Chapter 495: Life 121, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

The Undying Immortal System

The moment I found myself back in the Su Clan, I opened my eyes and spoke to the empty air. “System, teleport me to a secluded location near Dragon Gate City’s Blue Wind Pavilion.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 1 credit. 33,144 credits remaining.

I didn’t head straight to the Pavilion, since walking in dressed like a ragged orphan would have drawn too much attention. Instead, I first found a nearby inn, cleaned myself up, and changed into a set of well-tailored robes.

Once I looked the part of a respectable Young Master, I climbed the long marble staircase and passed beneath the Pavilion’s ornate entrance. An attendant immediately stepped forward to greet me, but before she could, Mei appeared and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Wait for the next customer, BingQing. I’ll take care of Young Master Su personally.” Before the attendant could respond, Mei turned to me and gestured toward one of the rooms along the far wall. “Why don’t we discuss your order in private, Young Master?”

Straightening my back, I nodded imperiously and followed her without saying a word.

Once we were inside a private room and beyond the eyes and ears of the Pavilion’s guests, Mei abandoned her polite facade. She walked around the table and sat down without ceremony. A tea set rested nearby, but she ignored it completely.

“It’s nice to see you again, Supreme Elder Su.”

I gave her a small smile and settled into the chair across from her. “How long has it been, from your perspective?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Over an hour since we returned, but how long did you remain there after my death?”

“The moment you died, I suddenly found myself back here in the Pavilion, helping an old man choose a birthday gift for his granddaughter. I might have mistaken it for teleportation, except teleportation would not have stripped away my cultivation base, most of my extra blessings, and a considerable portion of my memories.”

“You lost part of your memories?”

She hesitated briefly before shaking her head. “Anything I learned through memory orbs is missing. I can remember possessing that knowledge, but not the knowledge itself. Also, my early life is… blurry. Only the past few decades remain clear. I can’t recall the details of the techniques I used as a Disciple or Master, only the versions I practiced after becoming a Sovereign.”

I nodded slowly. Losing the knowledge from memory orbs made sense. That information was stored in a person’s soul, and Mei’s soul hadn’t traveled back through time with her. But why had she lost her early memories? Was it because her mortal body couldn’t contain hundreds of years of accumulated experience?

I set that question aside for the moment and moved on to a more important topic.

“What blessings did you decide to keep?”

“Nothing flashy. Cultivation speed, perception, and shadow walking. Things that’ll be useful whether I’m a Disciple or a Sovereign.”

“And the Ultimate Rival System?”

“Gone, thankfully.” Mei leaned back, looking genuinely relieved for the first time since I entered the room. “No more missions. No more penalties. Now all I have to worry about is restoring my soul cultivation so I can block out my original blessing.”

I gave a slight smile, feeling a measure of relief myself. Mei was dangerous enough on her own. I didn’t need a System constantly trying to turn her into my enemy. Of course, this meant the Ultimate Rival System had been returned to Jon, but he was much easier to deal with.

“So,” she asked, “what now? What are your plans for this… cycle?”

I sat there for a long moment, considering my answer. “The waters of the Central Continent run too deep. Returning with my entire sect would stir up a storm we wouldn’t be able to control, but bringing everyone out slowly would create problems with internal stability. It would divide our sect in two, which would inevitably lead to infighting.”

Mei listened without interrupting, her expression thoughtful.

“I want to remain on the Nine Rivers Continent for now. A few centuries of relative peace will allow our older members to spend the rest of their lives in comfort, while the younger generations strengthen our foundations. During this time, we can accumulate essence and prepare ourselves for the future.”

My answer seemed to satisfy her, yet the tension in her shoulders remained.

“And what about me? What are your plans for me?”

“I don’t really have any,” I said. “You’re free to do whatever you wish. You can stay here and help us take over the Nine Rivers Continent, or you can go find Emperor Li. He can probably take you back to the Central Continent, if you want, and you can go back to playing the chosen one.”

Mei shuddered. “Thank you, but no. Things were manageable while Elder Li was around, but once he was gone, that place was hell. If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to spend some time traveling on my own. I want to see this world from a different perspective.”

I nodded casually. “That’s fine. If I don’t see you again, expect to be back here in about four hundred years, just before the Nine Rivers Saint’s ascension.”

Mei studied me for a moment before inclining her head. “See you in four hundred years, then.”

The Nine Rivers Continent had five Martial Sovereigns, two of whom were secretly allied with us. The Amorphous Blade Sect, meanwhile, had produced a total of eight Sovereigns. YuLong and I had lost our cultivation bases, but we still had six Sovereigns to their three.

With this advantage, conquering the Nine Rivers Continent proved almost effortless. The only question was whether the Nine Rivers Saint would step in to stop us. I was worried that the Nine Rivers Saint’s ascension might have placed him outside of the time loop.

Thankfully, as in every previous life, he remained silent. And after speaking with the Nine Rivers Sect’s elders, I was able to confirm that there were no signs of abnormal behavior. As long as we continued working to improve the Nine Rivers Continent, the Saint would not intervene.

If the Immortal Realm did somehow exist beyond the reach of my time-loop ability, it didn’t affect those who had ascended. Their souls were still pulled back, forced to inhabit the bodies they had occupied at the start of the loop.

If our conquest of the Nine Rivers Continent was simple and relatively bloodless, the events that took place within my inner world were the complete opposite.

The moment we returned to the start of the loop, most of the Emperors and Sovereigns who had invaded the Plane of Earth fell dead. Everyone who had been born before the start of the loop disappeared. In their absence, the forces vying for control of the plane were left leaderless and unstable.

The Church of Liberation benefited most from this upheaval, as they were the only faction to retain all three of their Sovereigns. With this advantage, they quickly overpowered their rivals and brought the Plane of Earth to heel.

The factions they conquered were given only two choices: swear an Oath of eternal loyalty or suffer endless torture. Later, it was discovered that, even though these Oaths had been sworn on real Oath Stones, they held no power and could be broken without consequence. However, by then, it was already too late. The Church had established an iron grip over the entire plane.

At first, I kept a close eye on things since my inner world was only Rank 6, meaning these Sovereigns could create portals to the outside world. If they did so, they would quickly discover the existence of the time loop, which would cause no end of trouble. For a moment, I even considered pulling them all out and killing myself to reset the loop and leave them stranded in an abandoned timeline.

However, I soon discovered that such drastic measures weren’t necessary.

Kan and JiuLi were able to create portals to the Nine Rivers Continent, but only because they had memories of being there. The foreign Sovereigns knew nothing about this continent, so they had no way to target it. They were able to target the Central Continent, but since we were trapped within the Nine Rivers, opening a portal was impossible.

Once this concern was resolved, I shifted my attention away from the Plane of Earth. Its inhabitants were free to build whatever kind of society they wished. I had more important matters to focus on. Before resetting, I had acquired a total of eight Dragon Veins, and I was eager to see how the energy they produced would affect my inner world.

Strangely, I discovered that each vein was producing half as many spirit stones as expected. The only outlier was the vein from Pale Mist Mountain. Its output had also decreased, but to two-thirds instead of half.

Unable to find any explanation for this, I could only turn to the System.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“System, why are all the Dragon Veins in my inner world suddenly producing so much less energy?”

Cost 800 credits.

“Purchase.”

Purchase confirmed.

There has been no change to the amount of energy produced by the Dragon Veins connected to Host’s inner world. However, each Dragon Vein now has two connection points, and the energy they produce is being split between them.

For most of the Dragon Veins, the output is distributed evenly between the two connection points. However, the Dragon Vein located beneath Pale Mist Mountain possesses a weaker connection than its counterpart within Host’s inner world, creating an asymmetrical allocation of energy.

Two connection points: one in my inner world, and one in the Central Continent.

Had the Dragon Veins become conduits, linking my world to that of the Earthly Dao?

“System, by placing Dragon Veins within my inner world, have I opened a path for beings, whether cultivators or the Earthly Dao, to affect my inner world?”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 1,000 credits. 31,345 credits remaining.

No. Dragon Veins represent a one-way flow of energy from the Sea of Primordial Chaos. Nothing can pass in the opposite direction. Any being that attempts to do so will be broken down into pure, unstructured energy.

This answer left me somewhat relieved, but not entirely.

Each Dragon Vein I took meant one more connection between my world and the world of the Earthly Dao. The Earthly Dao seemed to want me to absorb these Dragon Veins, which meant that it wanted this connection to grow stronger.

Why?

I didn’t know, but this uncertainty wasn’t enough to make me stop. These Dragon Veins represented an endless source of energy, and I couldn’t simply give them up. The Earthly Dao was clearly playing its own game, but for now, it was an ally.

The more important implication was that stealing the same Dragon Vein multiple times wouldn’t do me much good. Taking additional copies of the same vein would only divide its energy further.

The next time I made a trip to the Central Continent, I would need to target different veins.

Spending several centuries on the Nine Rivers Continent didn’t come without risk. It could easily make the members of the various clans lazy and greedy, just as it had before.

However, the Amorphous Blade Sect was filled with purpose. We were not spending our time on the Nine Rivers Continent in directionless cultivation. Everyone had been given a mission: prepare for our return to the Central Continent.

With each passing year, the youths who joined us understood less and less about what this mission truly meant. However, the sect’s leaders were still those who had lived on the Central Continent and understood the oppressive nature of the factions that ruled it. Under their guidance, the sect was able to remain focused.

To help with this, the sect did not establish its headquarters on the continent. Instead, it was built on the Tier 3 plane connected to fire, wind, and wood.

After ascending to Martial Sovereign, I created permanent portals connecting this headquarters to Chang’an, Hei’lin, the Plane of Wood, and even the Plane of Earth. A complex set of formations stabilized these portals while also ensuring that only those with sect identity jades could pass through them. This allowed the sect to recruit new members while maintaining each plane’s relative isolation.

The only inhabited plane without such a connection was the Plane of Woody Earth. This was somewhat unfair to the Bao and Ye Clans, but it was necessary to protect the plane’s karmic energy groves.

I also opened portals to the other planes from time to time, giving our sect members a chance to fight real demon beasts. My goal was only to give them practical combat experience, but the Plane of Lightning produced an unexpected benefit.

A small group of Disciples attempted to cultivate in the shadow of one of the phenomena created by a Heaven-Rank cultivation techniques. This proved far more challenging than ordinary cultivation, but when they returned to the sect, they found that their affinity for lightning had improved. Exposure to the phenomenon had allowed them to transform their latent lightning potential into a true affinity.

This gave me even more reason to seek out additional Heaven-Rank techniques.

After three centuries of relative peace, Kan and ShouLi passed away. I was sad to see them go, but I knew this was not a true farewell. Someday, I would see them again.

With their passing, the sect established a new tradition. Any elder who reached Martial Sovereign would be interred within the sect’s mausoleum, and their weapon would be placed before their coffin. Any member of the sect who proved themselves worthy would be given the opportunity to enter the mausoleum and claim one of these weapons as their own.

At first, many were excited by the thought of claiming a weapon wielded by one of the sect’s founders. However, it didn’t take long for them to realize that things weren’t so simple. Entering the mausoleum wasn’t enough. These weapons chose their wielders, and only those they deemed worthy could claim them.

Of course, the truth was simply that Kan and JiuLi had infused their weapons with large portions of their souls, making it impossible for anyone else to even lift them. This tradition was not truly meant to reward talented youths. It was a way to let me know when Kan and JiuLi—Liang and ShouLi—next reincarnated.

As usual, at four hundred thirty-seven years old, just as the new Nine Rivers Saint was preparing to ascend, I ended my life and returned to the past. I had an empowered sect, centuries of stored karmic energy, and a clear understanding of what awaited us.

It was time to see if we could withstand the full might of the Central Continent.

You have died. Calculating…

You died as a Martial Sovereign 1 – 100 credits awarded.

You died as a Demon Emperor Peak – 10 credits awarded.

Total Credits: 31,455

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Rank 6 Small World – 100,349/1,000,000 km3 (Earth, Wood, Fire, Dark, Light, Wind)

Resistances

Mental Effects (Cultivation Techniques) – 200 credits

Mental Library

Capacity – Rank 8

Journal (with Mental Input) – Rank 8

Perfect Transcription – Rank 8

Touch Reading – Rank 8

Scribe – Rank 8

Skills

Infuse Intent (Written) – Rank 4

Mastery of Cold Mountain Fire, Expanding Realms Fire (seed)

Mastery of Immutable Mountain Fire, Eternal Grove Fire (spirit fire)

Memory Implantation — Rank 1

Soul Formation Concealment – Rank 7

Synthetic Herbal Bonds – Rank 9

Fire Seed Appraisal – Profound

Pill, Formation, Herb, Talisman, Demon Beast, Refined Item, Illusion, and Gu Appraisal – Rank 5 (Comprehensive, Detailed)

Medicinal Tea Appraisal – Mortal

Technique Appraisal – Rank 6 (Earth)

Languages: Western Han, Southern Yue, Northern Qing, Urgamalic

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End of Volume 7.