In a lavishly furnished room filled with exquisite ornaments, Su Chen stared at his own fair, delicate palm, unsure whether to feel joy or dread. In this life, his memories had awakened when he was nine years old—eight full years earlier than in his previous existence.

  After a moment of reflection, he realized that in this life his surname appeared to be… Feng?

  Feng Chen?

  Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his pupils contracted sharply. The royal family of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom bore the surname Feng. He had actually been reborn into the bloodline of the Heavenly Wind royal house.

  What rotten luck.

  In his previous life, Su Chen had sworn to settle accounts with the Heavenly Wind Kingdom for their countless outrageous and tyrannical actions. Now he found himself born into their very lineage. But something was wrong.

  "The Heavenly Wind Kingdom… hasn't fallen yet?"

  Su Chen was stunned. In his memories, the Azure Wave army had been unstoppable, sweeping everything before it. He needed to find out exactly what had happened back then. Without delay, he stepped out of the room—only to be met by a smiling young man coming the other way.

  "Ninth Brother, where are you headed?"

  Su Chen quickly searched his mind and retrieved the youth's identity: Feng Zian, another son of their unreliable marquis father—his third-eldest brother, born of a different mother.

  "I'm going to the library pavilion to find a martial technique to cultivate," Su Chen replied casually.

  Feng Zian looked puzzled. "If Ninth Brother wants to practice a martial technique, just have a servant fetch one. Why go there yourself?"

  Before Su Chen could answer, Feng Zian produced a thick stack of illustrated books and gave a sly grin. "Ninth Brother, these are treasures I've collected over many years. Why bother with martial techniques when you can explore the true wonders of life?"

  Su Chen glanced at the covers and thought wryly, I'm only nine years old, and you're showing me this kind of trash?

  Still, he kept his expression mild. "Thank you, Third Brother. I'll accept these gifts."

  He quickly tucked the books away.

  A faint gleam of satisfaction flashed in Feng Zian's eyes. "Since Ninth Brother likes them, Third Brother will find even more enlightening volumes on the true meaning of life for you."

  Su Chen smiled and nodded. The older and younger brother appeared perfectly harmonious.

  The moment Feng Zian walked away, however, the warmth vanished from Su Chen's face.

  "Damn it," he muttered. "No wonder this body is still stuck at the third layer of Spirit Awakening."

  He had begun cultivating at five years old. By now, he should have reached at least the sixth or seventh layer. The struggle for the position of heir was truly ruthless.

  Nevertheless, Su Chen headed straight for the library pavilion. The pavilion held not only the marquis residence's own cultivation manuals and secret arts, but also records of events from across the land.

  An old man with white hair looked up in surprise when he saw the boy arrive alone.

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  "Ninth Young Master… you've finally come around?"

  He remembered that the ninth young master had never shown much interest in the library. What a pity, considering the boy's natural talent.

  Su Chen, on the other hand, was quietly astonished. The old librarian's cultivation had already reached the Spirit Sea realm.

  In his previous life, Su Chen had struggled through countless hardships just to achieve that same boundary—yet here, an ordinary elder of a marquis residence's library had already attained it. When he considered how vital the library was to any great clan, though, the realization made sense.

  For three full days, Su Chen searched the shelves. In the end, he stood there, utterly baffled. Could he really have been so useless in his previous life that not even the marquis residence's library contained a single record of those events?

  "Does Ninth Young Master require this old man's assistance?"

  Seeing Su Chen return empty-handed day after day, clearly dejected, the white-haired elder approached of his own accord to offer help.

  Su Chen hesitated. He had no desire to let anyone know he was searching for information about Jiang Chen; it would only invite unnecessary trouble. Yet the lack of any news from his previous life gnawed at him, leaving his chest unbearably tight.

  In the end, he revealed his purpose—claiming he had happened to hear tales of Jiang Chen, grew curious because they shared the character "Chen" in their names, and wished to learn more.

  The old man burst into hearty laughter, waving a dismissive hand. "Ninth Young Master, that Jiang Chen merely shares one character with you. How could he possibly compare to someone of your caliber?"

  Su Chen had no patience for flattery. He only wanted to know what had happened after his death in the previous life.

  The elder went on without pause. "That Jiang Chen disregarded military orders and lost the border fortress, allowing the Azure Wave army to pour straight through our defenses. If Marshal Yu had not acted decisively and seized the moment to annihilate their main force, the Heavenly Wind Kingdom might well have fallen.

  "Alas for Heaven's favored daughter of the Heavenly Wave Sect, Nangong Meng. She charged into the enemy ranks in a reckless bid to interfere, nearly ruining Marshal Yu's plan. In the end, she perished alongside Jiang Chen beneath the encirclement of the Azure Wave army…"

  The old man continued to ramble on.

  Su Chen suddenly felt ice flood through his veins. The elder's words grew distant and muffled; all he could hear was a relentless buzzing inside his skull.

  He had disregarded military orders? Yu Zhengde had wiped out the enemy and become a hero? Nangong Meng was dead? How could she be dead? Hadn't the reinforcements arrived?

  It felt as though an invisible hand had clamped around his heart and was crushing it without mercy. The agony was unbearable; even his head throbbed as though it would split open.

  "Ninth Young Master? Are you all right?"

  Noticing the sweat beading across the boy's pale face, the elder called out in alarm.

  The sound snapped Su Chen back to himself.

  "So that's what happened," he murmured.

  A dark, chilling smile spread across his face—ghastly to behold.

  The old man found the expression odd, but then he recalled the household's general opinion of the ninth young master and relaxed. The boy had always been eccentric: blessed with excellent cultivation talent yet refusing to train properly, forever dabbling in strange and useless pursuits.

  "What became of Jiang Chen's family in the end?" Su Chen asked, his voice perfectly level.

  At this, the elder's tone turned venomous. "That Jiang Chen nearly brought ruin upon the rule of our Feng clan. How could His Majesty possibly spare them? Rest assured, Ninth Young Master—they received exactly the punishment they deserved. Anyone who dares threaten the stability of the Feng dynasty meets no good end."

  "Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Elder," Su Chen said calmly.

  Then he turned and left the library pavilion without another word.

  Back in his room, Su Chen stood silently before the mirror, studying the reflection of his present self. Deep revulsion filled his eyes. Yet his lips twisted into a bitter, mirthless smile.

  "A lifetime of caution and vigilance… undone by three careless sentences in the court records. Yu Zhengde… what a ruthless heart you have. The reinforcements were fake from the beginning. The entire thing was your trap."

  In his previous life, Su Chen had once met Yu Zhengde in the company of Lin Qingfeng. Lin Qingfeng's assessment had been blunt: heartless, unscrupulous, consumed by greed and ambition.

  Su Chen had considered many possibilities. He had even considered that it had all been a trap and no reinforcements had ever existed. None of that mattered to him now.

  What truly burned was this: Yu Zhengde had not only used Su Chen and an entire border city as bait, he had also stolen Su Chen's military merits, branded him a disobedient traitor who had nearly doomed the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, and then stepped forward as the hero who turned the tide—reaping untold rewards in the process.

  In the end, a lifetime of deeds had been reduced to a few damning lines in the history books.

  "Feng clan… Yu Zhengde…"

  In the mirror, the reflected figure seemed to stir like a demon slowly awakening from a long slumber.