Chapter 1

In the summer of 2007, on a Jinlong bus heading to the city from Sishui County in Chuzhou City, Jiangnan Province.

Sishui County was far from the city, and it being summer, the passengers on the bus were all drowsy.

A young man, about 1.7 meters tall, with a fair complexion and short, tousled hair, suddenly woke up from a nightmare. He looked around in confusion, his face suddenly changing as if he had thought of something.

No one knew the shock and turmoil in his heart.

"Isn't this the bus I took from Sishui County to Chuzhou to start my senior year in high school in the summer of 2007?"

"How did I end up here? Wasn't I supposed to be facing the heavenly tribulation?"

"Could it be...?"

"Have I come back?"

Chen Fan's eyes showed a look of disbelief.

"I, Chen Beixuan, did not perish in the heavenly tribulation and have actually been reborn back to my youth on Earth?"

...

Chen Fan, also known as Chen Beixuan, was a true disciple of the True Martial Immortal Sect under the guidance of the Blue Green Immortal. In his previous life, he was taken away from Earth by the Blue Green Immortal when he was around thirty years old and began his path of cultivation, which lasted for five hundred years.

He had an astonishing talent and achieved the Tribulation Transcending stage in just five hundred years. He was hailed as the most promising candidate in the cultivation world in ten thousand years to successfully transcend the heavenly tribulation and ascend to the immortal realm.

He had roamed the universe for five hundred years, battling countless races and remaining undefeated, earning him the title of "North Mystic Immortal."

Unfortunately, he ultimately perished in the heavenly tribulation.

It was only at the moment the heavenly tribulation struck that Chen Fan realized his supposedly unshakable foundation was actually full of flaws due to his rapid cultivation.

His indomitable and steadfast Dao heart was no match for the heart demon tribulation.

The reason was that over the five hundred years, Chen Fan had abandoned everything for cultivation, leaving behind countless regrets and irreparable sorrows. These were usually suppressed deep in his heart, but when the heart demon tribulation came, they all surged out, leaving him no place to hide.

Chen Fan tried to sense his body and found that his overwhelming power, capable of destroying stars, had vanished without a trace.

Even his powerful, supposedly indestructible divine soul was completely gone.

"It seems this isn't the heart demon tribulation; I really have come back." Chen Fan frowned, his eyes filled with deep thought.

With his Tribulation Transcending stage cultivation, he knew that even the most realistic illusions created by the heart demon tribulation could not completely strip away everything a Tribulation Transcending Immortal had cultivated over five hundred years. There would always be subtle differences from the real universe.

"Now, my body is empty, my power, abilities, divine soul, Dao heart, and even my magical treasures and Dao artifacts are all gone. The power and abilities of my future self cannot be brought to the past. Now, I am just an ordinary mortal, unable to defend myself, and even a bullet could kill me."

Although he had lost all the power he had cultivated for countless years, he did not feel the slightest bit of despair. Instead, he smiled.

"This is for the best. In my previous life, I cultivated too quickly, leading to an unstable foundation."

"In this life, I will take one step at a time, cultivating each realm to its fullest, building an unparalleled foundation."

As he smiled, his eyes gradually sharpened, a flame of determination burning within them.

"Those who harmed me in the past, in this life, I will make them pay."

"Those things that left me with lifelong regrets, I will not let them happen again."

The events of the past, though he had been deeply immersed in cultivation, did not mean he had forgotten them.

"Mom, Dad, An-ge, and Xiaoqiong, I'm back."

"This time, I will not back down! I will not let anyone harm you or humiliate you!"

He lowered his head, his gaze resolute.

...

In his previous life, Chen Fan was born into a seemingly ordinary but not so ordinary family in Sishui County, Chuzhou City, Jiangnan Province.

His father, Chen Kehang, was from Jinling City, the capital of Jiangnan Province, while his mother, Wang Xiaoyun, came from a prominent family in Huaguo's capital, Beijing.

That family was considered one of the top aristocratic families even in the capital, Yanjing.

They were university classmates and fell in love freely. However, the social climate at the time was conservative, and marriages were decided by parents, especially for high-ranking families like the Wang family in Yanjing.

Naturally, the Wang family tried to obstruct their relationship in every way possible, and Chen Fan's maternal grandfather even threatened to disown his daughter.

Wang Xiaoyun, in a fit of anger, broke ties with her family and left Yanjing with Chen Kehang, returning to Jiangnan Province.

Chen Kehang, to prove himself to the Wang family, did not stay in the provincial capital, Jinling, but instead chose to work in the county party office of Sishui County, Chuzhou City, starting from scratch.

He worked for over a decade, without relying on any background, and through his own abilities, rose to the position of vice-county magistrate. However, the gap between him and the Wang family was still vast.

So when Chen Fan was born, and the relationship between the two sides slightly improved, Chen Fan's maternal grandfather allowed Wang Xiaoyun to bring her husband and son back to Yanjing for the New Year. Chen Fan's family was excited to visit Yanjing.

However, they were met with cold eyes and ridicule from various relatives.

To the Wang family, Wang Xiaoyun and Chen Kehang had defied the patriarch's orders, eloped to some unknown corner of the countryside, and had a child, disgracing the Wang family in the high society of Yanjing. How dare they return?

As for Chen Kehang's achievements, they were a laughing matter to the Wang family.

Those who sought the Wang family's favor were at least regional lords, governors, or even provincial and ministerial officials. A mere vice-county magistrate was nothing.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan shook his head, a hint of a playful smile on his lips.

"Wang Cheng, Wang Cheng, you didn't expect me to come back, did you?"

"In my previous life, no matter how hard my father, mother, and I struggled, we could only look up to the Wang family and you. My father and mother's lifelong efforts were just a joke to you."

"My mother was always strong-willed, but she only wanted to do something to be recognized by the Wang family, and she ended up with such a tragic fate."

"In this life, I have returned. Even though I am just an ordinary person now, once I regain my cultivation, I will definitely go to Yanjing, smash the gates of the Wang family, and show you what true superiority looks like!"

Wang Cheng was Chen Fan's cousin, the most outstanding figure among the young generation of the Wang family. In his previous life, Chen Fan had desperately tried to surpass him but ultimately realized the gap between them was insurmountable, like a chasm.

The last time Chen Fan saw the Wang family was at his mother's funeral, where the Wang family only sent a third-generation junior to attend.

It was Wang Cheng!

His grandfather, grandmother, uncles, and aunts, not a single one of them came. They were his own flesh and blood!

At that time, Wang Cheng was tall, handsome, and arrogant, surrounded by a crowd like a noble prince.

Each of the people around him was a figure Chen Fan had to look up to.

Even after five hundred years, thinking of the Wang family's faces still made him feel uneasy.

Cultivation is about directly confronting one's true self, being free and unrestrained, not about being indifferent or repaying grievances with virtue.

If you do not avenge past grievances, they will fester in your heart. When the heart demon tribulation comes, no matter how many years of cultivation you have, it will all turn to dust!

...

"Right, let's not talk about the Wang family. The Shen Junwen family should still be the richest in Chuzhou at this time."

Looking out the window at the scenery of Chuzhou, Chen Fan's heart suddenly stirred.

Thinking of Shen Junwen, he thought of Xiaoqiong.

The woman he loved and regretted for his entire life.

It was because of her appearance in the heart demon tribulation that Chen Fan's Dao heart ultimately collapsed, leading him to give up resistance and be obliterated by the heavenly tribulation.

"In my previous life, you took Xiaoqiong from me, forced me into bankruptcy, and made me return to Chuzhou in disgrace, where I became a low-level civil servant, living a mundane life from nine to five, drowning in sorrow."

"At that time, you were so successful, while I could only lick my wounds like a dog in a corner."

Thinking of this, a cold glint appeared in Chen Fan's eyes.

Shen Junwen!

The board member of the leading real estate group in China, Wanrong Group, and the son of the richest man in Jiangnan Province, and Xiaoqiong's classmate.

He was Chen Fan's greatest rival in love! He not only took Xiaoqiong but was also the main culprit behind the downfall of the Jinxiu Group.

"In my previous life, Xiaoqiong and I were childhood sweethearts. We were separated as children and reunited in college, thinking we could be together forever. But you interfered, and with the Fang family's opposition, I was forced to leave Xiaoqiong."

"The last time I saw Xiaoqiong at a class reunion, I heard she was engaged to you. Do you know how desperate I felt then?"

"If it weren't for the Blue Green Immortal passing by Earth, I might have already jumped from that building, ending my miserable life."

Chen Fan narrated softly.

These events had happened hundreds of years ago and should have been long forgotten. But his calm words were like a cold wind from the Arctic ice cap.

"I will never forget the moment before I jumped. From that moment on, Chen Fan died, and Chen Beixuan, the 'North Mystic Immortal' of the True Martial Immortal Sect, was born."

"Thanks to you, I was able to focus on cultivation, advancing rapidly, and achieving the Tribulation Transcending stage in five hundred years."

"Shouldn't I repay you?"

Chen Fan's face showed a mocking smile.

If Chen Fan's previous life was filled with failures, then Shen Junwen's was filled with success.

His mother's death, his business failure, and his impoverished life were largely due to the Shen family's oppression.

In his previous life, Chen Fan was utterly defeated by Shen Junwen, losing his business, life, and love.

Thinking of this, the cold glint in Chen Fan's eyes intensified.

"Shen Junwen, the Fang family, the Wang family, and Wang Cheng."

"You didn't expect me to be reborn, did you?"

"In this life, I will take everything from you and repay every humiliation!"

In his previous life, he spent the first thirty years in poverty, facing countless failures and cold eyes and ridicule.

In this life, he has returned with five hundred years of cultivation memory, determined to settle scores and vent his pent-up frustrations!