Chapter 1: Fang Che

The sunlight of a summer's morning was filtered through the canopy of a tree, casting a swaying kaleidoscope of shadows onto the headboard.

The otherwise invisible dust particles in the air were illuminated by the light, forming a volley of arrows that landed upon Fang Che's face.

Before long, he was woken up by the heat on his skin, and he opened his eyes, only to instantly close them again.

Even through his eyelids, his eyes were still able to perceive the light shining down upon him. He exhaled in contentment.

I really am alive.

The closing and opening of his eyes had been all that separated his previous life from this one. Closing his eyes had plunged his soul into a bottomless abyss of darkness, while opening them had filled him with the immense emotional overflow of a second lease on life.

The hot sensation of sunlight on his skin was the feeling of being alive.

***

"Silence is golden"

With a few hammer blows, a plaque was nailed to the wall opposite the desk.

Fang Che took a few steps back, then looked up at the plaque before nodding in approval at his own handiwork. Behind the desk was another plaque that read: "Be discreet in word and deed."

On the desk stood a wooden frame holding another adage: "Speak only when necessary."

Inside the guest hall, yet another one: "He who speaks much errs much"

Fang Che nodded to himself as he declared in a serious manner, "From now on, I must constantly remember to carry myself with a serious attitude and exercise discreteness in both word and deed!"

He then fell silent. A puzzled look appeared on his face as he asked himself, "Why am I thinking like this? Who was I in my past life?"

Fang Che began knocking on his own forehead, as if he were trying to perform a hardware reset on himself. It had already been three days since he was resurrected into this body.

Over these three days, he had organized his memories and integrated his soul with this new body. He knew that he had been resurrected, he also knew that he had taken over this body. He knew that he had experienced many things in the past, and he also knew that the present day was six hundred years after his time period.

He remembered all of his experiences from his past life, but somehow, he had forgotten who he was!

This was very confounding to him, but he felt no internal conflict about the fact that he had been resurrected as someone else. In fact, he had almost instantly accepted this new reality.

What did he have to complain about getting a second chance at life? He squinted at the sunlight streaming into the room as a dazed look appeared on his face, and he sighed, "I wonder how the guys and the girls are doing."

A perplexed look then resurfaced in his eyes.

The guys? The girls? Who are they?

***

The name of this body was Fang Che, and it belonged to a very handsome and muscular young man of moderate body fat percentage.

He stood at a ramrod straight 178 centimeters tall and weighed 78 kilograms.[1]

His eyebrows were slightly on the bushy side, with tips curved slightly upward. His lips were a little thick, and his eyes were slightly sunken. He had a pair of double eyelids of the infold variety, so they weren't very pronounced, only revealing themselves whenever he smiled.

He had a cold and piercing gaze, and looking at his own reflection, Fang Che couldn't help but conduct some psychoanalysis on himself, deeming the previous occupant of his body to have been a radical man prone to extremes.

Thankfully, I'm not like that, but this cold and unapproachable appearance does match my current reclusive and quiet persona quite well.

Fang Che's brows furrowed slightly at the sight of the white clothes that he was wearing. White was not his color, and he decided that a wardrobe change was in order. He was seventeen years of age, a ninth-rank Warrior Disciple with a healthy body and outstanding aptitude.

The consort kin of the Fang Clan took after the surname of the maternal side, and that was rather puzzling to Fang Che. Fang Che had perished while attempting a breakthrough to reach the Warrior Tier. Upon making the breakthrough, he would've been eligible to take part in the warrior academy examinations, the first important trial in a warrior's life.

It was common knowledge that the best way for a Warrior Disciple to make a breakthrough was to fight repeatedly against someone with superior cultivation, honing their own cultivation in the process. Generally speaking, this was a foolproof method.

After the breakthrough, one would continue to fight in order to consolidate their cultivation and ensure smooth progression. The process was just as simple as it sounded, and there was next to no chance of death involved.

The eldest son of the clan leader, who was also Fang Che's older cousin, had come back from the warrior academy specifically to serve as Fang Che's sparring partner on that occasion, and it was supposed to be a very safe and smooth process.

The cousin in question, Fang Qingyun, was already a high-rank Warrior Master, and he was very familiar with the Warrior Disciple and Warrior tiers, making him almost overqualified to guide Fang Che through his breakthrough.

However, an unforeseen mishap took place.

Fang Qingyun had slammed a palm into Fang Che's dantian, using his own energy to stimulate the energy within when... Fang Che fell dead on the spot.

Fang Qingyun was completely shellshocked.

I killed my own cousin? What the hell have I done?!

The Fang Clan used all of its connections and resources to gather all of the best doctors in the entire city in a desperate attempt to resuscitate Fang Che, and they succeeded... or so they thought.

While Fang Che's life was indeed "saved," Fang Qingyun's father tied the latter up like a hog and hung him upside-down before administering a vicious beating. Fang Che heard that the aftermath had been quite a grisly sight to behold.

***

Using his pitiful spirit power, Fang Che meticulously examined his own meridians, and he finally discovered something amiss in his dantian.

Even though he wasn't able to inspect his own internal condition very clearly, his past experience told him that a Five Spirit Parasite of the Church of the Self-Righteous seemed to have been planted into his body.

A Five Spirit Parasite was said to be a parasitic insect that targeted the metal-, wood-, water-, fire-, and Earth-attribute spirit power cultivated in one's body.

It was a harmful parasite, but also presented an opportunity. If one were to survive the parasite's spirit power-devouring, they would end up gaining certain favorable traits, and the parasite would also assist the host in their cultivation.

To put it in simple terms, if it doesn't kill you, then it makes you stronger.

It was a high-risk, high-reward trial of sorts, one commonly employed by the Church of the Self-Righteous. Once a Five Spirit Parasite entered one's body, it was impossible to remove, regardless of the host's cultivation base!

Where could this Five Spirit Parasite have come from?

Fang Che began to search through his body's memories, and he recalled that prior to attempting his breakthrough, a good friend of his former self had given him a vial of premium Blood Qi Pills, all of which he had devoured in order to maximize his chances of a successful breakthrough.

Aside from that, Fang Che couldn't recall anything else suspicious, so that was most likely when the Five Spirit Parasite had entered his body.

"With friends like these, who needs enemies!"

***

Several thousand kilometers away, a figure in white was approaching.

It seems like all three hundred Five Spirit Parasites perished with the exception of a single one, but that one is thriving in its host body! Which one is it again? ...Oh, the one in Green Wave City? I didn't think this casual little setup would actually yield dividends!

An excited smile appeared on his face as he picked up the pace.

It looks like not only will I be able to complete my mission, I'll also be able to take on a disciple!

***

Fang Che had compiled a long list of questions. Unfortunately, the former occupant of this body simply knew far too little for him to find answers to any of his questions in his memories.

Fang Che heaved a faint sigh as he looked up at the "Be discreet in both word and deed" plaque that he had just hung up. How much could a seventeen-year-old boy possibly know?

However, now that he had taken over this body, he was going to get to the bottom of things and see just how deep this conspiracy ran.

He peered into the bright sunlight filtering in through the window through narrowed eyes, with a calm look on his face. The pervasive sunlight reminded him of the spear that had taken his past life.

Both were just as unavoidable.

***

Green Wave City was situated in the eastern region of the continent, and 2,500 kilometers south of the city was the boundless Cloud Top Mountain Range.

He recalled having been within several thousand kilometers of this area during his past life.

This was where I hunted down Thousand Poison Scourge, and I struck him down on the Hundred Miasma Peak several hundred kilometers away from Green Wave City.

Apparently, the Hundred Miasma Peak had been home to Thousand Poison Scourge's cave abode, but Fang Che hadn't even bothered to go in at the time, seeing as a lowly cultivator of Thousand Poison Scourge's caliber most likely had no possessions worthy of his interest.

Back in his past life, this area had belonged to the Great Yong Empire, but according to Fang Che's memories, the Great Yong Empire was no more, having been replaced by the Great Zhao Empire.

***

The sound of door-knocking rang out.

"Are you feeling better now, Brother Fang?"

A young man made his way into the room with a warm smile on his face, masking the subtle look of wariness in his eyes. He was decently handsome, but there was a sinister disposition about him that struck Fang Che with a sense of distaste.

"I am," Fang Che replied, not letting his internal repulsion show.

The young man's name was Su Yue, and he was the second-eldest son of the leader of the Green Wave City’s Su Clan. He was the one who had given Fang Che the spiked Blood Qi Pills. This was Fang Che's closest friend, someone he had seen as a brother... and also the one who had killed him.

Earlier, Fang Che had been speculating to himself that perhaps Su Yue wasn’t actually the perpetrator, but all doubts were erased as soon as the two met.

"I have to say, that cousin of yours is a really nasty piece of work! He didn't treat you like family at all!"

Su Yue walked into the room and sat down across from Fang Che in a very casual manner, all the while internally marveling over the fact that Fang Che had managed to suppress even a Five Spirit Parasite.

It was clear from how casually he was sitting that he was very close with the original Fang Che.

A cold look appeared on Fang Che's face as he harrumphed, "He certainly didn't hold back."

"But that's only to be expected, considering you're only a maternal grandson and you’re not from the main line of the clan," Su Yue said. "We already anticipated that he would target you, did we not?"

Fang Che looked back at Su Yue with a dark expression as he remarked in a calm manner, "Indeed, but I didn't think there would be a scoundrel seeking to take my life!"

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

And that scoundrel is sitting right in front of me! How do I put an end to him?

Vendettas of life and death had to be settled as quickly and as viciously as possible, that was a fact of life.

"Don't worry, I'll help you get your revenge," Su Yue promised in an enthusiastic manner.

Fang Che put on a trusting smile as he said, "I'll never forget what you've done for me for as long as I live, Brother Su. I will be sure to repay you in full in the future."

"There's no need for such formalities between brothers like us," Su Yue chuckled, but internally, he was feeling a little unsettled.

Why did that sound more like a threat than an expression of gratitude?

He quickly cast the thought out of his mind, and after ensuring that there was no one else around, he lowered his voice as he asked, "Fang Che, do you still remember the Earth-tier cultivation art that I told you about? The one that is a perfect match for your physical constitution?"

Fang Che was internally bewildered at why Su Yue felt it necessary to be so secretive about a measly Earth-tier cultivation art, but he then quickly reminded himself that he was but a mere Warrior Disciple in this life. He played along, feigning an expression of keen interest.

"I've already secured a One Heart Tablet for you, and you can have the Earth-tier cultivation art, but on one condition: you have to find out the whereabouts of your Fang Clan's treasure map, or at least some good clues," Su Yue said. "I can also guide you into a powerful religious organization, where you'll be nurtured as a seed. You'll be set for life, Brother! Once you become a seed, you'll have access to all of the resources of the entire church! You'll rise to a level you can’t even imagine, and the Fang Clan will be completely at your mercy!"

"What treasure map?" Fang Che asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"The treasure map of the Golden Saber Lord that the Fang Clan is rumored to hide! Have you lost your memory after that incident?" Su Yue asked in an urgent manner as a hint of displeasure surfaced in his eyes.

So it's just a rumor?

In the blink of an eye, a plot took shape in Fang Che's mind, and a snide grin appeared on his face. "There is no Golden Saber Lord. You've all been fooled."

Su Yue's eyes instantly widened with incredulity.

Fang Che drew closer to him, then lowered his voice in a mysterious manner, fabricating a story on the spot. "While everyone thought I was unconscious from my injuries, I overheard my grandfather saying something about that. The map doesn't lead to the treasure of the Golden Saber Lord at all. Instead, it belongs to someone else."

"Someone else?" Su Yue's eyes widened even further.

"That's right," Fang Che confirmed in a confident manner. As he thought of the Thousand Poison Scourge that he had slain in his past life, he understood why the latter had chosen to construct his cave abode here.

Given the Thousand Poison Scourge's cultivation, he had been an invincible being within several thousand kilometers of Green Wave City, and there was no threat that he couldn't eliminate by using a bit of his poison.

Fang Che decided on the spot that this was how he was going to "repay" Su Yue.

Sure enough, Su Yue's interest was instantly piqued.

We've been fooled? The treasure map doesn't belong to the Golden Saber Lord? The leader of the Fang Clan really is a sly old fox!

With that in mind, it was no wonder that no one had been able to find any concrete information, even after so many years.

"Isn't the treasure supposed to be somewhere in the Snapped Saber Canyon? How could it not be there?" Su Yue asked.

"Nope! You've all been fooled once again!" Fang Che declared with a shake of his head.

“......”

Su Yue was growing more astonished by the second.

"So where is it then?" he asked in an urgent manner.

Fang Che feigned a look of concentration, as if he were struggling to recall what he had overheard. "I didn't quite catch the location, all I heard is that it's somewhere within five hundred kilometers of Green Wave City, and apparently, it's the inheritance of some Unmatched Sword Monarch, not some hidden treasure.

"I heard they've made a few trips to the area, but it was no use. It’s full of venomous creatures around there, so it’s really dangerous. In fact, they said something about a venomous python at the Grandmaster tier. When they stumbled upon that one, they had to retreat right away."

Su Yue was ecstatic to hear this. An inheritance was much more precious than some hidden treasure! Furthermore, it belonged to the Unmatched Sword Monarch, who had been far more powerful than the Golden Saber Lord, and even more importantly, Fang Che had essentially revealed all of the information required to track down the location !

Unmatched Sword Monarch, inheritance, within five hundred kilometers, rife with venomous creatures, including a Grandmaster Tier venomous python... With all these clues, it was as good as outright telling him where the place was!

"Is this all true?" Su Yue asked in an excited manner.

"I don't know. I overheard all of this from my grandfather, so I can't say for sure if the information is reliable or not. When I opened my eyes, he stopped talking about that," Fang Che replied in an apologetic manner. He had already made the location abundantly obvious, and if they still couldn’t find it with all these clues, they were a bunch of buffoons.

The more Su Yue thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was a reliable lead, and the more excited he became. His heart was brimming with glee as he turned to Fang Che.

This idiot probably doesn't even know just how massive a secret he's revealed to me!

With that in mind, he was eager to leave and report this information to his seniors, but Fang Che wasn't going to let him go so easily. Given his wealth of experience from his past life, he was well aware of what the combination of the Five Spirit Parasite and the One Heart Tablet entailed.

"By the way, have you really found a One Heart Tablet for me?" Fang Che asked.

"Of course!" Su Yue replied as he pulled out a metal tablet.

Fang Che grabbed it out of his hand before he had a chance to react.

Su Yue: ???

A look of recognition instantly appeared in Fang Che's eyes at the sight of the tablet. Just as he had expected, it was a Church of the Self-Righteous reception tablet, one of the lowest caliber.

Looks like my fate is intertwined with the Church of the Self-Righteous even across multiple lifetimes! Why is the church trying to take in this kid? Do they want something from him?

Having fought against the Church of the Self-Righteous his entire past life, he was well aware of just how powerful the organization was, and what made it so difficult to deal with was that no one knew who the church's members were unless they were exposed.

On the surface, they could be a warrior, a scholar, an alchemist, or any random person really....

The church had disciples all over the world, ready to cause calamity at the drop of a hat, and the continent had been embroiled in a war against them for virtually its entire history.

The church's followers were extremely devout and powerful, and it was next to impossible to uproot the entire organization. Xue Fuxiao, one of the three figureheads of the Guardians, had once lamented that unless the Church of the Self-Righteous was struck by inner turmoil, eradicating it from the outside was an entirely hopeless endeavor.

It was not just hopeless, but outright absurd. In fact, the Church of the Self-Righteous was only becoming more and more powerful. In the past, they had been forced to constantly hide from its enemies, but they had since attained sufficient power to stand toe to toe against the Guardians and maybe even have a slight edge.

If the day came when the Church of the Self-Righteous became a fully above-ground organization, then a true calamity would descend upon the world.

The Guardians had sent countless spies into the church, but to no avail, and upon exposure, those spies would be met with horrific retaliation from the Church of the Self-Righteous. Even the best Guardian spies had been unable to infiltrate the top brass of either the Church of the Self-Righteous or the One Heart Church, one of its subsidiary churches.

All of a sudden, a thought flashed through Fang Che's mind. Perhaps he could be the catalyst to the inner turmoil required to bring about the fall of the Church of the Self-Righteous!

A thoughtful look appeared on his face as he tucked the tablet away and said, "Thank you, Brother Su."

Su Yue was undoubtedly going to be reporting back to his clan about this so-called Unmatched Sword Monarch inheritance, and he would definitely be accompanying the search party that set out to track down the inheritance.

Fang Che was confident that not a single member of that search party would be able to return alive, so he had to take the tablet now. Otherwise, it would be lost with Su Yue's demise.

Su Yue was a little taken aback by the sight of Fang Che claiming the tablet with such eagerness, but it hardly mattered to him, seeing as he would have to guide Fang Che into the church upon his return anyway. Furthermore, he had to return to his clan with this all-important information as soon as possible.

"I'll be taking my leave then, Brother Fang. Recover well, I'll come visit you again in a few days."

Fang Che nodded as he replied, "In the meantime, I'll try and dig up some more information, and then we can go find this inheritance together."

"Alright, I'll be counting on you," Su Yue replied with a wide smile, but his heart was filled with derision for the fool standing before him.

You want to find the inheritance with me? What a joke! The Fang Clan has been so good to you, yet you immediately turned on them with just the tiniest bit of manipulation. A fool like you deserves to be used!

"Farewell, Brother Su."

"No need to send me off. I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with the information you gave me."

"I'm glad I was able to at least repay you somewhat for everything you've done for me," Fang Che replied with an "earnest" smile.

With that, Su Yue departed, while Fang Che watched him leave with a faint smile on his face.

1. Roughly 5'10" and 172lbs. ☜