Eastern region –
A place legend said to have had a Martial Emperor strong man presiding over it, making it stand at the peak, boosting the second largest concentration of spirit Qi. But one day it vanished overnight. Some speculate that it was destroyed and the aftermath of the battle left the region's Qi depleted, while others speculate they simply abandoned the region after noticing its declining spirit Qi.
In a corner of the Eastern barren lands there stood an empire, one of numerous not particularly significant. Its name is Tianwu Empire. It has ten cities: Yong'an Imperial Capital, Qinghe City, Huocheng City, Linyun City, Beicheng City, Shuangxi City, Luoyan City, Baiyuan City, Cangmu City and Shuangxi City.
**Qinghe City**
Said to be one of the bigger cities of the empire, but in truth it wasn't, because the highest battle power is only of the 6th layer of Martial Grandmaster. The city is dominated by three clans: the Chu family, the Zhao family and the Lin family, although there are other forces such as the Alchemist Association, specializing in the crafting and sales of all kinds of medical pills; the Martial Pavilion, specializing in acquiring all kinds of spiritual and natural treasures then auctioning them; lastly, the Weapon's Crafting Association, specializing in crafting of weapons. These forces have a transcendent status in the city and even the empire because they are foreign forces with branches in every city of the empire and in every region. Their headquarters are peak forces even on the mainland. They do not interfere with the power struggle of the local forces. They are strictly business only.
**The Lin Family**
One of the overlords of Qinghe City, at least they used to be before the strongest fighting force of the clan, the family head who was at the peak of the 7th layer Martial Grandmaster showing signs of a breakthrough to the late stage of the Grandmaster, disappeared several months ago. Now they can barely take care of themselves.
Inside the Lin family compound, in a remote corner of the compound, a courtyard so filthy it wasn't even fit for the servants of the clan. Inside of it, a young man who looked to be no older than fifteen years old, with slightly handsome features, lay on the bed heavily bandaged and pale-faced as though he was on death door. Suddenly, he groaned painfully and his eyelids trembled and opened with strain.
"EHNN!!!"
"Aren't I supposed to be dead?" Lin Feng asked himself silently.
"Wasn't my soul destroyed in that void?" He shivered in fright as he recalled the feeling when his soul was moving at hyper speed. It was as though his soul was being torn apart piece by piece.
He drew in a slow breath, steadying himself. The darkness returned to him in fragments — endless, suffocating, without sound or light. There had been no body, no time, only drifting awareness and the sensation of being torn apart, over and over again. At some point he had stopped struggling. At some point he had even hoped the tearing would finish the job. Anything would have been better than existing alone in that void.
He then takes great difficulty to sit upright on the bed and looks at the ceiling, then across the room, taking in every detail of it.
"Hmm, unfamiliar ceiling, unfamiliar room."
He then hurriedly took a look at his hands.
"So tiny and young too!" he exclaimed while looking at his hands from front to back.
"Could it be…."
He hurriedly stood up despite the overwhelmingly mind-numbing pain he felt and walked forward with shaking legs that threatened to give way like a newborn calf. He walked to the mirror in front of what looked like an ancient-style dressing table.
"Wow, is this me?" he exclaimed while touching his handsome face. He then pinched himself to verify if it was reality.
"Ouch, it hurts, so this is real," he yelped in pain after pinching himself with excessive force, causing the pain to overlap with the already existing pain.
"I time traveled."