Back in his room, Su Chen placed the dark metal fragment on the table and left it there. No rush. No excitement. Whatever it was, it had waited long enough—it could wait a little longer.
Instead, he turned inward.
Not to cultivate.
To search.
Ever since he arrived in this body, he had only skimmed through the original owner's memories—surface-level fragments, emotions, habits.
Useless young master.
Weak.
Disgraced.
That was the image.
But something about it never felt complete.
Too simple.
Too clean.
Too… convenient.
Su Chen closed his eyes.
This time, he didn't let the memories flow randomly.
He forced them open.
Layer by layer.
Deeper.
Pain hit first.
Not physical.
Mental.
Like breaking through something sealed.
Fragments surged up—arguments, failures, ridicule from elders, whispers from servants.
"Useless."
"Hopeless."
"Wasted bloodline."
All of it familiar.
All of it shallow.
"Not enough," Su Chen muttered.
He pushed further.
The pressure increased.
His mind trembled slightly—not from weakness, but from resistance.
Something inside these memories didn't want to be seen.
That alone confirmed it.
There was more.
"Open."
The moment he forced through—
Everything changed.
Darkness.
Silence.
Then—
A room.
Not this one.
Hidden.
Underground.
Cold.
A different Su Chen stood there.
Alone.
Not weak.
Not broken.
Just… quiet.
The memory unfolded.
The original Su Chen sat at a table, surrounded by papers, maps, names.
Not cultivation manuals.
Information.
People.
Movements.
Connections.
His eyes were calm.
Focused.
Not the eyes of someone who had given up.
The eyes of someone… waiting.
"…So that's how it was," the present Su Chen murmured.
The memory continued.
Voices echoed.
Men kneeling.
Reporting.
"Leader."
"We've secured the eastern route."
"The information network is stable."
"No one suspects the Su family is behind this."
Leader.
The current Su Chen's eyes opened slightly.
Then narrowed.
"An organization…"
Not a small one either.
From the fragments, it was clear
It had reach.
Influence.
Control over information channels even cultivation families didn't fully see.
And yet
No one in the Su family knew.
The memory shifted again.
The original Su Chen stood alone once more.
His hand pressed against his chest.
Breathing uneven.
"I still can't feel it…"
His voice—low, frustrated, but controlled.
"Why…?"
He sat down again.
Opened a cultivation manual.
Tried to circulate energy.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Nothing.
The energy dispersed.
His meridians rejected it.
His body didn't respond.
Not because he was useless.
But because—
It didn't work.
"…Wrong method," the present Su Chen said quietly.
The Primordial Body wasn't something that could follow normal cultivation.
It rejected structure.
Rejected forced pathways.
And the original Su Chen…
Had been trying to force it anyway.
The memory trembled.
Then deepened further.
A voice.
Older.
Unknown.
"You're not weak."
The original Su Chen looked up.
But the figure wasn't clear.
Blurred.
Hidden.
"Your body is… incomplete for this world's methods."
The voice continued.
"But if you find the right path…"
A pause.
Then—
"You won't need anyone."
The memory cut.
Su Chen opened his eyes fully.
Silence filled the room.
"So you knew," he said quietly.
"Just not how."
He leaned back slightly.
Thinking.
The original Su Chen wasn't useless.
He was blocked.
Trapped.
Born with something that didn't he didn't understand—
And given no guidance to understand it.
So he adapted.
Not through cultivation.
Through control.
Through information.
Through building something in the shadows.
An organization.
Su Chen's fingers tapped lightly against the table.
"Interesting."
This changed things.
A lot.
Because now—
He didn't just have power.
He had resources.
Already built.
Already functioning.
Hidden.
All he needed…
Was access.
He closed his eyes again briefly.
Focused.
Tracing the memory threads.
Looking for—
A link.
A command.
A key.
Then—
He found it.
A location.
A phrase.
A signal.
Su Chen stood up slowly.
A faint smile appeared.
"So you prepared this much…"
A pause.
Then—
"And died without using it."
His gaze shifted toward the table.
Toward the dark metal fragment.
"…Unfortunate."
He picked it up again.
This time—
The reaction was stronger.
A pulse.
Clear.
Recognizable.
Not just from the object.
From him.
The Primordial Body resonated with it.
Not violently.
But knowingly.
"Two things hidden…"
He looked at the fragment.
Then toward the distance.
"One in the body."
"One in the world."
He closed his hand around the object.
"Let's see which one breaks first."
Outside—
The wind shifted slightly.
Far away—
In a place buried beneath the city—
A man suddenly looked up.
His eyes narrowed.
"…That signal…"
Something had activated.
Something that had been silent for a long time.
Back in the room—
Su Chen walked toward the door.
Calm.
Steady.
Because now—
This wasn't just about cultivation anymore.
It was about inheritance.
Not from his past life—
But from the one who came before him.
The "useless" young master…
Who had been building something the entire time.
And now—
It belonged to him.