I'm the Human Emperor, So Why Do They Say I Have a Second-Rate Destiny?!

My destiny is a piece of "flawed cloth." Cut it well, and it becomes a Daoist robe; cut it crooked, and it becomes a shroud. That's why my master said I had a second-rate destiny: the cloth hides Heaven's secrets, concealing a grand design of dancing qilin, auspicious clouds, and phoenixes soaring through the heavens. I thought I had changed my fate, but I had only hidden my destiny. And now that I've become the Human Emperor, you still call my destiny second-rate?

When I was three, a scruffy old Daoist tricked me into joining the mystical sect with half a bottle of "cola." Then came the strange part: he took me on as an unofficial disciple, but refused to let me kowtow and formally become his apprentice. He simply tossed me a piece of purple jade and said it would save my life.

And then? A water ghost tried to claim my life, a cliff collapsed, evil fire engulfed me... Disaster after disaster! Every time, the flowing purple-gold patterns in the jade saved my life, but the golden light on it grew visibly fainter, a little less each time.

Grumbling, the old Daoist dragged me back from the gates of death with his withered, trembling hand. "You little brat, I'm taking your calamities on myself!"

But where did these calamities come from?

How many more times can this jade hold out?

And what is that old ghost really after?

A destiny of flawed cloth, the calamities of a shroud, the path of the Human Emperor: let's see what this cloth will ultimately become!