Su Yu

Skywind City, Su Family.

Where is this? Wasn't I in my dorm pulling an all-nighter to finish my thesis?

A handsome youth sat up abruptly from the bed, his sword-like brows furrowed and his face slightly pale. He clutched his head with both hands, feeling as if someone had hammered his skull with an iron mallet.

His vision blurred, and countless unfamiliar memory fragments flooded into his mind like a tidal wave.

Nine Heavens Continent, where the martial path reigns supreme. The strong can command the heavens and earth, while the weak live like ants.

The path of cultivation is divided into eight great realms: Qi Refining Realm, Spirit Condensation Realm, Essence Transformation Realm, Sea Breaking Realm, Heaven Piercing Realm, Nirvana Realm, Dominator Realm, and Immortal Realm. Each realm is further subdivided into nine layers.

His current identity is Su Yu, a disciple of the Su family in Skywind City, fifteen years of age. His father, Su Tianxing, was once a genius of the Su family but mysteriously disappeared five years ago.

The original owner began cultivating at age ten and reached the Qi Refining Third Layer in just half a year, earning him the reputation of being the Su family's next-generation genius.

But strangely, for the five years that followed, no matter how hard he tried, his cultivation remained stagnant, and he became the laughingstock of the clan.

I actually transmigrated...

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of Su Yu's mouth, his eyes filled with a sense of bewilderment.

In his past life, he was just an ordinary college student who did nothing but attend classes and hole up in his dorm reading web novels, occasionally daydreaming about achieving financial freedom by thirty.

Who could have imagined that an accident would throw him into this dog-eat-dog world of martial arts?

In this Nine Heavens Continent where martial power is everything, survival itself is a luxury without strength.

The fantasies of seeking vengeance and roaming the world with a sword, once so appealing, now sent a chill down his spine when faced with the cold reality.

Retiring at thirty... Su Yu whispered to himself with self-mockery.

As he was now, if he couldn't solve the mystery of his stagnant cultivation, he didn't even know if he would live to see thirty.

Outside the window, the moonlight cast mottled tree shadows onto the wall, swaying like ghosts.

Su Yu looked up at the moon of this strange world, suddenly feeling a sense of longing for the ordinary life of his past.

Taking a deep breath, Su Yu sat cross-legged on the bed and, following the original owner's memories, attempted to circulate the family's legacy technique, the Qi Nurturing Technique.

Half an hour later, Su Yu opened his eyes, a wry smile appearing on his face.

"As expected..."

Just as in his memories, after breaking through to the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm, no matter how he cultivated, the spiritual energy within his body would inexplicably diminish, as if something were constantly absorbing the energy from within him.

"No, I have to try again."

Su Yu gritted his teeth and muttered.

This was the first major hurdle he had encountered since stepping into the world of martial arts, and he did not want to give up so easily.

Half an hour later, the spiritual energy he had cultivated was still slowly dissipating.

"Again!"

An hour later, the result remained the same.

"I refuse to believe this! One last try."

Su Yu was extremely unwilling to give up. He had completely locked horns with the thing inside his body that was absorbing his spiritual energy.

It was just like conducting experiments in his past life—failing time and time again, only to start over each time.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Su Yu's eyes were bloodshot, his hands trembled slightly, and his heart grew increasingly restless.

No, I must calm down.

Su Yu bit down hard on his tongue. In an instant, the sharp pain cleared his head significantly.

Could the reason be in my Sea of Consciousness?

The Sea of Consciousness was the spiritual world within one's body. Once a cultivator reached the third level of the Qi Refining Realm, their consciousness could enter it.

However, according to the memories of the original owner, every time he entered, he could not last long before being forced back to reality, leaving him no time to investigate whether the cause of his spiritual energy loss lay within.

Su Yu took a deep breath and then attempted to sink his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness.

A moment later, his conscious spiritual form appeared amidst a thick fog.

The surroundings were terrifyingly silent. Su Yu walked slowly through the mist, but fortunately, he did not find himself transported back to reality after only a few seconds, as the memories had suggested.

He did not know how long he had been walking when his footsteps suddenly came to a halt—

"Clang!"

A clear, metallic ringing echoed through the void, as if something dormant had been startled awake.

He looked down to see an ancient, simple longsword floating within his Soul World.

The blade was covered in spiderweb-like cracks and radiated a heart-stopping pressure; at this very moment, it was greedily devouring the spiritual energy within his body.

No wonder I could never break through...

Su Yu furrowed his brows tightly.

Just as he attempted to touch the ancient sword, it suddenly emitted a piercing hum. Two of the deepest, intersecting cracks on the spine of the blade abruptly tore open, transforming into a vortex resembling a black hole.

A terrifying suction force tore at Su Yu's spirit body, twisting and deforming it as if his soul essence were being pierced by a thousand threads.

Am I dying again...

The thought flashed through his mind the moment his consciousness began to dissipate.

Suddenly, Su Yu's spirit body erupted with a blinding light.

Hum--!

The light swept across the sword's blade, and the clawing, jagged cracks suddenly froze in place.

The spiritual energy that had been swallowed began to surge backward, creating massive, raging waves within his meridians.

Seizing this opportunity, Su Yu returned his consciousness to reality and immediately began circulating his Qi Nurturing Technique with all his might.

Unbound, the spiritual energy rushed through his meridians like a torrential flood, instantly bursting open four blocked meridians.

His aura climbed steadily until he finally broke through to the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm.

When everything settled, the ancient sword in his Soul World had returned to a state of calm.

As his consciousness returned to his Sea of Consciousness, Su Yu cautiously kept his distance.

Although the ancient sword appeared calm now, he clearly remembered the terrifying devouring power from moments ago.

This mysterious longsword was like a slumbering beast, ready to wake at any moment and swallow the spiritual energy he had worked so hard to cultivate.

I must find out its origin as soon as possible...

Su Yu pondered to himself before withdrawing his spiritual sense from his Sea of Consciousness.

When Su Yu opened his eyes, the faint light of dawn was already filtering in through the window.

He felt the surging spiritual energy within his body and the corners of his mouth curled upward.

Qi Refining Level 4!

Furthermore, the purity of his spiritual energy far exceeded what it had been before.

"Finally broke through..."