On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the winter chill still ran deep. It was time for the Stellar Gale Academy's yearly exam. For the academy's students, this was the most important assessment of the year. Anyone who failed would be thrown out. Early that morning, all 176 students stood on the training grounds and waited for the testing to begin. The academy was divided into the Heaven, Earth, and Human branches. That day, it was the Human Academy's turn. Among the crowd stood a sixteen-year-old boy named Evan Norman. He had a tall, slender build and stood more than half a head above his peers. His features were sharply defined, as if carved by a blade. He was almost unbearably handsome. Everyone knew that this genius had become a half-cripple, yet admiring gazes still drifted toward him, some discreet and others completely undisguised. The sight naturally left the male students seething with jealousy. In the past, they could only swallow their resentment. This time, however, they dared to voice it. "After this yearly exam, that guy's going to be expelled, right?" "Who would have thought? He represented the academy in the Imperial Capital Tournament last year and was its pride. This year, he can't even keep his place here." "He lost in the finals, and his opponent crippled him. He can't cultivate anymore. Forget improving. If he can keep his strength from declining, that'll already be a blessing." "According to the academy's rules, a student has to increase his strength by thirty percent over the previous year during the yearly exam. Otherwise, he gets thrown out." "Heh. Who told him to be so arrogant before? He fell straight from the clouds into the mud. He brought it on himself!" The boys talked over one another, ruthlessly exposing Evan's misfortune. What good was being handsome? He was still a cripple. Evan remained cold and silent. He had heard enough of this mockery during the past nine months to learn how to ignore it. Even so, his fists clenched a little tighter. Just as they said, he had represented Stellar Gale Academy in the fifteen-year-old division of the Imperial Capital Tournament the previous year. He had fought his way into the finals, only to lose the final victory. But he had not lost because he was weaker. On the night before the finals, someone had poisoned his food. The poison was not fatal, but it had drastically weakened him by the following day. His opponent, Ronan Linnit, had not only defeated him in the match but had also crippled the meridians in one of his legs and one of his arms. After Ronan beat him and stomped him into the ground, he revealed a secret. He was the one who had poisoned Evan. Ronan had been shamelessly arrogant. There had not been the slightest trace of guilt or unease in him, only coldness and contempt. Why had Ronan resorted to such despicable methods? Because the winner of the finals would gain direct entry into Imperial City Academy, the finest academy in the Splendid Origin Kingdom. It was a sacred cultivation ground that every young person dreamed of entering. When Evan returned to the academy, the chosen one of the past had become a half-cripple who could no longer cultivate. Everyone who had once surrounded him immediately changed their attitude. They mocked him, sneered at him, and took every opportunity to kick him while he was down. He had tasted the full coldness of human nature. During the following nine months, Evan worked hard every day. Unfortunately, the meridians in his hands and feet had been destroyed, leaving him unable to practice the Physical Art. His strength had not improved. It had steadily declined instead. This should have been his last yearly exam. Once the results were announced, he would have to leave the academy with nothing but regret. Evan did not answer his detractors, but the girls sprang to his defense like mother hens protecting their chicks. "How do you know Evan won't recover?" "You're just jealous!" The boys grew even more resentful. So what if he was a little better-looking? "Tch!" "Hey, what's that?" someone suddenly cried after looking up at the sky. Whoosh! A streak of white light plunged downward at incredible speed and shot into the crowd. What was happening? Everyone stared in confusion. The flash of white light vanished without a trace. Evan, however, felt a bone-deep chill. A horrifying sense of dread rose within him, as if something had appeared inside his body and was trying to crush his soul. He struggled desperately, though he had no idea how to fight back. "Stop resisting, boy. Submit to this sovereign's Soul Possession!" a voice suddenly rang out inside Evan's mind. "Your fragile Soul Power is no match for me. Resistance is pointless!" "Relax. Let this sovereign take control of your body." "You have nothing to fear. Your soul will disappear forever, but your physical body will become this sovereign's vessel. In the future, it will make my name resound across the world, and I will rule over all!" Evan could not resist. He only felt a powerful, ancient soul forcing its way into his mind and driving him into a corner until he completely lost control of his body. Worse still, his soul was being worn away bit by bit. If this continued, he would vanish from the world before long. "No!" he roared in defiance inside his mind. "Rest easy. This sovereign will avenge you and fulfill your deepest wishes!" The soul remained unmoved, its voice cold and emotionless. Then, in the very next instant, it became filled with terror. "How is this possible? You... damn you! No! No! No!" It seemed to have encountered something unimaginably frightening. The soul let out a chilling scream inside Evan's mind before shattering apart. Massive waves of memories surged toward Evan, vast beyond description. Evan groaned and blacked out. "Hahahaha!" The boys around him burst into laughter. "Such a coward. He actually fainted from fright." "Look at him. He's even sweating cold!" "Someone like him was once called the pride of our academy? He even represented us at the Imperial Capital Martial Arts Tournament. What a disgrace!" Their laughter soon died away. The girls had already crowded around Evan, their faces filled with worry and concern. He wasn't even their father or mother. Why were they fussing so much? ... Evan dreamed that he had become another person, a man named Colin Umpleby. That man's life had been impossibly long and filled with countless experiences, but everything remained hazy and indistinct. As Colin Umpleby, he had learned many things. He had studied the Medical Art, Talisman Art, and Pill Art, among countless other subjects, and had achieved considerable expertise in all of them. In the end, he had entered an ancient ruin to explore it and obtained a Cultivation Method called the Nine Cycles Heaven-Plundering Scripture. The Cultivation Method had triggered a seal. His physical body had been torn apart, and only his soul had escaped. Even so, his soul had suffered severe injuries. He had been forced to find someone to undergo Soul Possession immediately. That was how Evan saw the familiar scene. A streak of white light descended from the heavens and entered "his" body. Evan sat bolt upright. When he recognized the familiar surroundings, relief finally washed over him. Had it been a nightmare? No. His mind contained many new memories, all of them belonging to Colin Umpleby. They included knowledge of the Martial Way, research into the Medical Art, and expertise in the Talisman Art, Pill Art, and Formation Art. The memories covered a bewildering range of subjects. However, Colin Umpleby had suffered severe injuries, and his memories were incomplete. Evan saw no scenes from the man's life and learned almost nothing about his past. It had not been a dream. Everything had truly happened. A surge of confidence filled Evan. He had obtained the Martial Inheritance of a powerful expert. "Trash, you're awake!" someone mocked from nearby. Evan turned toward the voice. The boy was named Bowen Bennitt. Nine months earlier, Bowen had been Evan's underling, hovering around him all day and fawning over him at every opportunity. But after Evan became crippled, Bowen had been the quickest to turn on him. He had immediately pledged allegiance to Evan's former rival, Lucian Sabey of the Heaven Academy, and become Lucian's slavishly loyal dog. His ruthless pragmatism was almost unbelievable. Could this really be a boy who had only just turned sixteen? "Heh. Sixteen more people will be tested before your turn." Bowen's face twisted into a contemptuous grin. He leaned close to Evan's ear and lowered his voice. "Once you're expelled and lose the protection that comes with being an academy student, Lucian can attack you without restraint. He might even... kill you!"