Chapter 2

At the moment Zhao Hai fainted, a memory that did not belong to him suddenly appeared in his mind, as if a program not belonging to his computer had been suddenly installed, almost causing Zhao Hai's brain to crash. Although it didn't crash, his brain was still in a state of freeze, slowly digesting the information in his mind.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Hai woke up, feeling that his brain had suddenly gained a memory that did not belong to him.

In this memory, his name was Adam Budah, born into a military family in the Aksum Empire on the Ark Continent. The Budah family had served the Aksum Empire for three generations, holding the rank of Marquis. However, by Adam's generation, the family had fallen into decline. Adam was a spoiled son, and with his mother dying early and his father often away leading troops, he became extremely unruly, bullying and oppressing others without restraint. However, his father was very protective and held significant military power, so no one dared to touch him.

But his father made a critical mistake during the transition of the Aksum Empire's throne. He supported the wrong faction.

The old king of the Aksum Empire was the 47th, and he had fifteen princes. Among them, five could inherit the throne: the first prince, third prince, fourth prince, seventh prince, and thirteenth prince.

According to the laws of the Aksum Empire, only the children of the queen and concubines had the right to inherit the throne. Of course, not all children of the queen and concubines could inherit the throne; only those who were granted a rank of Duke or higher could.

Royal children were born with the rank of Count. If they did not make significant contributions to the empire, they would remain Counts for life, even without any fiefs. Only by making contributions could their ranks rise, with the highest being Prince.

Of course, the children of the queen and concubines would not remain mere Counts. They were usually granted the rank of Duke and, with a little achievement or a fabricated reason, could be promoted to Grand Duke and eventually to Prince, thus inheriting the throne.

The 47th king of Aksum had five children who could inherit the throne, all of whom were Princes. The first and fourth princes were born to the queen, the third and seventh princes to Concubine Kaling, and the thirteenth prince to Concubine Aiwel, who was the weakest and least favored. People generally believed that the first prince, born to the queen, was the legitimate heir, and the third prince always supported the first prince. Therefore, many nobles in the empire supported the first prince's succession. The fourth and seventh princes were allies, with the seventh prince supported by the fourth prince and the Kaling family, making him a strong contender. The thirteenth prince, the youngest and weakest, was the least favored.

Adam's father supported the first prince, which was natural since the first prince was the most favored. The Budah family was not an old noble family; they had only risen to the rank of Marquis through military achievements in the grandfather's generation. They wanted to quickly join the ranks of the old nobility, so they supported the first prince, who was the most likely to become king. If the first prince became king, the Budah family could enter the core of the Aksum Empire's power and become a truly recognized noble family.

In the empire, nobles were divided into two types: old nobles and new nobles. The gap between the two was significant. New nobles were often seen as upstarts and were not recognized by the old nobles, thus not entering the core of the empire's power.

Over the years, the role of nobles in the empire had become increasingly significant. At times, they could even influence the rise and fall of the empire, especially the old noble families that had existed for thousands of years and generations. These old noble families were a force that even the royal power feared, and they were the true core of the empire's power. Any new noble family wanted their recognition.

To gain the recognition of the old noble families, one needed corresponding strength. The Budah family rose too quickly, which was a strategy by the old kings of Aksum to balance the power of the old noble families. However, after the 46th king died, the Budah family's situation worsened. The new king wanted to promote them, but the old noble families wanted to suppress them. Therefore, they had to continuously support the new king to ensure the family's development.

However, Adam's father supported the wrong faction. He supported the most favored first prince, who did not become king. Instead, the thirteenth prince, the least favored, ascended to the throne. The first prince was executed, and his supporters met bad ends. Adam's father was imprisoned on a fabricated charge and died mysteriously in prison. Adam's past misdeeds were also exposed, but due to the presence of the Greens and the fear of several eighth-level powerhouses, the empire handled Adam leniently. His Marquis title was reduced to a Viscount, and his fertile fief was replaced with the Black Soil Wasteland. Adam was also forced to drink the Void Water, making him a complete cripple.

Typically, even if a noble had a fief, they would entrust it to a steward or a trusted person. Although the fief was their foundation, they would stay in the capital to monitor any changes in the empire, which could be beneficial or detrimental to their family.

However, Adam and his family were different. After their fief was changed, they were ordered to leave the capital within three days and were not allowed to leave their new fief for three years, which was unprecedented among noble families.

The current king of the Aksum Empire, the former thirteenth prince, Aboyo Aksum, treated the Budah family this way for two reasons: first, the Budah family supported the first prince, and second, due to pressure from the old noble families. As a new king, he needed to suppress the first and seventh prince factions, but he dared not touch the old noble families. The old noble families, who disliked the Budah family, pressured Aboyo, leading to his decision.

The reason Aboyo had Adam drink the Void Water was because of the Budah family's ancestral martial art, the Fierce Dragon Aura. This martial art was famous on the continent, obtained by Adam's great-grandfather by chance. Its cultivation speed was three times faster than ordinary martial arts, and its attack power was very strong. It was a top-tier martial art coveted by the major families of the empire. If Adam were to learn the Fierce Dragon Aura and remember today's grudge, it would be a threat to the old noble families and the royal family. Therefore, Aboyo had Adam drink the Void Water.

The reason Aboyo did not kill Adam, besides the reasons mentioned earlier, was that the Greens had submitted the cultivation method of the Fierce Dragon Aura to Aboyo and sworn a blood oath that the Budah family would no longer practice it. Thus, Aboyo spared Adam.

Of course, the Greens did not openly submit the cultivation method to Aboyo. They entered the palace at night, found Aboyo, and submitted the method. This was done to plead for Adam and to show Aboyo their strength, dissuading him from killing Adam.

Aboyo, fearing the trouble that a powerhouse like the Greens could cause, agreed to their request, only reducing Adam's rank and changing his fief, without taking his life.

The Greens also agreed, knowing that although their strength was not weak, the royal family's strength was also significant. They could enter the palace undetected because they were familiar with the palace's layout and because the new king had just ascended, making the palace's defenses weaker. Additionally, their cultivation method was very special, allowing them to avoid detection.

The reason the Greens did not save Adam's father earlier was that they believed Aboyo would not kill him. Adam's father was a bargaining chip for the royal family against the old noble families, and they would not easily give him up.

However, they did not expect that Aboyo's ascension to the throne was supported by the old noble families. Therefore, to please them, he killed Adam's father. By the time the Greens learned of this, Adam's father was already dead. The Greens could only try to protect Adam, the last bloodline of the Budah family.

The reason the Greens submitted the Fierce Dragon Aura cultivation method was due to the Void Water. The Void Water was a supreme treasure on the continent not only because it prevented the cultivation of magic and martial arts but also because its effects would be passed down to future generations.

This meant that if you drank the Void Water, your descendants would also be unable to learn magic and martial arts, and this would continue for ten generations.

However, that was ten generations, and what would happen in ten generations? Whether the family would still exist and continue to the tenth generation was uncertain. This was the terrifying aspect of the Void Water and the reason the Greens submitted the Fierce Dragon Aura.

Adam and his ten generations of descendants would be unable to learn the Fierce Dragon Aura. What use was keeping it? It was better to submit it in exchange for Adam's life. Therefore, the Greens submitted the Fierce Dragon Aura without hesitation.

In fact, their decision was correct. If they had not submitted the Fierce Dragon Aura, Adam would not have been able to leave the capital alive.

However, it was unknown whether someone had tampered with the Void Water or if Adam was simply incompatible with it. After drinking the Void Water, Adam fainted and did not wake up until he reached his new fief. When he finally woke up, he had transformed from the spoiled son Adam into the Earth otaku Zhao Hai.