A young man who seemed to be in his twenties could be seen running from a mob of people.

Heavily wounded by the mob, he was forced into a dead-end at the edge of a cliff. Some of the people in the mob were his friends and people he cared about and protected in the past. Feeling betrayed, he resentfully looked at them with hatred and shouted.

"You bunch of heartless bastards!...All these years of protecting you people, is this how you pay me back? By killing my wife and my unborn child who had nothing to do with 'The Great Calamity'."

The mob's shouting immediately rebutted him,

"You devil! You got the guts to talk about the 'The Great Calamity' after being the one who caused it claiming billions of lives."

"Yes, you almost annihilated our human race, and you dare talk about your wife. Thanks to you, we have lost many or all of our loved ones and families. Killing off anybody related to you, including your devil spawn, will be a favor to the world."

"Of course, the whole world will remember this day and us for burning the devil's wife at the stake."

The mob kept on throwing remarks filled with hatred at him. The young man tilted his head upwards and laughed like a maniac.

"Hahahahahahahaha..."

"I am the cause of the calamity? No matter how many times I say it wasn't me, you people will never believe even when I didn't even possess that kind of power before."

"Done the world a favor by burning the people I love? The true devils are you all who burned an innocent woman and child. Thinking about it, I guess the extinction of the human race doesn't sound so bad. I regret you all survived, as the world would be a better place without a race which pays back kindness with vileness."

His voice had started becoming weak and hoarse. But he had a mocking grin on his face. The mob grew angrier hearing his words, but the baleful aura around the young man made them reluctant to rush towards him to cut him down.

However, one of them, who seemed to be the leader of the mob, came forward.

"Everyone!!" He shouted at the top of his voice to the crowd. The crowd immediately let down their voices and stopped their charge to look at the mob leader with a curious gaze wondering why he suddenly stopped them.

"It seems like torturing you for all those years has been futile, seeing that you still haven't learned your lesson." said the mob leader looking at the young man.

The leader continued, "Don't be in a hurry to kill this devil, my people, as death will be an easy escape for him. Do not worry about his devilish powers, as we all already know he has lost it because of his grievous sin. Otherwise, this devil would have escaped our grasp already. The heavens are giving us this chance to make sure that the rest of his life is a living hell by torturing him more. Only then would our loved ones in heaven rest peacefully."

The mob got more excited, apparently showing their approval to the idea, and threw back all ideas of ripping apart and killing the young man instantly. Instead, they were preparing to capture him.

"As if I would let myself be tortured at the hands of lowly scum like you all. I decide my own death, not you cowards!"

The young man sneered. He suddenly turned around and ran towards the edge of the cliff. He jumped into the abyss and was long since covered by the fog.

"What the ****?? He just jumped to his death like that?" A man shouted from the crowd.

The young man, while falling into the abyss, thought, 'What a joke. I didn't even get to find out who brought this disaster upon me. Is this what being virtuous and kind-hearted leads me to? Sofie, I am sorry for not being able to protect you. If there is a next life, no matter what or who I am, I will join you soon and make sure we never suffer.'

He slowly closed his eyes, making himself ready to embrace death.

"Doesn't matter. We won't let him go that easily." The mob leader said while looking deep down into the abyss.

He turned towards one of his followers and ordered him, "Find his body, no matter what. We have to hang his body for everyone to see and let everyone rest easy knowing that the devil is dead."

'The Great Calamity' was an earth-shaking event that happened in 2030. It almost destroyed the human race by claiming ninety-five percent of the earth's population.

The young man had been their guardian, protecting the world from disasters and saving people.

But to this day, some of the survivors still remember his crimson red eyes and wings when he extinguished all those lives as if they were nothing. They didn't know why he did it or how he got so ridiculously powerful like a god on the day of the calamity.

"To think all those years that devil lived among us with his innocent looks and ways." A woman who seemed to be the leader's right hand scoffed.

"But back in those days, weren't you head over heels over him saying how ridiculously handsome he looked and all. I still remember how badly you wanted to be his woman." The leader mocked her.

The woman poked her finger at his chest, pretending to be aggrieved. "Dear, how could I have known that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He really seemed to be innocent and treated me like a very good friend. Hell, he even forgives his enemies, and I haven't ever seen him kill a single soul."

The leader had a mocking grin on his face and said, "Don't tell me you are that stupid. The more power a person has, the more corrupted they are. Anyway, it's for the best he died, he had unfathomable superhuman abilities, they were nothing compared to his. I was always jealous of his powers."

"Exactly. It's like he wasn't from this world...so weird. I— " She got cut off when a subordinate came up running. "Sir, the ones we sent to search for his body, haven't returned, and they are not responding on our comms."

"What?? You can't even find a dead body, and those idiots are not even responding?" The leader fumed and was about to say something when suddenly the air around them became suffocating, finding it difficult to breathe.

A murderous aura spread around them, making them all cough out blood.

"And here I thought maybe I killed too many of you lowly humans."

A girl's ice-cold voice came accompanied by a snort. It was just a simple sentence, but those words sounded beside their ears and penetrated deep into their hearts. They all got tensed and looked around but couldn't make out where the voice came from.

Everyone was struggling to even stand, and their bodies were trembling as that unknown girl's aura was getting heavier. The woman beside the leader woke up from her daze.

She stammered, "Tha...that voice, it...seems…" She felt that she found the voice familiar, but she couldn't remember whose it was no matter how much she tried to recall.

Suddenly a girl who looked about sixteen years appeared before their eyes hovering in the air. Her snow-white ice-cold eyes, radiating with a bluish tint looking at them with a gaze that seemed to pierce into their souls.

Her face was so beautiful that it could steal souls away just by a simple look, causing people to be unable to shift their gaze away from her.

Her body emitted a noble and ethereal aura that seemed as if a goddess had descended into the mortal realm.

She was clad in a pristine black attire that blended well with the night sky. Her silver-white hair reaching her waist reflected the moonlight as it danced in the air. But it was her eyes and her mesmeric snowy skin that made her figure look more bewitching and alluring.

Even the most beautiful woman on the planet would feel inferior in front of her.

Everyone standing there was stunned and dazed, seeing an otherworldly beauty in front of them, causing them unable to even utter a sound.

But the malevolent aura she was exuding made everyone's hearts palpitate with terror...as it could only mean one thing - Death.

Seemingly a horrible one considering her bad mood. And apparently, her mood couldn't be any worse.

The leader couldn't even muster any strength to ask her who she was. Everyone was confused and apprehensive seeing such a powerful being who apparently seemed to be angry with them. They had no idea who she was and why she was here.

Her killing intent mixed with anger and pain permeated the whole surroundings. Some weak-willed people even died just from that and exploded into pieces.

She lifted her hand with an indifferent expression and said in a voice filled with bone piercing hatred, "Be damned for eternity."

Each of those words resounded like thunder to their ears and souls.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

They all let out miserable screams as they felt like their skin, muscles, and bones were tearing from inside out. It was the pain of their soul tearing apart. Soon they turned into dust and became one with the air with nothing left as proof of their deaths.

The bright full moon was shining among the heavy, black driving clouds. It's light reflecting off her as she slowly shifted her gaze filled with melancholy towards it.

Soon time passed, and the sun was slowly rising. Her body suddenly lost all strength as she dropped down to the ground. Her skin was slowly cracking like glass as her face contorted with pain.

Changing her gaze towards the rising sun, her eyes misted over with tears as she muttered, "It's time...I am sorry, Damien, I couldn't find a better way. Next time, I hope it would be different so that you can live the life you always wanted and not lose anyone you love...If you still find me worthy enough for your love, I will gladly be with you again and forever."

Her body emitted a brilliant white light as her body finally turned into nothingness.

'Why is it so dark? Am I dead already? Hm, I can feel my body but... Arghhhh! What is this splitting headache?'

He slowly opened his eyes and sat up only to find out he was in a dark cell that seemed like a prison.

He slowly got up while clutching his head and looked around and finally at himself. His clothes were torn and shabby, as dirt covered his body.

'Wait...Did I survive the fall? No...that's impossible. This place...my clothes...'

Suddenly some images and events were pouring into his mind non-stop, like playing a video recording of his whole life.

'Wait...these memories...are they even mine?...everything seems different. Then was my last twenty-five years of life a dream? Never...how can those unforgettable memories be a dream.'

Through his memories, he found out his name was Damien Godwin, coincidentally the same first name as in his previous life. He was the son of the Patriarch of the Ward Family located in one of the cities in one of the Four Empires of the Rising Sun Continent—-Moonstone City.

'Did my soul transmigrate to this world after I died? What the hell is going on?'

He calmed himself down and settled his thoughts.

What surprised him was that the world he saw in his memories was nothing like the world he knew.

It was a Cultivation world where people strove to be the strongest, and all laws and rules are made by the strongest.

There was no technology, no electricity or cars, or anything he was familiar with. Instead, it seemed similar to the medieval ages.

Cultivators are people who absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around them into their bodies and cultivate ethereal strength.

Cultivation is a way for people to strengthen their bodies, minds, and souls by cultivating ethereal

energy and breakthrough to greater heights through meditation and adversity.

He was named Damien Ward during his life in the Ward Family. A kind and gentle kid who, despite being crippled, never lost himself in depression.

Even though he was the Patriarch's son, he didn't put on any airs before people. He was always benevolent and helpful to others, no matter their status.

And no one in his family dared to disrespect him, including his uncle and cousin brother, because his father was the strongest in the family.

Since he never had parents as far as he knows in his previous life, he felt a strange feeling when he saw the fatherly love shown to Damien Ward in his memories. He felt envy and thought how lucky Damien Ward was to experience it.

He had seen fathers express their love to their children in his previous life but seeing it through memories can evoke some feelings and emotions even though he didn't experience it by himself.

But due to a conspiracy by his father's younger brother, his father was poisoned. And when his father was on his deathbed, he told his son that he was his adopted son and his real name is Damien Godwin.

Apparently, a mysterious, powerful woman entrusted Damien as a baby to his adoptive father. She had told him his real name and left a black colored amulet with the name carved on its back, which Damien always had around his neck.

But before he could process the truth he just learned, his uncle and cousin brother took over the family since the patriarch's wife was long dead and his only son was a cripple.

Then they plotted to kill him off by poisoning him and then dispose of him in a quiet place. His uncle then sent his son and his servant to bury him, but on their way, they were ambushed by bandits.

Since his son was in disguise, the bandits mistook him for a poor kid and killed him and his servant. But they were disappointed when they found only a fifteen-year-old poisoned kid who was in his dying breath.

The bandit leader was frustrated to gain nothing when he thought he would get some riches when he spotted a caravan with two people.

So he decided to sell the dying kid to human traffickers in a black market where they either sold off people as slaves or made them fight to the death in entertainment matches for money.

And if there were some exceptional warriors who performed well in their matches, they would be purchased by people from various sects or families who had the capital to buy them as henchmen or servants to do their dirty work.

The bandit leader thought that the kid could at least be used for those entertainment matches where they are pit against beasts, and he would at least gain some money through that.

'And so here I am. I can't believe my previous self was a wimp and a fool, just like the old me. It just can't be more coincidental.' He scoffed to himself.

He closed his eyes and slowly smiled. He couldn't believe the things that had just happened to him. He had only heard these kinds of things in fantasy stories. But now, he was actually reincarnated in a dead body after jumping off from the cliff.

In this world, ethereal strength was most important. Although he was the Patriarch's adopted son, he was still at the first level of the Initial Ethereal Realm.

Still, the Patriarch treated him as his own son since he couldn't have children of his own and wasn't stingy on his resources when it came to his son's cultivation.

He was examined by many top-class doctors he could find to fix his meridians or to find out if there were any problems with his ethereal core.

The ethereal core holds and helps channel ethereal strength throughout the body. There are forty-seven ethereal core points spread out in the body from head to toe.

When someone starts their cultivation journey, their ethereal core points absorb ethereal energy from the air, and this energy is collected together to form an ethereal core, which converts the raw ethereal energy into a different form of ethereal energy that they can manipulate.

The ethereal core serves the purpose of helping to channel ethereal strength throughout the body.

Afterward as they cultivate, the ethereal core points absorb the ethereal energy from the air and feed it to their ethereal core; where they are converted and assimilated to increase their cultivation.

Once a person reaches five years of age, no more core points would be activated for his entire life. So, a ceremony would be held for the entitled children when they turn five years old to know the number of active core points they would have in their entire life.

For an average cultivator, around eight core points are active. A person with high innate talent might be gifted with up to sixteen active core points. In comparison, prodigies might be gifted with up to twenty-one active core points.

The number of active core points decides the height one could reach in his entire life. If one has more active core points, their cultivation and activation speed will increase. And as far he knows from his memories, people with 21 active core points were only a myth even in the whole empire.

It is extremely difficult to activate core points after a person turns five years old. One could only hope to activate more core points through extremely miraculous medicine and luck.

However, if they are not careful, it could cause irreparable damage to the ethereal core by causing the existing core points to be inactive or damaged.

The Patriarch was shocked when the doctors told him that the rest of his son's ethereal core points were destroyed and beyond repair except one.

He couldn't understand how one could have destroyed ethereal core points unless someone destroyed them externally. But that would mean that somebody destroyed them before he adopted Damien; that is when Damien Ward was just a baby.

To his knowledge destroying the ethereal core points of a baby is the same as killing them as they are too weak and fragile to handle the backlash from the destruction of the ethereal core points.

Because of his destroyed ethereal core points, Damien Ward would always be stuck at the first level of the Initial Ethereal Realm for his whole life no matter how much strenuous training he undergoes as his ethereal core could not be properly formed.

If his remaining single ethereal core point was destroyed, he would be no different from a mortal; just like a normal human being from the Earth without any cultivation.

This could only mean that Damien Ward would forever be a bottom feeder. But when his father died, he understood he was actually a laughing stock in the family, and the people he considered closest to him removed their masks and ridiculed him for being a cripple and bastard as somehow people found out he was adopted.

His naive self couldn't bear it and fell into depression. That is when his uncle and cousin decided to get rid of him for good since no one would care whether a crippled bastard lived or not.

'People are just the same everywhere. One will only show their true self when everything in your life crumbles down. The previous owner of this body still suffered the same fate as me.Haa~' He let out a long sigh.

'So did my soul possess this body after he died? Or did I kill him by possessing this body? Or is his soul still inside me? Damn...how does this process even work...maybe I should just think about it later. There's no point in racking my brain over it now. Right now, I have to find a way to get out of this shithole.'

Damien didn't feel much guilt even if he thought he indirectly killed the previous owner as he was anyway half dead nor did he have the luxury to worry about it. In truth, he didn't care about it.

He opened his eyes and walked towards the cell gate. He tried to pull apart the gate using his strength only to find out it was futile.

In his previous life, he was the top existence in the whole world as far as he knows.

He was treated like a god and with the utmost respect by people all over the world. He could lift vehicles like they were nothing, destroy buildings, and was even bulletproof until he lost his powers after 'The Great Calamity'.

He was a little hopeful to see whether he regained his old powers in his new body, only to be disappointed. He treaded back and slid his body down against the wall.

'If I knew I would be reincarnated in a useless body, I would rather choose not to reincarnate at all. This world seems even crueler than in my previous life. If I was to even step out with my laughable strength, I would be lucky if I lasted a week.'

'Does Earth even exist now? Or am I in a different universe?'.

Damien Ward had read some library books explaining the continent's geography, including the fact that the empire he was even bigger than the Asian continent itself, having a surface area of 50 million sq km. And the continent he was on had a surface area of almost 200 million sq km.

But he still couldn't find out which planet he was on or confirm whether he's still on Earth. It was as if only this continent existed in the world with the ocean surrounding the whole continent. And strangely, it was said that no one has ever left the continent even after countless tries because they found it impossible to leave!

It was like all the people were stuck on a huge island.

'Sofie if only you were with me now...what would you want me to do? Did you also reincarnate like me in this world? Or are you in a different world?' He sighed melancholily.

"Hey, brat! Huh...you are still alive?" A guard suddenly came up and shouted.

Damien's flow of thoughts was suddenly interrupted when he heard the guard.

Damien turned his head towards the direction of the voice. He slowly got up while the guard was busy opening the cell gate.

Even though the language in this world was different from the one in his previous life, he perfectly understood the guard since he naturally had Damien Ward's knowledge.

And he felt like he could converse in this language without any awkwardness, unlike what he expected.

The guard looked at him from top to down and said, "Brat, I can't imagine how unlucky you are to not die. And here I thought you would pass away in peace tsk tsk. Anyways I don't know how you managed to escape from the clutches of death, but you are going to regret it hehe." The guard snickered.

Damien squinted his eyes. He knew that he had almost zero chance of getting out. But he still wasn't used to how this world worked since there was never a slavery system in his previous life.

So he just wanted to try his luck and asked, "What do you mean? Surely you must have a way to just let me go. I neither have the strength nor skills to be sold to anyone."

The guard answered, "Haha brat you can't be so naive to think that you can get out of this place alive, not that I blame you. You don't need any strength or skills for what they have planned for you since you will only serve as entertainment to just earn some money. Anyways your match will be the commencement for today's entertainment matches since you are the weakest of the bunch. Don't worry, you will be facing off against ethereal beasts only because pitting cultivators against you would be boring. I wonder how many seconds you are going to last hehe."

Damien had a taut expression on his face as he tried to brainstorm and see if he could find any way to come out of his predicament alive. He was not afraid of fighting, but he didn't want to die a dog's death.

He was prideful enough to not let his life end in the hands of his enemies in his previous life, so how could he just let a mere beast decide his life and death.

Knocking out the guard was out of the question as he could feel that he had no chance to even hurt him since he could feel a sense of powerlessness while standing in front of him.

CLANG!

Suddenly a bell sound rang out, and the guard spoke, "Guess it's time already. Let's move."

Damien didn't resist as the guard moved forward to catch his arm.

While they were walking, Damien asked the guard, "What do I have to do to get out of this alive? How strong is the beast I am facing? Will I even get a weapon?"

Hearing Damien shooting out these questions one by one, the guard looked at him as if he were looking at a fool, "Brat, I underestimated your naivety. You are just at the first level of the Initial Ethereal Realm. The beasts you would be facing against would be at least from the second level of the Initial Ethereal Realm. This is also considering that an ethereal beast would always be stronger than an average cultivator with the same cultivation. Well, for weapons, we will see haha.

The only way you will get out of this alive is if some esteemed customers who would be watching the matches take a liking to you to purchase you as their servant or slave. But all you can do is dream about it since most of them only purchase the finest warriors who are at least in the late stages of the Nascent Ethereal Realm. But you are just trash who would only serve as a warmup before the upcoming matches. So all you can do is dream about it haha."

Damien lost his hopes after hearing these things from the guard. He would rather die than be a slave for someone else. But his fighting intent was lit since he refused to go down without a fight even though he had no idea of the strength difference between levels.

Soon they came out in the open, and the daylight made Damien squint his eyes as he lifted his hand towards his face to block the sunlight.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the light. He saw an arena but with a transparent barrier covering the whole arena that seemed to be made to restrict the fighters in the arena and prevent the surroundings from being affected by the ethereal energy when both parties were in combat.

Audience seats filled with thousands of people surrounded the arena, where some of them had either hooded clothes covering their whole body or with masks on. At the same time, some did not disguise themselves at all.

Obviously, those who were in disguise didn't want their identities to be leaked out since they were all from the empire's upper echelons.

There were also few areas in the topmost section of the audience area separated into multiple box-like rooms surrounded by tinted glass, which seemed like a VIP seating area where one can't see what's inside from the outside.

Since the things that were happening in this black market were illegal or not righteous in the eyes of the common people, people who came from prestigious backgrounds wouldn't dare to risk their identities being found out in this place lest they besmirch the reputation of the place they belong to.

He saw an elevated stage in the topmost section of the audience seats where a group of people was seated discussing some things between themselves.

He speculated that those people naturally are the ones who hold and coordinate the matches to be conducted.

'Great, just a business *** entertainment version of gladiator games.' Damien sneered to himself.

The guard threw a meaningful glance towards the stage, and soon, a middle-aged man on the stage wearing a dark brown robe stood up.

He walked towards the center of the stage, looking around the audience seats as he spoke in a clear and loud voice:

"This humble one is one of the Dark Sky Guild's Elder, Elder Faust, and it is an honor to be given the opportunity to satisfy the needs of esteemed customers from faraway lands. I thank all our loyal and honored customers for your continued patronage. I hope today's events will be to everyone's satisfaction."

'Heh, the way he is talking seems as if things like these are natural. As expected of someone working in this business' Damien scoffed inwardly.

Elder Faust continued, "Before we move on to the main matches, we would have a warmup match to help settle down our guest's moods. As all of you might know, our rules allow all of you to call out when you see an interesting warrior you want to recruit by just pressing the yellow jade stone on your armrest, and the match would be stopped immediately. Of course, only the highest bidder would be able to complete the transaction. Also, please do remember that we maintain absolute confidentiality and trustworthiness with our customers."

"For the warmup match, we would be having beasts facing off against the weakest practitioner. After that, we would be having our usual matches among warriors. Unless any bids on the warriors are made or one of the warrior's surrender, all the matches will be fought to the death. Only some fine warriors have the right to surrender because of their previous performances. Now let's proceed with our warmup match involving the Grey Wolf beast known for its ferociousness as one of the combatants."

The barrier came down as a gate opened in the corner of the arena. A grey-colored wolf almost 1.5 meters tall, baring its fangs, was let into the arena.

Damien was expecting some huge beast but only to find out it didn't look much different than an ordinary wolf he knew in his previous life, other than being slightly bigger.

The only main difference he could notice was the aura the wolf was emanating. It was a strange and murderous aura that he has never before seen in a wolf.

'I guess the beasts are different too. Can I even defeat it?' Damien wondered to himself and started thinking of ways to fight the beast.

Elder Faust looked towards the guard and examined Damien through his spiritual perception. He had glanced at him as he came out before, but now he was surprised when he inspected him.

He furrowed his brows as he sent a sound transmission to the guard, "What the hell is going on? I thought this kid was supposed to be at least half-dead. How is he able to even walk now?"

Practitioners can send mental transmissions to each other using ethereal energy if they are nearby or within their sight.

Elder Faust had planned a short warmup match since he wanted to entertain the guests as most of the audience were either sadistic in nature or wicked and cruel in many ways.

He knew only those kinds of people would visit or involve in these kinds of businesses even though they might be from righteous families.

The guard's voice quivered, "M-My Lord, actually, I only came to know about his condition when I went to bring him out. Before that, he was surely poisoned and was almost dead."

Elder Faust became irritated as he said, "Tch if I had known he was healthy, I could have at least sold him off as a servant or as a boy toy at least. Haa...forget it. Just end this fast. What a waste."

The guard turned towards Damien as he said, "Brat, it's time. Pray to the beast so that it will end your miserable life fast otherwise, hehe." The guard grinned wickedly.

'Ugh...what a sadist.' Damien thought.

The guard pushed Damien towards a weapon rack having swords, spears, shields, and some other primary weapons, which all seemed quite ordinary.

When the people in the audience seats saw Damien being pushed towards the weapon rack, they all understood he was the fighter selected to fight in the warmup match.

"Eh...a kid? Is this a joke or what? Even kids are sold as warriors here hahaha."

"I don't know whether this could be fun or boring. A match between weaklings. How long do you expect a kid at the first level of the Initial Ethereal Realm to last against a beast at the second level of the Initial Ethereal Realm? "

"No wonder he is fighting in the warmup match. He is just going to die a painful death. Well, it would be at least a bit entertaining if he could put up some kind of struggle haha."

"That kid looks like he is in his teens but still at the first level of the Initial Ethereal Realm. He can't be more trashy haha."

"Of course, otherwise why would they try to get rid of him. At least he will serve some purpose in this match as an entertainment."

Sounds of snickers and ridicule filled some of the areas in the audience.

There was a VIP glass box inside which three hooded figures sat on the east side of the seating area.

The middle figure seemed to be an important person being protected by two bodyguards as the two people on either side of that person seemed to be on constant alert and mindful of their surroundings even though they were in the so-called VIP box.

Apparently, these three were visiting this place for the first time.