It is said that within the entire Grimm Space, there are nine planes of existence, ranked by their power levels: Supreme Plane, Higher Plane, Intermediate Plane, and Lower Plane.

It is said that each plane has a portal connecting to the Dimensional Prison, where the most feared and notorious criminals from all planes are held.

It is said that the last Warden kicked the bucket, sparking the most severe prison riot in history. Lord Hua Lei, who constantly screams about destroying the world, escaped. The Tian Gang Beast, infamous for robbing divine tombs, smuggled itself into the Divine Realm, and Sa Na, the Blood King, is planning to turn the Lower Plane into the realm of the Blood Clan…

It is said that they’re urgently seeking a new warden who’s both beautiful, powerful, fierce, and heartless to restore stability across the planes.

When the notice for the [Warden Selection] spread across every continent in every plane, all the major families went into a frenzy.

After all, as long as these notorious criminals remained at large, they threatened the stability of Grimm Space.

But when it came to actually participating in the selection, those same excited families went silent.

A selection, as the name implies, meant that each family had to send their best talent to be chosen.

But which family would willingly send their carefully nurtured talents to take on the miserable position of Warden? Sure, the reward and external respect might be considerable, but the position subjected one to both physical and mental torment.

The Dimensional Prison is filled with the most despicable scoundrels, all terrifyingly powerful. Even with a perfect defense system in place, the Warden must still be capable of facing down criminals when necessary. And if there’s an escape, you’ve got to use force to subdue them, right? Plus, spending every day around these world-destroying maniacs—it’s only a matter of time before you either go mad or become a demon!

Anyone who truly cherished their younger family members wouldn’t be willing to send future family elites into such a nightmare.

But refusing openly wasn’t an option either. Maintaining peace in the Grimm Space is a cause that benefits all races; it’s everyone’s responsibility!

So, some families got a brilliant idea: send the most useless child in the family to take on this challenging task. This way, they’d save face with the Dimensional Prison while protecting their true elites. Genius!

And so, it was decided!

But if one family could think of it, so could others. Soon, all these “family-appointed” children were on their way to the portals leading to their respective planes.

As the sunset bathed the Ao Miao Continent in a brilliant glow, this continent, situated in the Lower Plane, was the least powerful place in all of Grimm Space. People with magical or martial talent usually left for higher planes as soon as possible, leaving behind an ever-dwindling pool of talent.

This was the busiest street in the Stan Empire, the most prosperous place in all of Ao Miao Continent. Occasionally, a rare warrior or even a mage could be seen walking by—something you wouldn’t find in other parts of the empire.

At that moment, a lone figure strode down the avenue. His long, ink-black hair flowed gracefully over his shoulders, and his flawless face resembled the most beautiful sculpture in Grimm. He wore a white martial robe trimmed with gold, perfectly accentuating his proportions. A deep blue belt adorned with a Pan Li pattern was tied around his waist, and a spotless white cape draped over his shoulders. His eyes carried a cold, untouchable clarity, while his whole body was bathed in a soft golden glow, radiating an aura of nobility that made others hesitate to approach.

People on the street stopped to stare. A few girls dressed in apprentice mage robes whispered among themselves, “Praise Grimm, that’s the most handsome and dignified man I’ve ever seen!”

“Look at his clothes! Those exquisite embroideries must have cost thousands of gold coins!”

“He must be from some great family in the Intermediate or even Higher Planes!”

“Look, he’s heading toward the plane teleportation array!”

“Could he be going to join the [Warden Selection]?”

The man in the white robe maintained a cold and aloof expression, every gesture and step meticulously calculated.

The role he had set for himself was that of a “fake expert” playing the part of an invincible powerhouse. Since he was pretending to be strong, every detail had to be impeccable.

If you’re going to fake it, you might as well do it flawlessly!

Why was he pretending to be a strong expert? Well, that’s a bit complicated—it all started years ago.

This handsome man was Long Ming. However, a long time ago, Long Ming had been nothing but an ugly, fat kid.

Although it was rare for a member of the dragon clan to have a flaw in their appearance, this didn’t stop Long Ming from being proposed as the Crown Prince of Shenlong Valley¹, for he possessed the legendary Xuan Yang Dragon Vein and had unmatched talent in cultivation. From the moment he was born, he was destined to inherit Shenlong Valley.

Such extraordinary conditions made him the focus of admiration and envy.

Within and beyond Shenlong Valley, Long Ming was the most outstanding individual of his generation.

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But that was ancient history.

Five years ago, Long Ming fell in love with Feng Shi, the third prince of the phoenix clan who possessed a diluted Vermillion Bird bloodline. Feng Shi was an illegitimate child, born in the countryside, with impure blood. To purify his bloodline, he needed the Thousand Mechanisms Dragon Pearl.

The Thousand Mechanisms Dragon Pearl was the most treasured artefact of Shenlong Valley, left by the ancient dragon ancestors. For Feng Shi, Long Ming broke into the forbidden land, severely injured himself, and stole the pearl to present it to him.

But once Feng Shi got the pearl, he abandoned Long Ming. Wounded and betrayed, Long Ming was dragged back to Shenlong Valley, where his injuries from the forbidden land worsened. To make matters worse, his dragon bloodline began to weaken and eventually disappeared altogether.

No one could explain this strange phenomenon. A dragon without a dragon vein was a traitor, sentenced to death. But thanks to the second prince’s and a few elders’ pleas for mercy, Long Ming was spared the death sentence. Instead, he was stripped of his title as crown prince and exiled from Shenlong Valley, forbidden from ever returning.

Exile to the Ao Miao Continent—a life sentence in the worst corner of Grimm Space.

That should have been the end of his story.

However, the aftermath was even more devastating for Long Ming.

Having purified his bloodline, Feng Shi became the purest member of the phoenix royal family, a child of the gods connected to the ancient deities. Fenghuang² City refused to let go of this precious bloodline. When Shenlong Valley came demanding answers, Feng Shi turned the tables and claimed that Long Ming had given him the pearl without knowing its value. The pearl had already been used and could not be returned.

To soothe Shenlong Valley, Fenghuang City offered their own treasures in compensation, but no treasure could compare to the Thousand Mechanisms Dragon Pearl, a gift from the heavens.

Feng Shi soared in prominence, becoming a cultivation prodigy, while Shenlong Valley had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill. The treasured artifact had been lost to another race.

As for the severely injured Long Ming, he became a target for those who blamed him for the loss. Meanwhile, Feng Shi, whose cultivation and beauty had both improved, was recognized as the most stunning individual in all the higher planes, attracting countless admirers.

When people heard that the exiled and now crippled Long Ming had once dared to love their first beauty, they took it upon themselves to make him suffer.

Shenlong Valley had severed ties with him, so no one would stand up for him.

The mighty genius once hailed as a prodigy had fallen to the lowest point imaginable.

A dragon fallen from the skies is no better than a snake.

This is the strange and ruthless nature of the world.

By the time Long Ming was transported to the Ao Miao Continent, his body was wrecked beyond repair. His tendons had been severed, and his old injuries were crippling. In unimaginable pain and regret, Long Ming finally breathed his last.

That’s right, he died!

At that very moment, another soul, also named Long Ming, entered his broken body.

Of course, there are more common names for this kind of phenomenon: rebirth, transmigration, body possession.

Let’s now introduce the life story of this Long Ming.

[Origin: Fallen during the ancient war between gods and demons in Grimm Space]

[Background: His soul tore through the void to enter this world ten thousand years later]

[Gender: Male]

[Title: Dragon Emperor]

[Other nicknames: The Immortal One, The Everlasting Ancient Monster Flower (aka Demon Flower)]

[Former titles: Holy Mage, Holy Warrior]

[Side hustle: Master of Deception]

[Talents: Mental power 38 times stronger than an average person, 62 times more affinity for dark elements, mastered mimicking various auras, once scared a Martial God by mimicking an ancient divine beast, with a glorious battle record]

[Skills: Expert at playing any role he desires]

[Hobbies: Tricking people, pretending to be weak to beat the strong]

[Personality: Obsessed with extreme beauty, with a pathological need for revenge. If he can’t settle a score immediately, he’ll settle it eventually]

When this man’s soul merged with Long Ming’s broken body, the flood of memories came rushing back. If he had to summarize the original Long Ming’s brief life: he was born in glory but died in disgrace.

In simpler terms: it’s a tragic tale of a discarded dragon prince.

Even though this body was weaker than an ordinary person’s, Long Ming was a genius at turning decay into wonder. Severed tendons? No big deal. In the era of gods and demons, anything solvable with magic wasn’t a problem.

Even a cripple with a bit of elemental affinity could be trained into a grand mage under his guidance. The original Long Ming had only lost his Xuan Yang Dragon Vein. To be honest, Long Ming didn’t even care about this so-called once-in-a-century dragon bloodline.

Back in his era, the Shenlong clan ruled the nine realms, the head of the Four Divine Beasts. Now, they were reduced to preserving a thin trace of their bloodline. How pathetic!

Long Ming had been human in his previous life, called the Dragon Emperor but with no actual ties to the dragon race. Since the original Long Ming was dead, he decided to adopt a new identity, treating himself as a human again. Though training with a divine beast bloodline would be faster, being recognized as a dragon again would be too much trouble. Better to continue with the human path of cultivation.

The power levels in this era were somewhat different from ten thousand years ago. For mages, there were still apprentices, junior mages, intermediate mages, senior mages, grand mages, magisters, holy magisters, earth-level magisters, and heaven-level magisters—each divided into three stages. But the titles of Holy Mage (Holy Domain) and the terrifying Mage God were gone.

Similarly, for warriors, there were still ranks from warrior, weapon master, general, commander, lord, king, emperor, and finally, Holy Warrior (Holy Domain) and Warrior God, but those two levels had disappeared as well.

It seemed that in the era of gods and demons, those at the top had all perished!

Understanding this new era, Long Ming decided to rebuild his new body.

First, he needed to repair his meridians to resume cultivation. Although the original Long Ming had lost the Xuan Yang Dragon Vein, as a descendant of the light dragon, he still had a strong affinity for light elements, though his mental strength was slightly weaker than his own former self.

But Long Ming was more than satisfied with this.

In his previous life, Long Ming had trained in both magic and martial arts. Since he had chosen to abandon his dragon bloodline, he sealed the dragon aura within him. This made his light elemental affinity even purer. He now appeared just like an ordinary human. In this life, he wouldn’t favor one discipline over the other—he’d train both at the same time.

However, judging from his memories, dual training in magic and martial arts had become forbidden in this era. Anyone who tried would explode and die.

It wasn’t that dual cultivation was impossible, but that the knowledge passed down over the years had been incomplete, leading to fatal mistakes. But Long Ming was different; he knew every step and precaution needed for dual training.

He believed he would be the first magic-martial dual cultivator in Grimm Space in the ten thousand years since the era of gods and demons!

He would etch his name into the history books once again!

Next, there was his appearance. As someone famous for his beauty in the era of gods and demons, Long Ming had an obsession with beauty that was second to none. He could turn even a three out of ten into a seven. Moreover, before he fell, he had obtained a treasure trove filled with lost magic secrets, including one that could reshape appearances.

With patience and practice, this auxiliary magic would make him not only unique in appearance but also cleanse his body of impurities, enhancing his magic concentration abilities.

Five years passed swiftly as Long Ming secluded himself, training diligently. He finally reached the power of a high-level mage and an intermediate general.

One day, when Long Ming, who rarely left his home, needed an ingredient for a potion he was making, he went to the capital for a rare outing. That’s when he saw the notice for the [Warden Selection] posted on the city’s information board.

Being a recluse wasn’t good for him—he needed to step out and reconnect with the world. Although his power wasn’t great yet, he was the founder of the art of deception!

When strength isn’t enough, you fake it!

And that’s how the dazzling, handsome, powerful, and dignified man came to stroll down the avenue, blinding everyone around him with his presence.

Hehe, Dimensional Prison, I’m coming to wreak havoc!

1. Shenlong – Divine Dragon (神龍)
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2. Fenghuang – Phoenix (鳳凰城) ↩︎