"Third Prince Lin Yu, fatuous and incompetent, suffered a crushing defeat in the Southern Campaign. His spiritual roots destroyed, cultivation lost—he has disgraced the might of Great Han. He is hereby banished to the Northern Suburbs to guard the imperial mausoleum, forbidden from returning to the capital without imperial edict!"
As the imperial decree echoed, Lin Yu was dragged away by imperial guards toward the northern mausoleum complex.
Standing outside the mausoleum gates, Lin Yu seethed with indignation. Earlier that day in court, he'd argued that someone had betrayed his troop movements, leading to the slaughter of 100,000 soldiers in the Southern Wilderness.
A mysterious powerhouse had ambushed him, turning the once-celebrated cultivation prodigy into a broken man, unable to channel spiritual energy.
Not a single courtier spoke in his defense. All decried him as incompetent and arrogant, blaming him for the catastrophe. Even his father, the wise and martial emperor, looked upon him with utter disappointment. Had he not been of imperial blood, he would have been beheaded on the spot.
The thought of failing to secure justice for his fallen soldiers wrenched his heart. He knelt facing the Southern Wilderness and slammed his forehead to the ground three times.
"Forgive me, brothers. I, Lin Yu, was powerless to save you from dying in a foreign land. I swear that as long as I draw breath, I will demand accountability from the court, hunt down those who betrayed us, offer their blood in sacrifice, and bring your spirits home to Great Han!"
"Spare us the drama. You think you can make a comeback from here? Better worry about tonight's rations. Ha!"
"Right! If I were him, I'd have died in the Southern Wilderness and at least earned a hero's death."
The escorting guards jeered cruelly. Lin Yu ignored them—what was the point of arguing now? His gaze turned to the mausoleum itself.
Sprawling across vast grounds, the Northern Mausoleum was shielded by ancient arrays. Only a Purple Mansion Realm master could breach them. As the imperial dragon's resting place, tied to the dynasty's very fate, its defenses were unsurpassed.
This "guard duty" was nothing but gilded imprisonment. Barring a miracle, this would be his final resting place.
Escorted by Sergeant Lu Da, Lin Yu entered the mausoleum and soon spotted a massive bronze cauldron. Brought back by the Founder Emperor from a mystic realm, it stood here since the mausoleum's construction, a symbol of imperial might known as the "Mountain-River Cauldron."
Lin Yu studied the cauldron. Weathered by ages, its surface was thick with verdigris, inscriptions and carvings faded almost beyond recognition.
"Lin Yu...!" Lu Da's voice barked from behind.
Lu Da had served under Lin Yu in battle. When a military supervisor ordered his execution for 延误军机 (delaying orders), Lin Yu had saved his life. Once deferential, Lu Da now not only allowed his men to mock Lin Yu but addressed him by name. How the mighty had fallen.
Before Lin Yu could respond, a violent surge of spiritual energy slammed into his back, jolting his internal organs. He crashed into the cauldron, spraying blood across its ancient surface.
"Heh, Lin Yu—men rise, water falls. This strike is from my master, a warning to stop coveting what's not yours. Next time, it's your life!" Lu Da leered. "Oh, and those old subordinates of yours who tried rescuing you? I've wiped out their entire families. Get used to being a cripple, Lin Yu—you're stuck here for life."
Laughing wildly, Lu Da led the guards away.
"Lu Da! I swear, if I recover my power, I'll tear out your throat and avenge my brothers!" Lin Yu's nails dug into his palms, blood streaming, as he glared after the sergeant. Those men had sacrificed everything to save him in the Southern Wilderness—their debt would be repaid in blood.
Just then, the blood-stained cauldron erupted in golden light. The droplets transformed into shimmering runes that converged at its center. Like rivers joining the sea, they coalesced into a palm-sized golden cauldron that floated free, hovering before Lin Yu.
He gaped at the artifact. Engraved with mythical beasts and celestial bodies, its interior shimmered with starlight, as if containing a miniature universe.
Before he could process the sight, the cauldron flashed into a golden streak and burrowed into his forehead. A searing pain exploded in his mind, and he collapsed into darkness.
When Lin Yu regained consciousness, night had fallen. The mausoleum lay silent, broken only by the cawing of distant crows.
"About time you woke up, whelp. This body of yours... tsk tsk, looks like a wind-torn tent with holes everywhere." A gravelly, arrogant voice echoed in his mind.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Lin Yu scanned the shadows, voice taut.
A golden glow emanated from his chest, and the miniature cauldron materialized before him.
"What... is this?" Lin Yu breathed.
"Name's the God-Eating Cauldron, forged by an ancient saint to suppress the heavens. I can refine anything to boost my host's cultivation! Ages back, some brat named Lin Aotian fished me out of a saint's secret realm." The cauldron's interior rippled with starlight as the aged voice rumbled forth.
Lin Yu coughed awkwardly: "Lord Cauldron, Lin Aotian was our Founder Emperor."
"Details, details." The cauldron dismissed him. "Problem was, he lacked saintly blood—couldn't unlock my seals. But you... you've got a trace of saintly essence in your veins. Pure luck let me break free!"
"Saintly blood... Could that be from my mother?" Lin Yu wondered. His birth mother had been a mystery, dying in childbirth. The imperial line had no saintly heritage—this must come from the mother he'd never known.
Looking up at the cauldron, Lin Yu sighed: "Lord Cauldron, my dantian's shattered, qi sea ruined. I can't hold spiritual energy anymore—I'm a washed-up cripple."
"Ruined dantian? Please." The cauldron's voice dripped confidence. "Get me some rare treasures, and I'll rebuild your foundations. Guarantee you'll train faster than ever."
Lin Yu gave a humorless laugh: "I'm a banished prince guarding a graveyard. Where am I supposed to find 'rare treasures'?"
The cauldron chuckled darkly: "Who says there's nothing here? I sense a massive sword aura nearby—must be a legendary blade buried here. Refine that, and I'll turn you into a cultivation monster."
"A legendary sword? Wait—are you talking about the Human Emperor's Sword in the Founder's tomb?" Lin Yu gaped. The sword was said to have fallen from the heavens at the Founder's birth, aiding him in forging the empire. None but the Founder could wield it, so it was interred with him, a symbol of imperial legacy.
If it meant reclaiming his power, hunting the traitors, and avenging his men—what was one ancestral sword? But he frowned: "Lord Cauldron, the sword tomb is protected by arrays. Even a Purple Mansion master might struggle, and I'm barely Rank 1 Warrior."
"With me around, what have you got to fear? Lead the way, let's check it out." The God-Eating Cauldron flashed back into his mind, radiating unshakable confidence.