Chapter 2

Zhang Ruochen is now in a country called "Yunwu County State," which is just one of the thousands of county states in the eastern region of Kunlun World.

What is known as 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 flat on the cold, hard wooden bed, Zhang Ruochen was still pondering the grand ceremony for the sacrifice tomorrow.

"The original owner of this body, at sixteen, had not even activated the 'Divine Martial Mark.' He must have been abandoned by the gods. What can I do to have a greater chance of activating the 'Divine Martial Mark'?"

In Kunlun World, to activate the 'Divine Martial Mark,' one must gain the approval of the gods.

This is known as the divine bestowal of martial authority.

During the grand ceremony, a bridge of heaven and earth will appear between the divine realm and Kunlun World, connecting the two realms. After the gods enjoy the offerings, they will bestow the 'Divine Martial Mark' on some talented humans, helping them open the door to cultivation.

The more talented a person is, the sooner they can obtain 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 natural prodigy.

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 obtain the 'Divine Martial Mark.'

Unable to sleep, Zhang Ruochen sat up from the bed, holding a white crystal stone shaped like a jujube seed, with sharp ends and a three-dimensional middle, crystal clear and without any impurities.

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

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

Zhang Ruochen did not know what this white crystal stone 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 stone, 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 livestock, such as cattle, sheep, and pigs, were tied up, 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 swaddling clothes.

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

"Ha ha! Ninth Brother, you are already sixteen, and even if you participate in the grand ceremony, you will not obtain the 'Divine Martial Mark.' Why come to make a fool of yourself?" Prince Zhang Ji, the eighth prince, crossed his arms and smiled 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 has not even activated the 'Divine Martial Mark.' You have disgraced the royal family. What are you doing living in this world? Why don't you just die?"

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

The familial bonds in the imperial family are the thinnest, and this moment clearly demonstrated that.

In Kunlun World, not many people can activate the 'Divine Martial Mark.' Out of ten people, at most one can. One could say that the status of every martial artist is extremely high.

Of course, for martial cultivators, it is another matter. The bloodline of martial cultivators is strong, and their descendants will inherit this strong bloodline, making the probability of activating the 'Divine Martial Mark' much higher.

The Yunwu County Prince has nine sons, eight of whom have activated the 'Divine Martial Mark,' but only Zhang Ruochen, who is already 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 still tarnish 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 real brother, hoping he would die soon.

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

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

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

Lin Fei stood with the other concubines, seeing the much-excluded Zhang Ruochen, her heart ached, but she could do nothing.

"The grand ceremony begins!"

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

Then, above the altar, large conch shells and horns were blown, and graceful palace maidens struck sixteen kinds of instruments, including chimes, bells, and gongs.

Next, the livestock were slaughtered, and their blood was used to sacrifice to the heavens.

"Whoosh—"

A dense blood aura formed a thick pillar of light, shooting straight into 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 just six years old!"

"A crimson flame Divine Martial Mark, a fourth-grade Divine Martial Mark. So powerful, his future is boundless!"

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

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 years old, he is truly a prodigy, and his future achievements will certainly be great.

Among the many generals of Yunwu County State, a burly man patted his chest and laughed loudly, "Great! My son Xue Liang lives up to his name. The governor's mansion will hold a banquet tonight, everyone is welcome to come. Ha ha!"

"Whoosh!"

In the sky, countless stars fell, landing on the foreheads of young men and women, forming various Divine Martial Marks.

Among them, the most common were first-grade Divine Martial Marks, and those who could activate second-grade Divine Martial Marks were few. The most powerful was still the son of Governor Xue, with a fourth-grade Divine Martial Mark, making everyone look up to him.

Those who activated the Divine Martial Mark were a minority, about one-tenth of the total number. Each person was extremely excited, finally gaining the approval of the gods and opening the door to martial cultivation.

Those who did not activate the Divine Martial Mark were all very disappointed, some even weeping bitterly, truly 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 to activate the Divine Martial Mark, and he could only be an ordinary person in the future.

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

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

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

Just as Zhang Ruochen thought he could not activate the Divine Martial Mark, the white crystal stone 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 came from his forehead, quickly spreading throughout his body.

Activated!

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

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

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

"That's not the ninth prince, he is already sixteen and has been weak and sickly, yet he can still activate the Divine Martial Mark!" Many people stared at Zhang Ruochen with 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?

Lin Fei looked at Zhang Ruochen, and upon seeing the Divine Martial Mark on his forehead, tears of joy streamed down her face. She immediately rushed to Zhang Ruochen and tightly hugged his body, "Dust, you finally did it! You did it!"

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

"Empress!"

Lin Fei's smile immediately froze, and she nervously shielded Zhang Ruochen behind her.

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

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

...

Please follow and support the book! Your support is greatly appreciated.

(WeChat: feitianyu5, Sina Weibo: @Feitianyu5)

Page AD starts

Page AD ends