In the age of genesis because of their superior body and innate strength the spirit beasts were able to conquer the entire Heavenly Dao World and they divided it among themselves.
Celestial races chose to unite among themselves. They were able to somewhat resist the spirit beasts.
But on the other hand, humans were physically weak without any additional features.
They all were forced to hide. They were hunted down as food by spirit beasts and as experimental test subjects by the celestial race.
Humans live their lives in the shadow of fear. They didn't know when they would die or how they would die.
Inside a hidden cave in some unknown forest.
"Mother stay with me. Don't close your eyes."
Xian Zen says tears streaming down his face.
His mother looks at her son with gentleness. She tries to extend her weak hand but she has no strength to move it.
In the age of genesis humans didn't have proper food to eat, not even clothing to cover themselves.
They have to use wild things like branches and leaves in place of clothes.
Just like her mother, Xian Zen doesn't have any fat muscles in his body. He is so skinny that his bones are visible. If left like this he will die in just a few hours.
"Zen'er survive… live a long life and… find happiness for yourself."
Xian Zen's mother looks at him gently and kindly. And tells him her heartfelt wish. Just like every mother she wants her son's life to be filled with happiness.
In a world filled with despair and death where they don't know if they can survive tomorrow. This is something every human desires.
She also had this desire but the world is too cruel and indifferent to the weak and helpless.
As she completes her words she closes her eyes.
"Mother…"
Screaming with despair Xian Zen looks at his mother. But then he notices something and takes a deep breath.
He can see his mother's breathing but it is very faint. She could die any second.
He gets up and walks towards the exit of the cave.
"I… I have to find.. something for… for my… mother to eat…"
He finally walks outside the cave muttering that the bright light outside stings his eyes but he endures and keeps walking.
"I… have to… save my mother."
With his willpower alone he drags his weak and feeble body.
Growl!
But after walking for a few minutes he hears the growling of a hungry beast. He panics and decides to hide.
He doesn't want to die, not because he is afraid of death. He lives in a world where death is more blissful than life.
But he wants to live so he can save his mother. He drags his body and hides behind a thick tree.
Growl!
The growling beast comes near him. He has already got a whiff of his food.
Xian Zen can hear the beast just a small distance away from him.
And he finally closes his eyes in despair but there is a sort of relief in his breath. His miserable life is finally going to end.
But at that moment just as he was about to close his eyes he saw a light and it spoke to him.
"Huh! A human in a place like this… and you are about to die."
The light is coming from a crystalline beetle.
'Am I hearing things before my death?'
Xian Zen has become so weak that he can't even speak. His breath is hanging by a thread.
"Should I call it the will of heaven? I am trying to hide from that detestable strength charm. Let me borrow your body for a while."
Without waiting for his reply the beetle drills inside the navel of Xian Zen and reaches all the way inside his lower energy centre.
Xian Zen doesn't even have a chance to scream. The beetle breaks the wall and enters. It stops breathing and tries to hide itself.
As Xian Zen overcomes the overwhelming pain. Suddenly the growling of the hungry beast comes from right beside him.
He musters the remaining strength from his body and turns around to see his end.
Just a foot away he sees a beast with the head and tail of a monkey but the body of a human.
The beast locks his eyes with him.
"A dying Human…"
He growls.
"Hey human, have you seen the metamorphosis charm fly by… I am hungry."
Xian Zen quietly looks at him; he has no energy to talk. The beast looks at him and continues.
"I… am the strength charm… I need energy to sustain my strength… the metamorphosis charm is a great source of energy… tell me have you seen him?"
The strength charm looks at Xian Zen unable to comprehend that he is too weak to even answer him.
"I see… you lack… strength to speak… let me lend you."
The strength charm shrinks and drills inside the heart of Xian Zen again without his consent.
As it enters his heart. In fear the metamorphosis charm exhales all of his pent-up breath. The released energy from its breath opens Xian Zen's energy path and travels to his middle and then upper energy centres.
His consciousness expands first it was one meter then it quickly expands to five meters in no time.
His lower energy centre fills with blue energy and this time the inner wall shatters and its pieces fall into the blue energy.
The blue energy mixes with the fallen pieces and shrinks in size and is condensed into orange energy
After the wall breaks a change happens to his consciousness it expands over ten meters and stops after it reaches all the way to fifty meters.
The strength charm in his heart at first is surprised by the breath of the metamorphosis charm but then he begins to greedily devour the released breath and fill his stomach.
The rest of the breath released by the metamorphosis charm is devoured by the strength charm and Xian Zen's heart begins to beat with great vigour.
His scrawny twig-like body begins to bloat and expand as dense muscles cover him entirely.
Before the bones in his body break due to the weight of his own muscles, they are strengthened by the strength charm at the expense of the deep orange energy in his lower energy centre.
His height increases and reaches a staggering two metres. His weak body is now filled with the energy of the metamorphosis charm.
The non-existent muscles in his body are replaced by firm iron-like muscles. His small body is now as upright as a monolith.
Xian Zen blinks his eyes in disbelief he can feel almost infinite strength and energy in his body.
Ye Lei completes the first chapter of the classic and looks at his new juniors.
The look on their faces is similar to his when he first heard the 'Path of cultivation'.
Just from the first chapter he knew what sort of treasure that classic is.
"A story like that exists."
"This is really a treasure."
"Xian Zen's life is really tragic."
"Forget about his life, I am really thankful that humans rule the world or else our life would have been more tragic."
All of them have mixed reactions, some feel the thrill of the story, and the kids from the rich sector understand the value of the classic.
Soft-hearted ones have sympathy for Xian Zen. And those with a weak and anxious heart feel relieved that the world is ruled by humans.
"The metamorphosis charm."
One of us shouts and Ye Lei also focuses his gaze on him.
"The use of a metamorphosis charm. Does it originate from this classic?"
Ye Lei smiles. "That's right, it is said that the system of cultivation was created by Xian Zen as the first cultivator."
"At the start of the primordial age, almost all the traces of the age of genesis vanished. There were many attempts to awaken a mortal into a cultivator."
"But most didn't succeed and the successful ones had terrible efficiency. At that time someone read this classic and implied this method."
"And this did wonders. Using a metamorphosis charm became the norm. And till this age it has been widely used."
Ye Lei's words make the atmosphere slightly heavy. As everyone begins to feel the wonder of this classic.
"Senior brother, I also wish to read it. Can you provide me with the book?"
"I don't have it."Ye Lei says with a smile causing everyone to feel disappointed.
"But if you want to you can read it at the library of flying sword sect."
Everyone's faces brighten. "Thank you, senior brother."
"It's not a big deal."
Ye Lei turns around and begins to steer the flying sword. After that no one disturbed him and everyone began to get to know each other.
Hundreds of miles away from Maple City on a mountain range, Xi Yijian looks at the flying sword as it disappears beyond the horizon.
His eyes are filled with worry about his high-spirited granddaughter. Although he knows Tian Ming will be alright he has still raised him since he was just a small child.
But what worries him most is the inevitable future. Although he is a sword cultivator his expertise lies in dao of Divination.
All his life using his divination he has read the heavens. Even the reason he found Tian Ming was no coincidence.
He used his Dao of divination and it caused him to lose decades of his lifespan. And does he regret it? He does not know.
To be more precise he can't decide it. This is something the future will tell. For now, he can just see everything from the sidelines and deal with some annoying pests.
Sigh.
"Master Xi, even someone like you who has achieved mastery in the Dao of Divination can sigh at the future like this."
Xi Yijian looks at the horizon without turning around and unbothered.
Just then ten master cultivators fly in the sky behind him.
"This is precisely so that as a master diviner I can predict the future and at the same time I am unable to change it."
Xi Yijian slowly turns around with his hands behind his back and looks at the leader of the group.
The leader looks at him and says in a polite tone. "That is… truly an irony. You can see your death but can't avoid it."
Xi Yijian looks at him with expressionless eyes.
"It seems because I am getting old and that brat has sent a bunch of green horns like you to deal with me."
"The lord knows your strength well that is why he has sent me these two Rank 5 masters and the seven Rank 4 masters are just here in case of something unexpected.
He says as he releases dark yellow energy. Following him the two Rank 5 masters also release their yellow energy.
And the seven Rank 4 masters release a deep brown energy.
Xi Yijian looks at them and shakes his head in disappointment.
"Kids these days." A one-meter-long bamboo appeared in his hand, "Don't have manners."
His right eye shines with a silver light as he swings his bamboo vertically.
Whoosh.
A sharp silver sword qi brightens the master cultivator in silver light. As the sword qi slashes through mountains.
"They don't know how to treat their elders." With a bamboo in his hands, Xi Yijian says.
"You old monster."
From the sliced mountain master cultivators emerge and attack him. He jumps from his place and clashes with them.
A few days later the cultivators of Maple City examined the area of battle with horror in their eyes.
"What sort of destruction is this?"
In front of them, a mountain has been sliced in two leaving a deep valley. The ground is broken beyond measure. The surroundings are devastated.
In an area of a hundred miles, everything has been levelled.