The night reeked of smoke, betrayal, and burning dreams.
Li Tian stumbled through the crumbling courtyard of the Crimson Sky Sect, blood painting a trail behind him. His robes, once the dull gray of an outer disciple, were now soaked in crimson. Each step was a war. His bones felt shattered. His spiritual core had been crushed.
They had taken everything.
Above him, the sect's main pavilion burned like a beacon in hell, its golden tiles collapsing in on themselves. Screams echoed from the disciples who still fought—and lost—against the invaders.
But Li Tian heard none of them. His ears were filled only with the laughter of the one who had ended him.
"Trash," Jin Wu had whispered, twisting the blade in his gut. "You should've stayed on your knees."
Jin Wu. The Heaven's Chosen. Golden Dragon bloodline. The sect's shining jewel.
And the one who had orchestrated it all.
Li Tian had trusted him.
He'd admired him.
He'd bowed to him.
And for that… he had paid in blood.
His vision blurred as he fell to one knee, clutching the wound in his side. Spiritual energy slipped from his body like water through cracked stone. He couldn't heal. Not anymore. His meridians had been sealed. His core shattered.
He was dying.
And yet—
Even as the pain screamed through him, Li Tian crawled.
Through ash, through fire, through corpses of brothers and sisters he once called family.
Toward the altar.
The Forbidden Altar.
It sat at the heart of the Crimson Sky Sect—an ancient slab of obsidian veined with glowing silver runes. No one knew who built it. No one used it. Sect legends claimed it was cursed, that it predated the founding of their realm.
But Li Tian had read the old scrolls.
He knew what it could do.
Please… he begged, dragging his broken body up the altar steps. Just once… let the heavens hear me.
His fingers touched the stone.
And then he collapsed.
His blood smeared across the runes, soaking deep into the forgotten channels.
The altar began to glow.
[Blood Signature Accepted.]
[Soul Resonance Confirmed.]
[Initializing... World Breaker System.]
[System Loading: 1%...]
Li Tian's eyes snapped open.
Not in life. Not in death.
In… something else.
He floated in a sea of stars, weightless, broken… yet whole.
All around him, massive gears turned in silence. A sphere of light hovered before him, pulsing with symbols far older than any cultivation script he'd ever seen. He felt them imprinting themselves onto his soul—lines of code, of law, of fate.
[System Sync Complete.]
[Welcome, Host: Li Tian.]
[Designation: World Breaker Initiate.]
[Status: Rebirth Protocol – Approved.]
A cold, calm voice filled the void. Neither male nor female. Mechanical, yet somehow… ancient.
[Reversing timeline by 5 years.]
[Transferring accumulated soul data…]
[Warning: Core Damage detected.]
[Reconstruction underway.]
[Prepare for rebirth.]
"No… wait," Li Tian rasped. "Why me?"
[You died with hatred.
You died unjustly.
You were betrayed by those who stood above fate.
You are eligible.]
[The world chose to break you.
Now, you will break the world.]
He gasped.
Air flooded his lungs.
Not fire. Not smoke.
Air.
Cold. Fresh. Alive.
Li Tian shot upright, drenched in sweat. His fingers gripped the rough straw of his sleeping mat. His heart pounded against his ribs.
He was in the outer disciple dormitory.
The cracked ceiling, the faint mold on the walls, the chipped basin in the corner—it was all exactly as it had been five years ago.
Before everything had gone wrong.
Before Jin Wu.
Before his meridians had been shattered.
Before his death.
"System…" he whispered.
[Active.]
A translucent blue screen flickered before his eyes.
[WORLD BREAKER SYSTEM INTERFACE]Host: Li Tian
Level: 1
Power: 0/100 (Tier – Mortal Flesh)
Meridians: Incomplete
Core Status: Reconstructing… (3%)
Known Techniques: None
Bloodlines: None
System Functions:
[✔] Memory Sync
[✔] Enemy Tracking
[✔] Fear Point Conversion
[🔒] Devour Function
[🔒] God Fragment Archive
His hands trembled.
It wasn't a dream.
It wasn't an illusion.
He was back.
And this time, the world would not crush him.
He stood and walked to the small bronze mirror hanging on the far wall. A boy stared back at him—no older than fifteen, thin from hunger, eyes hollow from humiliation.
But inside those eyes now burned something ancient.
A storm that had lived through death.
"Five years..." he whispered. "Five years to tear it all down."
The door slammed open.
Li Tian turned.
It was Liu Shan—another outer disciple. Broad-shouldered. Cruel-eyed. The kind of thug the inner sect used to keep the weak in their place.
In his past life, Liu Shan had broken three of Li Tian's fingers over a steamed bun. And later? He sold him out during the invasion for one pill.
The bastard grinned.
"Well, well. You're finally awake, worm. Didn't think you'd skip cleaning duties again, did you?"
Li Tian didn't answer.
He stepped forward.
[Target Recognized: Liu Shan – Tier 1 Mortal Cultivator]
[Threat Level: None]
[System Option Unlocked: Instant Fear Marking]
[Would you like to trigger a suppression aura? Y/N]
"Yes," Li Tian said.
And the air changed.
It was subtle—no wind, no light. Just a shift.
As if the world had suddenly decided that Li Tian was important and Liu Shan was not.
Liu Shan staggered back, eyes wide.
"W-What… what are you—?!"
"I'm awake," Li Tian said coldly. "That's all you need to know."
And then, he punched him.
Not a wild, flailing swing like before. A clean, precise blow fueled by everything he'd learned over years of war, betrayal, and death.
Liu Shan flew back and crashed into the wall.
Li Tian turned, not sparing him another glance.
[+10 Fear Points Earned]
[System Note: Your legend begins with whispers.]
As he walked out into the morning light, disciples turned to stare. Some whispered. Some backed away. None dared speak.
He ignored them.
There was too much to do.
His core needed rebuilding.
His enemies were still alive.
And the altar that gave him this second chance… had shown him a glimpse of something greater.
A war not just between sects…
But between gods and systems, fate and rebellion, order and annihilation.
Li Tian cracked his knuckles.
"Let's begin."