Wuwang Manor, Imperial Capital of the Shi Kingdom, Desolate Domain.
"My surname is Shi, and my name is Shi Yi. But I am not the original Shi Yi. I come from a blue planet, a world consumed by global nuclear war and despair."
"I don't know how I came to this world. All I remember is a terrifying flash of light and heat from above. There was no time to react. My consciousness vanished in an instant."
"When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was a little boy with a topknot hairstyle tugging on my clothes and calling me 'big brother,' begging me to play house with him."
Shi Yi stared blankly at his reflection in the water, gazing into his eyes—eyes that held a pair of pupils in each eye, the legendary double pupils (chongtong). At that moment, he roughly understood who he had become—Shi Yi, a supporting character doomed to be overshadowed and beaten down by his younger brother from beginning to end.
While Shi Yi was lost in thought—
A young boy with a skyward ponytail bounced into the room after pushing open the door. He ran up beside Shi Yi, staring at him with bright, flawless eyes.
"Brother Yi, Big Auntie told me to come get you. You've been washing your face forever."
The boy's name was Shi Hao, Shi Yi's younger cousin. Their fathers were paternal cousins, and their grandfathers were real brothers—making them direct kin within three generations.
"I know," Shi Yi replied.
He reached out and ruffled Shi Hao's topknot. His double pupils flashed with light, allowing him to immediately see through his cousin's body—right to the dazzling brilliance of the Supreme Bone in Shi Hao's chest.
Unlike the original Shi Yi—
This new Shi Yi didn't speak recklessly. No one knew about the Supreme Bone in Shi Hao's body. Without double pupils, it was nearly impossible for anyone to detect its presence.
"Brother Yi, you don't look too happy?" Shi Hao tilted his head curiously.
He was young, around three years old, barely reaching Shi Yi's waist. Shi Yi was six now, already a sharp and spirited youth.
"Happy? How can I be happy? Every day I'm boiled like an herb."
Shi Yi's mouth twitched. Day after day, he was tossed into a cauldron under the guise of a "medicinal bath." Only after his body turned bright red and the liquid was fully absorbed could he leap out of the cauldron as tall as a man.
This process was anything but pleasant.
It was excruciating—pure torture.
In his previous life—
Shi Yi had never been the type to endure hardship. If the Thirty-Six Stratagems were used against him, the beauty trap alone would be 100% effective—no resistance whatsoever.
Simply put—
Shi Yi couldn't take pain.
At six years old, he was far from becoming the future Immortal King Shi Yi. He had no power to resist the affections—or rather, the terrifying overprotection—of Shi Hao's mother, who also happened to be his own mother.
They called it affection, but it bordered on obsession. She seemed desperate to pour all the goodness in the world into him alone. It was almost pathological.
Shi Yi had no doubt—if he dared to expose the truth about the Supreme Bone in Shi Hao's body, his deranged mother would definitely seize the opportunity when Shi Ziling and his wife were away...
"Even though we share the same name, I'm not him. Little brother, I know the future is grim, but I can't handle pain. You'd better take good care of your big brother from now on."
Shi Yi muttered this quietly to himself—something no one else would hear. This was his honest thought. Though he had transmigrated, he didn't believe he had the willpower of the original Shi Yi.
Back on the blue planet, he had been a cautious, prudent person. But even the most cautious man can't survive a nuclear missile to the head.
He didn't believe that transmigrating to another world would suddenly give him the mindset of the original Shi Yi—someone who could shrug off daily torture like a bath.
Shi Yi understood that he was just someone who happened to share a name. Though his double pupils ensured a strong future, surpassing Shi Hao was practically impossible.
Shi Hao's entire life was filled with endless battles. Near-death experiences were his daily norm.
Shi Yi's cautious and reserved nature ensured he would never match that. Not to mention—he really couldn't endure suffering.
Wuwang Manor – Rear Courtyard
In the rear courtyard, on a flat open space, two large bronze cauldrons stood side by side, one big and one small. Raging flames roared beneath them, and the water inside had already come to a rolling boil.
Over a dozen white-haired elders of the Shi Clan continuously tossed herbs into the cauldrons—plant after plant, without pause. It was obvious at a glance that the big cauldron contained over ten times more medicinal herbs than the small one.
What truly made Shi Yi's scalp go numb—
Was that these elders occasionally threw in live centipedes the length of a forearm and fist-sized spiders, turning the potion from an herbal brew into a dark, viscous liquid like squid ink—utterly horrifying.
Upon seeing this—
Shi Yi instinctively wanted to run.
Who in their right mind would step into that thing? Certainly not him.
He remembered that they never used to add such disgusting stuff before. Now they were even throwing in live bugs?
Gurgle gurgle...
The potion bubbled strangely.
Dead centipedes and spiders floated at the top of the cauldron, and the black, sticky brew looked like something dredged from the abyss.
Shi Yi's face turned pale with fear. He wanted to turn and flee—and he did try to do exactly that.
Unfortunately, just as he turned around, a pair of snow-white, jade-like hands grabbed him and pinned him firmly in place.
"Yi'er, where do you think you're going?"
A soft, alluring voice rang out.
A voluptuous beauty in a bright red robe slowly crouched down, pulling the stiffened Shi Yi into her embrace.
"Mother... the usual medicinal bath is already unbearable. And now with spiders and centipedes—can't we take it step by step? Let's not go so extreme!"
Shi Yi swallowed hard, trying to reason with the domineering woman before him. At the very least, he wanted those disgusting bug corpses removed.
"Extreme? Yi'er, this is just the beginning!"
The beautiful woman waved her hand.
More than ten clan elders stepped forward with ten ceramic jars. The leading few opened the jars with great care.
Nine jars were poured into the large cauldron, the last into the small one.
The jars contained bright red blood—the blood of slain ferocious beasts.
In this world, anything labeled a ferocious beast was either pure-blooded or a rare hybrid.
Pure-blooded beasts typically dwelled in ancient divine mountains or the Upper Realm. Their ancestors were deities, and they were born powerful—often naturally reaching the Venerable Realm upon adulthood.
Hybrids were mixed descendants of pure-bloods. Even with scattered bloodlines, they could still reach the Array Realm or even higher. With enough fortune, they might even purify into pure-bloods themselves.
In the Desolate Domain, cultivation realms were broadly divided into: Blood Transformation, Cave Heaven, Spirit Refining, Inscription, Array Formation, and Venerable Realm. Each realm had nine levels. Only peerless prodigies could fight across realms.
"Mother, regular beast blood is one thing... but you're using true blood from ferocious beasts?"
Shi Yi struggled violently. He wasn't blind—Shi Hao got one jar. He got nine! Just because he was three years older, he had to take nine times the dosage?
This was torture—literal torture!
Unlike ordinary beast blood, true blood came from the hearts of ferocious beasts. It was incredibly precious, enhancing the body whether used by adults or children.
To top it off, the clan elders ground up beast bones into powder and tossed them into the boiling cauldrons. The surface of the brew became coated in a layer of white frost.
"Yi'er, you were born with double pupils—each eye holds two pupils. This is something only ancient saints possessed. You are destined to become a divine being and a peerless prodigy who will shake the heavens. This baptism by true blood is a hurdle you must pass."
Though the beautiful woman felt heartache, she knew this was something Shi Yi had to endure.
Ploop ploop—
The thick medicinal brew in both cauldrons bubbled like porridge. Clumps of the black concoction occasionally burst and splashed.
The leading elders nodded in satisfaction at the scene. They turned to look at Shi Yi and Shi Hao beside the cauldrons.
Everything was ready.
Only the "east wind" remained—Shi Yi and Shi Hao jumping into the cauldrons—to begin the baptism of true beast blood.
Unlike Shi Yi's face, which was full of reluctance, Shi Hao blew on his hands, rubbed them together excitedly, and jumped straight into the smaller cauldron.
Gurgle!
Perhaps because he was too young, Shi Hao began hopping from the pain, accidentally gulping several mouthfuls of the black, sticky brew.
Half a minute later—
"Brother Yi, don't be scared! Hiss—it hurts! But after a little while, it won't hurt anymore!"
Despite grimacing in pain, Shi Hao forced a smile and claimed it would get better. Shi Yi knew exactly what he was trying to do—he was trying to trick him into jumping in too.
A blatant scheme!
But Shi Yi had no choice.
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(End of Chapter)