Chapter 1

"Have you heard? That waste spirit has signed up for the test again!"

"Yeah, I wonder who's going to be the lucky one this time, to meet him and get a free promotion?"

"Exactly, I wonder if this guy has a masochistic tendency, he's really persistent!"

Lin Zheng calmly listened to the whispers around him, or rather, the open commotion. Apart from maintaining his calm and indifferent demeanor, he had nothing to say about the pointing and whispering, so he quickened his pace to leave.

Looking at the distant mountains and the cliff that seemed to have no bottom, Lin Zheng sat quietly by himself. Lying on his back, he watched the slowly drifting clouds and suddenly said, "Old man, since you're here, come out!"

Suddenly, an old man in a green robe appeared beside Lin Zheng. The old man looked withered, his face covered in wrinkles that resembled a blooming chrysanthemum. He stood unsteadily, constantly scratching under his armpits and crotch, his eyes murky but with a profound clarity deep within...

When Lin Zheng first met this lecherous old man, he had noticed the sharp glint in the old man's eyes, thinking he was a hermit sage who roamed the world. However, he later realized he was wrong, and how wrong he was...

"Hey? Kid, your spiritual sense has improved again. This time, come with me to look for treasure. I've found a treasure spot."

"Forget it, old man. Do you think I still believe you? Ever since you tricked me to go to a treasure spot, only to spy on the female disciples bathing, I swore I would never believe you again. You can forget it. This time, even if you talk until the iron tree blooms and the water flows backward, it won't work. And every time you get caught, you run away, leaving me to take the blame!" Lin Zheng gritted his teeth, looking at the old man who was shaking his leg and laughing lecherously.

The lecherous old man showed no embarrassment, just kept looking at Lin Zheng, examining him from head to toe, then walked away with a grin, saying nothing.

Lin Zheng jumped up from the ground. Every time the old man looked at him like that, he felt like going crazy, as if the old man's bony fingers were touching him all over. Especially when the old man laughed, Lin Zheng felt like going mad, suspecting that the old man might have some strange preferences.

Lin Zheng left the mountaintop and followed the mountain path back to his room. Along the way, he couldn't avoid the pointing and whispering from his fellow disciples. Opening the door, he saw a small room of less than twenty square meters. Lin Zheng sat on the bed and entered a meditative state, repeatedly practicing his cultivation technique. Each time he reached the first rank barrier, the spiritual energy would mysteriously disappear. After another failed attempt, Lin Zheng lay back on the bed with a bitter smile, slowly recovering his energy. He felt his spiritual sense had grown a bit, but he could not detect any increase in his spiritual power, which made him sigh with a bitter smile.

Lin Zheng had been in the sect for three years but still hadn't broken through to the first rank. To clarify, the sect Lin Zheng belonged to was a nameless sect on the Yunhuang Continent. Martial artists were divided into ten ranks, with the first rank being the lowest. Crossing the tenth rank made one a Sage, and beyond that was the realm of breaking through the void, transcending the Sage rank, and becoming a deity.

However, subconsciously, Lin Zheng was dismissive of this. A mocking voice seemed to come from the depths, as if it didn't take the ranking system seriously, or perhaps it was indifferent. Lin Zheng came from a small village, and according to the elders, they were descendants of the Hundred Clans. No one told him where the Hundred Clans came from, or who his parents were, whether he had siblings, or anything about his origins. The elders just gave him strange smiles that made him feel uneasy. Lin Zheng felt he was the only normal person in the village. Because of his exceptional spiritual sense, he noticed that whenever the villagers talked about the ancient times, they felt a sense of familiarity and trembling, and at that moment, they didn't hide their innate pride, as if it had existed since ancient times.

Through the people outside the village, Lin Zheng learned that it was not the ancient times. The eras had changed, and the ancient times had passed countless years. Occasionally, he would hear about some old relic breaking through their destiny and ascending to the heavens, or about a young prodigy from a family making a name for themselves on the continent, or a sacred place recruiting a rare talent, or the rise and fall of a country. Collecting all this information, Lin Zheng finally had a better understanding of the world.

Most of the time, Lin Zheng worked with the villagers, rising with the sun and resting at sunset. Only at these times did the village seem like an ordinary village. Three years ago, the villagers sent him to the sect on the mountain and repeatedly instructed him to participate in the annual exams. They told him he must stay on the mountain for three years, no matter what, and then he could leave. So, they left Lin Zheng on the mountain to fend for himself.

The sect where Lin Zheng was had an annual exam, divided into three stages. The first and second stages involved finding items in the vast mountains within a ten-thousand-mile radius. The items were placed by the elders, and finding the promotion items and surviving ten days in the mountains was considered passing. The third stage was a competition among the disciples. Those who passed all three stages would receive rewards from the sect, including elixirs, cultivation techniques, and coveted equipment.

With his exceptional spiritual sense, Lin Zheng managed to pass the first two stages of the previous two exams with his first-rank cultivation. However, the third stage, due to his first-rank strength, left him with no chance to compete. This time, Lin Zheng had no confidence either.

As for why he couldn't break through, Lin Zheng had no idea. Despite his exceptional talent and bone structure, he had not broken through, earning him the title of "waste spirit" at the first rank.

There was another issue that had troubled Lin Zheng for a long time. He only had about three years of memory, and he had no recollection of his past. He had asked many people in the village, but they only gave him strange smiles. Before he went up the mountain, he asked an old man who read fortunes in the village. The old man gave him a strange smile and said for the first time, "Three years later, the Three Lives Stone, the cycle will appear."

After that, the villagers seemed to forget about him and never visited him on the mountain. Fortunately, Lin Zheng had the company of the lecherous old man, so he wasn't lonely. In fact, Lin Zheng would rather be lonely for three years than have the old man constantly bothering him. No one could imagine how the old man was always around, appearing everywhere. Whenever Lin Zheng wanted to meditate, the old man would show up, bringing trouble that was hard to avoid.

Thinking of this, Lin Zheng suddenly stood up. Every time he finished meditating, the old man would appear on time. This wasn't because Lin Zheng had exceptional intuition, but because it had happened every day for three years, forming a habit.

Lin Zheng muttered about the lecherous old man while opening the door, hoping there wouldn't be any trouble this time. Sure enough, the old man appeared soon, and this time, no one seemed to be following him. Could it be that the old man didn't cause any trouble with the female disciples this time? Lin Zheng closed the door and muttered to himself.

"Speak, old man, what trouble do you have this time?" Lin Zheng sat at the table, poured a cup of water, and asked casually.

"You brat, do you think I'm the kind of person who runs away when there's trouble?" The old man leaned on the chair, squinting at Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng nodded firmly and then said, "Old man, after this promotion, I'm leaving no matter what. Take care of yourself. Don't go bothering the female disciples in the sect anymore. There won't be anyone to take the blame for you."

The old man chuckled, then walked around the room a few times, suddenly stopping and changing his usual demeanor. Under Lin Zheng's surprised gaze, he slowly said, "Kid, do you think I've just been staying on this mountain for the past three years?" Then he stood still in the center of the room.

Lin Zheng looked at the quiet old man, as if seeing a man in a green robe standing in the vast universe, looking up at the sky as if looking at ants. There was no life around, yet it seemed as if all things were bowing to him. Arrogant? No, it wasn't that feeling. It was a sense of dominance, as if the universe revered this man. The dark sky gradually condensed, forming a familiar face. Familiar, yes, as if etched in his heart. The man in the green robe slowly raised his hand and clenched it, then pulled down as if trying to pull down the sky. The sky seemed to be grabbed by an invisible hand, and the distance between heaven and earth began to close. A huge face showed fear, then turned fierce, as if shouting something. Then the man casually punched, and the entire universe shattered like ice, leaving only the man standing in the chaos.

Suddenly, the man pulled up, and a huge crack appeared in the chaos. As the man in the green robe disappeared into the void, Lin Zheng heard a faint, intermittent voice: "...together, your comrade, I am the Overlord, returning..."

The scene flashed by like lightning. When Lin Zheng came to his senses, the old man was gone. Lin Zheng tried to recall the fragments of the scene. What was the huge face in the sky? Was the man in the green robe the lecherous old man? Who was returning? Was the old man the Overlord? What happened in the ancient times? Why were there no legends of the ancient times now?

What was the reason for all this? Lin Zheng thought painfully but still had no clue.

Forget it, he decided not to think about it. The villagers had told him that the three-year period was almost over, and when the time came, he would get all the answers he wanted.

Thinking of this, Lin Zheng lay back on the bed, hands behind his head. Suddenly, he felt a smooth texture and pulled out a woman's undergarment, clean and with a hint of a young girl's scent. However, there was a black handprint at the bottom, clearly the old man's doing!

Lin Zheng was furious. The old man seemed to have caused a lot of trouble again. He needed to destroy this thing quickly to avoid trouble. Based on his previous numerous unfortunate experiences, this time would be no exception.

Lin Zheng jumped off the bed, grabbed the undergarment, wrapped it in a rag, and rushed out. He thought to himself that one day, when he had the ability to catch the old man, he would beat him up to thank him for his "care" over the past three years!