Gods and Demons, Side by Side

Thirty thousand years ago, the gods vanished, and their power was split into three shares. The Heavenly Dao seized forty percent, the gods took forty percent, and the mortal world was allowed just twenty percent. Twenty percent. They had been starving for thirty thousand years. Li Chengxuan was just an ordinary man. His father died before his eyes, his family home was kicked open, and with an unknown jade tucked against his chest, he was hunted by a band of gray-robed figures. He ran for seven days and reached a deserted village, where he sat among piles of corpses all night. At dawn, golden divine markings appeared on his left arm, and black demonic marks grew across his right. He had no idea what they were. He only knew the two marks were burning. The pain was unbearable. But after the pain passed, he realized he could still move. The gods wanted him dead. The demons wanted him to join them. The Heavenly Dao wanted to crush him. He would side with none of them. The gods said, "Kneel, and I'll make you my representative." The demons said, "Go mad, and I'll teach you to smash everything." Golden light flowed across Li Chengxuan's left arm, black flames surged over his right. He glanced up at the sky. "What you carved into me is mine to decide how to use." Five realms: one sheltered by the gods, one invaded by the uncanny, one guarded by humanity, one reduced to ruins, and one forbidden zone. Four representatives, and countless hunters on his trail. Yet he headed toward the Ruins. In that gray-white forbidden zone lay the eighty percent of the world's power that had been stolen. The gods had sat in the heavens for thirty thousand years. It was time they came down.