The sun set in the west, and the sky filled with evening clouds.

Outside Fenghuo City, atop Emerald Cloud Peak, there was a stone table with stone stools beside it, where a pair of young people leaned against each other.

The young man had a thin build, a slightly pale complexion, and delicate features.

The young woman wore a snow-white long dress, had jade-like skin, and stunning beauty.

The young woman rested her head on the young man’s shoulder. Under the setting sun’s rays, they looked like a divine couple.

“Yao’er, I truly hope we can be like this for a lifetime!” the young man said gently, his face full of happy smiles.

“Brother Ming, of course we can. We promised to be together for all our lives.”

The young woman’s face showed a happy smile.

The young man’s name was Lu Ming, and the young woman’s name was Lu Yao.

Looking at the smile on Lu Yao’s face, Lu Ming’s eyes grew even more tender. He grasped Lu Yao’s soft, boneless jade hand and said: “Yao’er, although my meridians are blocked and I cannot condense vital energy, as long as I can awaken my bloodline, the Council of Elders will purchase spiritual medicine to clear my meridians, and then I can cultivate.”

“I will definitely become a powerful martial artist and protect you for all our lives.”

“Thank you, Brother Ming.”

Lu Yao’s eyes showed moved emotion, then said: “Brother Ming, was it really true that a pulse examiner once tested that you inherited your father’s bloodline?”

“Yes, Yao’er, so in the future your man will definitely be a powerful person.” Lu Ming’s face showed a confident smile.

Lu Yao smiled faintly and picked up the wine cup on the stone table. Inside the cup was the famous Blood Tongue Orchid wine, emanating a subtle fragrance.

Lu Yao lightning-quick kissed Lu Ming on the cheek, her face blushing, then raised the wine cup and said: “Brother Ming, come, this is Yao’er’s reward for you.”

Lu Ming took the wine cup and said: “Yao’er, you give me a cup of Blood Tongue Orchid wine to drink every day. I’m truly grateful to have you by my side.”

With these words, he raised the cup and drank it in one gulp.

The wine’s aroma lingered on his tongue. Lu Ming’s heart was as sweet as the wine’s fragrance, but the next moment, he felt the world spinning.

“Yao’er, why do I feel dizzy? This wine…”

Lu Ming supported himself on the stone table and looked toward Lu Yao, but at this moment, he discovered that Lu Yao’s expression had turned cold.

“Hahaha, Lu Ming, Yao’er has accompanied you for three years merely to nurture your pulse. Now the time has come—contribute your bloodline!”

At this time, a middle-aged man appeared from the side—it was Lu Yao’s father.

Boom!

Like a thunderbolt from clear skies exploding in Lu Ming’s mind.

“Yao’er!”

Lu Ming looked at Lu Yao in disbelief, but Lu Yao’s eyes were filled with nothing but coldness.

“Why? I loved you so much!”

Lu Yao’s cold gaze was like sharp knives stabbing into Lu Ming’s heart. He roared and lunged toward Lu Yao.

But Lu Yao merely stepped back slightly, and he fell to the ground.

“Duanmu Lin of the Xuanyuan Sword Sect began cultivating at six, broke through two divine meridians in half a year, entering the Martial Warrior realm. At nine he entered the Martial Master realm. Now at sixteen, he’s one of the four great talents of the Xuanyuan Sword Sect. And you? Weak and sickly, with blocked meridians—to put it bluntly, you’re just trash. Even if you awaken your bloodline, you’ll still be trash. Can you compare with Duanmu Lin?”

“Such a genius is a worthy match for me, Lu Yao. To form a marriage alliance with him requires awakening a powerful bloodline. Since you love me so much, why not help me achieve this? Use your bloodline to help me awaken an even stronger bloodline.”

A cold voice came from Lu Yao’s mouth.

Bang!

At this moment, the middle-aged man stomped on Lu Ming’s back. A sharp knife appeared in his hand as he shouted: “Lu Ming,献out your bloodline!”

Ah!

At his spine, heart-wrenching pain instantly engulfed Lu Ming. Lu Ming screamed, his voice full of loneliness, helplessness, and despair.

Gradually, Lu Ming sank into boundless darkness.

“Lu Yao, Lu Yunxiong, why did you seize my bloodline!”

Lu Ming roared loudly and suddenly sat up from the bed. The pressure made the camphor wood bed creak.

Lu Ming was drenched in sweat, his face pale. At first, he thought he had a nightmare, but quickly realized this wasn’t a dream—it was something that had already happened.

The scene from several days ago surfaced in his mind again.

Lu Ming was the heir of the main bloodline of the Lu family in Fenghuo City. His father was the family head. And Lu Yao was the daughter of the First Branch’s Grand Elder.

The two were from the same clan but different branches, grew up together from childhood, were inseparable childhood sweethearts. They had even privately sworn oaths and pledged themselves to each other in secret.

Lu Ming never imagined that Lu Yao would work with the Grand Elder to attack him and seize his bloodline.

“Strength, it’s all because I lack strength. If I had extraordinary talent and powerful strength, how would they dare treat me this way?”

Lu Ming clenched his fists, his entire body trembling, his eyes bloodshot.

Trash!

This was how Lu Yao addressed him. Lu Yao’s words from three days ago seemed to still echo in his ears.

Creak!

At this moment, the door was pushed open, and a frail middle-aged woman entered. Seeing Lu Ming on the bed, she asked with concern: “Ming’er, did you have another nightmare?”

This beautiful woman was Lu Ming’s mother, Li Ping.

Three days ago, it was Li Ping who, worried about Lu Ming’s safety, went out searching and saved him. Otherwise, Lu Ming would already be dead.

Ever since six years ago when word came that Lu Ming’s father had been killed by someone while traveling abroad, he had depended on Li Ping for survival.

Lu Ming looked at Li Ping, and his gaze softened. He said: “Mother, it’s nothing. Just a dream.”

Looking at Lu Ming’s pale face, Li Ping sat on the edge of his bed, touched his forehead, and said with heartache: “It’s been three days now. Each time you cry out that Lu Yao harmed you. Ming’er, what exactly happened? Could your injuries really be because of Lu Yao…”

Lu Ming said: “Mother, it’s nothing. You heard wrong.”

Lu Ming didn’t tell Li Ping that it was Lu Yao and the Grand Elder who did it, because Li Ping hadn’t cultivated the martial path. Telling her would only bring her harm.

Li Ping hesitated, then said: “Ming’er, from now on, you cannot directly address Lu Yao by name in front of others. Two days ago, Lu Yao awakened a fifth-level bloodline and also opened one divine-level meridian. She has now received recognition from the Council of Elders. At the clan meeting two months from now, she will take control of the Lu family and become the family head. Directly calling the family head by name might be seen as disrespectful.”

“What? Lu Yao wants to take control of the Lu family? She can dream on.”

Lu Ming let out a low, angry roar. His eyes became bloodshot, his teeth grinding audibly, nearly shattering from the pressure. Blood flowed from his mouth.

Six years ago, after Lu Ming’s father was allegedly killed, the Lu family had been managed by the Council of Elders for these six years without establishing a new family head.

Seeing Lu Ming like this, Li Ping was frightened out of her wits. She could only hold Lu Ming’s head, tears streaming down continuously: “Ming’er, don’t scare Mother. Mother has already lost your father—I can’t lose you too.”

“Father, where exactly are you? Ming’er believes you’re not dead. But now, Ming’er is powerless. Even the position of family head is about to be lost.”

Lu Ming gripped the pendant around his neck tightly. From using too much force, his fingernails pierced into his flesh, and blood kept seeping out.

This pendant, cast from bronze and the size of a broad bean, was sent back from outside by Lu Ming’s father through someone else before his incident. For these six years, Lu Ming had kept it with him constantly.

The blood from his palm seeped out and flowed toward the bronze pendant.

Hum!

Suddenly, the bronze pendant began to vibrate slightly and became burning hot.

Before Lu Ming could react, the bronze pendant trembled once, then turned into specks of powder, burrowed into his palm, and disappeared.

Next, Lu Ming felt a scalding energy from his palm, following along his arm, continuing upward. After a while, it stopped at the Hall of印 acupoint between his eyebrows.

“Nine Dragons Undying, Bloodline Reborn!”

Suddenly, a tremendous roar sounded in Lu Ming’s mind, shaking his brain until it buzzed.

“Nine Dragons Undying, Bloodline Reborn!”

“Nine Dragons Undying, Bloodline Reborn!”

Continuous roars kept echoing in Lu Ming’s mind. Then, a scorching energy emanated from between his eyebrows and surged toward Lu Ming’s spine.

The next moment, the roaring stopped, but waves of itching came from his spine, and his entire body became burning hot.

“What’s happening?”

Lu Ming was completely baffled.

At this moment, the itching on his spine became even more intense, as if something was slowly growing.

“Ming’er, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare Mother.”

Sensing the abnormality in Lu Ming’s body, Li Ping was even more frightened and somewhat at a loss.

“Bloodline reborn? Could I really have my bloodline reborn?” Lu Ming wondered in his heart.

Ancient texts recorded that only very few people, after having their bloodline stripped or damaged for other reasons, could experience bloodline rebirth and grow a new bloodline.

But reborn bloodlines were mostly low-grade and not very useful.

However, there were also extremely rare cases where some could break through and be reborn, rising from destruction, transcending the past, and awakening supreme bloodlines.

But this probability was so small it could be ignored. According to ancient records, there had only been a few such cases throughout history.

Transcending the past and awakening a supreme bloodline—Lu Ming didn’t dare think about that, as the probability was too small. He would be overjoyed just to awaken any bloodline at all.

With a bloodline, he could cultivate the martial path and change his fate.

At this moment, the strange sensations in his body gradually disappeared. Lu Ming’s face showed a smile: “Mother, I’m fine!”

“Young Master, it’s so good that you’re alright. These past few days, you’ve scared us to death!”

At this time, a young woman approached and spoke.

The young woman was about the same age as Lu Ming and extremely beautiful.

Lu Ming naturally recognized her. The young woman’s name was Qiuyue—she was Li Ping’s personal maid who had grown up with him.

“Qiuyue, I’m fine. Don’t worry!”

Lu Ming smiled.

Then, Lu Ming’s gaze swept around, and his expression changed drastically: “Mother, where is this? This isn’t the Lu family main residence!”

Lu Ming’s father had been the Lu family head, and they had always lived in the Lu family main residence, but this place wasn’t it.

“Ming’er, focus on recovering from your injuries. Don’t overthink things!” Li Ping said, but the fleeting sorrow and tears in her eyes were still caught by Lu Ming.

“Mother, what exactly happened?” Lu Ming asked.

“Young Master, let me tell you. We were driven out. Lu Yao said that since she’s about to become family head, she should rightfully move into the main residence, and we had no qualification to continue living there. She made us move out.”

On the side, Qiuyue bit her silver teeth and revealed what had happened, her pretty little face full of indignation.

“What? Lu Yao, you’ve gone too far!” Lu Ming roared.

“You trash, what are you yelling about? Having a place for you to live is already a gracious gift to you. Aren’t you grateful?”

Just then, a voice rang out from outside the door. Then the door opened, and a young man walked in.

“Lu Chuan, it’s you!”

Lu Ming shouted angrily. This person was named Lu Chuan—Lu Yao’s older brother, also a bit older than Lu Ming.

“Lu Chuan, we’ve already left the main residence. Why are you still coming here?”

Li Ping said, her body instinctively blocking in front of Lu Ming, as if afraid Lu Chuan would harm him.

“I’m here to take the sword!”

After speaking, Lu Chuan’s eyes scanned all around. When he saw a treasured sword beside the bed, his eyes lit up. He immediately walked over and reached out to grab the sword.

“Lu Chuan, this sword is the only token left by Ming’er’s father, meant to be kept for Ming’er to use in the future. You can’t take it.”

Li Ping hurried forward to snatch it back.

“Get lost!”

Lu Chuan exerted force. The sword sheath trembled, and a burst of power erupted. Li Ping hadn’t cultivated at all—how could she resist? Her body staggered backward, nearly falling to the ground.

“Mother!” Lu Ming roared.