The First Summoner - Chapter 1

*I will break the heavens to forge my path. I alone shall rule the tides of fate.*

—Shen Yan

…

Guiyuan Continent.

Nanxiao Kingdom, on the frontier of the Pingze Western Region.

An icy chill swept through a dark, damp dungeon. In a shadowed corner, a corpse suddenly twitched.

“Zhang San, did you see that? She… I think she moved.”

The guard who had witnessed it stared in horror. He shuddered and reached out with a trembling hand to pat the man beside him on the arm.

Zhang San snorted as if he had heard a joke. “That good-for-nothing was nearly drained dry, then strung up and beaten for three days and three nights. How could she possibly still be alive? Stop scaring yourself. All we have to do is wait for the noble heir’s men to come dispose of her body.”

“She moved again!”

“Li Si, I told you to quit fooling around.” Annoyance flashed across Zhang San’s face. He turned toward the cell and snapped, “What do you mean, she—”

His voice died.

His pupils contracted to pinpoints.

Inside the cell, a young woman was shuffling toward them. Her hair hung loose over her face, and the blood caked across her clothes had dried to a dark brown. She kept her head bowed, swaying with every step.

“It’s so cold in hell. The King of Hell sent me back to find some company…” Her voice rose and fell with an eerie lilt that made their skin crawl.

“Zhang San…”

“Li Si…”

“Come to hell with me!”

With a heavy bang, the disheveled girl lunged at the bars. Both men jumped out of their skins.

Then she slowly raised her head. Her bloodless face was sickly pale, her gaze hollow and unfocused—yet her lips stretched into a ghastly grin.

“A ghost!” Zhang San and Li Si went white with terror. Their hearts seemed to stop as they turned and fled on instinct.

The moment they bolted, the girl’s vacant stare sharpened. A bone-deep chill entered her dark, phoenix-shaped eyes.

She lowered her gaze to her filthy palm. Under her scrutiny, a violet sigil gradually took shape at its center, glowing faintly.

Her eyes darkened.

She had actually transmigrated.

Not long ago, she had still been fighting a zombie king in the apocalypse when three ambitious ability wielders joined forces and ambushed her. Gravely wounded, she had detonated herself in the end. If she was going to die, then the zombie king and those three traitors were coming with her.

She had been one of the leaders of the apocalypse. Her three attackers had held the same position, but her spatial ability and fire ability made her powerful enough to threaten their status. Fear and unease had driven them to strike first.

Now, as she studied the violet sigil in her palm, she realized her spatial ability had followed her here.

The memories left behind by the body’s original owner told her where she was. Guiyuan Continent was divided into five great regions, and its people cultivated spiritual power. Here, the strong preyed on the weak and strength commanded respect. Competition was brutal.

The cultivation realms of Guiyuan Continent, from highest to lowest, were Heaven-rank, Earth-rank, Mystic-rank, and Yellow-rank. Each realm had ten levels.

She was currently in Nanxiao Kingdom, a frontier kingdom in the Pingze Western Region. This body’s original owner was also named Shen Yan, the legitimate-born daughter of the Shen family—the foremost Summoner clan in Nanxiao Kingdom.

But Shen Yan had failed to awaken a Spirit Bone. She could neither cultivate nor become one of the clan’s Summoners. Worse, she had been slow-witted since birth, earning only contempt and scorn from everyone around her.

Her death had been caused by Nangong Yu, the noble heir of Nanxiao Kingdom, and Shen Xue, the Shen family’s adopted daughter.

Summoners were exceedingly rare on Guiyuan Continent. To gain the power of summoning, one needed a bloodline capable of inheriting the Summoning Arts—and such gifts generally passed from parent to child.

As an adopted daughter, Shen Xue could never awaken the Summoning Arts. So she set her sights on Shen Yan.

No one knew where Shen Xue had obtained the forbidden technique she used. She drained more than half the blood from Shen Yan’s body and transfused it into her own. With Shen blood flowing in her veins, she finally had a chance to awaken the Summoning Arts.

Even after the transfusion, Shen Xue had refused to let her go. Jealous of the affection Shen Yan received from her father, she had whipped the helpless girl over and over until she died.

Only then had Shen Xue left the dungeon, satisfied.

As for Nangong Yu, he was the one who had secretly ordered Shen Yan’s abduction. He adored Shen Xue, and the moment she asked, he had arranged the kidnapping without hesitation.

He also happened to be Shen Yan’s betrothed. Their engagement had been settled in childhood.

Nangong Yu loathed her. To him, she was a witless, foolish cripple who could not compare to so much as a strand of Shen Xue’s hair.

The most vivid memory left in the original Shen Yan’s mind—along with her strongest lingering emotions—was of Nangong Yu speaking to her in the dim light, his expression sinister.

“Shen Yan, if you were born only to disgrace my life, then go to hell. Once you are dead, Xue’er will take your place and receive everything that should have been hers all along.

“If only Xue’er had been the one betrothed to me. You are a stain the Shen family can never erase. After you die, your father and your brother will gradually forget you ever existed. Oh, I almost forgot—your brother, Shen Huai, is still at the Western Region Academy. Xue’er and I will be heading there soon. We can deliver the news of your death while we’re at it.”

The original Shen Yan had become frantic. In her simple mind, she thought Shen Xue and Nangong Yu meant to beat Shen Huai. She shook her head desperately.

“No… It hurts… hurts so much…”

Don’t hit my little brother!

She hurt so badly. Her brother would hurt just as badly.

…

As the last of the memories settled, the cold light in Shen Yan’s eyes intensified.

“Shen Yan, I’ll take care of your family in your place, and I’ll avenge you. Thank you for giving me another chance at life.”

She raised her right hand. The violet sigil in her palm shimmered with a faint halo. With a thought, her consciousness entered the spatial domain.

Almost all the resources she had stockpiled during the apocalypse were gone. Only a few dozen vials of medicine lay scattered across the vast white space.

“Medicine is better than nothing.”

She immediately took out a vial and administered it to herself with practiced ease, restoring her strength and vitality.

After one dose, her battered, blood-depleted body gradually began to recover.

Footsteps sounded outside.

Two people—most likely Zhang San and Li Si.

They must have realized what had happened.

Shen Yan’s gaze hardened. Spotting the chain on the cell door from the corner of her eye, she raised a hand without hesitation. Flame roared from her palm and melted through the metal in an instant.

Clink.

She slipped out of the cell, snatched up a rusted dagger from the damp, filthy floor, and strode out to meet them head-on.

“She really isn’t dead! Quick, grab her!”

“Get—”

Neither man had time to react before she slit their throats.

Two heavy thuds rang through the corridor. Zhang San and Li Si collapsed to the floor, their eyes frozen wide in death.