C1 After Three Thousand Years

"Where am I?"

"Why haven't I died?"

Ye Tian jolted awake in the middle of a Spirit Feather Academy classroom. A piercing pain shot through his mind, as if needles were stabbing into his brain, draining the color from his face and drenching him in a cold sweat.

A tempest of shock and confusion swept through him.

He had once been the Heaven Soaring Great Monarch, a ruler of unmatched strength who united the clans and reigned supreme over the Cangyuan Continent, ascending to the exalted seat of the Cosmos Emperor.

His days were filled with glory, but during a period of secluded cultivation, he was betrayed and ambushed by his own disciple, Great Monarch Luangu, and his wife, Queen Linglong, resulting in the scattering of his soul.

Incredibly, a fragment of his soul had seized the body of a seventeen-year-old boy.

Memories merged within him.

"Has it truly been ten thousand years into the Ancient Progenitor Era?"

Ye Tian whispered to himself, struggling to grasp the reality.

He had claimed the title of Great Emperor seven thousand years ago in the Ancient Progenitor Era. Now, three millennia had passed.

He found himself in a world three thousand years later!

This body's original inhabitant, also named Ye Tian, was the young master of the Ye family from Luoshui City, notorious throughout the city as a good-for-nothing.

Cultivation was categorized into stages: Qi Profound, Spirit Profound, Earth Profound, Heavenly Profound, each with nine levels.

At seventeen, Ye Tian's profound veins were naturally blocked, halting his cultivation at the second level of the Qi Profound Stage. Peers of his age had already advanced to the sixth or seventh level, with some even striving for the Earth Profound Stage.

Yet, Ye Tian's father, Ye Chengfeng, had invested considerable effort to enroll him in the Spirit Feather Academy, holding onto the hope that his son might one day unblock his profound veins.

"Truly a waste..."

But for the formidable Heaven Soaring Great Monarch, this was hardly an obstacle.

He possessed an array of profound cultivation methods that could effortlessly overcome the innate limitations of this body.

With a steely gaze, Ye Tian resolved that in this second chance at life, he would climb back to the pinnacle and reclaim all that was rightfully his.

Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting a warm glow over Ye Tian's form.

The young man was dressed in garments whiter than snow, his features as finely drawn as a painting, lips the hue of cherry blossoms, skin pale as snow, with a few strands of purple hair dancing in the breeze.

Amidst this tranquility, a cacophony of disordered noise erupted from nearby.

"He's waking up, waking up. Ye Tian truly sets the standard for us all, nearly sleeping his way to death in class."

"Good for nothing except for sleeping—he's number one at that!"

"This loser has probably just given up on himself."

These were the voices of Ye Tian's classmates in the Spirit Feather Academy classroom, their mockery unreserved and unabashed.

Ye Tian was accustomed to it. Throughout his life, he had endured a litany of jeers and had long since become indifferent to them.

But was he truly asleep?

Noticing a trace of Meta Itch on his sleeve, Ye Tian's brow creased slightly as he murmured, "Meta Itch, concocted from a blend of poisons. In small doses, it induces unconsciousness; in large ones, it can kill without a sound."

For an ancient being who had lived nearly ten thousand years, Ye Tian found the Meta Itch trivial. But who would dare poison him?

"Ye Tian, does my class bore you to the point of exhaustion?"

From the lectern, an icy female voice laced with anger cut through the air. The speaker was none other than the instructor of the class, Zi Hanyue.

Clad in a blue emerald dress complemented by a skirt of misty green, her skin was as smooth as cream, her presence as delicate as an orchid, with a golden hairpin adorned with purple jade affixed in her hair, cascading tassels over her raven locks. Her beauty was undeniable, yet a chill of haughty pride radiated from her.

"You insolent fool! After years of cultivation, you've barely reached the second level of the Qi Profound Stage, and yet you have the audacity to sleep and disrupt my class!"

"The semester's final assessments are imminent. If you, this waste of space, fail to pass, prepare to be expelled!"

Zi Hanyue's fury was palpable, her indignation causing her chest to heave with each word.

In his past life as the Heaven Soaring Great Monarch, Ye Tian had never been subjected to such rebuke.

Casting a sidelong glance at Zi Hanyue, Ye Tian raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Such fiery temper. Could it be a side effect of practicing the Crystalline Feathers Technique, leaving you chilled to the bone each night, wracked with pain, to the point of... menstrual irregularity, perhaps?"

"Uh..."

A hush fell over the classroom.

The students were all struck dumb, their eyes wide in disbelief. Ye Tian was brazen beyond belief, daring to speak his mind so freely. Had he forgotten that Teacher Zi Hanyue was nicknamed the 'female devil'?

Provoking Zi Hanyue was a surefire way to court disaster.

Yet, Zi Hanyue's face was a mask of shock, her heart roiling like a tempestuous sea. Ye Tian's words mirrored her own secret struggles with eerie precision!

But Zi Hanyue was certain she had never disclosed her condition to anyone!

"What nonsense are you spouting?" she demanded, feigning anger to test him. She scrutinized Ye Tian, her surprise growing by the second.

The old Ye Tian would have been terrified into a ghostly pallor by such questioning.

But now, Ye Tian was unflinching, regarding her with an icy, haughty stare that seemed to say, 'I've seen right through you.'

This only served to unsettle Zi Hanyue further.

"Are you under the delusion that you know better than me? You can't even grasp your own cultivation, and yet you presume to advise others?"

"Of course, it's not entirely your fault. The Crystalline Feathers Technique was flawed from its inception. Avoiding those flaws isn't hard; you just need to be mindful of a few key aspects during your practice."

Within Ye Tian's youthful form resided a soul that had lived for nearly ten thousand years. His voice, though youthful, resonated with an air of indomitable authority.

"Which aspects?" Zi Hanyue couldn't help but press.

She had sought advice from several seniors who practiced the technique, to no avail. She hadn't expected Ye Tian to pinpoint the issues so effortlessly.

Her astonishment made her momentarily forget the disparity between their statuses.

Ye Tian replied with a sly grin, "Beg me, and I might just tell you."

"You..."

Zi Hanyue was taken aback, her indignation flaring.

Since when did a teacher have to plead with a student?

"No need to beg if you'd rather not. Your Crystalline Feathers Technique has hit a bottleneck, and in a few days, when you attempt to break through, it will be agonizing. You'll come around then."

Ye Tian's demeanor was one of serene confidence.

Zi Hanyue's brow creased slightly. She was indeed at a bottleneck, yet she had no inkling of when the breakthrough might occur. How could Ye Tian possibly know it would happen in just a few days?

Ye Tian was likely spouting nonsense again.

Zi Hanyue quickly realized her lapse in composure and, not wanting to get further entangled with Ye Tian on the matter, resumed her lecture.

Meanwhile, Ye Tian's mind was awash with countless thoughts.

Three millennia ago, he had accepted a disciple named Yuyun. She had later demonstrated remarkable talent, devising her own technique, the Crystalline Feathers Technique. Ye Tian had helped refine it, pointing out its imperfections and guiding Yuyun in her cultivation.

Now, after three thousand years, he couldn't help but wonder about Yuyun's fate.

Were those old friends of his still alive in this world?

And what of Linglong and Luangu, the pair who had betrayed him? How were they faring? Did they ever feel remorse for their actions?