1. Ancestor Woke up!

Aste Continent, Blackcloud City

Situ Family Ancestral Tomb

"Ahh... It feels so great to have a body." Moans emanated from the coffin of the great ancestor of the Situ Family. Caretaker Rin, terrified and confused, pressed herself against the wall. The coffin lid was blown away, and a withered hand, barely covered with skin, grasped the edge.

For a few seconds, nothing else happened. Rin, on the brink of insanity, found the situation disturbing. Shouldn't the ghost come out now? she wondered.

Finally, the body stirred. An old man, clad in white silk, emerged from the coffin, scratching his head where a mane of white hair reached his sunken shoulders. He looked around and saw Rin, who was clearly frightened.

"Khmm... h..hello hello," the old man greeted, noticing her confusion. "Never seen an old man coming out of a coffin, huh?"

Seeing Rin's fear, he quickly changed the subject, adopting a gentle tone. "Who are you, child?"

He mused to himself, This is something I always wanted to say, but never had the chance. Finally, my dream is coming true.

Flabbergasted, Rin didn't know how to react. She had been tending to this tomb for the past three years, and the Great Ancestor Lan was placed here to rest eternally. But now, he was alive and speaking incoherently. Should she be happy to see her so-called 'Death Partner' alive, or distressed that the dead had returned? Summoning her courage, she spoke.

"Ancestor Lan, this one is your Death Partner."

Ancestor Lan looked puzzled. "Death partner?"

What on earth is that? Don't tell me this body is so withered because of her. Damn, people here seem to have some cruel fetishes.

Rin wondered why Ancestor Lan was asking about something she thought was common knowledge, but she refrained from correcting him. She explained, "Ancestor Lan, I am obliged to serve you until my death. I take care of the tomb... your tomb, and will stay here until I die."

Ancient thoughts reflected on Lan's face as he stroked his newfound beard. Wow, never thought stroking a beard could be this fun. Damn, watching too many strange things has corrupted my pure mind. Still, this world seems a bit odd.

Lan then straightened his back to appear more dignified. "Don't worry. I am just a bit confused after my resurrection. The god gave me new life, but jumbled my memories. So, just help me understand who I am and where I am."

Rin, who was accustomed to believing in gods, saw this as a rare opportunity to complete God's work and began explaining. "Ancestor, this place is the Situ Family's Ancestral Tomb, where all honoured clansmen rest in their afterlife. Each person has a designated room in the tomb along with a Death Partner."

She glanced at Lan and, seeing he was still waiting, continued, "The Situ family is one of the five families that rule Blackcloud City. The other families are the Kai Family, Cheng Family, Jiang Family, and Hai Family. Blackcloud City is one of the cities in the Long Empire, ruled by the Long Family. The Long Empire is the strongest empire in the Southern Aste Continent. There are three other royal families on the Aste Continent: the Tian Family, the Reku Family, and the Song Family, which rule the North, East, and West, respectively. There are other continents outside of Aste, but I don't know much about them."

Rin's pride was evident as she recounted her knowledge gained from books. Lan, figuring he didn't need the information on a continental scale, praised her to keep her talking. "Hmm... You are quite knowledgeable. Good. Tell me more about the situation in Blackcloud City, in detail. About all the families and our family."

Rin began, "Blackcloud City is the wealthiest city in the Long Empire after the Royal City. It hosts the only port in the Aste Empire, so all sea products are mainly supplied through here. All five families used to govern it equally until three years ago."

She paused, troubled, but continued, "When the news of your death leaked, the other families started pressuring ours. When the 6th generation Ancestor of the Hai Family, Hai Delu, broke through to the Martial King State, everything started falling apart. The Hai Family now controls most of the port's profit, and the other three families are allied with them. Our family has long had a feud with the Hai Family due to our 6th generation Ancestor, Situ Fang, who married the woman Hai Delu loved. We're isolated, and if not for Ancestor Situ Fang being a Level 9 Martial General, we might have been expelled from Blackcloud City."

Observing Lan's jovial expression, Rin noted his contentment. Lan was thrilled to find himself in a cultivation world. Martial General, Martial King—this is fantastic! Who would have thought I'd end up here after dying? I'll cultivate like crazy, return to Earth, and have my revenge. Ha ha! Wait! Before going back I will spread my legend throughout this Cultivation World. But to think of it when I died and my soul travelled here, I was given choice of occupying the dying youth on riverbank somewhere, which must be same like those waste to best troupe or something. Shit! I was bored of reading those types of clichés, it was smart of great me that, at that time I ran away from there and started searching for strongest thing which was available to possess. I was not able to see anything but I think I somehow managed to possess strong human using only my gut feeling.

He mused about the opportunities before him and then asked, "Young lady, do you know any method to measure cultivation base?"

Internally, Lan was anxious. If I have no cultivation, it will be like fish on chopping board; A skinny fish on a chopping board—skinny is the keyword. Even a common cold could be fatal.

Rin, understanding his concerns, quickly produced a measuring stone given to her by the Situ Family. "This stone shows each cultivation realm: Martial Apprentice, Martial Warrior, Martial Commander, Martial General, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Supreme, Demigod, and God State. I have the realm stone and one Stage Stone for Martial Warrior stages only, as I reached Martial Warrior Stage in three years."

She proudly puffed her chest, forgetting her previous worries. Lan, eager to test his cultivation, took the stone and poured Qi into it. The stone glowed with seven colours, and an eighth flickered. Lan laughed boisterously.

"Ha ha ha, my gamble paid off! Ha ha! The world will witness the legend of great me, lamb..arr. lan ..Ancestor Lan!"

He gathered his composure and, with a genuine smile, praised Rin. "Not bad, young one. You reached Martial Warrior Stage in only three years. Good. Very good. Don't worry, you're under my protection now. I'll take care of you."

Feeling like a Mafia Boss, Lan wanted to learn more about his family and current situation. "Tell me which generation ancestor I am and who is the current head of the family."

Rin responded quickly, "Ancestor, you are the Third Generation Ancestor. The current Family Head is Situ Xi of the 7th generation."

She added, "My name is Situ Rin. I am of the 9th generation Situ branch family and the only cultivator in my branch to reach Martial Warrior Stage at age 23. I am currently Martial Warrior Level 3 and 24 years old."

Lan felt a sense of pride. Three generations means I'm probably aged in thousands. Fucking cool. And as an Ancestor, I can curse everyone!

He patted Rin's head with a genuine smile, thinking She didn't forget to promote herself.

"Let's head to the family building now. Report any important people to me immediately, and don't let anyone notice my memory issues." He added incentives, "If anyone bullies you, let me know—I'll fuck them over."

Rin was startled by Lan's crude language but quickly dismissed it as a generational gap. She nodded eagerly.