All the passengers on the bus were students, around the same age, heading toward the same destination—the awakening ceremony.
All of them were staring at the black-haired boy.
His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his breathing was still uneven. Anyone who looked at him could tell something strange had happened.
Among the students, one fat boy leaned back in his seat and laughed loudly.
"Did you have a nightmare?" he said mockingly. "Or did you wet your pants because you're scared you'll awaken a low-ranking ability?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire bus burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Look at him!"
"He's sweating like crazy!"
The black-haired boy lowered his head slightly as the laughter filled the bus.
Looking around, anyone could see that every passenger inside the bus was a student. They were all roughly the same age—between eighteen and nineteen years old.
They were here for the same reason.
Today was the day of natural awakening.
Most of the students came from normal families. None of them were from powerful martial families. If they had been born into such families, they would have already awakened their abilities long ago using special treasures.
Only ordinary people had to wait until the age of eighteen for a natural awakening.
Just then, the bus suddenly slowed down.
The conductor stepped forward and spoke loudly.
"We have arrived at Dragon Sanctuary 007!"
He looked at the students and continued,
"Everyone get ready. Leave the bus in an orderly line."
The students quickly stood up from their seats.
One by one, they began leaving the bus.
When they stepped outside, they were greeted by a strange sight.
The land around them was barren.
Dry soil stretched across the horizon, and not a single tree could be seen nearby. The place looked lifeless.
But ahead of them stood something massive.
A gigantic city gate.
The enormous gate towered above the students like the entrance to a fortress.
Several heavily armed guards stood outside the gate, carefully watching everyone who approached.
The students immediately formed a line.
Each person stepped forward and showed their citizen ID card to the guards before entering the city.
Soon it was the black-haired boy's turn.
He walked forward quietly and handed his ID card to one of the guards.
The guard scanned the card.
A moment later, several guards began laughing.
"Hahaha!"
"Look at this."
One of them held up the ID card and read the name written on it.
"Du Shentian."
The reason they were laughing was not his name.
It was the color of the card.
It was white.
Inside the Dragon Nation, citizen cards were divided into several levels based on social status.
White cards were Level 1 citizen cards, the lowest rank.
They represented the poorest class of citizens—orphans, slum dwellers, or people who lived on the streets.
Above the white card were the higher ranks.
Blue cards were Level 2 citizen cards, which represented people from ordinary families.
Red cards were Level 3 citizen cards. These belonged to families that possessed at least a King Tier Warrior or were branch families of powerful families.
Black cards were Level 4 citizen cards, held by members of prominent main families who possessed multiple Saint Level Warriors or at least one Emperor Level Warrior.
And finally—
Purple cards.
These were Level 5 citizen cards, given only to families connected to Great Emperor Level Warriors.
However, none of the students who arrived on the bus possessed such high-level cards.
Most of them had Level 2 or Level 3 citizen cards, while he was the only one who had Level 1 card.
The guards handed Du Shentian's card back to him, but their laughter had not stopped.
One of them glanced at Du Shentian's thin figure and smirked.
After he walked past the gate, the guards continued talking among themselves.
"Another one," one guard said with a chuckle.
"Yeah," another replied. "Every year there are many people like him who come to Dragon Sanctuary."
"They all think they can change their fate."
A third guard shook his head.
"But they are usually the first ones to die."
"Or lose an arm or a leg."
The guards laughed again.
One of them crossed his arms and said coldly,
"I really don't understand why they come here. They should already know their place."
He snorted in disdain.
"People like him should understand that all their efforts are futile."
"Dragon Sanctuary is not a place for trash from the streets."
Du Shentian quietly took back his card.
For a moment, he wondered if they were laughing because of his appearance.
He was not tall—only around 165 centimeters.
His face was ordinary, nothing particularly handsome or impressive.
But deep down, he knew the truth.
They weren't laughing at his height.
They were laughing at his background.
Du Shentian was an orphan.
His birthplace was Bloodstone Heaven, one of the three most dangerous beast-infested regions in the nation.
Bloodstone Heaven was infamous not only for the terrifying number of monsters living there, but also because a large number of abandoned children and orphans struggled to survive in that brutal land.
Life in Bloodstone Heaven was nothing like the safe cities of the Dragon Nation.
Even the weakest monsters roaming that region were King Tier beasts.
For ordinary people, simply entering that place meant certain death.
Trying to survive there—especially as a child—was something most people could never even imagine.
Compared to that nightmare, Dragon Sanctuary 007 was practically a training ground.
Dragon Sanctuary 007 existed specifically for beginners who had just awakened their abilities.
But Bloodstone Heaven was different.
That place was a true battlefield.
Trying to survive in a land where even the weakest monsters were King Tier was truly terrifying.
Trying to suppress the anger rising in his chest, Du Shentian clenched his fists and walked deeper into the city.
Du Shentian thought—
The Cultivation Path of Warriors
In this world, warriors followed a strict path of cultivation.
The power system was divided into several stages.
First came the Awakener stage.
After awakening an ability, a warrior could begin advancing through the following tiers:
First Tier Warrior
Second Tier Warrior
Third Tier Warrior
Fourth Tier Warrior
Fifth Tier Warrior
Sixth Tier Warrior
Seventh Tier Warrior
Eighth Tier Warrior
Ninth Tier Warrior
Tenth Tier Warrior
Each tier was divided into four stages:
Early Stage
Intermediate Stage
Advanced Stage
Peak Stage
Beyond the Tenth Tier existed a completely different realm.
King Level Warriors
Early King Stage
Mid King Stage
Late King Stage
Peak King Stage
After surpassing the King Realm came the Saint Level.
Saint Level Warriors:
Lesser Saint
Greater Saint
True Saint
Above even them stood the terrifying Emperor Level Warriors.
Emperor Level Warriors:
One Star Emperor
Two Star Emperor
Three Star Emperor
However, between the Emperor Realm and the legendary Great Emperor Realm exists a special transitional realm:
Half-Step Great Emperor
Warriors at this level have already surpassed ordinary Emperors but have not yet fully stepped into the realm of a true Great Emperor.
At the very peak of the world stand the strongest beings of all—
Great Emperor Level Warriors.
But I don't desire great power for myself; I only seek enough to protect my family. Still, a small part of me longs to uncover the truth about that white-haired man.
Du Shentian walked through the streets of the sanctuary, his mind filled with determination.
A small gleam appeared in his golden eyes.
"I will awaken a powerful ability," he thought.
"No matter what."
He had too many reasons to grow stronger.
His home was an orphan house called Ashfall, located deep within Bloodstone Heaven.
Ashfall was not a real orphanage. It was simply a broken building where six abandoned children gathered together to survive.
Over time, those children had become a family.
Du Shentian wanted to take them out of Bloodstone Heaven someday.
He wanted to give them a safe life.
And he wanted to raise their status.
Right now they were only Level 1 citizens.
But one day he would change that.
His thoughts then turned to his big brother Liang Zhen, who was twenty years old. Even though they were not connected by blood, they were like real brothers.
Two years ago, Liang Zhen had come to Dragon Sanctuary 007 to earn money for Ashfall.
But during a mission, the Azure Wind Battalion made a terrible mistake and provided incorrect information about the monsters in the hunting area.
Because of that error, Liang Zhen's team walked straight into danger.
He had almost died.
Although he survived, his legs were severely injured.
Since that day, he had been unable to walk.
Du Shentian clenched his fists.
"I will find a treasure that can cure Brother Liang's legs."
Luckily, Liang Zhen survived that day because of someone else.
A man known as Brother Blind.
His real name was Tian Shu, and he was twenty-four years old.
Even though he was blind, his strength was terrifying.
After saving Liang Zhen, Tian Shu stayed with the children of Ashfall for a while.
During that time, he taught Du Shentian swordsmanship.
Before leaving, he even crafted a handmade sword and gave it to Du Shentian for protection.
Even though Tian Shu stayed for less than a year and was not originally from Bloodstone Heaven, Du Shentian still considered him part of the Ashfall family.
Then there were his four younger siblings.
Chen Wei, thirteen years old.
Lin Hao, eleven years old.
Alice, nine years old.
Mei Lin, eight years old.
They were not related by blood.
But to Du Shentian, they were family.
He wanted them to grow up somewhere safe.
Somewhere they could live like normal children.
For that dream—
He needed money.
And he needed strength.
But deep inside his heart, there was another reason.
A hidden one.
The image of the white-haired man from his dream appeared in his mind again.
A battlefield among the stars.
Four terrifying chaotic beings.
And the man who had faced them alone.
Du Shentian did not know why he kept dreaming about that scene.
But every time he saw it, it felt unbelievably real.
Right now, he knew he was weak.
Far too weak.
If he wanted to protect his family…
If he wanted to uncover the truth behind that mysterious white-haired man…
Then he needed power.
Real power.
His golden eyes shone with determination.
"The awakening ceremony is today."
"This is my first step."
End of Chapter 2
Author's Note
This is my first novel, so there may be mistakes along the way. Please feel free to point them out so I can improve.
Also, English is not my first language, so there might be some inconsistencies.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story!