[Profound Sky Continent, Blue Wind Empire, in the forest surrounding New Moon City]
BOOM! CRACK!
On this night, a harrowing storm raged through the skies above New Moon City. Lightning struck nearby trees and sect buildings at such rapid rates that every martial expert looked up to the heavens with furrowed eyebrows, one thought running through their minds.
'This storm isn't natural! A treasure must be descending!'
Some sent their disciples out to scan the forest outside the city, while some of the sect leaders and grand elders went down themselves to investigate.
Within the forest,a middle aged man could be seen running through the rain with a basket over his head. The man wore plain, ragged brown robes, carried a staff and wore a leather sack of herbs around his waist. It was clear that this man was no one special, much less a martial artist of any notable caliber.
"Dammit! Where did this rain suddenly come from?! I just finished drying these robes too!"
The man hid under a large nearby tree, crouching under the leaves to get as much shelter as possible.
Taking a look around the area and the state of the clouds above, he couldn't help it as a sigh escaped his mouth.
"It was sunny just a few minutes ago, and in a flash, a damn storm appeared. What is going on here?"
As he pondered on the situation, a certain sound reached his ear, causing it to perk up as he started to realize what it was.
"Is that…the sound of a babies' cries?"
Within the loud thunderstorm, through the extreme heavenly lightning, the sound a baby crying could be heard silently. Somewhere in the forest, presumably a mother and her newborn child were caught in the storm.
"I have to ignore it, I've got too much on my hands already. There's no way….AH! Damn! I can't lie to myself! How could I not check on the safety of a young one in this storm?!"
Cursing his good nature, the man got up from the trees and rushed over to the direction the sounds came from, his footsteps unwavering even with the sudden change in terrain.
As he got closer and realized that no other voice was around the baby, a grim thought appeared in his mind.
'This baby…was really out here by itself?'
Moving a few branches while pushing through some thorns, the man finally arrived at a small clearing where a woman laid, blood all over her body. In her arms laid the small babe in a basket, its cries lessening as it somehow realized another presence was drawing closer.
Rushing over to verify the woman's condition, the man checked her pulse, breathe and heartbeat, frantic with every movement.
His expression dropped and sadness appeared on his face as he realized she had passed.
"How tragic. The life of a common woman was taken so viciously. Sword wounds remain everywhere across her body. Sigh. Then, this young one seems to be her only remaining legacy."
Looking down in her lap while covering the baby from the rain with his basket, the man's gaze shook as he saw the baby's eyes.
"W-what?!"
Forcing himself to stay put, he carefully examined the phenomenon, his brain working overtime to figure if what he saw could be traced to some kind of ancient story or myth.
The baby's eyes were light purple, with concentric circles covering the entirety of his eyeballs. They looked so strange and…eerie that the man almost thought that the baby was the child of someone from the demonic sects.
With every movement the man made, the baby's eyes would follow him precisely, as if the baby knew and understood what was really happening.
"Strange little fellow…"
After taking a deep breath to calm himself, the man started inspecting the baby for any injuries. It was then that he found a piece of paper, with letters written in dry ink on it. Judging from the shaky and hurried state of the letters, the man knew that it was from the woman.
Likely this letter was her last plea to any passer-by who happened to find her child.
[My name is Yue Xiao. I belong to a small family in Blue Wind Imperial City, but it's going to be destroyed by the time someone finds this letter. It won't be long before I follow them into the afterlife. So for my final wish, please take care of my little angel, Tian. I would not ask you for such a favor without knowing the weight of who this child is, so please listen to my story. I was a mere concubine of that bastard crown prince of our Blue Wind Empire, Cang Lin. One night, when he was drunk, we slept together, causing me to become pregnant.]
At this point in the story, the man already drew the baby into his lap as he sat next to the woman under a set of bushes so they can all be shielded from the rain.
Feeling the severity of what the woman was about to reveal, the man furrowed his brows deeply as he continued.
[I was happy as I felt as if the heavens finally smiled upon me, but how could I have guessed that this was the beginning of my troubles. Cang Lin wanted nothing to do with little Tian. Much less so when he saw his strange appearance. He claimed that bearing a child with such a no-name concubine was equivalent to having a child with a random beast. Without a second thought, he banished me from the Imperial family, cut all ties with the Yue family and ordered our execution for "rebellion" and "plots to destroy the image of the sacred imperial family." Whatever state you found my corpse in, is the result of that order.]
The man shivered and glanced at the baby, several thoughts flooding his mind. This was an official order. Imperial business. If he was caught meddling in this he would be dead before he even realized what was happening.
'So this is the illegitimate grandson of the Emperor?! This goes beyond anything that I could've imagined!'
He could feel his heart wavering at the thought of guaranteed death, but seeing little Tian in his arms softened him, making him unable to leave the child to his own devices.
It was then that he turned to the letter again, continuing on to the last portion.
[Now that you know my story, this is all I ask of you. Let little Tian live a normal life. Let him make friends with common children and worry about life among regular people. Let him get married to a common woman of no particular background on a nice farm or piece of land somewhere. The world of cultivation and martial artists is too cruel. If he wants to live a normal life, then let him choose a family name for himself, because in my heart he will always be my little Tian.]
The man started to tear up as he read this, but when he laid eyes on the next few sentences, it made him almost want to spit blood from the shock.
[But if, after learning of his origin, he wants vengeance upon the Imperial Family, then let him take the last name Cang. So when he uproots them and casts those mongrels to the wayside, the whole world will know that it was done by the little one who the imperial family wanted to bury so deeply. Thank you. Little Tian, I love you. Be good to the one who takes you in.]
The man could feel the hatred in her writing as she spoke about uprooting the Imperial Family, but her heart was still filled with love when it came to her son. He didn't know where her confidence in her son uprooting the Imperial family came from, maybe from his strange appearance, but the answer to this thought would reveal itself at a later time.
Looking at the baby in his lap, the man sighed, resolved himself and took some time to bury the woman there, giving her as much of a proper burial as he could. Giving her a strong salute, the man said,"Miss Yue Xiao. I will fulfill your request so that your soul can peacefully cross over. Upon my name, Su Yan, I swear it."
Su Yan then picked up the baby and ran away from the area, moving with all his strength in fear that Tian would get sick.
He was so worried that he didn't even notice that the moment he left with the baby, the storm mysteriously stopped…