In the era of primordial chaos and the primal stillness of night, Nüwa, a true god born from the qi of chaos, possessed supreme power throughout heaven and earth.
As a paramount sovereign, she not only wielded the power to cleave the heavens and forge the earth, but also possessed the ability to annihilate them.
"The void is desolate, the primordial cosmos masterless. What does it matter if I am a paramount sovereign? Am I not merely revering my own existence? If that is the case, then I shall certainly add a little more color to this starry sky."
"By my decree, henceforth, whoever can comprehend the Dao of the Two Principles shall surely receive my legacy, wield boundless chaotic power, and unify the myriad star systems."
Ultimately, Nüwa brought forth creation, sacrificing herself to forge the myriad star systems.
After Nüwa's death, the Dao of Primordial Chaos was divided into two opposing paths of Yin and Yang, which then evolved into countless other Great Daos, establishing the cosmic laws and constituting the existence of all beings.
At this time, the most fundamental form of life existing in the myriad star systems was pure thought, originally the nascent Great Dao that forged the cosmic laws of the myriad star systems.
These streams of pure thought drifted everywhere; though they had no physical form, they never strayed from the existence and development of all things.
As time gradually passed, these spiritual essences, by communicating with the power of the cosmic laws, endured eternally.
Later, these spiritual seeds also developed sentience, recognizing more and more Great Dao laws, thereby forming a new type of existence called Primordial Spirits.
Primordial Spirits were originally sentient spiritual seeds, but the existential concepts of each type were not the same, leading them to divide into many opposing factions.
The Great Dao of Yin and Yang mutually generated and restrained, while righteousness and evil were irreconcilable. The struggle between these streams of spiritual seeds was naturally predetermined.
Under the circumstances of a life-and-death struggle, the two factions of the Divine Race and Demonic Race thus formed.
Some who did not wish to participate in the conflict between these two factions created another faction, called the Buddhist Race.
The representative of the Divine Race was called the Divine Ancestor, the representative of the Demonic Race was called the Demonic Ancestor, and the representative of the Buddhist Race was called the Buddhist Ancestor.
From that day forward, brutal wars frequently erupted everywhere in the myriad star systems between the two factions of gods and demons, as they contended for territory and seized cultivation resources.
Though sometimes victorious and sometimes defeated, neither side could completely overwhelm the other. Instead, the situation grew increasingly grave, and the enmity between the Divine Race and Demonic Race, over tens of millions of years, could no longer be resolved.
It is unknown how many tens of millions of years passed before the situation between the two factions of gods and demons finally stabilized, and the unspoken rules established among the three major factions became orderly.
It was precisely during this period that life began to appear everywhere in the myriad star systems, forming countless different civilizations.
On a distant minor planet named Thanh Hai Star, as millions of years passed, the climate underwent countless changes, and myriad living beings received creation and formed. Among them, the latest to form was the Human Race.
Ancient legends of the Mortal Realm recount that during the later period of the Divine-Demonic War, the Dragon Race, thanks to their vast numbers, omnipresence, and unique and diverse physiques, seized the heavenly opportunity.
While the divine and demonic forces were all heavily wounded and countless had fallen, most had to return to their strongholds to recuperate, and a portion was annihilated by the Dragon Race.
After the ancient gods, true demons, demon immortals, and ghost emperors died, their primordial spirits scattered in all directions. Their lingering obsessions caused their true spirits to give birth to spiritual thoughts, which then coalesced into spiritual pearls. Their essence blood transformed into spiritual energy, remaining in forbidden lands to aid their descendants in cultivation.
At that time, the dragon race was considered the most powerful clan, dominating the mortal realm. They conquered territories in all four directions and unified the four divine continents.
As time passed and creation shifted, the dragon race, burdened by excessive murderous intent and boundless greed, plunged all living beings into suffering and brought about the destruction of all things, thus defying the will of heaven.
Not long after, the Nine Heavens, in their wrath, unleashed a great tribulation of heavenly lightning, casting an inescapable net that pushed the dragon race to the brink of extinction. This, in turn, opened up a grand opportunity for humanity to flourish and multiply.
In a distant land to the north, there was a village named Lạc An.
On a bitterly cold winter day, thunder rumbled across the sky, and a fierce wind, carrying freezing rain, seeped into every roof tile and wall, making people feel the cold deep in their bones and marrow.
In a dilapidated house at the end of a small alley, it was late at night when a sudden, incessant commotion broke out. People, carrying lamps and torches, ran in and out, bustling as if at a festival.
"Master Dự, the madam is having a difficult birth! Right now, we can only save one – either the mother or the child. Please decide quickly, any more hesitation and it will be too late!"
The middle-aged man stood in the middle of the rickety main hall, one hand bracing himself against the edge of a rotting wooden table, trying to keep his body from collapsing after hearing the midwife's words.
The old roof, dilapidated from years of neglect, was covered in patches. Under the heavy rain and strong wind, it could not prevent streams of water from trickling in.
Leaking water dripped everywhere, some falling onto his streaked-with-silver hair, yet he showed no reaction, standing utterly stunned as if rooted to the spot.
He was lost in thought, recalling the words the white-bearded old man, who stood stroking his beard not far away, had spoken earlier that morning.
"This child should not be in this world. If it is born, your family will surely encounter misfortune.
Not only that, but in the future, I fear even this entire Cửu Chân district will not escape a period of bloody turmoil."
"I dare to assert that precisely at midnight tonight, at the moment when the ominous star and the auspicious star shift, your madam will go into labor.
I will only say this much. As for the decision, that is up to the will of heaven."
Just this morning, he had found the old man's words utterly preposterous, even almost coming to blows with him for the audacity of cursing others.
Fortunately, the old man was a man of few words and knew when to stop, otherwise, he would have been beaten to a pulp long ago.
Moreover, the old man had stubbornly refused to leave, insisting on staying to verify the truth, which was precisely why he was present here at this moment.
Faced with the palpable events unfolding before his eyes, the man, who had already stepped into his twilight years, still couldn't comprehend, and for a moment, he was utterly at a loss as to how to decide.
He didn't believe the old man's words were true, yet he didn't dare to assert they were false either.
He felt a palpable sense of helplessness manifesting clearly in his mind.
Standing outside the cre
The man covered his mouth, coughing raggedly, as two streams of hot tears welled from his dark-ringed eyes.
He slumped onto the faded chair beside him, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon.
A moment passed. Despite the thunderous urgings in his ear, the middle-aged man remained silent.
In his position, any choice would lead to a deeply painful outcome.
He didn't dare to choose; more precisely, he chose silence.
He was afraid to choose, because he wasn't sure if it would be the right choice.
Inadvertently, he had decided to let fate choose for him.
Finally, a baby boy was born. His name was Dự Phá Thiên!
“Hey, you brat! Where do you think you’re going? Get over here and let this young master teach you a lesson!”
The young master, Teng, shouted loudly.
Little Phá Thiên’s face crumpled, and he mumbled:
“That motherfucker, he’s looking for trouble with me again.”
His small hands clenched tightly, he didn’t dare to look up, his cheeks flushed red, and his legs trembled so much he couldn’t take another step.
Young Master Teng raised his voice and shouted again:
“You idiot! Didn’t you hear what this young master said? Damn it, where are you all? Beat him up for me!”
Hearing their leader give the command, the group of children standing in the distance immediately rushed forward and gave Phá Thiên a merciless beating.
A series of thuds and smacks rang out, occasionally accompanied by the loud curses of the adolescent children.
Only when they had had their fill of beating him did the group finally leave, spitting several times directly onto the poor boy, laughing and gloating.
He slowly crawled up, his face swollen and his mouth bleeding. A stream of hot tears suddenly welled up in Phá Thiên's eyes, but he deliberately held them back, an indescribable resentment etched deep within.
Along with the surging pain that overwhelmed even the biting late-autumn winds, he found himself thinking about his life again.
Born into a poor farming family, his father was an alcoholic.
Day in and day out, he worked little and drank a lot.
Every time he came home, he would drag Phá Thiên out and beat him. Many times, Phá Thiên was beaten until his head split open, and he could only grit his teeth and endure.
Speaking of his mother – or rather, his stepmother – she was even more vicious.
Many times, when she saw him being beaten, she not only didn't intervene but added fuel to the fire, wanting to torment him to satisfy her hatred.
Thinking of his birth mother, he grew even sadder.
His birth mother had died right after giving birth to him.
People said that when his mother was pregnant, a fortune teller had cast a hexagram, declaring that his fate defied the will of heaven and he would not survive.
If she stubbornly insisted on giving birth to him, it would not only bring disaster upon the family but could also sow calamity among all living beings under heaven.
They called him a star of misfortune, a hidden menace to humanity.
Nevertheless, among the countless who hated him, there was one who loved him.
Because she understood his cruel fate, she always reminded him that his life had been exchanged for his mother's own.
She told him to cherish his life and to live his human existence to the fullest.
But at that time, he was too young to understand such profound things.
He only knew that ever since he could understand things, he had never felt that life was beautiful for even a single day, only that it was full of cruelty and bitterness.
“Little Thiên, you good-for-nothing! Are you so idle after eating, just standing there gawking? Aren’t you going home to cook, feed the pigs, herd the chickens into the coop, and sweep inside and outside the house? You come home from school and you still don’t know how to do chores? What a useless child I’ve raised, my life is truly miserable!”
– And you busybodies! What are you staring at? Have you never seen a naked woman in your life, or what?
The step-aunt, with a black mole the size of a pea on her cheek, stood with her hands on her hips. One pant leg was rolled up, the other down, and her belly was a thick roll of fat like a belt. Her mouth twisted as she bit out each word venomously.
Her booming voice echoed, making the children nearby cower and scatter, while the older folks merely shook their heads in weary resignation and turned away.
Pha Thien, dazed, came to his senses. He quickly wiped away the lingering tears on his cheeks with a dust-covered hand, then spun around and headed home without a word.
Truth be told, ever since he was born, Pha Thien had never shown himself to be the kind of person who 'stands tall and firm' as that teacher had said.
He was quiet and reserved by nature; at school, he was taciturn and not good at studying, only knowing enough to read and write basic characters.
Ultimately, it wasn't that he lacked intelligence, but because his circumstances were not as fortunate as others'.
With his humble origins, not only did his teachers pay him little attention in class, but he was also constantly teased and bullied by his peers.
At home, he was beaten by his father and treated like scum, a parasite, by his step-aunt.
Over time, a deep resentment grew in Pha Thien's mind. He hated the heavens for giving him such a miserable fate.
What had he done wrong? Why was he forced to endure all the suffering in the world, living a life worse than death?
Many times, Pha Thien even thought of just dying to end it all.
But childhood anger and sorrows are fleeting; after all, he was only a six-year-old child.
Time, like a shuttle, flew by. Over a decade of living in hardship and poverty had taught Pha Thien that money and power were the two things everyone yearned for most, and also the two things most likely to lead people astray.
If it weren't for his own poverty, he wouldn't have such a terrible life now.
If those people hadn't relied on their power and money to bully others, he wouldn't have had to endure so many injustices.
In the end, whether he liked it or not, he still had to become stronger, had to become richer.
Only then could he take control of his life, take control of his destiny.