Reborn as the orphan Yang, the protagonist is raised by Grandfather Chen, a selfless old man who sacrifices his own food and warmth to keep the baby alive during harsh winters. Yang grows up with the mind of an adult, harboring deep gratitude and a silent vow to repay this priceless kindness once he is strong enough. However, tragedy strikes when he is only eight years old, as the ruthless merchant Liu Wei and the Zhao brothers accuse Grandfather Chen of helping their competitors and murder the old man in cold blood. Obeying his grandfather's final, desperate command to run, Yang flees into the dark, primordial forest, leaving behind the only home he has ever known. He stumbles through the terrifying woods, scraping his feet and sobbing with raw grief, until his inner instincts guide him to a safe, narrow cave and a clear water spring. Forced to adapt to a brutal wilderness, Yang learns to make fire, fashion crude stone tools, and construct traps to capture small game for survival. His life changes forever when he hunts a strange, goat-like beast that suddenly spits a deadly fireball, revealing that this world is governed by magical laws and cultivation. After killing the creature, Yang discovers a glowing crystal core inside its skull and, trusting his urgent inner instinct, swallows it, experiencing a liquid fire that sears his veins and knocks him unconscious. He wakes up days later to find his physical strength and speed enhanced to near-superhuman levels, realizing he has stumbled upon a world of cultivation where he can grow stronger by consuming these toxic beast cores. Yang spends the next several years deep in the forest, systematically hunting increasingly dangerous magical beasts, accumulating a vast collection of cores, and refining his combat skills with a handmade spear and bow. Yet, despite his growing power, he feels stagnated and isolated, realizing that he has spent years merely surviving like a wild animal rather than truly living, and he begins to yearn for human connection, unaware that a fateful encounter with a group of hunters from his old village is about to pull him back into the world of men and set his long-delayed vengeance into motion.

Driven by a desire for closure, Yang sneaks back to his childhood village to stalk his grandfather's killers, discovering that one of the Zhao brothers has insolently taken over Grandfather Chen's beloved mud hut. Waiting for the perfect moment when the brothers are heavily intoxicated, Yang slips inside the hut, confronting them with a silent, terrifying intensity before snapping their necks with effortless, supernatural strength. He reclaims his grandfather's threadbare blanket, sets the stolen hut ablaze to purge the desecration, and retreats into the shadows as the villagers gather in panic. He then tracks down the ringleader, Liu Wei, dragging him deep into the forest where the pathetic merchant begs for his life, offering money and hollow excuses. Refusing to show mercy to the monster who left his grandfather to bleed to death, Yang pierces Liu Wei's stomach with his spear, leaving him to die a slow, agonizing death in the dark. With his vengeance finally achieved, Yang leaves the forest behind, traveling westward across a treacherous mountain range where he battles altitude sickness, freezing blizzards, and starvation for five brutal months. Descending into a new, fertile region, he discovers Yunxi Village, where he rescues a young child named Xiao Ming from a massive wild cat, earning the deep gratitude of the prosperous community. He is taken in by Uncle Li Shun and forms a deep, brotherly bond with the youngest son, Li San, who patiently teaches him the local language and helps him heal from years of emotional numbness. Yang contributes to the village by hunting massive wolves, but his superhuman feats eventually reveal him to be a martial artist, prompting the village elder to tell him of Guanshi Town and the wider world of cultivators. Determined to seek a proper path of cultivation, Yang prepares to leave, but he is stunned when the adventurous Li San insists on accompanying him into the unknown, setting off together on a long, arduous road where they must face dangerous bandits and navigate the complex, mercantilist reality of Sun City.

Arriving in the massive trade hub of Sun City, Yang and Li San work as simple laborers to survive while searching for a way to join a cultivation sect, only to discover that the martial world is a cynical, business-driven system that forces disciples into years of dangerous mercenary contracts. Yang's frustration grows until a mysterious, Western-style painting of an endless mountain staircase catches his eye, leading him to purchase it for two bronze coins from a dejected painter named Cheng Mo. The painting holds a bizarre, hypnotic pull over Yang, and when Cheng Mo suddenly appears in their room, he reveals himself to be a powerful cultivator who transports both boys via a flying boat and an ancient teleportation array to the legendary Xuanyu Continent. They arrive in the magnificent Tianlu City, where cultivators fly on swords and massive ships sail the skies, and they quickly secure passage to Azure Point City to participate in the upcoming trials of the prestigious Azure Sword Sect. On the mountain path, Yang faces the brutal trial of the sword intents, but unlike the other candidates who transform the agonizing pressure into understanding, Yang experiences nothing but pure, meaningless torment and is forced to retreat in defeat. While his brother Li San successfully passes the trial to become a sword cultivator, Yang is deeply humbled by his failure, realizing that the sword path has utterly rejected him and that he is not a chosen protagonist destined to master every art. He bids a tearful farewell to Li San, dividing their wealth, and follows his inner instincts to Canglong City, where the enigmatic White Cloud Sect is recruiting new disciples. During the selection, the strict yet fair Elder Zhou accepts Yang into the sect with a single question, and he is transported to their breathtaking home of floating mountains and serene peaks. Yang throws himself into his new life, mastering the basics of reading and writing under Senior Ming Hao and learning the delicate craft of talisman creation from Elder Fu Ming, but his peaceful routine is shattered when his inner instincts suddenly urge him to practice defensive talismans with an intense, unexplained urgency.

After months of disciplined practice, Yang successfully opens his Inner Eye, catching his first glimpse of his Sea of Consciousness and the pale, swirling luminescence of his own soul. However, his triumph is instantly shattered when a mysterious, silver-white web of light wraps around his awareness and violently yanks him out of his body, casting him through an incomprehensible void of blinding lights. He wakes up in a shabby, cramped room inside the gray, soot-choked industrial city of Markech, horrified to find himself trapped in the weak, blonde-haired body of an eighteen-year-old street rat named Lucien Valemore. Discovering that this new Victorian-style world lacks qi but is governed by card-based magic, Yang uses Lucien's hidden inheritance of energy stones, a crystal inscription pen, and blank cards to practice card creation. Drawing upon his hard-won talisman knowledge, Yang easily masters the basic inscriptions, creating functional light, fireball, air-purifying, and water-spray cards that slowly feed energy back into the mysterious status bar in his Sea of Consciousness. He registers with the prestigious Cardwright Association, easily passing their rigorous practical test and earning a Grade Two certification, which draws the immediate attention of the city's elite cardwrights. Yang is introduced to the influential Lord Ardeth and his grandson Vadal, who are highly intrigued by his self-taught talent and invite him to an exclusive gathering at their grand estate. Though Yang attempts to maintain his low profile to avoid unwanted attention, he is forced to accept the invitation, realizing that he has stepped into a dangerous social chess game where his unique hybrid skills will be put to the ultimate test under the watchful eyes of powerful masters who harbor hidden agendas. As he returns to his flat to prepare, he begins to notice strange discrepancies in the cardwright manuals, suggesting that the elite are hiding a deeper, darker truth about the origin of card magic, a secret that might hold the key to his return or trap his soul in this industrial purgatory forever.