"This is not the end!"
A sharp gasp escaped his lips as Yun Xi jolted upright in bed, his sudden movement startling the young woman sitting beside him.
She recoiled, her delicate features twisting into a scowl. "Not the end?! It is over! Done! Forever!"
But Yun Xi only repeated the words, each syllable laced with unyielding defiance—as if daring the heavens themselves to challenge him.
"This. Is. Not. The. End."
The girl's cheeks flushed with frustration. "You—! Are you really this stubborn? Can't you see she was just toying with you? Lu Xiaohan never meant a word of it! She told you to capture a Bloodscreech Eagle from the Nightblood Forest just to humiliate you! And you—you actually went! If it weren't for Dragonrider Che Fu passing by and finding you half-dead, you'd be rotting in the wilderness right now!"
Yun Xi turned toward the voice.
A girl—sixteen, maybe seventeen—sat beside him, her dark hair tied into a high ponytail, two loose strands framing her face. There was something fierce in her gaze, a mix of irritation and something else he couldn't place.
Who is she?
He didn't recognize her.
And yet, she spoke as if she knew him.
Possession? Reincarnation?
The thought flickered in his mind. He had been moments from death—a general's bullet tearing through him—and then… this. A different body. A different world.
Before he could dwell on it, pain lanced through him, white-hot and all-consuming. His muscles screamed in protest as he tried to move.
"Stay down!" the girl snapped, shoving him back onto the bed. "Unless you want to cripple yourself for life, you will rest!"
Yun Xi gritted his teeth. The pain was real. The injuries were severe.
But none of that mattered.
Where am I?
His eyes darted around the room—sterile, clinical. A medical ward. On the nightstand beside him lay three books:
Intermediate Combat Techniques & Moral Discipline
Chronicles of the Radiant City
Starcrest Academy Bulletin, Issue 43
He reached for the first, flipping through its pages. The techniques described were practical, refined. And at the end—a cultivation manual?
His pulse quickened.
Since when did governments publish martial secrets?
Then he checked the dates.
New Era 417. New Era 419.
Not 2014.
Not his time.
He grabbed the academy bulletin next, skimming the entries:
"Zhang Jiu Jue, Starcrest's prodigy, breaks through to 4th-tier warrior rank, clears the Moon God Realm's First Layer!"
"Seventeen students killed in Frostfang Bear ambush during field training."
"Academy team slays 7th-tier Kingfang Lion near northern border."
"Alumnus Luo Tianzhong returns as a Heaven's Chosen—a true Transcendent!"
Each line sent a jolt through him.
Beasts. Cultivation. A realm beyond mortal limits.
This was not the world he had known.
This was something new.
And if he had been given a second life here…
His fingers curled into fists.
Then this is not the end.
"Hey there, handsome! Time for your meds!"
Yun Xi kept his eyes closed, focusing on the faint stream of qi circulating through his meridians to heal his injuries, when a bright, youthful voice chirped from the doorway.
The nurse—probably no older than eighteen—breezed in, her tone playful. "So, Dongfang cutie, word is you charged into the Nightblood Forest alone to catch a Bloodscreech Eagle for your sweetheart? A fifth-tier winged beast, no less! Even seventh-tier elites think twice before tangling with those things. And you—just a third-tier warrior—marched right into a Class C danger zone! Now that's dedication!"
Yun Xi didn't respond, maintaining his meditation.
"Oho, silent treatment means yes!" She giggled, adjusting his IV. "Though honestly, you're either the bravest guy in Starcrest or the dumbest. A Bloodscreech Eagle? Really?"
"Who is Che Fu?" Yun Xi asked abruptly.
The nurse froze mid-motion. "Wait—you don't know Dragonrider Che Fu?" Her eyes widened like he'd just claimed the sky was green. "He's only the pride of our city! Broke through to the eighth-tier at twenty-two, became the sole disciple of Transcendent Master Luo Zhongtian! His mount? A drake-blooded Manticore Stallion—strong enough to rip apart seventh-tier fighters!" Her cheeks pinked with admiration. "That's why they call him 'Dragonrider.'"
"Drake-blooded… So dragons exist?"
"Ugh, did you sleep through history class?" She rolled her eyes. "Back in New Era 2—or was it 2018 AD?—when the Moonfall Realm first cracked open our world, monsters poured in like a tidal wave. Chaos everywhere. Then the legendary Xuan Tianzong emerged, fought the Dragon Emperor atop Snowspire Peak—though back then it was called something else… Zhumulangma? Zhumulangma Feng?"
"Mount Everest?"
"Yes! That old name!" She waved a hand. "Anyway, Xuan Tianzong crushed the Dragon Emperor, forced the Ten Elders to sign the Sky Accord. Without it, humans would've been wiped from the skies! He's the reason we have floating citadels like Celestial Bastion now." Her voice dropped to a reverent whisper. "After the battle, the whole range was renamed Snowspire and given to the dragons. Trespassers get eaten."
Moonfall Realm. Dragons. Xuan Tianzong. Sky citadels.
Most people's minds would've short-circuited by now. But Yun Xi had prepared himself. The shock was there—but so was the cold clarity of a swordsman assessing a new battlefield.
"Mount Everest was the tallest peak in the Common Era," he murmured. "Now it's… gone?"
"Wow, you do know ancient history!" The nurse blinked. "But yeah, Xuan Tianzong sank Everest by a thousand meters during that fight. Now the tallest mountain is Radiant Spire, where the Luminance City stands."
2018 AD. New Era 2. Today: New Era 419, June 28th.
Four hundred and twenty-two years.
Four centuries since a single man had erased a mountain.
The questions came like sword strikes: What happened to the world? What wars reshaped it? What power now thrived where qi had once faded?
Yet beneath the turmoil—no fear. Only hunger.
Excitement.
The term "Transcendent" had been abstract before. Now? Proof blazed before him: a realm where warriors could sunder peaks and tame dragons. Where cultivation wasn't just alive—it had evolved.
No wonder books like Intermediate Combat Techniques sat openly on shelves. Martial arts hadn't just returned.
They'd conquered.
The nurse finished her work with a satisfied clap. "All done! Rest up, hero. My Moon God Realm squad's waiting."
"Thank you," Yun Xi said quietly.
As the door clicked shut, his fingers curled into fists.
Four hundred years ago, he'd been a blade in the shadows—training under his master's watchful eye until reaching the pinnacle of mortal limits. One step from Transcendence.
Then he'd learned the truth: the world's qi had withered. No amount of talent could breach Heaven's Gate without it.
His master's dying wish had died with that hope.
Until now.
Now, dragons soared. Now, men shattered mountains.
Now—finally—a path forward burned before him.
His qi pulsed in answer, threading through muscle and bone like liquid fire.
First: heal. Merge soul with flesh.
Then?
The entire afternoon passed in quiet recuperation.
Yun Xi's understanding of healing far surpassed that of the body's original owner—Dongfang. With his heightened perception, he could pinpoint every flaw, optimize every treatment, and channel his meager qi to numb pain, stimulate cell regeneration, and accelerate recovery. These were techniques honed over decades of discipline.
By sunset, his condition had improved noticeably—a single afternoon's progress equal to two or three days of ordinary rest. At this rate, he'd be on his feet in three days, fully healed within a week.
As golden light faded into dusk, voices approached the door—bright, chattering, laced with terms like *"Moon God Realm,"* "Slaughter Hall," and "Ning Fangyuan." One voice stood out: the spirited girl from that morning.
The door swung open.
This time, she wasn't alone. Beside her stood another girl in a pristine academy uniform, her smile as fresh as spring.
"Huh. You look better than I expected," the first girl said, eyeing Yun Xi. "Then again, they say the wicked never die easy."
Her companion burst into giggles. "Xiaoxue! That's your brother*!"*
"Just stating facts!" Dongfang Xiaoxue—*Xiaoxue*—unpacked a meal from her bag, filling the room with the aroma of braised pork and ginger-scallion noodles.
The white-clad girl inhaled deeply. "Xiaoxue, your cooking's insane*. I'm officially moving in. Tonight. Your place is empty anyway, right?"*
"Sure, but what about your idol Ning Fangyuan's raid in the Slaughter Hall? Won't you miss it?"
"Already handled!" Zhao Wanjun—*Wanjun*—pulled a jade-green device from her pocket. It resembled a headset but was sleeker, designed to clasp the temples rather than the ears.
"You brought your Moon God Realm link*?"* Xiaoxue gaped.
"Obviously! This baby goes everywhere* with me."*
"Moon God Realm?" Yun Xi's focus sharpened. His gaze locked onto the device.
Xiaoxue rummaged through her backpack and produced a similar object—this one matte black. "Brought yours too. Figured you'd get restless. Use it to kill time, not* to cause trouble."* She hesitated, then added, "If you're that* desperate to prove yourself to Lu Xiaohan… try clearing the Moon God Realm's First Layer. Succeed, and you'll unlock Tier-1 permissions—access to the world's hidden spiritual energy. Might even push you to fourth-tier."*
"Spiritual energy?"
Yun Xi's pulse spiked.
Moonfall Realm meant nothing to him. But spiritual energy—that was the key. The bottleneck that had trapped him at the peak of mortality for a decade. The reason his master's dying wish had gone unfulfilled.
And now… hope.
He exhaled slowly. Focus.
"Will this device grant me access?"
"Of course* not!"* Xiaoxue's forehead creased. "If it were that easy, half the academy wouldn't be stuck at third-tier. Look—I get it. You want to impress her. But if you can't clear the First Layer, don't force it*. Mental backlash is brutal."*
"Backlash?"
"You—! Did you forget* that too?"*
Silence.
"Ugh! Fine. Listen closely. Moon God Realm*—created by Cold Feng, third master of the Moon God Temple. It's a mental world, built atop the Moonfall Realm's core artifact. Wherever Moonfall's energy spreads, the Moon God Realm exists. Anyone below the Transcendent tier can link in—to train, socialize, whatever."*
"And the energy? The risks?"
"I'm getting* there! Moonfall's energy corrupts. The Moon God Realm filters it, extracting pure spiritual energy for cultivation. But each layer's a trial. Die in there, and your mind takes damage. A month to recover. So no reckless attempts. Understood?"*
Yun Xi nodded.
"Good. Eat. Rest. Heal*."*
He obeyed, methodically finishing the meal.
Xiaoxue left soon after, but not without a final warning: "No. More. Stunts." Only when Yun Xi's nods turned robotic did she finally leave with Wanjun in tow.
Alone again, Yun Xi exhaled.
Moon God Realm.
He picked up the black link, its surface cool against his fingertips.
Then—slowly, deliberately—he placed it against his temples.