“Take it back. Giving him this kind of spiritual medicine is a waste. How many tonics has he taken since childhood? Even now, he’s still just a useless trash with only three meridians of power. Look at the other young masters—even those not qualified to enter the ancestral land have at least reached four meridians!”

“If it weren’t for Third Master holding the family’s only alchemical weapon, the Night Song Sword, a waste like him would have been sent to clean out the latrines long ago. Truly a disgrace to our ancestors!”

The footsteps faded away. The bowl of Seven-Leaf Ginseng Soup that was supposed to be his was taken by a few servants, who left behind a few muttered words: “Think hiding here will keep you safe? Young Victor will be back tomorrow, and when he comes, he’ll definitely come for you and get rid of you, the disgraceful good-for-nothing, once and for all!”

Andrew Carter took a deep breath, and a memory from the original owner surfaced in his mind.

The Anhuai Sun Clan was a branch of the Sun family from Weiyuan Commandery, having settled in Anhuai County for over a hundred years. The Sun family was one of the most renowned great clans in Weiyuan Commandery, ranking among the top five in strength even within the entire commandery.

The ancestral land was the birthplace of the entire Sun family, and after years of careful management by the main branch, it had become a place to train the core disciples of the Sun clan.

There, there were more advanced cultivation methods, stronger mentors, rarer elixirs, and more formidable martial techniques.

Entering the ancestral land to cultivate had always been the dream of every Sun clan child, and each branch competed for the opportunity every year.

Andrew Carter’s talent was truly ordinary; he originally had no right to enter the ancestral land. But every parent dreams of their child’s success, and Andrew Carter’s father, Harold Carter, was no different.

However, his way of getting his son into the ancestral land was not through underhanded means, but by exchanging a real, hard-earned merit.

He had risked his life to complete a family mission, leaving three scars two feet long on his body forever. He asked for no reward, only that his eldest son be allowed to enter the ancestral land to cultivate.

Unfortunately, Andrew Carter’s aptitude was just too poor. In half a year, his cousin Jason Carter, who entered the ancestral land with him, had already reached six meridians of power. As long as he passed the upcoming year-end exam, he could become a “True Martial Disciple” of the ancestral land. But Andrew Carter was still stuck at three meridians, even worse than those who had stayed behind in Anhuai County.

Thus, the title of “waste” was firmly attached to him.

To make matters worse, the original Andrew Carter was gentle by nature and preferred to avoid conflict. He always thought, “We’re all brothers, bound by blood—there’s no need for open hostility.”

But others always saw this as a sign of cowardice.

So, with no skills and a timid disposition, Andrew Carter became infamous throughout the ancestral land as a useless good-for-nothing, always at the bottom, ignored by all.

The year-end exam was approaching. If he couldn’t pass the four-meridian assessment, he would be expelled.

His cousin Jason Carter, far from offering any help, instead kicked him while he was down, constantly finding excuses to “spar” with him, injuring him every time.

Not only that, his cousin had a group of lackeys, all at the four-meridian level, who waited for him every day at the dining hall, training grounds, and law hall. Whenever they saw him, they would beat him up, keeping him in a perpetual state of injury, unable to continue his cultivation.

It was clear they wanted to drive him to his death.

Andrew Carter could see this, and, helpless, decided to return home to focus on cultivating for a month. With his father’s protection at home, he could get more spiritual medicine and still had a slim hope of breaking through to the four-meridian level.

He returned to the family with injuries all over, only to be seen as a coward, running away from the year-end exam!

Lacking the strength to pass is one thing, but not even daring to face it makes you a coward despised by all!

No one gave Andrew Carter a chance to explain. To make matters worse, his return was ill-timed—his father Harold Carter had taken his younger brother out to seek medical treatment, leaving no one to protect him. Facing the predatory cousins, he had no choice but to leave home and hide in this manor at the foot of Zhenhun Mountain outside the county.

He desperately wanted to stay in the ancestral land, so after arriving at the manor, he trained diligently, only to die from a qi deviation caused by his unhealed injuries.

That was when Andrew Carter’s soul took advantage and entered the body.

Andrew Carter sighed inwardly. There’s nothing wrong with being kind, but endless, bottomless concession is clearly not the way.

The insubordinate servants had already left. Looking at the majestic Zhenhun Mountain not far away, a surge of unwillingness rose in his heart: I’ve been given a second life—not to be a waste!

No matter what, I must break through to four meridians within a month and stay in the ancestral land!

He got up and returned to his room, with the towering Zhenhun Mountain looming behind him.

Legend had it that this vast mountain range was the starting point of the million-strong war between the human and demon races.

Back then, in the Six Realms, humans and demons stood side by side. Until millions of years ago, the peerless human sovereign, Yu Gulong Immortal Emperor, emerged, attained enlightenment and ascended the throne at Zhenhun Mountain, then issued a proclamation to the world, gathering a million human experts to march against the demon race.

Seven great battles followed, with countless experts shedding blood!

At last, the epic “Million War” broke out. The demon race suffered a crushing defeat and retreated into the Dark Sea, struggling to survive. The human race won a pyrrhic victory, and the Seventh Realm, the “Land of the Dead,” was born.