Chapter 2

Zhang Ruochen is currently in a country called "Yunwu County State," which is just one of the thousands of county states in the eastern domain of the Kunlun Realm.

A county state is essentially the first county of the First Central Empire, which must pay tribute and taxes to the First Central Empire every year.

The ruler of a county state is called a "County Prince."

Zhang Ruochen's current identity is the ninth son of the Yunwu County Prince.

Lying on the cold, hard wooden bed, Zhang Ruochen was still thinking about the grand ceremony for the sacrifice tomorrow.

"The original owner of this body, at sixteen, had not yet activated the 'Divine Martial Mark.' He must have been abandoned by the gods. How can I increase my chances of activating the 'Divine Martial Mark'?"

In the Kunlun Realm, to activate the "Divine Martial Mark," one must gain the approval of the divine spirits.

This is known as the divine bestowal of martial authority.

During the grand ceremony, a celestial bridge will appear between the divine realm and the Kunlun Realm, connecting the two worlds. After the gods enjoy the offerings, they will bestow the "Divine Martial Mark" upon some talented humans, helping them open the door to cultivation.

The more talented a person is, the earlier they can receive the "Divine Martial Mark."

In Zhang Ruochen's previous life, he activated the "Divine Martial Mark" while still in his mother's womb, making him a prodigy from birth.

In this life, he has not activated the "Divine Martial Mark" even at sixteen, which means he has been abandoned by the gods. Even if he participates in the grand ceremony tomorrow, it is almost impossible for him to receive the "Divine Martial Mark."

Unable to sleep, Zhang Ruochen sat up from the bed, holding a white crystal in the shape of a jujube seed, with sharp ends and a clear, transparent middle, free of any impurities.

He began to study this white crystal, perhaps it could help him gain the approval of a divine spirit and activate the "Divine Martial Mark."

This white crystal was a gift from Emperor Ming on his sixteenth birthday.

Zhang Ruochen did not know what this white crystal was, but he wore it close to his body. Unexpectedly, after eight hundred years, it was still with him.

"I might have come from eight hundred years ago to eight hundred years later because of it."

Zhang Ruochen tightly held the white crystal, closed his eyes, and the image of his father, Emperor Ming, appeared in his mind. He wondered if his father was still alive.

That night, a heavy snow fell over the capital city.

The next morning, the entire capital city was covered in thick snow, with red palaces, pavilions, and terraces all wrapped in a layer of ice and snow.

The winter solstice, the coldest day of the year.

All the martial artists in the capital city gathered outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, led by the County Prince, to worship the gods.

Outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, an ancient altar was built from huge stones. On the altar, countless animals—cattle, sheep, pigs—were tied, and many powerful beasts were chained with iron chains.

Civil and military officials, martial cultivators, princes and concubines, countless young men and women waiting to activate the "Divine Martial Mark," and even some infants in their cribs.

This was a national grand ceremony, not just in the capital city, but in every city, town, and village of the Yunwu County State.

"Ha ha! Ninth Brother, you're already sixteen, and even if you participate in the grand ceremony, you won't receive the 'Divine Martial Mark.' Why come and make a fool of yourself?" Prince Zhang Ji, the eighth prince, crossed his arms and laughed coldly.

The sixth prince stood beside the eighth prince, his face cold, and said, "They say a dragon has nine sons, each different. Father is such a great hero, yet he has a son like you, who at sixteen hasn't even activated the 'Divine Martial Mark.' You have disgraced the royal family. What are you living for? Why don't you just die?"

These words were harsh, but they reflected the thoughts of the few princes present.

The affection in the imperial family is the thinnest, and this moment showed it clearly.

In the Kunlun Realm, not many people can activate the "Divine Martial Mark." Out of ten people, at most only one can. Each martial artist's status is extremely high.

Of course, for martial cultivators, it's a different story. The bloodline of martial cultivators is strong, and their descendants will inherit this strong bloodline, making it much more likely for them to activate the "Divine Martial Mark."

The Yunwu County Prince has nine sons, eight of whom have activated the "Divine Martial Mark," but only Zhang Ruochen, at sixteen, has not activated it, becoming a laughingstock in the royal family.

Many people mock him as a "tiger father, dog son."

There are even rumors in the court that Zhang Ruochen is not the biological son of the Yunwu County Prince. Although just rumors, they have tarnished the reputation of the royal family.

Therefore, the other princes mostly consider Zhang Ruochen a disgrace to the royal family and do not treat him as a brother, hoping he would die soon.

In recent years, even the Yunwu County Prince has become somewhat distant from Zhang Ruochen and Concubine Lin. Under the pressure from other concubines and princes, Zhang Ruochen and Concubine Lin were finally forced to move out of the main palace and into a side palace last night.

Zhang Ruochen just stood there silently, ignoring the fifth and eighth princes.

Before he had enough strength, any verbal conflict would only make others look down on him even more.

Concubine Lin stood with the other concubines, feeling heartache at the sight of Zhang Ruochen, who was being ostracized, but she could do nothing about it.

"The grand ceremony begins!"

The national master of the Yunwu County State stood on the altar, holding a scroll of prayers and began to recite.

Then, on the altar, large conch shells and horns were blown, and graceful palace maidens in colorful attire played sixteen different instruments, including chimes, bells, and gongs.

Next, the animals were slaughtered, and their blood was offered to the heavens.

"Whoosh—"

A thick column of blood energy rose to the sky, breaking through the clouds and piercing the vast heavens.

Suddenly, a star fell from the sky, landing on the forehead of a six-year-old boy, merging with his body and forming a crimson "Divine Martial Mark."

A cry of surprise rose from the crowd, "Xue Dushu's youngest son has activated the Divine Martial Mark at six!"

"A crimson Flame Divine Martial Mark, a fourth-grade Divine Martial Mark. Amazing, he has a bright future!"

The Divine Martial Mark is divided into grades, from first to ninth.

A first-grade Divine Martial Mark is the weakest, while a ninth-grade Divine Martial Mark is the strongest.

Everyone looked at the six-year-old boy with envy.

Activating a fourth-grade Divine Martial Mark at six, he is truly a prodigy, and his future achievements will be significant.

Among the many martial generals of the Yunwu County State, a tall and robust man patted his chest and laughed loudly, "Great! My son Xue Liang lives up to his name. There will be a banquet at the Dushu residence tonight, and I hope everyone will come. Ha ha!"

"Whoosh!"

More stars fell from the sky, landing on the foreheads of young men and women, forming Divine Martial Marks.

Most of them were first-grade Divine Martial Marks, and those who could activate second-grade Divine Martial Marks were few. The most outstanding was still the son of Xue Dushu, with a fourth-grade Divine Martial Mark, making him stand out from the rest.

Only a small fraction of people activated the Divine Martial Mark, about one-tenth of the total. Each of them was extremely excited, finally gaining the approval of the divine spirits and opening the door to martial cultivation.

Those who did not activate the Divine Martial Mark were all very disappointed, some even crying out in pain, a mix of joy and sorrow.

As the ceremony was about to end, Zhang Ruochen still had not activated the Divine Martial Mark.

At sixteen, it was almost impossible for him to activate it, and he would only be an ordinary person in the future.

Everyone ignored him, treating him like a speck of dust in the corner, completely unnoticed.

Concubine Lin had initially held a glimmer of hope, hoping her child could create a miracle and activate the Divine Martial Mark. Even if he couldn't become a martial cultivator, at least he could strengthen his body and avoid being tormented by illness.

As the ceremony neared its end, Concubine Lin's hope turned to disappointment, and then to despair.

Just as Zhang Ruochen thought he could not activate the Divine Martial Mark, the white crystal in his hand glowed slightly.

In the last moment before the ceremony ended, a star fell from the sky, landing on Zhang Ruochen's forehead, forming a white circular Divine Martial Mark.

"Whoosh!"

A burning sensation spread from his forehead throughout his body.

It activated!

Zhang Ruochen was extremely excited, finally activating the Divine Martial Mark.

As long as he activated it, even a first-grade Divine Martial Mark, he did not care.

No one had paid attention to Zhang Ruochen, but the moment he activated the Divine Martial Mark, he caught everyone's attention.

"That's not the ninth prince, he's already sixteen and has been weak and sickly, yet he managed to activate the Divine Martial Mark!" Many people stared at Zhang Ruochen in disbelief, finding it hard to believe.

The sixth and eighth princes, standing beside Zhang Ruochen, also widened their eyes in surprise.

How is this possible?

Concubine Lin looked at Zhang Ruochen, and upon seeing the Divine Martial Mark on his forehead, she shed tears of joy and immediately rushed to Zhang Ruochen, hugging him tightly, "Dust, you did it! You did it!"

An old eunuch by the side of the Yunwu County Prince walked up to Zhang Ruochen with a smile, "Congratulations, Concubine Lin, congratulations to the ninth prince for activating the Divine Martial Mark! The empress has sent me to invite the ninth prince to her, as she wants to personally test the grade of the Divine Martial Mark he has activated!"

"Empress!"

Concubine Lin's smile immediately froze, and she nervously shielded Zhang Ruochen.

"Mother, let's go see the empress!"

Zhang Ruochen noticed the subtle change in Concubine Lin and thought to himself, it seems this empress is not a good person, and he must be cautious.

...

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