Chapter 2: Han Feng's Background

"Father, how many times have I told you not to wait for me? Now the food has gone cold," Han Feng said with gentle exasperation as he entered the room.

His father, Han Tiancheng, cut a handsome figure despite being the family's black sheep. As the fourth son of the Han Family Head, Han Yu, he possessed unremarkable aptitude and had only reached Four-star Human Rank.

This put him on par with Instructor Lin, and he wasn't even the weakest in the family. His status as a direct descendant of the Han family granted him access to superior cultivation resources compared to Instructor Lin. After all, he was still the Family Head's son.

Yet even with such advantages, Han Tiancheng's Four-star achievement paled beside his three elder brothers. The weakest among them had reached Eight-star Human Rank, while the strongest commanded Nine-star power.

This disparity alone might have been bearable, but Han Tiancheng's past actions had brought catastrophic loss to the Han family. Worse still, the shadow of his deeds now fell upon Han Feng, drawing sidelong glances and whispered contempt from the entire clan.

The matter weighed heavily on Han Feng's heart, though he felt powerless to change it.

The story began with Han Tiancheng's crisis of confidence over his modest aptitude. He grew withdrawn and timid. During a training expedition, he encountered a beautiful young woman from a powerful family and was instantly smitten.

Knowing himself unworthy, he could only trail her secretly as she ascended the mountain. Fate took an unexpected turn when she was poisoned after slaying a powerful Devil Beast. This woman, dedicated solely to martial cultivation, held little regard for matters of virtue. Upon discovering Han Tiancheng's presence, she took him to her bed purely to save her own life, then left without a backward glance.

What no one expected was that a single encounter would lead to pregnancy.

Though the woman's passion lay in martial cultivation, she found herself drawn to the life growing within her womb and chose to keep the child. When her family discovered the situation, they were thankfully unmoved by her lost virtue—had they been, the Han family might have faced annihilation. Still, the Hans paid a steep price to settle the matter.

In all the chaos that followed, everyone overlooked the fact that Han Tiancheng had been the one coerced.

This woman became Han Feng's mother, choosing to carry him to term despite everything.

When Han Feng was born, his aptitude tested at the Fourth level of the Lower-grade.

In Renzhong City, few fell below the Lower-grade threshold. Those of third level or higher rarely appeared in public, considering it beneath them to discuss Lower-grade aptitudes. After all, what cultivator of standing would stoop to highlighting others' inferiority?

But in his mother's household, even first level Lower-grade practitioners were considered worthless. Only Upper-grade talents warranted attention.

The cultivation world recognized four grades of aptitude: Lower, Medium, Upper, and Top. Each grade contained nine levels, creating a hierarchy of thirty-six ranks. First level marked the peak of each grade, while ninth level represented the bottom.

Beyond Han Feng's modest aptitude, his mother also considered his precarious position within her family and sent him to live with his father. Ironically, the Fourth-level Lower-grade aptitude that earned such disdain from his maternal family caught the Han clan's interest.

The bottom three levels of Lower-grade aptitude typically allowed practitioners to break through to Human Rank with proper cultivation methods. Third-level practitioners could potentially reach Middle Upper-grade within the Human Rank.

Those blessed with Upper Third Grade aptitude might even break through to become Mystic Rank experts, provided they had access to proper cultivation methods and devoted themselves to rigorous training.

A Fourth-level Human-class practitioner might never achieve Mystic Rank, but could reliably reach Human Rank 9 Stars. With proper training and family support, advancement to Human Rank 10 Stars or beyond remained possible.

Given that the Han family's strongest cultivator stood at Human Rank 10 Stars, how could they ignore such potential in Han Feng?

Yet their hopes crumbled upon discovering the mysterious affliction in Han Feng's body. He seemed incapable of generating Internal Strength—any power he managed to cultivate would inexplicably vanish.

This defect led the family elders to dismiss his potential as ordinary.

Though Han Yu and the other leaders might look upon Han Feng with disappointment, they dared not slight him openly, given his mother's powerful background. Only his peers felt bold enough to show their contempt, and then only in secret.

Han Tiancheng watched his son with guilt-laden eyes, all too aware of the family's scorn.

Under his father's remorseful gaze, Han Feng finished his cold breakfast in sullen silence. The contempt of others meant little to him, but his father's persistent guilt proved harder to bear. Despite countless attempts to ease his father's conscience, Han Tiancheng's shame remained unshakeable. Eventually, Han Feng had stopped trying.

Cold meals were not the norm for Han family members, but Han Tiancheng and Han Feng's situation set them apart.

Han Feng had hoped to use these slights to kindle his father's fighting spirit, to help him shed his reputation for cowardice. But his efforts proved futile, and he finally abandoned the attempt. Had the truth not come to light so soon, Han Feng might have found a way to intervene.

By now, he'd lost hope of changing his father's timid nature.

Yet another source of Han Feng's melancholy lay in his appearance. With such striking parents—his father's handsome features and his mother's renowned beauty—why had he turned out so ordinary? His face barely warranted a second glance. But what could he expect, being a transmigrator?

After the meal, Han Feng rose and headed straight for his bedroom, intent on unraveling the mystery of his condition.

"Young Master, you've just finished training. I've prepared warm water for your bath."

The soothing voice belonged to an elderly man who spoke as Han Feng entered his room.

"Thank you, Yu Lao," Han Feng replied warmly.

Yu Lao had been sent by Han Feng's mother to care for her son. None in the Han family dared offend him, as he was rumored to be a Mystic Rank expert—perhaps even Renzhong City's foremost cultivator. Yet he concerned himself solely with Han Feng's welfare, showing little interest in other matters. Had he chosen to involve himself more broadly, the Han family's status might have skyrocketed overnight.

His presence alone protected Han Tiancheng and Han Feng from outright mistreatment. The family could only resort to whispered gossip about the father and son.

Thus, while Han Feng's life these past few years had not been ideal, neither had it been unbearable.

Though Han Feng possessed some knowledge of his background through his memories as a transmigrator, much of what he knew came from Yu Lao's accounts.

In the entire Han family, only Yu Lao, Han Feng, and Han Tiancheng knew the full truth of that fateful day between Han Feng's parents—that Han Tiancheng had been the one coerced, not the aggressor.

After a brief exchange, Yu Lao departed. Once Han Feng finished bathing, he sat cross-legged on his bed.

He began practicing the Han Family's basic cultivation method. Slowly, a weak Internal Strength formed in his lower abdomen, two inches below his navel where his Qi resided. The energy flowed through his meridians, but when it reached his heart, it vanished into some mysterious space, completely absorbed.

As this happened, a faint golden-red light flickered near Han Feng's heart.

Years of practice had finally revealed the truth—he couldn't store Internal Strength in his energy center because of this strange golden-red glow within his heart.

Though its origin remained a mystery, Han Feng felt certain that understanding this phenomenon would prove crucial to his future cultivation. And so, for years now, he had allowed this golden-red light to continue absorbing his Internal Strength, waiting to uncover its secrets.