Chapter 1: The First Step of Revenge

“That place… if only I could reach that place…”

Struggling, Cheng Lan squeezed out from a secluded shadow beneath the stone steps, then immediately surged towards the top of the staircase.

At the summit of the steps, on an altar, a crystal shimmered with the quiet radiance of amber, suspended in mid-air.

Just one final step remained before he could—

Whoosh!

A pale blue longsword of ice materialized, blocking his path.

“My apologies, but this place is already at full capacity.”

A cool, clear voice drifted faintly from behind the altar.

Immediately after, a young woman with long, light blue hair slowly emerged from behind the altar. Her tresses cascaded like a waterfall, and her skin was as fair as snow. Behind her, twelve ice swords formed a majestic pair of sword-wings.

The next second, the twelve ice swords swiftly dispersed, forming a sword array that completely encircled Cheng Lan.

“Qin… Jinxuan…” Cheng Lan gritted his teeth, glaring at the young woman before him.

“Do you truly believe this can stop me?”

His gaze once again fell upon the crystal on the altar, his eyes sweeping over the almost imperceptible shadow at its base.

All he needed was to activate his ability one more time…

Clatter!

Six chains woven from light firmly bound him in place, incessantly dragging him backward as if to pull him down the stone steps.

Cheng Lan hurriedly turned his head, only to see the young women he had previously left behind now standing at the foot of the stone steps.

“Perfect, everyone’s here,” Qin Jinxuan’s cherry lips parted slightly, her pale pink pupils reflecting only Cheng Lan’s image. “Tell us, who will you choose?”

As her words fell, the three young women at the bottom of the steps all looked up simultaneously, their gazes locked firmly on Cheng Lan, awaiting his answer.

“You…” Cheng Lan clenched his jaw, squeezing the two words from between his teeth.

‘Gah! These women have beaten me to my knees; they must want to force me back to be a Star Fury ‘In the end… was I still one move short…?’

Cheng Lan’s heart was filled with bitter resentment.

‘If only I could have another chance…’

‘Next time, I will definitely become the strongest!!!’

As if hearing Cheng Lan’s fervent wish, the gem on the altar suddenly emitted a dazzling light!

“Wh—”

Cheng Lan slowly awoke, his head resting on his desk.

‘Sigh! Another nightmare!’

He rubbed his eyes with a resigned sigh.

It had been several days since he returned to his third year of high school, yet he still frequently recalled the final moments of his previous life.

Those women were truly terrifying when they went mad!

Fortunately, fate seemed to have heard his wish, granting him a second chance.

Cheng Lan looked up at the clock hanging in the classroom.

April 15, 2025, 4:04 PM.

Before long, other worlds would experience minor “friction” with Blue Star, leading to a phenomenon called “World Rifts.” The energy dissipating from these rifts would usher Blue Star into an entirely new era.

In this era, everyone had the potential to awaken their own supernatural abilities.

Perhaps due to his rebirth, his ability had already awakened, though it had reverted from its S-rank peak in his previous life to the most basic D-rank.

‘Never mind,’ he thought, ‘these are all insignificant matters.’

Cheng Lan stealthily turned his head to glance at his deskmate—

A young woman with light blue hair was listening attentively to the lesson, dutifully taking notes on the key points the teacher was emphasizing.

She was none other than Qin Jinxuan, the one who had blocked Cheng Lan on the final step of the Stairway to Godhood in his previous life.

‘Excellent. Now, the first step of his grand journey of revenge shall begin!’

Cheng Lan mused inwardly.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling!

The bell for class dismissal rang, and the teacher promptly announced the end of the lesson.

Cheng Lan stood up, strolling casually to Qin Jinxuan’s desk, and then, as if by accident—

Crash!

A stack of revision materials piled on the corner of Qin Jinxuan’s desk was knocked over by him, scattering across the floor.

“My apologies!” Cheng Lan quickly knelt down, apologizing profusely as he swiftly gathered the books and papers from the ground and placed them back on her desk.

“It’s fine,” Qin Jinxuan also got up from her seat, helping him tidy up.

Soon, the two of them finished organizing the scattered books.

“It was my fault, I’m truly sorry,” Cheng Lan bowed slightly, apologizing sincerely once more.

“It’s really okay~” Qin Jinxuan waved her hand with a smile. “Though I do envy you, Cheng Lan. I often see you sleeping in class, yet your grades are still so good.”

“Haha.” Cheng Lan scratched his head, chuckling awkwardly. “Perhaps I have a talent for learning in my dreams.”

“If only I had your talent,” she said, returning to her seat and burying herself in her studies again.

Seeing that her attention was no longer on him, Cheng Lan seized the opportunity to slip out of the classroom and headed to a secluded corner where fewer students congregated.

He pulled out his phone from his pocket, then opened an app to check it—

A small blue dot was displayed near his current location.

NICE!!!

Location tracking installation successful!

Just now, taking advantage of the “accidental” knocking over of Qin Jinxuan’s books, Cheng Lan had secretly affixed a miniature tracker to the back cover of an exercise book she would definitely be taking home today.

After this, all he had to do was—

Stalk her !

That’s right, he was going to stalk Qin Jinxuan!

In his previous life, Qin Jinxuan had once invited him to a candlelight dinner, and it was then that she revealed a secret to him.

She was very likely the first person in Huaguo to awaken an ability.

On the very first day that World Rifts appeared on Blue Star, she had unfortunately been caught up in one shortly after school let out.

According to her description, it was the most helpless moment of her life.

It was precisely because of that sudden crisis that she successfully awakened her ability, Frostblade Flowing Song, and resolved the crisis through it.

What Cheng Lan intended to do next was to personally resolve the crisis that would lead to Qin Jinxuan’s ability awakening. That way, she would definitely not awaken her ability today!

If Qin Jinxuan awakened her ability even one day later, his advantage would significantly expand!

After confirming that the “tracker” was functioning normally, he returned to his seat.

As for the time before school ended, Cheng Lan had only one thing he intended to do:

Immediately get to work! As soon as he could capture a trace of energy fluctuation, he would absorb it into his body, becoming Blue Star’s first person to “eat pork”.Soon, he sensed the subtle change in the air, a change imperceptible to ordinary people.

Though extremely faint, the supernatural energy on Blue Star had already begun to permeate. Seizing this initial opportunity to rapidly enhance his physical fitness was key to gaining the upper hand. As long as he could secure the initiative, he would always be one step ahead.

‘Study?’

‘Study what?!’

‘Anyway, an ability user academy will be established soon, and with his talent, direct admission is guaranteed.’

‘Gaokao  Just ignore it.’

Thinking of this, Cheng Lan closed his eyes, concentrated his mind, and went full throttle, frantically absorbing the dissipating supernatural energy into his body.

Under the envious gazes of his classmates, he grandly spent the rest of his classes sleeping soundly.

‘Top students truly can do as they please.’

The dismissal bell rang, and Cheng Lan slowly opened his eyes, clenching his fist to feel his current physical strength.

After an afternoon of absorption, his physical fitness was now comparable to that of a top athlete.

‘Wait!’

‘Where is Qin Jinxuan?!’

Cheng Lan suddenly snapped back to reality, only then realizing that the familiar blue-haired girl was no longer in the classroom.

‘Holy crap!’

He snatched his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and shot out of the classroom like an arrow from a bow, then looked at the tracking app on his phone.

Following the app’s guidance, he raced all the way out of the teaching building and finally caught sight of her at the school gate. Qin Jinxuan was just about to step into a ride-hailing car.

Cheng Lan had no time to think; he took off running towards the school gate, hailing a taxi with an outstretched hand.

He yanked open the back door and slid inside: “Driver! To Yujing Bay!”