Dragon-Marked War God Chapter 1 – Jiang Chen

Following a sudden jolt, Jiang Chen shook his head, feeling his awareness rapidly returning. 'Saint Origin calendar, year 3486. I have been deceased for over a century. My name is Jiang Chen. What is the meaning of this rebirth?'

In a past life, Jiang Chen stood as the supreme Saint of the Saint Origin universe. A hundred years ago, he shattered the barriers of the firmament, forcing open the gateway to the Realm of Immortals and carving out a new destiny for his people. However, he met his end at the Saint Cliff after exhausting every drop of blood in his veins. He never imagined he would open his eyes again after such a long passage of time.

As he scanned his surroundings, Jiang Chen realized he was trapped in a crumbling, dark chamber. The walls were scarred with deep fractures, and the entrance was barred shut. He was a prisoner.

Voices drifted through the door, reaching his ears clearly. “Brother Yong, this is the mayor's own flesh and blood. He dotes on the kid despite his incompetence. If this gets out, we are as good as dead!”

Two hulking men loomed outside the room, one clearly agitated. This place was a forgotten corner of Fragrant Sky City, where foot traffic never ventured.

“Don’t be a coward. Nobody will ever discover this, not even the mayor himself. Besides, once we consume his blood, we vanish from Fragrant Sky City for good! Yang Shuang, do you really intend to rot as a common guard forever?” Yang Yong retorted, his expression twisted with malice.

The doubt in Yang Shuang’s eyes vanished, replaced quickly by the same predatory hunger displayed by his companion. “There is no turning back for us now. The mayor has poured an immense fortune into that boy. Since birth, he has been force-fed precious pills, yet he remains stuck at the first level of the Qi Jing realm. If we had access to those resources, we would have surpassed the Qi Hai realm long ago, perhaps even reaching toward the Mortal Core realm!”

“Those elixirs have been wasted on that wretch; he might as well let us profit from them. We wait for three more days. Once the cleansing drug has purged the impurities from his system, we shall drink his essence to bolster our own cultivation! Then, we leave this place,” Yang Yong declared with a cruel, jagged grin.

Jiang Chen, recently awakened, absorbed every word. Upon integrating the memories of this vessel, a cold, sharp smile graced his lips.

“Thinking of drinking my blood? You’ll be lucky to taste anything other than my waste.”

Digging through the lingering memories of this body, he identified the two intruders as guards from the mayor’s estate. To think these low-level thugs dared to conspire against him; they truly believed they could slaughter Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen felt no panic. In his previous life, he had endured countless soul-shattering tribulations. Furthermore, the cleansing medicine they had force-fed him required three full days to purify the body. This window was the absolute perfect opportunity to mount a counter-attack.

Ignoring the guards, he began to assess his new physical state, his pulse quickening as he sensed the vast, stagnant reservoir of medicinal energy his father had accumulated within him over the years.

“This boy’s father certainly knew how to procure fine pills, even if he was too dim to realize the body couldn't properly metabolize them. All those elixirs were just sitting there, dormant. A disaster in the making, but for me, this body is a treasure trove!”

Jiang Chen sat in a lotus position with a confident smirk. Being the supreme Saint, refining and absorbing these accumulated stores was child's play.

“These guards even kindly provided me with a cleansing draught. Although it’s primitive, it is exactly what I need to clear the blockages. I shall absorb every drop of medicinal power stored here.”

Recalling a technique to channel the potency of elixirs, Jiang Chen began to exert his will.

As the technique took hold, the dormant medicinal strength surged through his veins. His physical form began to drink in the energy greedily. The medicine worked to refine his bones, purge his blood, and strengthen his very skin. Simultaneously, the cleansing agent did its job, flushing out the long-held impurities.

Over the last decade, the sheer volume of high-grade pills he had consumed had essentially turned his own flesh into an alchemical vessel. It was an utter waste! No wonder he had become a target.

“Just like that, all these stored reserves are finally being put to use,” he whispered, his smirk widening as the surging power began to transform into pure Yuan power.

Click!

Level breakthrough! He had reached the second level of the Qi Jing realm!

Within a single hour, Jiang Chen shattered the barrier, moving into the second level.

Click! Click! Click!

Third level. Fourth. Fifth. Jiang Chen continued to surge forward, smashing through the limits to reach the fifth level of the Qi Jing realm, all within a single day!

The stored reserves were immense. Even at the fifth level, he had barely depleted half of the potential locked inside him.

Outside the chamber, Yang Yong and Yang Shuang paced nervously, their impatience boiling over.

“Brother Yong, it has been a full day. Should we just finish him, harvest the blood, and run?” Yang Shuang asked, his voice wavering with anxiety.

“No. The cleansing formula requires three days to remove every bit of buildup. We must stay patient,” Yang Yong snapped.

Inside, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged, relishing the sensation of his power expanding. In the Saint Origin universe, becoming a martial artist was the natural path. Once one finished the ninth level of the Qi Jing, they could form a Qi Hai in their Dantian, entering the Qi Hai realm. That led to the Mortal Core, Heavenly Core, and finally the Divine Core. These five stages were the building blocks of cultivation.

Having hit the fifth level, Jiang Chen did not falter, though he felt the momentum begin to slow as he continued the refinement.

Two days later, Jiang Chen completely depleted the stored medicine, reaching the peak of the eighth level of the Qi Jing—just one step from the ninth.

'I managed to climb to the eighth level in three days… it seems I have hit the limits of this physical form,' he reflected calmly.

If anyone else had experienced such a leap, they would be delirious with joy. But for an individual who had once stood as the greatest Saint, this was merely regaining a fragment of his former might. He was, in every sense, a monster.

“Hehe, the time for the harvest has arrived!”

As the door creaked open, the two guards stepped inside, chuckling viciously.

“Drinking my blood? You clowns are going to drink my piss instead!”

Jiang Chen rose from the floor and delivered a devastating punch into the guards' stomachs, sending them flying backward through the doorway.

Both men were guards of the household, sitting at the sixth level of the Qi Jing realm, but they stood no chance against the technique of a Saint.

Brushing dust from his back, Jiang Chen stepped out slowly, fully aware that his strike had been sufficient to ensure they would never rise again.

Yang Yong and Yang Shuang lay shattered on the floor, clutching their midsections, their eyes wide with sheer terror as they looked up at Jiang Chen.

“Impossible! That can’t be! You were only at the first level; how could you gain such strength in just three days?” Yang Yong gasped, his mind reeling. He knew 'Jiang Chen' intimately—a useless, pampered brat who relied on his father’s status to bully the weak. The man standing before him now was unrecognizable, as if a completely different soul inhabited this body.

“Pathetic insects. You thought you could conspire to harm me? Speak—who put you up to this?” Jiang Chen’s eyes were cold and piercing.

“N-no one! It was our own decision to kill you for your blood,” Yang Yong stammered.

“If that is your final answer, then you have forfeited your chance to speak.” Jiang Chen lashed out, a single strike crushing Yang Yong’s skull. Blood and bone burst in a grotesque display.

“I don’t offer second chances,” Jiang Chen murmured, his expression entirely indifferent. He had seen far worse carnage than this; he felt nothing.

Yang Shuang was trembling uncontrollably, the stench of death overwhelming his senses. He had never seen such a brutal, calculated execution.

“Now, it is your turn. Reveal the truth,” Jiang Chen said, turning his gaze toward the shaking guard.

“No—really, nothing! Please, little master, have mercy! Spare my life!” Yang Shuang’s face was a mask of pale misery. The person standing before him felt like a demon in human skin.

“Still holding back? Fine. I happen to know a method of execution where the victim remains fully conscious as their heart ceases to beat. I shall systematically remove your limbs, carve off your nose, and slowly extract your organs so you can witness the inner workings of your own body. Only when the process is complete will I remove the heart itself. If your spirit is strong enough, you might even see it beating in my hand as you pass on.”

Jiang Chen described the process with clinical, terrifying precision.

“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything!” Yang Shuang was weeping, his body bathed in cold sweat. He didn't doubt for a second that this ‘demon’ would carry out his words.

“Speak quickly. My patience is thinning.”

“It was the Young Master! Jiang Ru Long! He was the one who told us to do it, and he provided the cleansing medicine to ensure you were at your most vulnerable,” Yang Shuang wheezed, spilling every detail.

“Jiang Ru Long!”

The name echoed in Jiang Chen’s mind. Ru Long was the foster son of the family head, Jiang Hai. In the memories he inherited, this man had always treated him with kindness, shielding him from his own mistakes.

“Why would he seek to kill me?” Jiang Chen demanded.

“The mayor spent his entire fortune on your cultivation. He grew jealous. With you out of the way, he would become the sole heir to the Jiang family. Plus, the engagement between the Mu Rong family and the Jiang family is tomorrow. If you are dead, he will marry the daughter of the Mu Rong family instead.”

Jiang Chen let out a dark, grim laugh. The Mu Rong clan were high-society moguls in Fragrant Sky City; even the mayor had to show them respect. A marriage alliance would have brought the Jiang family immense status.

Jiang Ru Long was a subtle, conniving serpent. Had the original Jiang Chen still been in control, he would have been buried by now. But now, the cards had changed. The greatest Saint had returned, and Jiang Ru Long was about to face his reckoning.

“Little master, I have told you everything! Please, have mercy, I will serve you faithfully from now on!” Yang Shuang kowtowed desperately.

“I have no use for weak, treacherous fools like you.”

Jiang Chen struck out with his palm, and Yang Shuang’s pleas were silenced forever.