Rebirth

Great Thousand World, Tianxuan Continent.

Eastern Xuan Region, Great Yan Dynasty, Tiandu County, Flame City.

Within the Lin Family of Qingyang Town.

"Ugh..."

When Lin Yan painstakingly forced open his heavy eyelids, a simple, dilapidated room came into view. The unfamiliar sight made his pupils contract, but before he could continue wondering about it, a violent pain assaulted his mind, nearly causing him to faint again.

Time passed, and before long, half a day had gone by.

"Qingyang Town, Lin Family... I'm Lin Yan?"

When he regained consciousness, unfamiliar memories surged into Lin Yan's mind, gradually leaving him disoriented and confused.

There were now two sets of memories in Lin Yan's mind. One was his original memory: he had once lived on an azure planet, only to die tragically in a car accident at the age when he should have been attending university, leaving behind nothing but regrets.

The other set of memories belonged to the body itself...

The original owner had been a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy, also named Lin Yan, a member of the Lin Family in Qingyang Town.

The Lin Family of Qingyang Town had not been established for long—only a few decades. For a family, that was merely the blink of an eye. The long-established Lei and Xie Families, on the other hand, had stood firm in Qingyang Town for several centuries.

Although the Lin Family had been outsiders in Qingyang Town, under the efforts and intimidating strength of its clan leader, Lin Zhentian, it quickly gained a foothold and became a major family second only to the Lei and Xie Families.

According to the memories in the original Lin Yan's mind, although the Lin Family was not considered a top-tier family in Qingyang Town, it possessed an astonishing background: the Lin Clan.

One of the four great clans of the Great Yan Dynasty—the Lin Clan!

From a certain perspective, the Lin Family of Qingyang Town could be considered an external branch of the Lin Clan. But to Lin Yan, who had never ventured more than a hundred li from Qingyang Town, the Lin Clan—with its terrifying power in the Great Yan Dynasty—was simply too distant and unfamiliar to leave much of an impression.

It was said that Lin Zhentian had been expelled from the Inner Clan after failing a mission years ago, and even some relatives close to him had been implicated.

Under those circumstances, Lin Zhentian could only bring his clansmen to the remote Qingyang Town and establish the Lin Family as it existed today.

Lin Yan was a descendant of those clansmen who had followed Lin Zhentian to Qingyang Town and founded the family.

In its early years, having only just arrived in Qingyang Town, the Lin Family had clashed with several local families. The conflicts had only settled down in recent years, though hidden undercurrents still surged beneath the surface, and dirty dealings never ceased.

Lin Yan's father had died in a conflict with another family shortly after he was born. His mother had also succumbed to illness two years ago, leaving the original owner an orphan.

Because his father had died early, the original owner had become rather withdrawn and had few friends within the clan. Coupled with his frail body since childhood and the blow of his mother's death, he had quietly passed away during a serious illness. For some unknown reason, Lin Yan had then slipped in and taken over his body...

Lin Yan rubbed his weary eyes. He clearly remembered dying in a car accident, yet for some reason, his soul had not dispersed. Instead, it had wandered through endless void for who knew how many years before, for some unknown reason, occupying the body of this man who had just died.

Looking at everything unfamiliar around him and feeling the texture of solid objects, Lin Yan could not help curling his lips into a smile. He was alive!

Only then did he truly feel that he had come back to life. He no longer had to endure that boundless loneliness or experience that living hell.

During those days drifting through the endless void, there had been no one to talk to, no one to keep him company, and nothing he could do. He could only drift silently, knowing neither the outcome nor the future, unable even to kill himself!

Only someone who had experienced death understood the preciousness of life!

From this moment on, an entirely new Lin Yan would emerge...

Standing before a bronze mirror, Lin Yan saw "himself"—a young, handsome boy with a thin but refined face—and gained a little more understanding of his current self.

After a while, once Lin Yan had completely adapted to his new body and gradually calmed down, he began trying to understand this entirely new world through the memories in his mind.

For someone who had been reborn, nothing was more important than cherishing his life. Right now, he needed to understand exactly what kind of environment he was in.

"The Great Yan Dynasty, a branch of the Lin Clan, the Lin Family of Qingyang Town..."

The original owner's memories were drawn out once more, with mundane details of daily life automatically filtered away. When he understood this part, Lin Yan could not help frowning in surprise.

After the wild joy of rebirth, Lin Yan had already regained his composure. The days drifting through endless void had tormented him, but they had also forged his resilient, steady temperament. Even the ecstasy of rebirth could not make him lose himself too deeply.

A moment later, inspiration struck Lin Yan, and he suddenly said in a low voice, "Isn't this the plot of the novel Martial Universe?!"

In his previous life, he had been a novel enthusiast, so naturally he had read Martial Universe.

Combining that with everything in his memories, Lin Yan finally had no choice but to accept the harsh circumstances he was in.

On the Tianxuan Continent, strength reigned supreme. There were no restraints of morality or law here. Murder and arson were commonplace. Surviving well in this world would not be easy, especially when the body he had inherited was so weak and he had no overwhelmingly powerful backing.

At that thought, a bitter smile appeared on Lin Yan's lips.

Could it be that, after being given another life, he could only hide away in some remote place and barely scrape by?

As for defying the heavens, rising to power, and dominating the continent, the newly revived Lin Yan had no such unrealistic thoughts.

Then he thought of the Child of the Plane from the original story, Lin Dong.

Come to think of it, Lin Dong was also the original owner's cousin. The two had been born only a few months apart.

Both were born in Qingyang Town, yet the future achievements of this "cousin" of his would leave the entire continent dumbfounded.

Should he try to curry favor with Lin Dong? Lin Yan stroked his chin at the thought, then shook his head.

After experiencing the great terror between life and death, Lin Yan was unwilling to place his life and death in someone else's hands, even if that person was the Child of the Plane, the future Martial Ancestor, Lin Dong.

Besides, Lin Dong would still need many years to grow. During that time, the Lin Family would face many crises. As a member of the Lin Family, Lin Yan would inevitably be implicated as well. As for leaving the Lin Family, in Lin Yan's current condition, he would probably die even faster!

The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. Lin Yan even considered secretly retrieving the Stone Talisman from the stone pool in the clan's Back Mountain.

He knew the original plot well. That Stone Talisman was no ordinary stone—it was the Ancestral Stone, ranked second on the Ancient Divine Object Ranking of the Tianxuan Continent!

The Ancestral Stone, ranked second on the Ancient Divine Object Ranking, had been created by the Symbol Ancestor, leader of the ancient war.

During the War of the Worlds, it had sealed three Otherworldly Demon Kings in succession. It was eventually heavily damaged and fell dormant, later awakening by absorbing Primordial Qi. Its artifact spirit was called "Yan." It bore the patterns and powers of the Eight Great Ancestral Symbols, possessed the power of the Equilibrium Ancestral Symbol, and had the ability to suppress and seal.

It could be said that the Ancestral Stone had made immense contributions to Lin Dong's future rise. Without the Ancestral Stone, there would have been no Martial Ancestor Lin Dong of the future!

And hidden within the Ancestral Stone was a major figure of the demon race—Little Sable, the Young Clan Leader of the Sky Demon Sable Clan!

At that thought, Lin Yan's heart burned with excitement. If he seized Lin Dong's opportunity, perhaps he could replace him in the future!

But after estimating the timing, Lin Yan gave up on the idea. There were less than six months until the Clan Competition. Judging by the timeline of the original story, the Stone Talisman had likely already fallen into Lin Dong's hands...