Chapter 1: Rebirth and Confusion
Tianyao suddenly opened his eyes. He was lying in a cold, damp cave. His body ached; every muscle and bone seemed to carry the fatigue of a journey that had lasted years. The air was thick and heavy, with moss seeping from the stones. Struggling to open his eyes, he glanced around, but everything he saw was foreign. This was definitely not a place he recognized. A fog of confusion clouded his mind. Where was this? What is happening?
His body felt entirely different. He examined his hands and eyes—his fingers, his skin… none of these seemed to belong to him. A small, weak, defenseless body… But inside this body, there was another soul—his soul.
He closed his eyes deeply, and memories of his past life rushed into his mind.
Flashback - Past Life
Under the fluorescent lights, in a sterile laboratory... Adjusting the collar of his white coat, Tianyao walked meticulously toward the snake terrariums. Among the glass tubes and digital displays, the years he had spent as a scientist were etched into his face, marked by the exhaustion under his eyes.
He added a few notes to the notebook on his desk:
"King Cobra behavior pattern third repetition. No response. However, a noticeable increase in eye movement. Eye contact is being made. Is a connection being established?"
On the other side of the glass, a coiled snake slightly turned its head at Tianyao's voice.
"You're listening to me, aren't you?" he said softly.
This was not just a habit; it was a passion. His interest in snakes since childhood had transformed into a scientific pursuit. But deep down, he knew he couldn't truly understand these creatures' secrets just by observing them.
"What connects us is not just DNA," he murmured to himself. "Beyond fear, there is a bond woven through intuition…"
And then… darkness. A sudden jolt. The sound of shattering glass. An oppressive silence.
That laboratory, that life… vanished in an instant.
His life as a Serpentologist… The deep fascination with snakes, the years spent understanding every movement, every behavior… That life now felt like it had been wiped away.
Another image appeared in his mind. The cold lights of a laboratory, the years spent among glass tubes and test tubes. He had been known as Dr. Yi Cheng, a scientist dedicated to studying snakes, trying to understand their behaviors and intelligence. The bond he had formed with them, the time spent understanding each of their actions… But that was the end, the dark moment, the sudden death… And then a void. A disappearance.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place in his mind. After that Dr. Yi Cheng identity, he was now trapped in the body of a child. But this body was not just any child's. It belonged to the son of the leader of the Supreme Serpent Family With these thoughts suddenly forming in his mind, the emptiness inside him grew. The Yüce Yılan Family… such a powerful, knowledgeable lineage…
But the images in his mind cut off abruptly. The Supreme Serpent Family, that great family, had vanished in an instant. Yes, Tianyao remembered it vividly. The family, whose existence had been based on a great power in the Immortal World, had once aimed to rule for eternity. Their Toxic Qi, enhanced by serpent totems, was a system of great strength… But this power had made the family a target for their enemies. No one could stand the existence of the Yüce Yılan Family. Hidden beings had moved to prevent their immortality and eternal knowledge.
One night, the entire family had been erased. Everything was gone. Tianyao clearly remembered the cold gazes of his enemies, the deaths of his family, and the chaos that followed. He remembered that terrifying war. The fall of the Supreme Serpent Family had also been his end.
With these thoughts abruptly cutting off in his mind, Tianyao shook his head and refocused on the body he was now in. There was a child here—inside this body—but this body now belonged to the mortal world. After all, the influence of the Immortal World had suddenly vanished, and Tianyao was now living in this world, in this child's body.
However, there was still something he couldn't understand. Why had he ended up in this body? How had he crossed from that world to here, from the Immortal World to the Mortal World? In this body, the son of the great Yüce Yılan Family leader, there was a shadow of the distant past, but now, the destruction of everything felt like a mere dream in his mind.
There was a coldness in his eyes, but not only his eyes, his entire body was filled with a sense of reality void, making him feel like he belonged to another world. A sense of unease stirred within Tianyao. He wanted to regain the life and power from that old world, but this new world was nothing like the old one.
As Tianyao thought, the snakes, the symbol of the family he had once lived with in the Immortal World, seemed to have come to help him, to protect him. All of this felt like an echo from the past. But here, in this cave, he was alone.
"Supreme Serpent Family… Gone. From such a great lineage, only… I remain," Tianyao whispered silently to himself, and his words faded into the emptiness. The immortality the Yüce Yılan Family once held was now buried in history.
Suddenly, a snake's hiss came from the depths of the cave. Tianyao focused his eyes and looked around. Snakes, one by one, circled him and began to approach. Was this a greeting? Or was it a threat? Tianyao tried to feel the answer. His heart raced, but there was no fear anymore. These snakes seemed to recognize him. He knew them from his previous life—as a serpentologist. In that moment, he could feel an ancient bond deep inside his heart.
Tianyao placed his hands on his chest and slowly took a deep breath. He tried to understand the meaning of the attention the snakes were showing him. They wanted to tell him something, but Tianyao didn't know what to say or how to respond. His heart raced, but there was no fear—only uncertainty.
One snake came forward and stopped right in front of him. This one was different from the others. Its eyes held a depth, a wisdom. Tianyao's gaze met the snake's, and in that instant, time seemed to freeze. Something stirred within him; an old memory, an ancient connection… Perhaps this was a link to the past of the Yüce Yılan Family, to his own past.
Slowly, Tianyao gazed even deeper into the snake's eyes and whispered, "Where are you taking me?"
Would he get an answer to this question? Or would the echoes from the past leave him alone forever?