Chapter 1: Mortals in Heaven

  "Little rabbit, stop right there!" A loud and urgent shout came from the alley. Immediately afterwards, a series of crashing sounds were heard, with tables being overturned and plates shattering.

  Whoosh!

  A figure darted out of the alley and entered a wide street.

  "Oh my god, how many people are there?" A curse rang out. But the dense crowd on the street didn't hinder him at all, only to see this figure swimming freely in the crowd like a fish playing in water. And the pursuers closely following behind him were blocked by the crowd and slowly stopped their chasing feet.

  "You little rabbit, you're so annoying! How dare you come here to eat a tyrant's meal? You've eaten and that's it, but you still want to order more takeout. You even want to take out! Wait for me, I'll catch you and strip your clothes off to hang you on the city gate!" A roar came from the crowd, but was soon drowned out by the dense sea of people.

  The figure that had eaten the king's meal and escaped quickly made its way through the crowd, then suddenly turned into an alley. The figure looked around to make sure it wasn't being followed, then opened a worn wooden door and went inside. After entering, it stuck its head back out to look around again, finally letting out a sigh of relief before closing the broken door.

  After counting his breaths, he saw a figure leap from the wall and enter the courtyard opposite the wooden door.

  "Alas, how sad!" A low sigh echoed from the courtyard, and the owner of this sigh was none other than the guy who had successfully escaped after eating the tyrant's meal.

  This guy's name is Qin Lang, an ordinary little citizen living in the Eastern Tai Huang Heaven. This Tai Huang Heaven is the first heaven of the eight heavens of the East, and its full name is Tai Huang Huang Zeng Heaven.

  Although Tai Huang Tian is one of the thirty-two heavens in the four-way heaven, not all those living here are immortals. So-called immortals refer to those who can ride on clouds and fog, with a flick of their hand, they can make the wind and clouds change suddenly, and turn mountains and seas upside down. These skills are not innate, but acquired through later practice.

  There are mighty beings who have cultivated the Tao, and there are ordinary people who trip over their own feet. Qin Cang is one of those ordinary people living in this heavenly realm.

  Carefully placed the good wine and dishes brought back on the table, without paying attention to the dust on the ground, sat down on the floor with a plop, and began to mutter to himself.

  "A humble person like me shouldn't have been born in this heavenly realm! This is a place where gods and immortals reside, it's really not suitable for someone like me. I should have been born in the mortal world, that would be much better." Qin Lang gazed at the roof with several large holes, lost in thought, his eyes gradually becoming distant, as if he yearned for the mortal world.

  Qin Hong's idea, if known to the ordinary people of the mortal world, would make many people angry and frustrated. However, many ordinary people in the mortal world yearn for the heavenly realm, even those who have achieved great success in their cultivation in the mortal world find it extremely difficult to break through the barrier between heaven and earth and enter the heavenly realm.

  However, Qin Lang didn't care about others' thoughts. He was just a person with no great ambitions. In the Heavenly Realm, there were too many capable people. Even ordinary civilians living here were much stronger than mortals on Earth. Here, Qin Lang really felt it was hard to make a name for himself. Until now, at 18 years old, he still had no achievements to speak of. Qin Lang always thought that if he were born in the Mortal Realm, even as a local tyrant, he wouldn't be struggling like this, eating every meal with anxiety, and being stripped naked and hung on the city gate for running slowly. But it was precisely because of such circumstances that Qin Lang had also developed a set of formidable escape skills. Although he was despised by others and hated by restaurant owners, Qin Lang shamelessly called these skills "Escape Techniques" and even considered himself the founder of Escape Techniques, hoping to one day recruit disciples and spread his techniques far and wide.

  Qin Lang had a great dream, which was to become a heavenly soldier of the Tai Huang Tian. In fact, within the thirty-two layers of heaven, it wasn't as peaceful as people thought. Where there were people, there were schemes and struggles, and different heavens would also go to war with each other. As one of the four heavenly realms, Tai Huang Tian was a place that highly valued martial arts, where might made right. Each layer of heaven had an army, known as the Heavenly Army, and the heavenly soldiers were the basic building blocks of this army. Although they were at the bottom of the hierarchy, becoming a heavenly soldier wasn't easy, because the selection process for those who wanted to join was extremely strict. A person with unknown origins or poor moral character couldn't become a heavenly soldier. The army also had very high requirements for the cultivation and behavior of each heavenly soldier, after all, they might have to face war. Therefore, to become a heavenly soldier, two conditions had to be met: first, one's abilities had to meet the requirements; second, one needed to have a certain status or position to recommend them. Qin Lang thought he could meet the first condition, but the second condition made him miss out on several recruitment opportunities by the Heavenly Army, because someone like Qin Lang, who struggled to make ends meet, couldn't possibly have anyone with status vouch for him.

  He withdrew his gaze, which had been wandering infinitely, and focused on the dishes of food on the table. He muttered to himself: "With this stuff, at least tomorrow's meals won't be a problem. But this city is no longer habitable, so many restaurants and hotels are looking for me, if I'm caught accidentally, it'll be terrible. When night falls, I should find an opportunity to leave the city." In this city, Qin Lang had already eaten more than once or twice at the "Overlord's Feast", to the point where he became a familiar figure on the streets. Now, however, he could no longer stay here and had to find an opportunity to leave the city and head to another one, continuing his wandering days.

  The heavenly realm and the mortal realm are actually not much different, some ordinary mortals will do some business or engage in some labor to support their families. As the sky gradually darkens, the crowds on the streets also disperse one after another, leaving only some small vendors packing up their stalls.

  Qin Huan shouldered his luggage, carefully walking out of the deserted courtyard, cautiously making his way down the main street. As he gazed at the empty streets, a sense of desolation also rose up in Qin Huan's heart.

  This is not my home.

  Where is one's own home after all?

  Where is one's own haven?

  He took a deep breath and put away the sadness in his heart, Qin Chao walked towards the city gate.