Chen Chang'an felt that there must be some special connection between this object and himself.
Chen Zhengyuan, on the other hand, never expected that the heirloom left by their ancestors would stir such excitement in Chen Chang'an.
"Ancestor, this is called a 'Fetal Pearl'?"
Fetal Pearl?
How come I’ve never heard of it?
Chen Chang'an glanced at Da Huang, whose eyes also held a trace of confusion—apparently, even it hadn’t heard of such a thing.
"What is a Fetal Pearl?"
"Oh, the name was given by our ancestors. Since this pearl appeared alongside you when you were born, they named it the Fetal Pearl."
What?
So, back then, my mother didn’t just give birth to me—she also birthed a pearl?
What does that even mean? That my sibling from the same womb is a pearl?
"Originally, the ancestors planned to give you the Fetal Pearl once you were older, but you were taken away by a powerful figure and never returned.
Alas, over the years, the Chen Family has weathered many storms. Of the nine Fetal Pearls, only this one remains."
Only one left out of nine?
Does that mean I have eight brothers scattered out there somewhere?
"Do you know where they are?" Chen Chang'an asked.
"No idea. Too much time has passed. The only one I know of is currently in the hands of the Great Zhou Kingdom’s royal family.
Back then, they used underhanded means to seize it from the Chen Family.
As for why they wanted it, I don’t know the details."
The descendants of the Chen Family only knew that this object was left for Chen Chang'an by their ancestors, but they had no clue what purpose the Fetal Pearl served.
To them, it looked beautiful but seemed utterly useless to cultivators.
"Alright, I understand. You may go now.
Oh, and prepare some good food—lots of it. Da Huang has quite the appetite."
"Yes, I’ll arrange it immediately."
After Chen Zhengyuan left, Da Huang gave Chen Chang'an an approving look. Good, you know how to treat me right.
"Da Huang, I feel like there’s a special bond between this thing and me.
I’m going back to my room to study it properly."
Da Huang nodded. Based on its understanding of Chen Chang'an, it was rare for him to wear such a serious expression.
Once back in his room, Chen Chang'an placed the Fetal Pearl on his palm and examined it closely.
What exactly is your connection to me?
Just as he was lost in thought, the Fetal Pearl suddenly transformed into a streak of white light and shot straight into his forehead.
It happened so fast that Chen Chang'an didn’t even have time to react.
"Holy—is my brother trying to possess me?
Wait… no!"
After entering his forehead, the Fetal Pearl dissolved into a surge of energy that coursed through Chen Chang'an’s entire body.
The sensation was so pleasurable that he nearly moaned—but he held it back.
"Spiritual energy?
I… I can sense and absorb spiritual energy now?"
After circulating through his body, the energy finally settled at his brow before vanishing entirely.
At the same time, Chen Chang'an’s body became capable of sensing and absorbing spiritual energy—something he had been unable to do for years.
No matter how many rare treasures Mu Yunyao had fed him, none had ever made a difference.
Yet now, a single Fetal Pearl had resolved his physical limitation?
"Holy hell, was my inability to cultivate all because of… these nine Fetal Pearls?
So my talent for cultivation was just left behind in the womb?
My master was right—I really am a freak!"
Chen Chang'an couldn’t help but laugh at himself. The world was vast, but someone like him was truly one in a million.
"Alright, let’s see if I can really cultivate now."
For years, Chen Chang'an had acted carefree about his inability to cultivate, but deep down, it had always bothered him.
Mu Yunyao’s lifetime of knowledge was stored in his mind—cultivation itself had never been the issue. The problem was his inability to absorb spiritual energy.
"Hmm… an Emperor-grade technique, Supreme Overlord Body Art? Nah, my physique isn’t suited for that.
Nine Revolutions Heavenly Profound Art? Powerful, sure, but having to restart cultivation nine times is too much hassle.
Which technique looks the coolest?"
With so many options, Chen Chang'an found himself momentarily indecisive.
"Ah, screw it—I’ll go with swordsmanship. After all, I’m a sharp-tongued guy anyway.
Heh heh!"
Peerless Sword Emperor Art—this was another technique Mu Yunyao had imparted to him.
Mastering it was no easy feat. It demanded not just talent but exceptional comprehension.
Without sufficient insight, one could never grasp its profound mysteries.
"Alright…"
Chen Chang'an took a deep breath. His excitement mirrored that of a novice stepping into the world of cultivation for the first time.
After ten thousand years of waiting, the day had finally come!
As he activated the technique, spiritual energy surged toward him like tidal waves!
"Huh?
What the—
Is this kid really cultivating now?"
Outside, Da Huang sensed the drastic shift in spiritual energy and stared in astonishment.
This troublemaker was already a menace without cultivation. If he gains power now…
As Chen Chang'an continued, every cultivator in Swallow Return City was left dumbfounded.
"What’s going on?"
"No idea, but the spiritual energy… it’s vanishing!"
"The Chen Family—it’s all converging toward their estate!"
"What? The Chen Family? Did their patriarch break through to the True Qi Realm’s peak?"
"Impossible, right?"
Members of the Xu and Ning Families exchanged bewildered glances, utterly clueless about the situation.
They could only speculate whether the Chen Family’s head had stumbled upon some great opportunity, boosting his strength dramatically.
Meanwhile, the Chen Family members were ecstatic. They could sense that the spiritual energy was gathering precisely where their ancestor resided.
"As expected of our ancestor—truly formidable!"
"Indeed! With his return, our Chen Family will rise again!"
"What realm do you think he’s in? Divine Transformation Realm?"
"Divine Transformation? That’s an insult! He’s at least in the Void Comprehension Realm!"
"Void Comprehension? Gods above—that’s enough to make him a supreme expert in any major faction!"
"Well, he is our ancestor."
"Exactly! The Chen Family’s ancestor is undoubtedly a peerless powerhouse."
While the Chen Family rejoiced, the other two great families of Swallow Return City grew increasingly uneasy.
The situation with the vanishing spiritual energy was becoming more and more alarming.
"Damn, he’s drained the spiritual energy for hundreds of miles around—and he’s not stopping!"
"With ten thousand years of pent-up potential, is this kid aiming to break through to the Transcendent Realm in one go?"
To Da Huang, the sheer volume and speed of spiritual energy absorption were absurd for someone just starting cultivation.
The spiritual energy within a radius of several hundred miles was completely drained, and the absorption showed no signs of stopping. Just how much energy Chen Chang'an would ultimately devour remained unknown.
The sheer volume of spiritual energy being consumed was utterly terrifying!
As time passed, even Da Huang began to gape in astonishment, the meat in his mouth seemingly losing all flavor.
Beiyuan Prefecture!
This kid had actually sucked dry all the spiritual energy of the entire Beiyuan Prefecture?
"Is he trying to break through to the Divine Ability Realm in one go or what?"
Even Chen Chang'an hadn’t anticipated that his first attempt at cultivation would send shockwaves through the entire Beiyuan Prefecture!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
