The night Wei Yuan was born was quiet.
There was no thunder in the sky.
No strange signs.
No blessings from the heavens.
In the Wei Clan's residence, lamps burned calmly, lighting the clean stone walls. Midwives moved carefully around the bed, their voices low and controlled. Outside the room, Wei Zhen stood still, waiting.
Wei Zhen was the head of the Wei Clan.
In this era of peace, his clan ruled a medium-sized town. There were no wars, no large conflicts, and no open battles between clans. Law users existed, but most of them lived quietly, following the rules set by the world.
This time was known as the Peace Era.
An era where laws were controlled.
An era where gods slept above the world.
An era where most people believed nothing terrible would ever happen again.
Wei Zhen believed that too.
Until this night.
Inside the room, a child was born.
For a brief moment, there was no cry.
The midwives froze.
The air felt slightly heavy, as if something unseen had pressed down on the room. One of the lamps shook gently, its flame bending before returning to normal.
Then the child cried.
Not loudly.
Not weakly.
Just calmly.
The pressure disappeared.
"It's a boy," a midwife said with relief. "He's healthy."
Wei Zhen entered the room.
His wife lay exhausted on the bed, holding the child in her arms. The baby's eyes were open, dark and quiet. They did not move wildly like a normal newborn's eyes. Instead, they looked strangely calm.
Wei Zhen reached out and placed a finger on the child's chest.
The heartbeat was strong.
But for a brief moment, Wei Zhen felt something strange—like touching deep water instead of flesh.
He pulled his hand back.
"What is his name?" his wife asked softly.
Wei Zhen looked at the child for a long time.
"Wei Yuan," he said.
The child blinked once.
Wei Yuan did not remember being born.
He remembered dying.
A blade piercing his chest.
Blood filling his mouth.
The sound of his uncle's broken voice.
Kill the God.
Then everything went dark.
Now, there was warmth.
His awareness returned slowly. He could not move his body. He could not speak. His thoughts were heavy, slow, and unclear.
But he understood one thing immediately.
He had returned.
This was not the future.
This was the past.
The Peace Era… he realized.
This was the time before everything collapsed.
Wei Yuan tried to recall the future, but his memories were unclear. Faces were missing. Events felt distant. Only fragments remained.
He understood why.
Using time always takes something in return.
He did not resist it.
There was no panic in his heart.
This was a Law World.
In this world, strength did not come from weapons or armies, but from laws. People cultivated laws. Gods controlled laws. And humans paid the price.
Wei Yuan could feel them now.
The laws of the world.
They were stable. Ordered. Calm.
Just like the era itself.
But he knew the truth.
This peace was temporary.
The gods were still above the world.
The sacrifices had not ended.
They had only been delayed.
This time, Wei Yuan thought calmly, I will not be a piece on their board.
Outside the room, an elder suddenly paused.
"Clan Head," he said hesitantly, "did you feel that just now?"
Wei Zhen shook his head. "Feel what?"
The elder frowned, unable to explain it. "It was nothing."
Wei Zhen glanced back at the child.
Wei Yuan lay quietly in the cradle, breathing steadily.
Too steadily.
Wei Zhen turned away.
"Prepare the ancestral hall," he said. "When the time comes, we will test his law affinity."
"Yes, Clan Head."
No one noticed the faint distortion near the cradle.
No one noticed the laws hesitate for a brief moment.
And far above the peaceful world, beyond the clouds and sky, something ancient shifted slightly—then fell silent again.
For now, the Peace Era continued.
But Wei Yuan knew how it would end.
In his previous life, this era lasted less than twenty years.
At first, nothing changed. Towns remained calm. Clans followed rules. Law users competed quietly for resources and status. Children grew up believing the world was fair, that laws existed to protect people.
Wei Yuan had believed that too.
He had grown up as the Wei Clan Head's son, surrounded by respect and safety. He learned etiquette before combat, history before cultivation. His father never pushed him to become strong quickly.
"There is no hurry," his father used to say. "The Peace Era will last."
It did not.
The change began silently.
A new rule appeared in the Law World.
Whenever a law user tried to advance to a higher rank, the world demanded proof.
At first, the proof was small.
Resources.
Years of lifespan.
Minor sacrifices.
Most people accepted it.
Then the law ranks rose higher.
And the price changed.
When a law user approached the Fictional Law Realm, the world demanded something else.
Something precious.
Family.
Loved ones.
Anchors of humanity.
The gods called it balance.
Wei Yuan remembered the day his uncle advanced.
The Wei Clan was celebrating. Wine filled the halls. Elders smiled, believing their clan was about to rise above the town and enter the wider world.
That night, Wei Yuan lost everything.
His parents were killed.
Not by enemies.
Not by invaders.
By his own uncle.
At least, that was what the world believed.
Wei Yuan escaped by chance. Someone pushed him through a hidden passage beneath the ancestral hall. He remembered running barefoot through the rain, his ears filled with screams and collapsing buildings.
From that night onward, the Peace Era ended for him.
He cultivated.
He did not cultivate for justice.
He did not cultivate for honor.
He cultivated for one reason only.
Revenge.
Years passed. The world changed. Law users became weapons. Clans collapsed. Gods began to interfere openly. The Peace Era became a lie told to children.
Wei Yuan survived longer than most.
He became strong.
Strong enough to challenge his uncle.
By then, his uncle was known across the world as the Law of Death. A being who could command both divine and demonic forces. A man feared even by gods.
Wei Yuan still challenged him.
The battle ended in blood.
Wei Yuan remembered standing on shattered ground, his body pierced, his strength exhausted. He remembered his uncle stabbing himself instead of delivering the final blow.
And then… the truth.
The gods had controlled his uncle.
The sacrifice had not been a choice.
The Wei Clan had been the payment.
"Kill the God," his uncle had said, forcing the blade into Wei Yuan's chest. "Don't become like me."
Then came death.
And now—
Wei Yuan lay quietly in a cradle, unable to move, unable to speak, his breathing slow and even.
The Peace Era had returned.
But Wei Yuan no longer believed in peace.
This time, he thought calmly, I will not wait for the price to be demanded.
His fingers twitched slightly.
Outside the room, the world remained calm.
Inside the child's body, a man who had seen the end of peace opened his eyes.