C1 Awakened Memories

"I am the Ninth Heaven Sovereign, invincible across the six realms, immortal throughout the ages. Even if I perish today, there will come a day when I shall reign over the Nine Heavens once more!"

Xiao Yu's voice came out in a low shout before his eyes snapped open.

At that moment, he was lying in a bed, feeling utterly weak and unable to muster any strength as he awoke.

"What's happening? My cultivation has long since reached the 'True Realm.' My body should be indestructible, and my soul eternal. Why am I so weakened?"

Alarmed, Xiao Yu began to examine his body.

It was then he discovered that not a trace of divine power remained within him. His once world-defying cultivation had vanished without a trace, leaving him completely mortal.

"Yuer, are you awake?"

As Xiao Yu was lost in thought, a joyful voice reached his ears.

He looked over and saw a beautiful woman by his bedside. Her face lit up with both surprise and concern, and there were tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Mother?" Xiao Yu gasped, his expression turning complex.

The woman was indeed his mother, Lin Yurou. Seeing her helped Xiao Yu piece together his predicament.

He truly was the Ninth Heaven Sovereign, whose cultivation had once reached the zenith of this world, unrivaled in the six realms, standing supreme above the Nine Heavens, with an endless lifespan.

Yet, all that belonged to a time ten thousand years past.

A decade of millennia ago, in a moment of vulnerability, he was betrayed and met his demise. No one could have imagined that after ten thousand years, he would be reborn through the cycle of reincarnation, now living as the current Xiao Yu.

He was both Xiao Yu and the Ninth Heaven Sovereign of ten thousand years prior.

However, Xiao Yu had not recalled the memories of his former life until now. Though fragments had been returning slowly over the years, it was only now that he fully remembered his past existence.

In a mere blink, ten thousand years had slipped by, and the splendor of yesteryears had faded like a passing cloud. Xiao Yu was filled with a profound sense of nostalgia.

"Yuer, how are you feeling? You were mumbling in your unconscious state about being the Ninth Heaven Sovereign and living forever. What did all that mean? Please, don't frighten me!"

Lin Yurou's voice, laced with worry, snapped Xiao Yu back to the present. He turned to her and mustered a weak smile, reassuring her, "It was just some silly talk in my sleep. Don't worry about it, Mother."

He felt helpless concealing the truth from Lin Yurou. The matters at hand were indescribable, and even if he were to divulge them, it was unlikely anyone would believe him.

Despite his reassurances, Lin Yurou's face remained etched with concern as she persistently inquired about how Xiao Yu was feeling. After much comforting from him, she finally began to settle down.

The door creaked open abruptly, and a tall, middle-aged man strode into the room, flanked by several youths.

"Lin Wentian!" Xiao Yu's face soured at the sight of the man.

His current injuries and unconscious state were a direct result of Lin Wentian, the head of the Lin Family.

"You're quite the survivor, waking up so soon," Lin Wentian remarked, glancing at Xiao Yu with a tone and expression of sheer indifference.

Xiao Yu responded with a cold snort, remaining silent.

"Patriarch, what brings you here?" Lin Yurou asked, rising to her feet with a hint of anxiety in her voice.

With Xiao Yu bedridden from Lin Wentian's assault, Lin Yurou was understandably concerned that he had come to cause more trouble.

"Nothing major. I've simply come to notify you that, effective today, you'll be residing in the Outer Mansion," Lin Wentian declared emotionlessly.

"The Outer Mansion? Patriarch, isn't that where the servants live?" Lin Yurou's expression shifted subtly.

Within the Lin Family, there was a clear distinction between the Inner Mansion, where the family members resided, and the Outer Mansion, the servants' quarters. Members of the Lin Family typically avoided the latter, and Lin Wentian's decree was tantamount to relegating them to the status of servants.

"Hmph, our Lin Family has sheltered you and your son for years, providing care and sustenance without asking for anything in return. That alone is a tremendous kindness. Yet, you show no gratitude and even had the audacity to offend Wang Fei, the young master of the Wang Family, nearly jeopardizing our clan's prospects. Not expelling you from the family altogether is already the epitome of benevolence," Lin Wentian said, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"But..." Lin Yurou was fraught with anxiety. Being forced to leave the Outer Mansion was something she could bear, but the thought of Xiao Yu being treated as inferior was intolerable to her.

"Mother, there's no need to plead with him!" Xiao Yu, summoning his strength, rose from the bed, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

The Lin Family, a middle-tier clan in Giant Stone City, was neither particularly strong nor notably weak, and it was within this family that Xiao Yu had spent his childhood.

Although the family bore the Lin surname, Xiao Yu was a Xiao—making him an outsider in this household, which belonged to his mother, Lin Yurou's, birth clan.

In this life, Xiao Yu had no knowledge of his father's identity; he had neither seen the man nor heard Lin Yurou speak of him.

He was aware that his mother had once left the Lin Family through marriage, but for reasons unknown, she had returned alone, bringing him along to live among her kin.

In this era, a woman who married away was considered a stranger to her own family. Thus, Lin Yurou's return to the Lin Family, especially with Xiao Yu, a child born elsewhere, was met with considerable resistance from the clan.

Had Xiao Yu possessed exceptional talent in cultivation, the Lin Family might have valued him. Unfortunately, prior to regaining his memories, his aptitude was so lacking it verged on non-existent, rendering him no better than a cripple in the eyes of the family.

This disdain from the Lin Family members was compounded by the low status of mother and son within the clan, subjecting them to scorn and ridicule. Xiao Yu, fatherless and deemed mediocre, faced frequent humiliation at the hands of the Lin Family's youth.

Regarding the young master Wang Fei mentioned by Lin Wentian, he was a descendant of the Wang Family, a clan with considerably more clout than the Lin Family. The Lin Family was seeking to forge a marital alliance with the Wangs to enhance their own standing.

Xiao Yu's current grievous injuries and unconscious state were the direct result of an encounter with Wang Fei.

A few days prior, Wang Fei had paid a visit to the Lin Family. Xiao Yu, in a rush and by sheer accident, had stepped on the foot of one of Wang Fei's servants. The domineering Wang Fei demanded that Xiao Yu kneel and apologize, going so far as to insist he clean his servant's shoes.

Xiao Yu, despite his mediocrity, possessed a stubborn streak. Moreover, his standing was certainly not beneath that of a servant from the Wang Family, even though he wasn't a blood member of the Lin Family. Naturally, he refused to endure such indignity.

When Wang Fei saw Xiao Yu's defiance, he struck him across the face. Humiliated, Xiao Yu, without a thought for the consequences, lunged at Wang Fei. Xiao Yu's talents were unremarkable, and without any cultivation, he was no match for Wang Fei. However, Wang Fei hadn't anticipated Xiao Yu's resistance. Xiao Yu managed to land a punch, and although it didn't cause serious injury, it left Wang Fei's face swollen and him looking somewhat disheveled.

Enraged by the blow, Wang Fei commanded his servants to join in, beating and kicking Xiao Yu mercilessly. In the nick of time, Lin Wentian, the patriarch of the Lin Family, arrived on the scene.

Xiao Yu had hoped, considering he was at least loosely associated with the Lin Family, that Lin Wentian would speak up for him. To his dismay, after learning of the incident, Lin Wentian not only refrained from defending him but, in an effort to appease Wang Fei, ordered Xiao Yu to be dragged away and punished severely.

Lacking cultivation and physically frail, Xiao Yu was nearly beaten to death by Lin Wentian's command. He survived, but with grave injuries that left him bedridden and unconscious. It was only now that he had regained consciousness.

Unexpectedly, during his brush with death, Xiao Yu encountered something mysterious that triggered the complete return of memories from his past life.