The moment the silver-eyed figure appeared, the rain stopped touching the ground.
Every drop froze in the air.
Not completely.
Just enough to show that something unnatural had entered the mortal world.
Zhao Ren's knee cracked against the asphalt as the pressure forced him down harder. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, his body trembling violently as spiritual energy inside him became unstable.
"…What… is this…"
His voice barely came out.
Lin Yanyan remained standing, but only barely. Her breathing had lost its rhythm, shoulders tense as invisible pressure wrapped around her from every direction.
It felt like the world itself was rejecting their existence.
But Su Chen—
Did not kneel.
The silver-eyed figure noticed immediately.
"…Interesting."
The voice was neither male nor female.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Like something that had stopped viewing humans as equal lifeforms long ago.
The old man standing nearby looked grim for the first time since arriving.
"You came personally."
The silver-eyed figure's gaze shifted toward him.
"You interfered."
"Yes."
"You know the consequence."
The old man smiled faintly despite the pressure crushing the street around them.
"At my age, consequences stop mattering."
The figure raised one hand slowly.
Space distorted instantly around the old man's body.
Not wind.
Not energy.
Space itself.
Zhao Ren's pupils shrank.
"…Void manipulation…"
That wasn't mortal cultivation anymore.
That was something beyond it.
The old man moved immediately, spiritual energy erupting around him as he stepped backward, but the distortion still tore through his shoulder. Blood exploded into the rain-filled air as half his sleeve vanished instantly.
Lin Yanyan's eyes sharpened.
That attack had no visible motion.
No trajectory.
No warning.
It simply erased.
The silver-eyed figure looked back at Su Chen.
"You should not exist."
Su Chen's expression remained calm.
"People keep saying that."
"You inherited forbidden blood."
"And?"
A silence followed.
Then the pressure increased again.
The street beneath Su Chen cracked violently, asphalt sinking under invisible force.
Zhao Ren coughed blood harder. "Boss… this thing isn't human…"
"No," the old man said darkly.
"It's a Watcher."
The word echoed strangely.
Like even saying it carried weight.
Lin Yanyan looked toward the old man immediately.
"…Watcher?"
"A being sent from the upper realms to maintain balance."
The old man's breathing had become uneven now, blood continuing to drip from his destroyed shoulder.
"They erase variables that threaten the seal."
The silver-eyed figure spoke again.
"Su bloodline descendants were marked for extinction."
Its eyes locked onto Su Chen.
"You survived."
Su Chen finally took a step forward.
The pressure around him twisted unnaturally as faint golden lines appeared briefly beneath his skin.
Ancient.
Wild.
Alive.
The Watcher's silver eyes narrowed slightly for the first time.
"…The Primordial Body is awakening faster than predicted."
The old man's expression changed instantly.
"…Already?"
Su Chen ignored them both.
"What seal?"
The Watcher remained silent.
The old man answered instead.
"The mortal world is a prison."
Zhao Ren's breathing stopped for a second.
Lin Yanyan's gaze darkened sharply.
The old man continued.
"After the ancient war, the upper realms sealed this world to prevent lower cultivators from ascending."
A pause.
"They feared another Primordial Body."
The rain suspended in the air suddenly exploded outward as the Watcher moved.
No warning.
No buildup.
One moment it stood still—
The next it appeared directly in front of Su Chen.
A hand reached toward his throat.
Fast enough that Zhao Ren couldn't even process movement.
But Su Chen moved too.
Their hands collided.
The street beneath them detonated instantly.
BOOM.
Concrete shattered across the road as a violent shockwave erupted outward, smashing nearby car windows and bending metal like paper.
Lin Yanyan shielded her face instinctively as wind tore through the street.
Zhao Ren stared in disbelief.
"…He blocked it…"
The Watcher's silver eyes finally shifted fully.
Onto Su Chen alone.
Not curiosity anymore.
Assessment.
Then—
A faint crack appeared on the Watcher's sleeve.
Silence fell instantly.
Even the old man's expression froze.
Because something impossible had happened.
Su Chen had damaged it.
The Watcher slowly looked down at the torn fabric.
Then back at Su Chen.
For the first time—
Its emotionless voice changed slightly.
"…Dangerous."
Su Chen's eyes remained cold.
"You talk too much."
The golden lines beneath his skin spread further this time, faintly illuminating his arms and neck like ancient runes awakening from deep sleep.
The pressure around him changed.
Not heavier.
Older.
Like something buried in history had briefly opened its eyes.
The old man's face paled.
"…No…"
Lin Yanyan looked at Su Chen carefully now.
Something about him felt different.
Not stronger.
Less human.
The Watcher stepped back once.
A single step.
Yet the movement itself caused space behind it to distort violently.
"This world cannot sustain your existence."
Su Chen walked forward.
Neither fast nor aggressive.
But every step caused the broken street beneath him to crack further.
"Then maybe the world should adapt."
The Watcher's silver eyes flickered coldly.
"Killing you now would be safest."
"You can try."
Silence.
Then—
The Watcher raised its hand again.
This time the sky itself reacted.
Dark clouds twisted violently as silver light gathered above the city, forming an enormous circular formation hidden within the storm.
The old man's face lost all color.
"…Heavens…"
Zhao Ren looked upward in horror.
"What is that?!"
The old man's voice trembled slightly.
"Law suppression…"
Lin Yanyan's instincts screamed danger instantly.
The entire city suddenly felt tiny beneath that formation.
Like ants standing beneath the eye of a god.
The Watcher spoke calmly.
"Forbidden bloodlines must be erased before ascension becomes possible."
The silver formation above began descending slowly.
Not quickly.
Because it didn't need to.
Its presence alone was enough to crush the air.
Buildings across the street began cracking from pressure alone.
Car alarms exploded endlessly.
People in nearby blocks collapsed unconscious without understanding why.
And at the center of it—
Su Chen stood still.
Looking upward calmly.
The golden lines beneath his skin spread across his chest now, glowing brighter with every second.
Then—
A voice echoed inside his mind.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Awake.
Primordial synchronization beginning.
Su Chen's pupils contracted slightly.
The old man noticed instantly.
His face changed from fear…
To disbelief.
"…Impossible."
The Watcher sensed it too.
For the first time—
Its voice lost absolute calm.
"…Why is the body awakening this early?"
Su Chen slowly lowered his gaze from the sky.
Then looked directly at the Watcher.
And smiled faintly.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
But dangerously.
Because deep inside his body—
Something ancient had finally started waking up.