Chapter One: The Awakening of the Emperor of Slaughter

“So I am the Eternal Emperor of Slaughter!”
After an unknown period of unconsciousness, Xia Jiuxuan awoke drenched in sweat and shot up from the floor of the woodshed.
At that moment, a surge of unfamiliar memories poured into his mind, confirming that the visions he’d seen during his fainting spell were no mere dream.
In his previous life, he had been the foremost Emperor of Slaughter atop the Nine Heavens.
But as he was about to transcend tribulation and become the God of Slaughter—at his most vulnerable—he was betrayed by his dearest friend, who revealed his whereabouts.
The result was his death at the hands of the assembled gods.
“This is… the Xuanwu Realm… Such a familiar feeling—now I remember. This… this is the very world I once created with my own hands!”
Sensing his surroundings, Xia Jiuxuan suddenly realized that this world of martial cultivation was none other than the internal world he had forged long ago.
But back then, dissatisfied with its slow development, he had expelled and abandoned it from his body after achieving his true form as the Emperor of Slaughter.
Who could have imagined that this very decision would one day grant him the chance for reincarnation!
“You gods of the Nine Heavens, you would never have guessed that I retained a world of my own making, would you? Otherwise, you would have utterly destroyed my soul, leaving no hope of reincarnation. Heaven has not forsaken me, Xia Jiuxuan!”
He reached for a dark red, sword-shaped pendant at his chest.
“Fortunately, I brought you along as well.”
Within this pendant was sealed something both special and important—so much so that even he himself was unsure what it truly was.
…
“Master, it’s terrible—something awful has happened!”
The woodshed door burst open and a maidservant ran in, weeping.
“What is it?”
“Xia Zhong has sent people to seize Miss Ranran. They say she’s already been sold!”
“That bastard! Outrageous!”
Xia Zhong!
With the memories of two lives now fused within him, Xia Jiuxuan was consumed by rage.
Xia Zhong had once been merely an adopted son of the Xia Clan.
But harboring the heart of a wolf, he framed loyal members of the clan and secretly built his own power.
Seven days ago, after the clan lord’s sudden death, Xia Zhong revealed his true colors. The very next day, he bribed a few treacherous elders, declared himself clan lord, and sent his men to severely injure Xia Jiuxuan!
“I understand. I’ll go at once.”
Xia Jiuxuan replied with quiet composure.
“Please hurry, master!” The maidservant rushed off to check on the situation.
First, Xia Jiuxuan examined his own body.
His meridians were completely severed!
Yet for someone who had awakened his past memories, this was a trifling issue.
What truly troubled him was the constitution of this body.
“The Abandoned Heaven Physique.”
He shook his head in silence.
The Abandoned Heaven Physique—more aptly called the Wasted Heaven Physique.
Even the gods of the Nine Heavens could not alter such a constitution. Cultivation was a grueling ordeal.
“No wonder my cultivation never advanced.”
Each breakthrough with this physique made the next ten times harder, for reasons unknown.
Of course, Xia Jiuxuan was not worried about the thugs sent by Xia Zhong; his concerns were for the path ahead.

For now, Xia Jiuxuan set his worries aside. He drew upon a divine breathing technique from his memories, circulating spiritual energy to rapidly heal his injuries.
…
In the main hall of the Xia Clan.
“Please, uncle, don’t take Ranran away. Please…”
A little girl cowered in the corner, pitiful and teary-eyed.
The clan elders looked on with indifference; some even wore satisfied smiles.
“Take her away.”
A well-dressed, mustachioed middle-aged man waved his hand, and two guards stepped forward to seize the girl, who was only five years old.
Her name was Xia Ran—she was the orphaned daughter of Xia Jiuxuan’s eldest brother, his own niece.
Three years ago, his brother and sister-in-law perished while hunting monsters, leaving behind the two-year-old Ranran.
Since then, Xia Jiuxuan had cared for her himself.
He recalled how, labeled a cripple due to his slow cultivation, he was scorned by everyone in the clan—everyone except his elder brother.
His brother had always protected him. Whenever there was precious beast meat, he would let Xia Jiuxuan eat his fill before touching any himself.
The precious protective armor he obtained by risking his life hunting monsters—he gave it to Xia Jiuxuan.
Even the marrow-washing pills he worked so hard to acquire, he would hand over to his “useless” brother.
Later, his sister-in-law came, and she treated Xia Jiuxuan like her own brother.
If not for their care, Xia Jiuxuan might have long grown weary of this world.
After their tragic deaths, Xia Jiuxuan swore to himself—no matter what, he would protect his brother’s only child and raise her as his own.
And now, someone dared to steal her away?
Anyone who touched Xia Ran was tearing out Xia Jiuxuan’s very heart!
“I wonder, what is so special about this little girl that your master would spend such a fortune of spirit crystals to buy her?”
One of the Xia Clan elders asked curiously.
“No harm in telling you,” replied the mustachioed man. “The girl possesses the Ice Spirit Constitution. My master will use her to rear ice silkworms.”
“How does one rear them?” the elder pressed.
“It’s simple. Slice open her back all the way to the bone, implant the ice silkworm eggs, and when thousands of silkworms hatch, they devour her marrow and flesh. In the end, they become a miraculous medicine—the ice silkworm.”
At this, even the experienced clan elders felt their scalps crawl.
Raising worms in a living child as one might maggots!
“That… that’s a bit too cruel,” one elder murmured.
“What does it matter to you? My master has already signed a contract with Clan Lord Xia Zhong, and sent a deposit of a hundred thousand spirit crystals. Do you dare refuse?” the mustachioed man said coldly.
“Do calm yourself, Lord Long, we were only asking. Since the clan lord has decided, who are we to defy him? Please don’t be angry.”
“Hmph. See that you don’t forget yourselves.”
The elders of the Xia Clan lowered their heads.
Now, Xia Zhong’s background and status were far more complicated than they appeared; none dared cross him.
Besides, with the sale of this little girl, each elder would receive enough spirit crystals for a lifetime—why refuse?
“Enough talk. I’m taking her. As for what rewards Clan Lord Xia Zhong gives you, that’s none of my business,” said the mustachioed man.
The two guards reached for Xia Ran, intending to take her away.

“Please, uncle, let me go. Ranran is a good girl, very obedient. Don’t take Ranran…”
She was too young to understand, thinking herself the cause of her predicament—about to be punished.
Slap!
One guard struck her hard. “Shut your mouth!”
The blow stunned her into silence, too terrified even to cry.
Bang!
“How dare you lay a finger on my niece? You court death!”
Suddenly, the main hall doors were blasted open.
Before anyone could react, blood sprayed through the air—a guard’s arm was smashed to pulp.
The disheveled figure who appeared was none other than Xia Jiuxuan.
Little Xia Ran was already in his arms.
“Second Father, I’m so scared,” she sobbed, clutching him tightly, her small body pressing into his chest.
“Hush, don’t be afraid. I’m here now—I’ll protect you.”
Xia Jiuxuan gently patted her back in comfort.
“You! Xia Jiuxuan, you worthless wretch, how dare you launch a sneak attack on me?”
The one-armed guard, seeing his assailant, showed no fear and drew his saber to attack.
Boom!
Xia Jiuxuan moved like lightning, his fists a blur.
The guard’s head was crushed like a melon, and Xia Jiuxuan rained blow after blow until nothing remained but a pile of mangled flesh.
Covering Xia Ran’s eyes with one hand, he handed her to a nearby maidservant. “Take the young lady away. Children shouldn’t witness such bloodshed.”
The maidservant, pale with fright, nodded dumbly and retreated with Xia Ran.
A hush of terror filled the hall.
After a long moment, the elders regained their senses.
“Insolence!”
“How dare you!”
“Xia Jiuxuan, you have slain a servant of the clan lord. What punishment do you deserve?”
Several elders rose in fury.
“The clan lord? Today, I’ll show you who the real clan lord is!”
Xia Jiuxuan’s gaze was icy, his killing intent overwhelming.
He was about to strike when, from the pile of flesh, a surge of murderous energy invisible to others shot out and was absorbed by the sword-shaped pendant at his chest.
“At last, you’ve come.”
A cold, ethereal voice echoed in his mind.
Xia Jiuxuan’s consciousness was drawn into the pendant by an unseen force.
He looked up into the endless starry sky—and his soul quaked in terror.
There, in the heavens, an apparition appeared—it was one of the Nine Heavenly Gods.
The Tenth Lord God!