The night was quiet atop the mountain.
An eerie silence, one that did not belong on a battlefield drenched in blood.
Li Qiye stood at the edge of the summit, his white robes fluttering in the wind. Behind him, corpses lay scattered across the rocks, while dozens of experts surrounded him from every direction.
There was no way to escape.
Seven hundred years.
Seven hundred years of planning.
Seven hundred years of blood, betrayal, and pursuit.
And in the end, everything had led to this moment.
Li Qiye raised his head toward the sky.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Nor regret.
Only a calmness that sent chills through everyone present.
Then he smiled.
One of the experts said in a low voice:
"He's surrounded... Why is he smiling?"
No one answered.
As for Li Qiye, he slowly extended his hand.
Strands of energy gathered around his body. At first, they were faint, but they soon began to condense at a terrifying speed.
Everyone's expressions changed.
An old man said:
"That energy..."
His eyes widened.
"Impossible."
Li Qiye raised his eyes toward him.
"You're too late."
Someone shouted:
"Stop him!"
Dozens of experts charged toward him at the same moment.
But Li Qiye did not move.
He said calmly:
"I calculated everything."
Everyone held their breath.
"The location."
The energy intensified.
"The timing."
The ground beneath his feet began to crack.
"And the power required."
The energy surged into the sky.
Then he smiled.
"Even my death."
The sky changed.
In an instant, a white light engulfed the entire summit.
Someone shouted:
"Li Qiye! What have you done?!"
The answer was simple.
"The Heavenly Explosion Art."
Then everything disappeared.
The mountain.
The sky.
The enemies.
And the body that had carried the name Li Qiye for seven hundred years.
The world transformed into a sea of light.
No sound.
No darkness.
No body.
Only an endless void.
Then...
A heartbeat.
Silence.
Another heartbeat.
The young man suddenly opened his eyes.
He gasped violently as air rushed into his lungs.
He sat up.
He looked around.
A wooden ceiling.
Simple walls.
An old bed.
A small table beside the window.
He remained silent.
He did not move.
He did not ask where he was.
Instead, he closed his eyes.
He began examining his body.
His heart was fine.
His bones were intact.
His organs were unharmed.
But...
His energy?
Nothing.
He slowly opened his eyes.
"...My body has changed."
He raised his hand in front of his face.
It was the hand of a young man.
Smooth and delicate, without any trace of the battles he had endured throughout his life.
He stared at it for several seconds.
Then he stood.
One step.
Then another.
Until he reached an old mirror.
He looked into it.
A young face he had never seen before appeared before him.
Sharp features.
Clear eyes.
A body in the prime of youth.
This was not his face.
Nor was this his body.
And yet...
There was something else.
Vague memories began surfacing in his mind.
"These memories are not mine."
Suddenly, faces of people he had never seen before appeared in his mind.
Events he had never experienced.
Pain.
Fear.
Then, a single name.
Dao Chi.
"So... the owner of this body is called Dao Chi."
Li Qiye placed a finger against his temple.
He did not try to resist the memories.
Instead, he began organizing them.
For the first time in a long time, he felt something rare.
Curiosity.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Then his eyes narrowed.
From that moment onward, a new era began.
The world no longer knew the name Li Qiye.
But the name Dao Chi...
was about to become far more terrifying.