shield—shocking both men. The technique he used closely resembles that of the B Family.
The two men examine Ming more closely and discover that he knows basic energy control techniques and has a solid foundation. Even more surprisingly, he bears a striking resemblance to the now-dead B Family young master. They quickly devise a plan: they’ll save Ming—but only if he assumes the dead heir’s identity and obeys their every command.
With no real choice, Ming agrees.
After healing him, the two men begin escorting Ming to the Spirit Awakening Ceremony. Though grateful to be alive, Ming is nervous. If his strength isn’t good enough, someone might realize he’s not who he claims to be. One of the old men reassures him that as long as he uses the energy technique they taught him, he’ll pass. The Savage Ghost Sect has no record of the young master’s appearance, so he should be safe.
Curious, Ming asks what the spirit awakening exam actually involves. They explain that it’s a special ritual allowing one to gather large amounts of chi. Once the chi reaches the Condensation Stage, a person becomes a Spirit Disciple, which opens the path to higher cultivation levels. They tell Ming it’s an honor to even participate.
Still, Ming wonders—if it’s so great, why haven’t they done it? The two old men exchange a sad glance. They explain that spirit awakening must be done before the age of 20 and is incredibly expensive to register. Worse, only the five major factions have the secret techniques to succeed, making it nearly impossible for regular people.
Eventually, they arrive at the exam site. Just before Ming goes in, the two men try to convince him to take a Heart-Relaxing Pill, claiming it will “protect him.” But Ming isn’t stupid—he knows it’s a poison that will kill him if he fails to meet their expectations.
He asks if they really trust him so little. The two admit they’re worried—after all, Ming is a wanted criminal in the Empire. They promise that as long as he succeeds, he’ll be fine. Despite his doubts, Ming swallows the pill, knowing that refusing would expose him as a fraud and a fugitive.
Inside, Ming sees several powerful cultivators from elite families. Many recognize the B Family’s young master, but the rumors about him aren’t flattering—he’s considered a useless disgrace. Ming realizes his public image works to his advantage.
Just then, the exam instructor, Fang, arrives and announces that he will lead the candidates to the Spirit Awakening Ceremony. He tells everyone to follow him.
As they proceed, some participants begin choking. Sensing something’s wrong, Ming leaps onto the ceiling to survey the area. Dozens of ghosts are attacking the group. When one participant runs to Fang for help, the instructor shrugs it off—this is the Savage Ghost Sect, after all. If they can’t handle a few spirits, they don’t belong.
The stronger cultivators deal with the specters quickly, and the group prepares to move on. Along the way, Ming is approached by someone
As Ming walks through the tunnel, a fellow candidate approaches and offers to form an alliance to tackle the next phase of the exam together. Ming sees no reason to refuse, but finds the man a little suspicious and stays on guard. While they walk, Ming keeps checking their surroundings, wary of an ambush. The man, however, assures him that there’s no need to worry—everyone else has already moved on, and anyone still stuck in the first stage isn’t strong enough to pose a threat.
But that was a lie.
Suddenly, the man steps back as purple energy binds Ming, locking him in place. Smirking, the man explains that this is the second stage of the exam—The Sacrificial Cage. As the name suggests, one person must be sacrificed so the other can proceed. Unless the victim is a high-level cultivator, the purple energy will slowly drain their life force until they die.
Furious, Ming demands to know if the man really thinks the B Family will let him live after killing their young master. But the man simply shrugs. Death is a natural part of the spiritual awakening ceremony, and everyone who enters should be prepared for it. Besides, the B Family is already on the verge of being expelled—they’re in no position to do anything.
Strangely, Ming is relieved. If death is expected, then he won’t have to worry about consequences if he kills someone. He channels his energy and slowly begins to break free from the purple restraints. The man panics. He knows the real B Kongshin couldn’t possibly do something like this—which means Ming is an impostor.
Ming is surprised the man figured it out so quickly, but it doesn’t matter. He won’t live long enough to tell anyone. As the man prepares to fight, he suddenly clutches his hand in pain—his body is growing stiff, and he can barely move.
Ming reveals that he had poisoned the man the moment they first met, just in case something like this happened. In a last-ditch effort, the man lunges at Ming, but in his desperation, he stumbles into the energy chains. He is completely drained of power and dies.
A few moments later, Ming emerges at the end of the tunnel, where many other cultivators are waiting. Fang, the exam proctor, tells them they’re lucky to have made it this far—but the true test is only just beginning. This is where the Spiritual Awakening will take place.
The massive arena has been prepared so multiple groups can undergo the ritual at once. But Ming is shocked to see how few have survived—the majority of participants died in the earlier stages.
Some notice that most of the energy circles are already occupied. Fang explains that those are reserved for members of the Savage Ghost Sect—elite students who’ve been training since childhood. There are five circles in total, but Fang has taken three for his own sect. The remaining two are for everyone else.
The other cultivators protest. Their families paid a fortune to participate in the ritual, and it’s unfair that they’re being pushed aside. But Fang doesn’t care about fairness—he makes the rules here. If they don’t like it, they can leave.
With no choice, everyone crams into the final two circles and prepares for the ritual. As they settle in, Ming notices a beautiful girl sitting across from him. When their eyes meet, he feels something stir inside him—but quickly reminds himself of the reality: he’s a wanted man, trapped in a deadly trial. Love isn’t on the agenda.
The girl, however, is surprised her spiritual charm didn’t affect Ming. Intrigued, she starts taking interest in him. But there’s no time for distractions—the ritual is about to begin.
Each circle fills with dense, liquid energy. As the formations activate, immense spiritual pressure floods the area. Within seconds, several cultivators collapse, unable to withstand it. However, the stronger ones endure.
Though Ming struggles at first, he uses the techniques he learned to stabilize his spirit. Now, all that remains is to absorb as much energy as possible and open his meridians.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the eight branches of the Savage Ghost Sect watch the ceremony unfold. The sect leader is impressed with the talent shown this year. But he’s also aware that some of the other elders already have their eyes on certain candidates.
He’s heard that Shu and Lynn even got into an argument over one promising disciple—and went so far as to schedule a duel to decide who would get him.
Lynn pleads her case before the Sect Leader, reminding him that she was the one who discovered the girl with the Kalan Nightmare Body—and therefore has the right to take her as a disciple. All the branch leaders are stunned. It’s hard to believe that someone here actually possesses a Nightmare Body, but there’s no reason to doubt Lynn’s testimony.
Moments later, the nightmare body manifests before their eyes.
Though the girl currently only has six spirit veins, her mass control ability makes her incredibly valuable. The Sect Leader agrees that she would be a great asset to their sect.
Turning to Gui, the Sect Leader asks if he’s interested in recruiting any of their faction’s disciples. But Gui replies that he doesn’t want to compete with the others. He’s fine selecting a few of the foreign awakeners instead. The Sect Leader questions his decision, pointing out that most foreigners barely awaken with three veins—a low result compared to disciples from the Ghost Faction.
Gui acknowledges this, but his branch lacks resources. All he asks is that if any foreigners do awaken, the other leaders don’t try to steal them from him.
Suddenly, Lynn gets everyone’s attention and points at Ming, noting that his cultivation appears to have the potential to reach the legendary Nine Veins. The Sect Leader examines Ming’s energy and is impressed, but quickly loses interest. He explains that Ming doesn’t know the proper channeling techniques to stabilize his energy absorption. If left unchecked, this kind of instability will cause the body to explode—just like what happened to the unfortunate cultivators standing behind Ming.
Ming begins to struggle as the energy overwhelms him. In desperation, he seals off his spirit veins to suppress the flow. But Gui warns that this will only delay the inevitable—Ming will still die if he can’t control the energy properly.
Before they can dwell on that, everyone’s attention shifts to another foreign participant—Jai—who has just successfully awakened Nine Spirit Veins. Gui is thrilled, as he had already called dibs on all the foreign candidates. But then the final branch leader, Lelay, steps forward and declares that Jai is his nephew and he’ll be taking him in as his disciple.
Lelay argues that since he’s already familiar with Jai’s thunder attribute, he’d be the best teacher for him. Disappointed, Gui has no choice but to let Jai go. He only asks that the other leaders allow him to keep any remaining foreign awakeners for himself. Everyone agrees, and the Sect Leader supports Gui’s request.
Just then, another participant begins to awaken—and this one stuns everyone. His vein count rises past nine… and keeps climbing—ten… eleven… twelve! This is almost unheard of.
Gui quickly reminds everyone that he claimed the foreign awakeners first, but the Sect Leader, not willing to let such a prodigy go, asserts his authority and declares that he will be taking the Twelve-Vein participant as his disciple.
Crushed, Gui knows he can’t challenge the Sect Leader, so he resigns himself to picking from whoever’s left. He’s not expecting much at this point, with most of the top talents already claimed. Still, he tries to remain hopeful.
Looking out across the arena, Gui notices Ming—still holding on and trying to stabilize his energy. Gui is surprised; he had been sure Ming would have exploded by now.
Ming’s challenge is that while he has the control to manifest Nine Spirit Veins, his core isn’t strong enough to contain them. Most people in this situation would release excess energy to avoid self-destruction. But Ming refuses to do that.
Instead, he attempts something no one has ever done before—he uses his spirit power to compress the veins until they can fit inside his core. He doesn’t know if it will work… but he does it anyway.
Somehow, it works.
The ceremony finally comes to a close, and the remaining students are told to wait as they’ll soon be assigned to their new sect branches. Most who awakened spirit veins ended up with long, thin ones. But thanks to Ming’s unique method, though he only has three visible veins, each one is massive in size.
A few minutes later, Gui comes down to collect the leftover foreign awakeners. He instructs his assistant, Shai, to lead them to his branch.
They eventually arrive at a portal, which marks the beginning of their official disciple training. But the moment they step through, all the other disciples faint—leaving Ming as the only one still standing.
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