Bang!
The door to the birthing room suddenly swung open with a loud crash, startling everyone inside.
A little girl, around ten years old, rushed in, her long black hair neatly tied back, her large, curious eyes sparkling, wearing dark blue clothing with the Lin Clan's signature white lightning emblem on her chest.
"Mother! Father! Is my little brother born already?!"
She was panting, her face beaming with excitement, instantly filling the room with her bright energy.
Sun Chen, who had just been born, could only frown, his eyes seeking the source of the voice with the awareness of an adult trapped in an infant's body.
"Who is this girl…?" Sun Chen wondered, feeling strange about the situation.
The girl ran closer, leaning her face right in front of Sun Chen's tiny face, her smile so wide and her eyes sparkling like stars.
"Waaah! My little brother! My little brother is here! Mother, Father, he's so cute!"
She leaned in so close that her nose almost touched Sun Chen's. Her breath felt warm on his face.
Sun Chen could only stare at her helplessly, utterly confused.
"Why… is she so excited… who is she really…?"
The woman who was Sun Chen's mother chuckled softly at her daughter's behavior, her face still pale but filled with happiness.
"Yu'er, you'll scare your little brother if you get that close, dear," she said gently, stroking the little girl's head.
"But Mother, he's so cute! Look at his face! It's so white and clean, and his eyes are so big… hehehe," the girl giggled happily.
Then, without hesitation, she leaned in and kissed Sun Chen on the forehead, "Mwaah!"
Sun Chen could only close his eyes as he was kissed, a foreign but comforting warmth seeping into his heart.
"So… this is what it feels like to be kissed by an older sister…?"
His father laughed heartily, patting his wife's shoulder, "Hahaha, she really is our daughter. Yu'er, do you like your little brother?"
Lin Yu nodded eagerly, "I like him so much, Father! I love him!"
"In that case…" the father looked at his wife with a gentle gaze before turning to his daughter, "Yu'er, would you like to give your little brother a name?"
Lin Yu's eyes widened, "Eh?! Really, Father? I can name him?!"
Her father nodded with a warm smile, "Of course, dear."
Lin Yu looked thrilled, lifting her hands to her chin, her eyes swirling with enthusiasm as she paced back and forth in front of the bed.
"Hmm… a good name… a cool name…"
She clapped her hands loudly, her eyes sparkling, "I know! How about… Lin Tian!"
The mother giggled softly, "Lin Tian? Tian… means sky, the vast sky…"
The father nodded with a proud smile, "Lin Tian, that's a good name. A name for a king who can conquer the heavens and earth, a name that suits our child."
Lin Yu grabbed her mother's hand, her eyes shining, "Mother! Father! So his name is Lin Tian now?!"
Her mother gently caressed her daughter's cheek, "Yes, Yu'er… from now on, your little brother will be Lin Tian."
Lin Yu jumped up with a bright smile that never left her face, "Yaaay! My little brother Lin Tian! My little brother Lin Tian!"
Sun Chen could only watch them silently. His heart felt warm yet painful at the same time.
He, Sun Chen, who had lived in loneliness and vengeance for decades… was now welcomed into a family that greeted his arrival with smiles and love.
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the warmth seep into a soul that had long been frozen.
"Lin Tian, huh…," Sun Chen thought. "This name… isn't bad."
.
In that quiet moment, old memories slowly surfaced in his mind. When he was four years old, sold by his own parents, whose faces he could no longer remember, made a slave until he escaped into the forest during a bandit attack.
There, he collapsed, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the gentle smile of his master, Xue Ying, who was only fifteen at the time, looking at him with pity.
His master took him to the Blooming Mountain Sect, cared for him, fed him, clothed him, and named him Sun Chen.
When Xue Ying turned twenty, his master died of a strange illness, leaving Sun Chen devastated and alone. As a child, Sun Chen could only clean the sect's library, watching the disciples practice sword techniques that frightened him, isolating himself among piles of scrolls until he grew up with nothing in his heart but vengeance.
Now, when he opened his eyes, it was no longer an empty, dusty library hall, nor a battlefield soaked in blood, but the face of a mother looking at him with love, a father with a proud smile, and an older sister dancing happily around him.
For the first time, Sun Chen felt truly accepted—as family, as a child who was wanted, not just as a tool for revenge or an abandoned disciple.
Warm tears slowly trickled from the corners of his still-red eyes, unnoticed by anyone in the room, heard only as the soft cries of a baby.
"Lin Tian… Lin Tian will be my name in this life…"
"I will live this life properly, with the strength to protect them… so this family will never suffer the same fate as mine."
.
And in that room filled with warmth, Sun Chen—now Lin Tian—engraved a promise within his heart that he would become strong, not only for himself but for the family that had given him a second chance to experience the meaning of life.
Over the next month, Sun Chen, now called Lin Tian, slowly adjusted to his new life as a baby in the Lin Clan.
He had learned that his father's name was Lin Zhanglong, a respected head of the Lin Clan, with a firm face, thick black eyebrows, and an authoritative gaze whenever he spoke. His mother, Jiang Yueli, was a beautiful woman with a gentle smile and warm eyes that shone with love whenever she held Lin Tian.
The Lin Clan itself was one of the largest clans in the martial world, known for their deadly lightning sword techniques, earning them the nickname Storm Dragon Clan among many sects and schools. Their swords would emit white lightning and a rumbling sound with each swing, striking fear into all other warriors.
Lin Tian had come to understand the vastness of the Lin Clan's residence, surrounded by green gardens with an artificial lake, a sword training area where the sound of clashing blades was constant, and the main hall where the elders held discussions. When he was held by his mother, Lin Tian often saw his father training his sister, Lin Yu, firmly yet with patience.
Lin Yu, his older sister, was a ten-year-old girl full of energy, with long black hair tied in a ponytail, wearing dark blue clothing with the Lin Clan's white lightning emblem. She would run around the courtyard, wielding a wooden sword, occasionally jumping and shouting.
"Chen'er, look at me! Hiyah, hiyah! I'm going to become the greatest warrior in the Lin Clan!" Lin Yu would shout with a wide smile, her eyes sparkling, her cheeks flushed from training.
Lin Tian could only watch her with his big, innocent baby eyes, though inside, he whispered words only he could hear.
Sister, you have no idea how harsh the path ahead will be for you.
Days passed, and each morning, Lin Tian would hear the sound of small lightning strikes in the training area as his father trained Lin Yu. Sometimes, his father would hold him during breaks, smiling as he looked at him.
"Chen'er, you will grow up to be a great warrior too, just like your father and sister," Lin Zhanglong would say, gently stroking Lin Tian's head.
"Father, don't hold Chen'er for too long! I want to play with him too!" Lin Yu would protest as she ran over.
"Careful, Yu'er, you might scare him," Jiang Yueli would say with a small laugh, her face radiating a warmth Sun Chen had never felt before.
In those moments, Lin Tian truly felt what it meant to have a family, something he had never experienced in his previous life. His only family before had been his master, Xue Ying.
Lin Tian remembered that at four years old, he had been sold by parents whose faces he could not remember, enslaved until he escaped during a bandit attack. It was Xue Ying who found him and took him to the Blooming Mountain Sect.
At fifteen, Xue Ying had already become the youngest elder in the sect and took Sun Chen as his personal disciple. However, that happiness was short-lived, as Xue Ying died at twenty from a mysterious illness, leaving Sun Chen alone, becoming the library caretaker to preserve his master's memory.
Now, seeing Lin Yu's cheerful spirit, Lin Tian remembered Xue Ying's stories about Lin Yu, describing her as the Lin Clan's genius daughter and his greatest rival in the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament held every ten years. At fourteen, they had fought for the Phoenix title.
At that time, Lin Yu had reached Martial Warrior Level 3, while Xue Ying had just advanced to Early Martial Expert, allowing Xue Ying to claim victory. Lin Tian remembered how proudly Xue Ying told the story while still respecting Lin Yu as a formidable rival.
Lin Tian also recalled the martial world's cultivation ranks:
Ordinary Martial Warrior
Martial Warrior Level 1
Martial Warrior Level 2
Martial Warrior Level 3
Martial Expert
Martial Saint
Lin Tian knew that to prevent all the tragedies to come, he had to become stronger. He knew the Demonic Sect's attack on the Blooming Mountain Sect would occur in thirty years, and in ten years, Xue Ying would die of a mysterious illness.
In his heart, Lin Tian vowed to change that fate.
One afternoon, Lin Tian was carried by his mother into the courtyard, watching Lin Yu train with their father. Lin Yu's wooden sword whistled through the air, occasionally producing small lightning flashes that startled Lin Tian.
"I'm going to be the greatest warrior in the Lin Clan, Chen'er!" Lin Yu shouted, pausing for a moment to come over and kiss Lin Tian's cheek.
Lin Tian could only let out a baby's coo, "Aah… uuh…"
His mother chuckled, "Look, Zhanglong, Chen'er seems like he wants to say something."
His father stroked Lin Tian's head with a smile, "He's saying that he will protect his sister in the future."
Inside, Lin Tian responded, Yes, I will protect all of you.
That night, as Lin Tian lay in his crib, he stared at the carved wooden ceiling, planning his path ahead.
In four years would be Lin Yu's first Dragon and Phoenix Tournament. In five years, Xue Ying would begin traveling. In ten years, Xue Ying would contract a mysterious illness. In thirty years, the Demonic Sect would attack the Blooming Mountain Sect.
I must prepare before all of that happens.
In these four years, I will learn to walk, strengthen my body in secret, begin opening my meridian paths, and build my dantian.
I will use this infant body to forge a foundation stronger than anyone else.
I will not let anyone harm them.
I will change everything.
I will protect Xue Ying, I will protect my sister Lin Yu, I will protect Father and Mother, and I will protect the Lin Clan.
Lin Tian slowly closed his eyes, his tiny hands clenching atop the soft blanket, his resolve firm, his powerful soul laying the foundation for his first steps in the martial world to change the dark fate he had once endured.