Volume One: The Gu Family's Son

　　Chapter 001: Reborn as a Youth

　　Chad Grant let out a faint groan, his head splitting with pain, and slowly opened his eyes.

　　The intense pain throughout his body made him suck in a cold breath, and his weak body left him feeling exhausted, so his eyes soon closed again, powerless.

　　"Didn't I die at the hands of Gavin Clark?" With his eyes closed, Chad Grant was suddenly shocked in his heart.

　　Scenes of battling Gavin Clark quickly flashed through Chad Grant's mind.

　　Chad Grant, over 500 years old, had yet to break through the Bright Aperture stage of the Great Perfection of the Life Spring Realm. With his end approaching and heavy blood feuds unavenged, resentment filled his heart, and he decided to fight a life-and-death battle with his greatest enemy, Gavin Clark, in his final days.

　　Although Chad Grant had reached the third stage of the Life Spring Realm, the Primordial Spirit stage, making him one of the top cultivators on the Ancient Wilderness Continent, Gavin Clark was a once-in-a-millennium peerless genius. Back when Chad Grant had just entered the first stage of the Life Spring Realm, the Spirit Infant stage, Gavin Clark had already reached the Great Perfection Bright Aperture stage.

　　By the time Chad Grant entered the third stage, the Primordial Spirit stage, Gavin Clark had already broken through the shackles of the Life Spring Realm and stepped into the legendary Void Crossing Realm, becoming a land-bound immortal on the Ancient Wilderness Continent, entering the ranks of the immortals.

　　Even though Chad Grant was determined to die and take Gavin Clark with him, Gavin Clark's cultivation level was far above Chad Grant's.

　　With a violent explosion, Chad Grant directly burned his primordial spirit, hoping to deliver a fatal blow to Gavin Clark, but unfortunately, Gavin Clark still managed to dodge it.

　　Chad Grant could only sigh deeply—fate is not in one's own hands...

　　Filled with resentment, his consciousness gradually dissipated between heaven and earth.

　　"Wasn't I already dead?" At this thought, Chad Grant was shocked again and opened his eyes once more.

　　After a long period of recollection and meditation, Chad Grant's spirit was much better than before. Although his whole body still ached unbearably, he didn't faint again as he had the last time he opened his eyes.

　　Chad Grant turned his head and saw that he was in a room neither large nor small. The room was quite simple: apart from two chairs, a table, and a strong bow hanging on the wall, there was also a wardrobe against the opposite wall, with a large mirror on its door, perfectly reflecting the scene on Chad Grant's side.

　　On an old-fashioned wooden bed lay a boy of about ten years old. Chad Grant's expression changed again in shock. He, who had lived over 500 years, already with white hair and at the high-level Primordial Spirit stage of the Life Spring Realm, had actually become a boy of about ten?

　　Almost instantly, Chad Grant suddenly raised his arms, and what met his eyes were a pair of fair, delicate hands of a child. But before Chad Grant could be surprised, a stabbing pain shot from his chest as he lifted his hands, and his arms fell back down, powerless.

　　This time, however, Chad Grant did not faint from the pain. Instead, as if he felt no pain at all, an excited expression appeared on his face as he once again looked around this simple room.

　　That table—how many times had a young boy sat there, reading and practicing calligraphy day after day?

　　Those two chairs—how many times had a father and son sat there, laughing together in harmony?

　　That bright mirror—how many times had a young boy faced his reflection, clenching his fists and vowing: I will become strong.

　　……

　　How many times? How many times?

　　Chad Grant's thoughts raced, traversing hundreds of years. Those memories long buried deep in his mind erupted once more.

　　Five hundred years ago, Chad Grant was born into the Gu family, a cultivation clan in Leshui City at the far east of the Great Win Dynasty. His grandfather, Shawn Grant, was the clan head. According to the hereditary rules of the clan, Chad Grant should have been a young master, but Shawn Grant had no sons, only a daughter, Lauren Grant.

　　Chad Grant's father, Colin Grant, was Shawn Grant's adopted son. He later married Lauren Grant, becoming Shawn Grant's son-in-law, but not his biological son. Although Shawn Grant wanted to pass the clan head position to Colin Grant, he faced opposition from the clan's Grand Elder, Miles Grant, and Second Elder, Ryan Grant.

　　Thus, although Colin Grant was the clan head's adopted son, he was not recognized by the Grand Elder and Second Elder, and his status in the Gu family was not highly regarded.

　　If even his father was treated this way, it was easy to imagine Chad Grant's own status after birth—he was often bullied by the Gu family youths of the Grand Elder's line.

　　Colin Grant only joined the Gu family at the age of twenty, missing the best period to lay a solid foundation for cultivation. Although Colin Grant was highly talented and reached the fourth level of the Innate Realm in just thirteen years—a speed unmatched in the entire Gu family—

　　The Grand Elder's son, Gordon Grant, was also quite gifted. Although he couldn't match Colin Grant's cultivation speed, he had started more than ten years earlier and had surpassed the clan head Shawn Grant in cultivation, reaching the seventh level of the Innate Realm.