The world seemed like a vast ocean of sounds, colors, and disconnected sensations.
Ye Tian slowly opened his eyes. Or rather... tried to.
The small body, the blurry vision, the faint sense of perception—all screamed an undeniable truth: he had been reborn.
The newborn Ye Tian, wrapped in soft cotton robes, felt a strange indignation rise within him.
"—Damn Zhao Wusheng...! I'll still slap that empty head of yours!"
If he could move his tiny fist, he certainly would have.
But instead, only a weak whimper escaped his lips.
— Wahhh... Wahhh...
Around him, indistinct figures moved. Soft, emotional voices filled the air.
"My son! He's born! Our little Ye Tian!"
A woman, with a gentle face and long hair like cascades of jade, held him with tears shining in her eyes. Beside her, a tall, sturdy man smiled with pride.
— Our son will inherit the name Ye Tian. One day, he will be a hero who shakes the heavens!
The words seemed to echo through destiny. Ye Tian, even in his weakened state, felt a shiver of irony run through his small body.
"—I've already shaken heaven, earth, and hell... and now I'll have to do it all over again?"
But there was nothing to be done.
The past life was an unreachable past. Now, he was just... a baby.
Time passed quickly in the first few days.
Ye Tian observed everything with attentive eyes and intelligence no newborn should possess. He realized he was born into a family of common cultivators, residing in a small town called Cloud City, located at the edge of the Blue Moon Empire.
His father, Ye Liang, was a cultivator at the early stage of Spirit Condensation—a respectable achievement for the region, but insignificant in the eyes of Ye Tian, who in his past life had reached heights these mortals couldn't even imagine.
His mother, Mu Qinglan, was a moderately talented alchemist, known for her healing pills.
Ye Tian's days were filled with naps, feedings... and a lot of internal planning.
"—I need to understand this world first... I can't make mistakes like Zhao Wusheng..."
His small heart burned with a quiet fire.
However, he soon discovered an interesting detail: the flow of Qi in this world was far denser than that of his previous life.
"—This inferior world has such pure reserves of Qi? Or is there... something hidden?"
The ancient curiosity in his heart began to stir.
At three months old, Ye Tian had already begun, secretly, to absorb traces of spiritual energy through his breath. Something common cultivators could only do starting at age five.
His meridians were still too fragile to withstand any real cultivation, but his refined control—a remnant of his past life—allowed him to strengthen his body almost imperceptibly.
Meanwhile, outside his small world...
— Did you hear? The Ye Clan will perform the Spiritual Root Awakening ceremony next year! — the clan servants whispered.
— They say young master Ye Tian is a child prodigy! Since he was born, the Qi in the mansion has become more vibrant!
Ye Tian, listening to everything through the walls, sighed inwardly.
"—Obviously! It's me, Ye Tian, the greatest cultivator to ever exist! If the Qi doesn't obey me, who does it obey?"
His ego swelled dangerously, but was quickly contained by the ridiculous size of his current body.
After all, how could one say grand words when still wearing diapers?
Months later, when he turned one year old, Ye Tian was already able to walk unsteadily.
On that day, the patriarch of the Ye Clan, his grandfather Ye Zhentian, came personally to see him.
The old man, with a white beard and eagle-like eyes, held Ye Tian in his arms and smiled with pride.
— This little one... his bones are strong, his energy is vibrant. A future genius! Hahaha!
Ye Tian crossed his tiny arms and raised an eyebrow.
"—Genius is the least. I am the calamity of the heavens, you old blind man."
Obviously, the world saw only a cute baby puffing out his cheeks.
Old Ye Zhentian laughed even louder, unaware that he was holding a walking bomb.
At that moment, however, a strange sensation passed through Ye Tian's body.
A faint pressure, as if the heavens themselves were watching him.
He looked up at the sky, his infantile eyes gleaming with a flash of seriousness.
"—Something... or someone... is watching me."
It was faint, almost illusory, but his instinct was infallible.
The world he was reborn into was not simple.
Neither the Ye Clan, nor Cloud City, nor the Blue Moon Empire—nothing was as peaceful as it seemed.
Ye Tian smiled silently.
"—Excellent. Let the challenges come. After all... I am Ye Tian."
And this time, he would not limit himself to just one universe.
He would conquer it all.