Chapter 1
Dark, heavy clouds filled the sky, covered with thunder and lightning.
The energy of lightning poured down as if heaven and earth were splitting apart.
This was the final trial that anyone standing at the end of cultivation—one who was about to ascend—had to face.
“At last……”
I stood alone beneath the sky.
For a long time, I had only one goal.
To reach the realm of immortality—no matter what.
A life spent crossing mountains and seas, endlessly training.
To gain even a small amount of inner power, I devoted hundreds of years.
To rise higher, I even severed my ties with blood relations.
That was the path I walked silently.
And now, I had finally reached the end.
With just one more step, I would become something beyond human—a divine being.
At the peak of Saphae Mountain, known as the most dangerous among eight thousand peaks,
I only needed to withstand the Heavenly Lightning.
The moment lightning twisted through the clouds above—
A violent flash spread through my body.
BOOM! CRACK—!!
The fierce lightning struck down and tore my body apart.
‘I have to endure this—no matter what!’
For a cultivator, the soul mattered more than the body.
If I could protect my soul through this tribulation,
I would reach the long-awaited realm of immortality.
But—
All my senses were cut off in an instant,
along with the horrifying sound of my body exploding.
* * *
Had I failed to ascend?
I regained consciousness in darkness.
My body was gone. Only my soul remained.
Then suddenly—
A memory began to play before me like a scene in a play.
—Senior Sister! This book is a romance novel about people from the lower world. It was really hard to get!
—Do you not know that if you’re caught reading such trash as a trainee, you’ll be expelled from the sect?
I didn’t know how old that memory was.
There had been a young girl who followed me during my training days.
But in the end, she failed to overcome life and died of old age.
—You have no sense of romance, Senior Sister! It’s a very popular novel. Want to read it first?
—Hmm… Then I should check whether reading it will cause inner demons.
The young me flipped through the book quickly.
Then clicked my tongue—
And tore the novel to pieces.
—Ahhh! No!! It was so hard to get!
—Stop wasting time on trash like this and train more.
Why was I suddenly seeing this memory?
But as I recalled it, I remembered everything from that book.
“Do you remember the contents?”
“Hmm? Who are you?”
A faint, fragile soul approached me like a flickering candle.
“I’ll give you my body. Please grant my wish.”
“A body……”
I was currently just a soul.
Unless someone created a body and summoned me, I couldn’t return.
This was a good deal.
The wish was concerning—but receiving a body would save time.
“What is your wish?
“……Revenge.”
“What?”
“I want revenge!”
The word trembled with intense emotion.
Revenge—
A word that could never be separated from a cultivator’s life.
“Hahaha! You came to the right person!”
As soon as I said that—
I was sucked into a massive vortex.
* * *
SMACK—!
Before the stinging pain even faded—
A woman with unfamiliar hair and eye color took out a handkerchief.
Then, as if she had touched something dirty,
she wiped the hand that had slapped me.
Her clothes. The surroundings.
Everything felt strange.
“You spilled tea and still act shameless.”
…What is going on?
The first face I saw after waking up was extremely unpleasant.
So much inner demon energy clung to her. Disgusting.
I shook my head slightly.
The woman looked surprised.
“W-what? You feel different today… Anyway! You need to relearn etiquette, Rize. Call the teacher!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a man rushed in.
He placed a rolled scroll with strange patterns into my hand.
“Come on, Rize. Open it.”
The name Rize felt like a powerful restraint.
Whenever it was spoken, my body moved on its own.
…Unpleasant.
“If you are the daughter of a count, you should be able to recite this easily. If not, you know the ‘special punishment’ Lady Lorraine prepared, right?”
“Special punishment,” huh… interesting.
The teacher spoke while watching the woman’s mood.
From the atmosphere alone, I understood this body’s situation.
But… count’s family?
I had definitely heard of that before.
Was it like a sect?
No matter how great they were, how dare they talk about punishing me?
“Rize, punishment is for your own good. The harder it is, the more you should try.”
The woman spoke like a kind mother.
Servants had gathered and were pushing me forward.
“Read it. Now!”
The tutor’s loud voice made my chest feel like it would explode.
My senses were sharp—
Especially when detecting killing intent.
And I had never been wrong.
“Haah…”
…They’re trying to kill me?
You damned people!
My patience was reaching its limit.
I tried to gather energy.
But—
This body was shockingly weak.
No energy gathered.
Still, I was a cultivator.
Someone who knew how to wait.
For now, I would follow them.
The right moment would come.
Fortunately, the text on the scroll was readable.
“With spiritual roots… find the proper attribute… begin cultivation… and walk the path to immortality…”
As I read slowly—
Everyone looked as if they expected it.
…What was that reaction?
Did I say something I shouldn’t have?
“As expected…! There was a reason you have that cursed black hair!”
The woman trembled with anger.
For now, understanding the situation came first.
Without hesitation—
I lowered my head deeply.
I had never apologized before.
“I’m sorry.”
But this was not the time.
I bowed desperately and ran out of the room.
Her angry voice faded behind me.
I ran into a room my body seemed to recognize.
The moment I closed the door, I collapsed.
This body was far too weak.
Even the energy my soul should have had was gone.
Wait.
That woman’s name was—
“Lady Lorraine… And she called me Rize.”
A romance novel about the lower world.
I had seen this before.
The female lead investigated the death of a count’s daughter.
“That daughter… was named Rize.”
Of all things—
I possessed the body of someone about to die.
No—
I possessed someone from the lower world.
“This is a scam!”
The lower world—also called the human world—was the lowest realm.
Spiritual energy was scarce. Cultivators avoided it.
Above it was the martial world.
Above that—the cultivation world.
I didn’t even expect the cultivation world.
At least the martial world…
“Damn Heavenly Dao!”
Even calling it bad luck wasn’t enough.
I failed ascension and fell here.
And—
“What is your wish?”
“……Revenge.”
“I want revenge!”
If I didn’t fulfill that promise—
My soul would be destroyed.
“Hoo… Calm down.”
A cultivator has only one goal.
Ascension.
I overcame worse things to reach that point.
Even if I became a weak noble girl—
“I can start again.”
Even if it takes time.
I will take revenge—
And cultivate in this rotten world.
At that moment—
The door suddenly opened.
“Sister Rize! I heard you caused trouble for Mother! You’ll be punished again, right?”
A girl who looked just like that woman entered.
Only younger.
This must be Layla.
Now I understood.
Rize was not welcomed in this house.
And at the center of it—
Were Lady Lorraine and Layla.
In the novel, they were accused of being accomplices to murder.
Layla glared at me when I didn’t respond.
Just like her mother.
“Not talking? What, are you mute now? Haha!”
She expected fear.
Instead—
I looked at her calmly.
“……Get out.”
Her expression froze.
“What? What did you say?”
I turned my head.
Right now, I couldn’t win.
But after cultivation—
That would change.
“Do whatever you want.”
One last warning.
“But if you touch me—”
“You will regret it.”
