The mist never lifted in the Hidden Valley.
Nestled between sky-scraping peaks and protected by ancient formations, the Tou She clan's sanctuary remained untouched by the outside world. For generations, no outsider had set foot within its bounds, and most of the continent believed the once-feared Tou She had vanished into legend.
In the courtyard of a weathered training hall, a boy no older than six stood alone, fists clenched, his breathing ragged. Sweat poured from his brow as he struck the training post again and again—small hands bruised, muscles trembling. Yet his eyes, dark as obsidian, held no trace of fear or weakness.
They burned with something deeper: instinct.
From a shaded veranda nearby, an old man watched silently. His robe, plain but dignified, fluttered gently in the mountain breeze. This was Elder Han, one of the last martial masters of the Tou She, and the boy's quiet guardian.
"He trains without being told again?" came a soft voice.
It was Lady Yue, the boy's mother and the last princess of the clan. Her beauty had not faded, but her eyes always carried a sadness—of lost glory, of exile, of watching her son grow in the shadows of a forgotten world.
"He's different," Elder Han replied. "Too disciplined for a child. Too precise. He mimics techniques he's never been taught. As if his body remembers things even his mind cannot."
Lady Yue stepped forward, gaze fixed on her son. "He's not ordinary. The day he was born, the heavens stirred. I've never told him… but I feel it. Something powerful lies dormant in him."
As if hearing her unspoken thoughts, Wu Tian suddenly stopped. He turned toward the mountain ridge beyond the valley walls, expression unreadable. For a brief moment, a golden glint flashed in his pupils—gone in a blink.
Something had awakened.
That night, the wind howled through the valley.
Wu Tian dreamt.
Not of toys or warmth or his mother's lullabies—but of battle cries, bloodied arenas, roaring crowds. Metal clashed with bone, fists shattered stone, and he stood in the center of it all, tall and grown, his body a weapon honed by fire and fury.
When he woke, his heart thundered. His hands twitched. He didn't understand the dream, but deep inside, something stirred. A whisper. A name.
"Blue Star…"
He didn't know what it meant, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it belonged to him. That the world outside the valley was calling.
And far beneath the surface of his soul, the Legacy System pulsed once… then went silent