Su Chen had just harvested six hundred Reverse Fate Points in one go. He figured that if he hadn't died so early, his evaluation in that life might have climbed even higher—easily earning a cyan-grade seven or eight stars.

  "Spirit Communion Art is off the table for good!"

  He made up his mind: he would never touch that cursed technique again.

  Without Spirit Communion Art, Su Chen turned his attention to the Imperial Apex Shock-the-World Technique left behind by Li Shenhua.

  In his previous life, after the entire Elder Courtyard was wiped out in battle, Su Chen had erased every trace of the scripture's existence and hidden it in a place only he knew. As long as he obtained the token from the King's Secret Realm, he could enter the Li Clan's Scripture Pavilion and claim the Imperial Apex Shock-the-World Technique for himself.

  Comprehension. It had to be maxed. He directly allocated five hundred points to Comprehension. Of the remaining ninety Reverse Fate Points, he put them all into Talent. The final ten points went to Background.

  This life, he was going all in on the Imperial Apex Shock-the-World Technique. The advantages a top-tier cultivation method provided were simply too great—comparable to having an extra cheat.

  Without hesitation, Su Chen activated the next life.

  …

  Great Yan Dynasty, Xia Family.

  The Xia family was merely a minor clan within the Great Yan Dynasty. Its strongest member was only at the Spirit Sea Realm. The clan possessed a treasured daughter named Xia Yingyue. Not only was she exceptionally talented, but she was also stunningly beautiful. A single glance or smile from her could stir the blood of every young man in Green River City.

  Yet Xia Yingyue had a fiancé named Mu Chen.

  The Mu and Xia families had been close for generations. The two patriarchs were sworn brothers, and they had arranged a childhood betrothal between their son and daughter.

  Unfortunately, eighteen years earlier, a beast tide had swept through and annihilated the Mu family. Only a blind old servant escaped, carrying an infant to the Xia residence. That infant was Mu Chen. And in this life, he was Su Chen.

  Su Chen shook his head as the surroundings gradually sharpened into focus. He was now eighteen, and the memories of his past life had just awakened.

  "I actually became a live-in son-in-law?"

  Flashes of the past eighteen years surfaced in his mind. He gave a wry smile. The Xia family had shown remarkable loyalty. Even after the Mu clan's destruction, they honored their promise and still intended to marry Xia Yingyue to him.

  Xia Yingyue herself never pulled any clichéd annulment drama. She had grown up alongside him as childhood sweethearts and had always protected him within the Xia household, quietly safeguarding his dignity with great care.

  Unfortunately…Su Chen pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling deeply helpless.

  The Xia family had treated him well, yet the original Mu Chen had behaved atrociously. He viewed the Xia family as enemies, convinced they had murdered the blind old servant and stolen the treasures meant for him. Time and again, he squandered their resources, frequented brothels, and turned Xia Yingyue into a laughingstock among the daughters of nobility.

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  Remembering the despicable things his former self had done, Su Chen almost wanted to slit his own throat and restart the next life on the spot. But the investment in this life was far too heavy.

  "Fortunately, this life is still within the Eastern Wasteland."

  He abandoned the idea of immediate suicide. The Great Yan Dynasty was one of the ten imperial dynasties under the Profound Origin Sacred Land's rule, not far from the Heavenly Origin Dynasty. A few teleportation arrays would get him there. The problem was that he couldn't afford those arrays right now. He needed money.

  That realization left Su Chen deeply troubled.

  Outside the room, an angry voice rang out.

  "Father, why don't we just kill this ungrateful wretch outright? He eats our food, uses our resources, and still drags the Xia family's reputation through the mud—drags my sister's reputation through the mud! You're really going to make her marry this worthless thing?"

  "Father, let me go in and finish him with one stroke. I swear I'll make it quick and painless out of respect for the bond between our families."

  "Father, I know you can't bear to let the last bloodline of the Mu family die out, but is this idiot really worth protecting?"

  Su Chen's mouth twitched. That explosive temper could only belong to his little brother-in-law. Xia Yingyue's younger brother, Xia Chenfeng. Xia Chenfeng had wanted to kill him for quite some time.

  "Silence! Mu Chen is your brother of a different surname. If you speak such nonsense again, don't blame me for punishing you according to family rules!"

  A middle-aged man's deep rebuke cut through the air.

  Xia Chenfeng was clearly dissatisfied. With a furious kick, he slammed Su Chen's door open and sneered in a sarcastic tone.

  "Young Master Mu is truly impressive. Beaten half to death by some trash from the Fang family. If I were you, I might never bother waking up again."

  Anger flashed across the middle-aged man's face.

  "Chenfeng! You will not speak to Chen'er that way!"

  Xia Chenfeng's face twisted with grievance. Unable to contain himself any longer, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

  The middle-aged man asked with concern, "Nephew Mu Chen, are you feeling any better? If there's still any discomfort, Uncle Xia will fetch Master Yuan right away."

  Master Yuan was Green River City's foremost alchemist, and his services came at a steep price.

  The worry on the middle-aged man's face was genuine.

  Su Chen stood up, stretched his limbs, and smiled. "Thank you for your concern, Uncle Xia. I'm already feeling much better."

  Only after confirming that Su Chen's vitality was indeed stable did the man finally relax. "Don't take Chenfeng's words to heart earlier. I'll make sure to discipline him properly when I get back."

  Looking at the guilt-ridden man, Su Chen shook his head, his expression sincere.

  "Uncle Xia, please don't punish Chenfeng. He wasn't wrong. I've been immature these past years and made far too many mistakes. I've let you, Yingyue, and Chenfeng down.

  "Rest assured, Uncle. From now on, I will cultivate diligently and restore the Mu family's honor."

  The middle-aged man, whose temples were already touched with white, froze as though struck by lightning. His entire body trembled with emotion. All he could manage was a repeated, "Good… good… good…"

  After he left Su Chen's room, he suddenly burst into loud laughter, tears streaming down his face.

  "Big Brother Mu, did you see that? Chen'er has finally grown up! I knew it—how could your son possibly remain a worthless playboy forever?"

  For eighteen years, he had watched his sworn brother's last bloodline, the sole remnant of the Mu family, grow to harbor resentment toward the Xia family and sink deeper into debauchery. How could he not have known something was terribly wrong?

  Yet he had always believed this was not the true nature of the Mu bloodline. He had clung to the hope that one day Su Chen would awaken. That day had finally arrived.

  Once the Xia father and son had left, Su Chen began combing through the memories in his mind. The Xia family's cultivation methods were mediocre at best—not even Spirit-grade. Any technique he carried in his mind was at least Spirit-grade or higher.

  "Spirit Communion Art is no longer an option. I'll start with a solid Spirit-grade technique to bridge the gap."

  Very quickly, a top-tier Spirit-grade method surfaced in his consciousness: the Heavenly Yang Thunder Control True Art. Created by a half-king powerhouse, it boasted immense power. Among Spirit-grade techniques, it ranked at the absolute peak in both destructive force and speed.

  With five hundred points of Comprehension backing him, Su Chen mastered the Heavenly Yang Thunder Control True Art in less than half a day. Wisps of milky-white lightning coiled like dragons across every inch of his skin. His cultivation broke directly from the ninth layer of Spirit Awakening into the first layer of Spirit Gathering.

  Such progress was downright terrifying. For Su Chen, however, it was merely retracing familiar steps he had walked many times before.