ASCENSION OF THE MARTIAL KING

Rebirth

Fènghuáng Temple.

"Second Brother, are you sure about this? What if someone finds out we did it?"

"What are you talking about? As long as you and I don't talk about it, who will know it was us?"

The night breeze was rather chilly, and the moon had receded behind the dark clouds—a sign of impending rain. But its dim light shone on the roads, illuminating two youthful male figures as they sneaked into the courtyard of the old temple. One of them was quite chubby and carrying a sack over his shoulder, while the other was fit and slender.

The temple was not ancient; however, it had been abandoned for quite a long time with no caretaker, so a lot of grass had grown and lots of leaves had fallen from the wide magnolia tree in the middle of the courtyard. The sound of dry leaves scattered over the floorboards, crushing under their moving feet, was sharp in the otherwise silent night.

"Quick, Third Brother," the slender youth spoke, grabbing the handle of the doorknob. "Just dump him somewhere so we can get going. No one comes in here anyway."

The chubby youth, referred to as the third brother, bobbed his head frantically as he stepped in. "Okay, I'll be quick." However, just as he entered, he screamed out loud, "Second Brother!"

The other youth jumped as he rashly opened the door wider in fright. He screamed in return. "What happened!?"

"It's... it's scary," the chubby youth muttered in a low voice, but he didn't seem to be in any trouble.

That made the other youth curse, "You... Dump him somewhere and get out!"

Instantly, there was a loud thud, and the chubby youth soon ran out, breathing heavily. His companion eyed him with a vexed look before closing the door, and they quickly walked toward the big gates of the temple.

The moonlight cast a shadow on their retreating figures as they left, and the slender youth muttered, "Just keep your mouth shut, and later when they find out he's missing, we'll pretend we don't know anything about it. Don't mess this up. You hear me?"

"Yes, yes. I understand, Second Brother." The chubby youth nodded frantically again. Then, the two were out of the temple, the large doors shutting behind their figures.

It was very quiet in the courtyard of the temple after they were gone, and only the sound of leaves rustling about could be heard. However, about ten minutes later, a series of loud thuds echoed through the walls of the temple as though something was falling down, hitting things along the way.

Inside the main temple, Zhang Wei slowly opened his eyes as he fell again and directly into a pit. It was dark, and only a few rays of light occasionally passed through, but he couldn't immediately see since he was in a sack. He stumbled around in the sack for a couple of seconds, trying to get out before he suffocated.

The moment his head popped out of the sack, he took in a mouthful of air, not in a rush to roll out completely. But in that process, his gaze landed on the small, broken porcelain doll placed on withered leaves across from him.

His chest constricted upon seeing the familiar item, and he quickly glanced around, taking in his surroundings. Although it was dark, he couldn't mistake where he was.

The doll was his, and he was in an underground pit in the temple that he and Qin Shou had dug to hide from their Master whenever they had done something bad. In fact, that doll had been carefully coupled and crafted by both of them together.

He instantly grabbed it and rolled out of the sack before climbing out of the pit with familiarity. Unlike in the hole, he could see clearer, and he couldn't mistake the three statues and the portrait of the renowned sage, Sun Min. This was Fènghuáng Temple, where he grew up and learned to be a cultivator.

A mix of emotions welled up inside him, and he lowered his head, flashes of memories swirling in his mind. They felt unfamiliar but also familiar in a way. However, he could easily tell the memories belonged to the original owner of the body he was in.

He wasn't shocked to find himself alive after deliberately blowing his core up. After all, who would be so suicidal to erase themselves just to prove a point?

He was indeed full of hate that he was willing to destroy his core, which he had gradually grown since he was a teenager, so he wouldn't have to give it up to Qin Shou. But, he had deliberately ensured that he wouldn't be wiped out and fragments of his soul would be left somewhere so he could find his way back.

What Zhang Wei didn't expect, however, was that he would be reborn into the body of a teenager who just happened to be the son of one of the cultivators who plotted to kill him. He was also named Zhang Wei and was an illegitimate son.

The memories were jumbled up, but as they flipped in his mind, Zhang Wei couldn't help but frown. Although he was only a teenager, the original owner seemed to have suffered a lot in the recent years, both in his home and outside. Usually, children were tested at a young age to assess the grade of their spiritual root, but it turned out that he had none.

Which meant he was like an empty vessel - unable to cultivate.

Since then, he had to face a lot of torment, including indifference from his father, because of his status and inability to cultivate. It didn't stop at that, and that night, two of his older brothers had choked him because they were disgusted by him. But they accidentally choked him to death in the process and dumped his body in the temple to hide their crimes.

But what they didn't expect was that Zhang Wei's soul, which was still transversing, happened to switch places with the real Zhang Wei, and so he came back to life. It also happened to be the same temple that held a part of Zhang Wei, which made the body the best vessel. At the point of exchange, he had met the other soul, and he had been forced to promise to satisfy all of his grudges and take care of his mother.

Zhang Wei's lips thinned out, half in displeasure. Sure, he was thankful that the original owner's soul was willing to let him take over his body. But how could he be happy knowing that he was in a body that had no root and even had to take care of his family?

He felt frustrated. After all, he had proudly declared to take Qin Shou down and get revenge. Would he be able to survive with no spiritual root?