In the Tian Cang Realm, martial arts ruled all.

In the imperial city of the Great Qing Empire, at the Marquis Jian'an Estate—

“Michael Parker is a dragon among men. Letting your sister marry him is a blessing! Stop making a scene.” The old elder of the estate barked coldly, staring hard at Eli Larson, who held his sister protectively in his arms.

Beside the elder sat Thomas Larson, the heir to the Marquis. Dressed in fine robes, he sipped his tea calmly, expression indifferent.

“Why should she?” Eli flared up. “Michael is a shameless scoundrel who preys on innocent girls. Just to flatter the Champion Marquis, you're throwing my sister into a pit of fire?”

He had suffered eighteen years of sneers in this house, all because he was born a bastard. Only his sister had ever given him warmth. And now, they wanted to hand her over to that beast?

Everyone in the capital knew the kind of man Michael Parker was—cruel, heartless, and deadly. Four wives, four deaths, all within a month of marriage!

What future could Clara possibly have in a place like that?

“I don’t want to marry that kind of man, brother!” Clara huddled closer in his arms, face streaked with tears, her body trembling with fear.

“Eli Larson!” The elder snapped, his tone biting. “This house belongs to Thomas now! You’re just some bastard born of a servant. You’ve no right to speak!”

The estate's Marquis had one wife and three concubines. The heir, Thomas, came from the main wife—noble since birth. Eli and Clara's mother had come from the Marquis of Pingyang’s house, a concubine who’d passed away from illness years ago.

Back then, their mother defied her father’s wishes to become a concubine in this place. And in the end? It ruined her life.

In the Great Qing, concubines were always lower than wives. Their children got nothing but scorn. And now that the Marquis had been killed on the battlefield two weeks back, Thomas had grabbed all the power. Eli and Clara had become worse than dogs in this house.

Eli’s rage climbed higher as he remembered Michael's vile grin.

“My sister is only fifteen! Marrying that monster is no different than sending her to her death!” Eli hugged Clara tightly, his bloodshot eyes burning with fury.

“Shut up!” The elder's face darkened, voice thunderous.

Thomas's expression turned cold too. He stood, hands behind his back, staring at Eli with ice in his gaze.

In this world ruled by strength, the Champion Marquis stood unmatched among all marquises—rumor had it he might even be granted princehood one day.

If the Jian’an Estate allied with him, it’d stand firm for a hundred years. Sacrificing a worthless girl for that? Nothing to think twice about.

“Eli, Michael Parker is the Champion Marquis’s legitimate heir. The fact he even considers a bastard girl like your sister is mercy you don’t deserve.”

“All these years you’ve eaten and lived here for free. That was already generous. Keep flapping your mouth, and I’ll have your skin peeled and bones broken. Leave your sister. Get the hell out of this house!”

His voice was colder than a blade.

“If Father were still alive, would you dare act like this?” Eli roared, eyes filled with grief.

“You dare disrespect the heir? Guards! Break his limbs and throw him into the Myriad Beast Abyss!” the elder bellowed.

“And take Clara back to her room. Train her well. In half a month, she’s marrying into the Champion Marquis’s house!”

Bang!The hall doors burst open. Several guards in leather armor stormed in, radiating killing intent. Without a word, they lunged at Eli Larson.

“Brother!”

Clara Larson screamed and clung to him tightly, eyes full of terror.

“Thomas Larson! Even if I die, I won’t let you do this!”

Eli roared as he drew the sword from his back. Blood surged through his veins, and anguish twisted his face.

The Elder let out a cold sneer and waved his hand.

Cultivation started at Tempering, split into nine levels. Hard to advance, but Eli had spent five full years just reaching the fourth. Among the noble houses in the capital, that was all but useless.

As for the heir, Thomas—he had long since broken through to the ninth level of Tempering, hailed as a genius. Eli was just a stain on the Larson name. If it weren’t for the old marquis shielding him, Thomas would’ve thrown this disgrace out long ago.

The guards charged like hungry wolves. Eli’s strength was pitiful; he couldn’t last a single exchange. A blow knocked him to the ground. His sword clattered away.

Crack!

Four guards pinned down his limbs without a word. Another stepped forward, grinning, and stomped down on Eli’s right leg. The bone shattered instantly.

“Aaaargh!”

The scream tore from Eli’s throat, his face contorted in agony.

“I’ll marry him! Please! Just let my brother go!”

Clara threw herself over Eli, sobbing, begging Thomas.

“Get lost!”

The guard kicked her aside. Another stomp smashed Eli’s other leg to pieces.

“Sister!”

Grinding his teeth against the pain, Eli watched Clara crash to the ground, curled up and shaking. His eyes turned blood-red as he shouted, desperate to fight back.

But it was useless.

“Take Clara away,” Thomas ordered coldly, unmoved.

“Yes, sir!”

A guard stepped up, seized Clara, and dragged her out.

“Brother!”

Clara shrieked and reached for him, but her hand slipped through his fingers. No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free.

Eli could only watch, powerless.

“Thomas! You old bastard! Even in death, I’ll haunt you!”

Eli turned his head with great effort, glaring at Thomas and the Elder like a mad beast.

Crack! Crack!

His arms were crushed under harsh stomps. Bones shattered. The pain twisted his entire face.

“What’s your name?”

Thomas asked, casting a glance at the guard.

“Sir, I’m Gavin Brooks.”

Thomas nodded. “You’re promoted to Centurion. Throw this bastard into the Ten Thousand Beasts Pit. Keep it quiet. And shut your mouths.”

He waved the matter away, not even looking at Eli—like he wasn’t even human.

A bastard son wasn’t worth anything. Say he went mad in a failed cultivation—no one would care.

As for the Marquis of Pingyang? A declining house. Who cared?

“Yes, sir!”

Gavin’s eyes gleamed as he grabbed Eli by the hair and dragged him out.

His body scraped against the ground, leaving a spreading trail of blood. Eli’s eyes burned with hate as he stared at Thomas and the Elder.

“Go die in peace. Oh, and by the way, I’m the one who poisoned your mother to death—slowly, over years.”

The Elder chuckled coldly, eyes full of cruel amusement.

“You old dog!”

Eli’s eyes went wide. He let out a broken laugh as blood-tears ran down from the corners of his eyes.

...

The moon hung high. Stars filled the sky.In the endless wilderness, a massive chasm stretched thousands of feet across, its depths pitch-black and bottomless, like a direct link to hell itself.

This was the Myriad Beast Pit outside the imperial capital.

Beneath this abyss, countless beasts roamed — wild, vicious, endless. To the strong, it was a treasure trove filled with rare herbs and materials. But to the weak, it was pure nightmare.

Anyone below the Spirit Tempering Realm stepping in — meant death.

“Trash like you should know their place. Crawling at the feet of the heir is the only path you have. Still bold enough to resist? Heh. If the Marquis hadn’t shielded you all these years, you’d have fed the dogs by now.”

With a loud thud, Gavin Brooks flung Eli Larson to the edge of the pit like a dead dog, a sneer curling his lips.

“Congrats, Brother Gavin, on becoming a Centurion. Don’t forget us little folks in the future,” another guard flattered with a bow.

“Haha! All thanks to this bastard!” Gavin laughed loudly, full of pride.

“Gavin! If I survive this, I swear I’ll wipe out your entire clan!”

Eli turned his head with difficulty, eyes fierce and bloodshot.

Looking down at him, Gavin mocked, “Oh no, I’m terrified! Look at you — limbs shattered, can’t even crawl. You think you can kill me? Dream on.”

“Speaking of which, your sister? What a beauty. Such a waste, marrying Michael Parker. You know what happened to his former wives? Let me tell you—he played them to death!” another guard squatted next to Eli, snickering.

“That’s enough, let’s get drunk!” With one powerful kick, Gavin shoved Eli into the darkness below, and the group walked off, laughing.

“I won’t die like this!”

Cold wind howled past as Eli’s broken body was dragged into the void, his tears mixed with blood, face twisted with rage.

He hated.

Hated his weak talent, his broken path toward power.

In this world, strength reigned. Even a bastard son, if strong enough, could crush the legitimate heir and seize the title.

The current Emperor of Daqing was a bastard himself!

But more than anything, he hated Thomas Larson... and the Grand Elder.

They poisoned his mother in secret, deceived the Marquis. Now they’d thrown him to die, pawning off Clara as some tool to that beast Michael Parker.

If there was another life, he’d make them pay for it with blood.

And that venomous woman — Thomas’s mother — she wouldn’t escape, either.

"I won’t give in!"

Eli clenched his teeth. In the pitch-dark, a faint glow lit up the vines climbing the cliff wall.

"I’ll survive!"

He whipped his head sideways, slammed it towards the cliff, and with his only usable part — his mouth — bit down hard on a thick vine.

Instantly, his mouth tore open, blood gushing, teeth cracking. Flesh shredded on contact.

Pain flooded his mind like wildfire, but still, he didn’t let go. His body kept plummeting, tearing off vine after vine, the fall turning into a desperate tug against death.

Only when his mangled mouth gave out completely did he finally stop falling, suspended by the last clinging vine.

His body was ravaged, every inch dripping blood. But raw willpower held him there.

“Don’t pass out...”

His vision blurred. Dizziness hit like waves. But he kept biting.

Then he saw it — the source of that light. A cave, just below.

Eli loosened his bite for a moment. His body dropped again.

Just as he passed the cave’s entrance—he snapped again, teeth sinking deep.

The momentum halted.

But his head slammed hard into the cliff wall—blood burst out, and his body swung outward.

He arced back once more — and in that instant, let go.

The next second, he flew straight into the cave.