Chapter 2: The Divine Emperor's Bloodline Awakens, and Qin Xiaoman Must Pay

Three days later, Lin Mo’s consciousness drifted free of his broken body into darkness. It felt as though he were sinking ever deeper into an abyss.

Then a speck of golden light appeared before him.

Though he could hear nothing, a rumble seemed to erupt from the depths of his soul. His body still lay on the cold floor of his rented apartment, the pool of blood beneath it long since dried.

The golden light spread. One meridian in his body lit up, followed by a second, then a third.

Crack. Crack.

Sound returned to him. His broken bones were knitting together, and the wound at the back of his head began to heal.

Another hum rang out. An immense force seized his consciousness and pulled it upward into a void of primordial chaos.

A scroll unfurled before him. High above the heavens sat a towering figure, shrouded in countless rays of light.

The words came unbidden to Lin Mo’s mind: Divine Emperor.

“My descendant.”

An ancient, weathered voice echoed from deep within the scroll.

“Your bloodline has awakened today, and with it you inherit my legacy. I pass on to you the nine chapters of medicine, through which you may glimpse the secrets of life and death; the nine forms of martial arts, with which you may shake heaven and earth; three thousand arts to command spirits, wind, and rain; and the knowledge of alchemy, formations, and talismans, through which you may grasp the workings of creation.”

“From this day forth, you are my sole successor in this world.”

Fragments of knowledge flooded Lin Mo’s mind: memories and teachings, martial arts and mystical arts. He could even sense what seemed to be a cluster of spiritual energy within him.

“My head hurts. Was that… a dream?”

He opened his eyes in a daze and touched the back of his head. His hand came away with sticky blood. He remembered Zhao Zihao kicking him into the wall, splitting his scalp open.

But the wound was gone. No—it had healed.

“That wasn’t a dream!”

He sprang to his feet, startling himself with the force of the movement. He had always been thin and weak. He might not have been frail enough to fall over in a breeze, but he had never been this strong.

Between that and his healed wound, there was only one explanation. What he had experienced was real.

“Incredible! I’m a descendant of the Divine Emperor!”

That alone put him hundreds of times above those rich heirs.

His chest felt hot. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled out the jade pendant he always wore, a family heirloom. Once dark green throughout, it had turned blood-red.

At last he understood. When his grandfather gave him the pendant, the old man had repeatedly warned him never to sell it, no matter what happened.

“So that’s why!”

For the moment, Qin Xiaoman slipped from his mind. What mattered most now was mastering the Divine Emperor’s inheritance.

The Divine Emperor Scripture.

Lin Mo closed his eyes. As the knowledge rose in his memory, he sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.

The Divine Emperor had awakened his bloodline, transforming his body far beyond an ordinary person’s, and planted a Divine Emperor seed within him. If he practiced diligently, he could one day become the next Divine Emperor.

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Mo opened his eyes, feeling better than ever.

“Amazing!”

Power surged through his body. He felt as though he could do anything.

When his excitement subsided, his eyes hardened. He remembered Zihao’s kick.

“I suppose I should thank you. Without that kick, my Divine Emperor bloodline might never have awakened.”

He smiled coldly. “A drop of kindness deserves a fountain in return. You gave me one kick, so I’ll give you a thousand. Ten thousand!”

As he considered when to settle the score, a key turned in the lock. This was his apartment; only he and Qin Xiaoman had keys.

Anger rose at the thought of the woman who had cheated on him. He lay down where he had fallen. First, he wanted to see why she had come back.

The door creaked open. Xiaoman peered inside and immediately spotted Lin Mo lying in the blood.

“Lin Mo, you really were useless. No money, no ability, and so weak you couldn’t even take one kick from Zihao. Good riddance. At least you won’t be around to embarrass yourself anymore.”

She stepped over him, still mocking him even though she believed him dead. Lin Mo’s anger burned hotter, but he kept still.

She went into the bedroom. “That spineless deadbeat. I must have been blind to waste so many years on him.”

“Still, if that jade pendant he gave me is worth anything, I might find someone to collect his body.”

She rummaged around. “Strange. I left it right here. Where did it go?”

She showed no fear of the man she thought was dead, only hunger for money. Lin Mo understood: she had come back for the heirloom jade he had given her. She didn’t care whether he lived or died; she would only arrange for his body to be collected if the pendant was valuable.

He cursed her silently. Unable to restrain his anger any longer, he got up and walked toward the bedroom.

Xiaoman was searching through drawers and cupboards and didn’t hear him approach.

“Found it!”

She pulled a round green jade pendant from a worn jewelry box, cradled it in her palm, and kissed it.

“Lin Mo was poor, but it’s a family heirloom. It has to be worth something, doesn’t it?” she muttered. “You’d better pray it is, Lin Mo. Otherwise, I’ll have Zihao throw your body into the sea for the fish!”

“Qin Xiaoman, how did I never see how vicious you are?”

She jumped at the sound but clutched the pendant tightly. Turning, she saw the man she thought dead standing before her. Her legs went weak.

“Y-you… are you a man or a ghost?” Her eyes widened, and her voice shook.

Lin Mo stared at her coldly and moved closer, one step at a time. “Didn’t you just call me a spineless deadbeat?”

She trembled. “Lin Mo, d-don’t come any closer. It wasn’t me. It was Zhao Zihao. He did everything!”

She couldn’t tell whether he was alive or dead. In her panic, she put all the blame on Zihao.

“Please, Lin Mo, let me go. You loved me more than anyone, didn’t you? I’m pregnant. You… you wouldn’t hurt me, would you?”

The mention of her pregnancy made his pent-up rage explode. He seized her arm and shoved her onto the bed.

“Ah!”

“Qin Xiaoman, I’ll show you right now whether I’m spineless!”

He tore her clothes open. Realizing what he intended, she turned pale.

“What are you doing? Wait… wait…”

…