From the moment we're born, life is filled with endless trials and hardships. Living is never an easy journey. By the grace of the goddess, a child who should have died at birth miraculously survived. He eventually entered the Divine Public School and became an outstanding apprentice of the gods—though with a unique twist: he is the Death God's apprentice.

Chapter 1: The Divine Soul-Reaping Chain

In the solemn hall, everything was shrouded in heavy black.

A thick, unshakable sadness filled the not-so-large hall, along with the pungent scent from blooming ju flowers. (囧)

The hall, neither too big nor too small, was packed with people dressed in black, both old and young.

Sounds of weeping, sighs. Sorrowful candlelight and mourning flowers.

"Heaven is jealous of talent." Several elders sighed by the spirit hall: "Dr. Brooks's renowned bone-setting skills finally had a successor, but who would have thought..."

"Such a young man, just in his early twenties, and now..."

"What a pity, what a pity."

The elders sat together, lamenting. Dr. Brooks's bone-setting skills had reached a godlike level—over two hundred bones in a human body were no harder for him to set than building blocks. These elders were Dr. Brooks's main clients. And the child of the Mu family had fully inherited his father's craft, even showing signs of surpassing him. Sadly, such a young life ended in an accident.

In a dark corner, where even candlelight could not reach—

Ethan Brooks crouched alone in the corner of the hall, his dark eyes observing the coming and going crowd.

Three days had passed.

For three days, Ethan Brooks had been crouched in this corner. People came and went, but not a single person paid him any attention, as if no one could see him at all.

The heavy music began—this was the final dirge.

By the spirit hall, Mu father Dr. Brooks looked as if he had aged many years overnight. Mu mother had already fainted several times.

Ethan Brooks could only feel utterly helpless.

"How are you? Getting used to it?" A calm voice, then a man in a black suit approached Ethan Brooks and asked softly.

"Hm? Excuse me, are you talking to me?" Ethan Brooks looked around, making sure he was alone in the corner, then looked up and asked.

"Haha, of course." The man smiled. "Is there anyone else here besides you?"

"You are...? Do we know each other?" Ethan Brooks thought for a long time but couldn't recall knowing such a man.

"Sorry, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself." The man scratched his head and smiled. "Just call me Black Reaper. That's what people here call me."

"Black Reaper?" Hearing this familiar name, Ethan Brooks wasn't too surprised. "You're much more handsome than the legends say, and quite fashionable too."

"Thanks for the compliment, just keeping up with the times." Black Reaper grinned, revealing a mouthful of black teeth—true to his name, even his teeth were black. "You're not bad yourself. Compared to the young folks I've seen before, you have a composure beyond your years."

"That's thanks to my father's teaching," Ethan Brooks said with a wry smile, glancing at his father by the spirit hall, who looked much older now.

"Have you gotten used to things these past few days?" Black Reaper asked again.

"Already used to it," Ethan Brooks replied. "It's been three days—how could I not be?"

"Then let's get going." Black Reaper stood up, made empty fists with both hands, brought them together, and then pulled them apart!

A black chain appeared out of thin air between Black Reaper's hands.

Then Black Reaper tossed one end of the chain toward Ethan Brooks.

Clack! One end of the chain snapped onto Ethan Brooks's right wrist, while the other was fastened to Black Reaper's own hand.

Ethan Brooks gave a wry smile. "Come on, Black Reaper bro, I'm not some great villain, and I'm not going to run. Can't we skip the chain?"

"Haha!!" Black Reaper burst out laughing at Ethan Brooks's words. "It's exactly because you're not a great villain that I'm putting this chain on you. Little brother, you don't know—this thing isn't for stopping people from running, it's a life-saving tool."

Black Reaper laughed heartily. "This soul-reaping chain isn't what you think. It may look unremarkable, but it's a rare divine artifact, and for you, it's a life-saving treasure."