The Bone Got Scalded

Shen Yan, an orphan from Luoyun Village, is so poor that all he has left is an ancestral bone.

The day Zhao Jingshan tried to force him out of his home, the bone grew hot.

When a drop of blood fell on it, he discovered that this unremarkable gray bone concealed a secret about a skull fallen from beyond the heavens. It can heal wounds, aid cultivation, and sense things of the same origin anywhere in the world. But every use consumes it. It can block a fatal blow only once in a lifetime.

Shen Yan is afraid of death. He runs away and backs down. But once he sets his mind on something, he will never turn back, even if it costs him his life.

He travels from Luoyun Village to the capital, investigating everything from an imperial examination fraud case to the truth behind the extermination of the Shen family. He investigates Cui Yan, Prime Minister Zheng, the six great families, and the princes. In the end, he discovers that someone else has been arranging the pieces on the board.

That person is his imperial uncle.

His uncle says, "I calculated every step you took."

Shen Yan says, "Then I'll keep going."

He topples the court, marches across the Northern Di lands, crushes the martial world, and helps the Fifth Prince ascend the throne. At last, he stands before the emperor as the fallen skull shatters and he loses his martial power.

He walks away on his own two feet.