The air was bitter. Cold. Unforgiving.
Su Chen sat motionless on a bed of straw in the decaying shrine, the wind howling through broken tiles above. The scent of damp wood and rotting incense clung to him like regret.
Outside, a lone wolf howled.
Inside, his heart was still. Silent.
> It's real.
He was alive again.
He looked down at his thin, calloused fingers. Mortal. Fragile. His cultivation was gone—not even at the first stage of Qi Gathering.
But his memories?
Sharper than ever. Burned into his soul like celestial scripture.
He remembered everything.
Qing Mei's sword sliding into his chest.
The calm in her eyes as she betrayed him.
The moment his heart stopped.
Su Chen's lips curled into a cold smile.
> They killed me at my peak.
This time, I'll crush them from the bottom up.
> [System Notification]
[Level: Mortal – No Cultivation Detected]
[Memory Lock Activated: All Knowledge Retained]
[Skill Replication Unlocked (Tier 0) – Replicate 1 skill per realm from observed targets.]
His gaze narrowed as glowing text hovered in his vision, translucent and cold.
> [Timeline Anchor Set: Mortal Realm – Age 16 – Pre-Cultivation]
[Future resets will return you to this point until anchor is changed.]
A grin tugged at his lips.
> "So I can fail. Learn. Die. And reset."
What was heaven, before a man who could reset death itself?
He stood slowly. His legs trembled with the effort. His body was pitiful—a pale echo of his former divinity—but his spine straightened with purpose.
The shrine was as he remembered: abandoned, forgotten. It once honored a minor rain spirit. In his first life, he had come here seeking hope—only to be mocked by fate.
That memory struck like thunder.
Lu Shan.
A name like venom.
> Tomorrow morning, he recalled, disciples from the Crimson Serpent Sect will arrive to collect orphans.
Lu Shan would be there. Arrogant. Cruel. Ambitious.
In Su Chen's past life, Lu Shan had crippled him within three days of entering the sect.
But this time?
This time, Su Chen remembered everything.
> [New Objective: Survive Entry into Crimson Serpent Sect]
[Bonus Reward: Defeat Lu Shan – Unlock Extra Skill Copy Slot]
His smile deepened.
So the system responded to risk. To dominance.
This wasn't just rebirth. It was warcraft
That evening, beneath the stars behind the shrine, Su Chen trained.
Barefoot. Breathing hard. Muscles straining.
His fists cut through the air with slow precision—movements etched in muscle memory long since transcended.
Void Walking Fist.
A mortal-level martial art—one he created for disciples in the lower realms.
Now, it was his only weapon.
Step. Shift. Strike. Spiral.
His body stumbled. He coughed blood. Still, he rose again.
> Even if I break this body, I can reset.
His eyes gleamed with determination.
> This time, I will control the board. One piece at a time.
Dawn.
The sun painted the sky in blood-red hues as a beast carriage thundered down the hill into the village.
Two-headed ox. Crimson banners.
At its helm sat a golden-haired youth in red robes, his smile sharp as a blade.
Lu Shan.
Arrogant. Smirking. Just as Su Chen remembered.
Behind him, two armored servants dragged an iron cage for the orphans. The villagers bowed in silence, their fear palpable.
All except one.
From the shrine hill, Su Chen descended. Slowly. Calmly.
Hands behind his back.
Eyes locked on Lu Shan's.
And he smiled.
> Round one begins.