It was another moonlit night. The moon shone brightly, casting the stars into shadow.
In War Dragon City, at the Lin family estate, two disciples guarding the Blood-Swapping Pool yawned again and again.
"I'm telling you, it's getting late. How come that fool isn't here yet?"
"I was wondering the same thing. If he doesn't show, we can't go through with our plan today."
As the two disciples spoke, their eyes lit up simultaneously at the thought of their plan, and a lewd glint flashed in them for an instant.
Just then, a frail figure came into their view.
The two of them straightened up in unison, looking rather excited.
"He's here, he's here! That fool, Lin Hao, is heading for the Blood-Swapping Pool!"
"Told you so! For the past three years, he's come at this time every month, rain or shine..."
As they were speaking, Lin Hao had already reached them. His face was wooden and expressionless, his eyes vacant and utterly devoid of life. He stared straight ahead, his gaze fixed on the Blood-Swapping Pool.
"I really don't get it. He's already a complete fool, but he's still so fixated on this," one of the disciples said with a look of disdain as Lin Hao brushed past him.
In the blink of an eye, the fool, Lin Hao, had already stepped into the Blood-Swapping Pool...
The two disciples guarding the Blood-Swapping Pool initially crouched by its edge, watching Lin Hao nervously. But after a quarter of an hour, they both let out a long sigh of relief, their eyes gleaming with a predatory light.
"Let's go. We'll go back and get that thing. The little lass will probably be here in two hours, and then... heh heh heh..."
The two departed as they spoke, their expressions lustful and their smiles obscene...
The Blood-Swapping Pool was deathly still.
BOOM!
A sudden clap of thunder rent the air.
At that exact moment, the sky began to rumble. Then, with a CRACK, a bolt of lightning, like a sharp sword slicing through the air, shot down and poured directly into the crown of Lin Hao's head.
The next moment, the muscles on Lin Hao's vacant face tightened, replaced by a look of pure agony.
Before long, the pain receded, and an incredibly strange smile spread across Lin Hao's face.
Before the smile could grow, it morphed into an expression of terror.
The Blood-Swapping Pool, a young woman with a serene smile, a chest ripped open, and that hazy purple light...
Scene after scene flashed through his mind. Fear, pain, anger... all these emotions and more contorted Lin Hao's face, until at last...
"Aaargh!"
With a low cry, Lin Hao's eyes flew open.
The dullness in his eyes was gone, replaced by sorrow—an endless, bottomless sorrow.
'I remember now. I remember everything that happened in the Blood-Swapping Pool.'
He clutched his chest as tears rolled unceasingly down his cheeks. Lin Hao felt his heart ache so much he couldn't breathe.
"You are all my kin... my family! Why would you do this to me?" Lin Hao wept, his face streaked with tears.
No one could answer him.
Looking down at his body, Lin Hao froze. His body was the same, but his clothes were not the ones from that night.
What had happened to him felt like only yesterday, yet Lin Hao sensed something was amiss. It seemed as if that event had occurred a very long time ago.
Before Lin Hao could think on it further, his mind descended into utter chaos.
'I... who am I...?'
'There's something else in my mind... Carefree... Divine Monarch... An outsider is trying to seize my soul? No! I am who I am! I will take back what's mine. No one is taking anything from me!'
As Lin Hao roared in his heart, all the phantoms receded. He was still himself.
Just a moment ago, a foreign soul had entered his body, trying to usurp his own soul.
Thankfully, that foreign soul had not cultivated the Martial Dao; otherwise, Lin Hao's body would have already been seized.
Having devoured the intruder's soul, Lin Hao understood the importance of the Martial Dao even more clearly.
This was because, apart from his ignorance of the Martial Dao, the Carefree Divine Monarch was a true genius in nearly every other field: Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Array Runes... he was an expert in all of them.
In his world, he was an existence that countless martial arts experts dared not offend!
And yet, this prodigy ultimately died for a single martial codex, killed by the very same martial arts experts who normally groveled at his feet.
'We're kindred spirits in misfortune, I suppose. But compared to me, you didn't have it so bad. I was betrayed by my own kin. May you rest in peace. If I ever get the chance, I'll help you get reven—Huh? Wait! My cultivation is completely gone!'
Lin Hao collapsed in despair, but a moment later, his eyes filled with a glimmer of hope.
'I devoured the Divine Monarch's soul, so I should have inherited his memories! That martial codex...'
Lin Hao's heart raced, but his excitement was instantly doused by a wave of immense disappointment.
'There's absolutely no memory in my mind about Alchemy, Artifact Refining, or Array Runes—not a single trace. And there was certainly no sign of that martial codex.'
After searching the depths of his memory for a long time, Lin Hao was forced to accept reality. But a lingering sense of unwillingness prompted him to search one final time before giving up completely.
This time, Lin Hao's eyes lit up.
A "book" had just opened within his mind.
'"Heavenly Slayer, God's Demise"? What kind of Cultivation Technique is this?' Lin Hao frowned as he read the title of the "book" in his mind.
'It was hidden so deep. This must be the martial codex that caused the Carefree Divine Monarch to perish!'
When he thought about how countless experts had bled for this Cultivation Technique, and how even the Carefree Divine Monarch—a man qualified to command the most supreme experts—had perished because of it, Lin Hao decided to take a look before making any judgments.
The moment he began to read, Lin Hao was completely captivated.
The text of *Heavenly Slayer, God's Demise* was barely more than a thousand words. Although it was incredibly abstruse, each word seemed to hold a profound mystery that made it impossible for Lin Hao to stop reading.
'This text is tens of thousands of times more profound than the basic Cultivation Technique I used to practice!'
Lin Hao couldn't help but compare it to the Cultivation Technique he had been practicing.