This was an absolutely truthful statement.
He was merely a traveler from Blue Star. So-called ancient bloodlines were, for him, nothing but a fairytale. He had just tried asking Sys, but Sys knew nothing either, saying it needed to ask the main system. Then, no matter how Chen Guan called out, it ignored him.
If he had to find some connection, he could only attribute it to an unknown resonance between the gray energy hidden within him and this space.
"You don't know either?"
An Changqing stood frozen in place. This reply troubled him more than any affirmative answer would. The unknown often comes with unpredictable risks.
"I genuinely don't know what ancient civilization's descendant I am."
Chen Guan's gaze swept across his teammates before him.
"But I can sense that they mean me no harm."
He tilted his head slightly, looking back at the stone sculptures still kneeling in reverence.
"Not only that, I can vaguely perceive their emotions."
"Emotions?"
Su Yuehe immediately pressed for more, her eyes gleaming with a thirst for knowledge.
"What kind of emotions?"
"Submission, and expectation."
Chen Guan carefully chose his words. He could detect an instinctive drive emanating from those stone guardian statues.
These creations had waited here, motionless, for countless ages, only to welcome a specific person.
Chen Guan could sense that the source of these stone men's power was identical to his own gray energy.
Gray energy was likely the unique power system of the Black Wind civilization during the distant Lost Era.
Perhaps he could ask Baal later; Baal was the most ancient being he knew.
As for now, there was no need to summon Him and cause more trouble.
The moment his voice fell, another change occurred in the passage.
Those stone guardian statues, kneeling on one knee, made a new move.
They slowly rose to their feet, the friction of their stone joints creating a uniform sound.
The atmosphere within the group instantly tightened.
Hong Yuan immediately gripped her axe handle tighter, and a faint blue glow rekindled at the tip of Yin Chen's staff.
But the standing stone guardians showed no sign of aggression.
They stepped back in perfect unison, lining up on both sides of the narrow stone path, completely clearing the middle passage.
Then, they placed their right fists horizontally over their chests, lowering their faceless heads.
They had transformed into a silent honor guard, welcoming their master with the most humble posture to continue his journey along this pilgrimage path.
"This…"
Hong Yuan, looking at the path forcibly cleared before her, completely lost her ability to form words.
The kneeling earlier had been shocking enough, but this ceremonial welcome conveyed a ritualistic significance she couldn't grasp.
"It seems they are inviting you to continue forward."
Yin Chen withdrew the glow from his staff.
These stone men couldn't speak, but their body language moved the heart more than any pale words could.
This wasn't a suppression born of strength; it represented recognition by a set of rules. Under these rules, Chen Guan was the absolute master.
Chen Guan looked ahead into the thick darkness, then turned back to see his companions, each with different expressions.
He said nothing more, merely nodded plainly, then stepped forward into the depths of the darkness.
The black panther walked briskly beside him, its tail held high, striding with majestic confidence.
As the saying goes, when one person achieves enlightenment, even their leopard rides the high tide.
An Changqing, Su Yuehe, and the others followed closely behind.
The group advanced in silence.
The stone guardian statues on either side became lifeless sculptures, standing still at the edge of the darkness.
Only the faint blue light from Yin Chen's shield barely illuminated the black stone path leading into the unknown ahead.
"Su Yuehe."
An Changqing lowered his voice, leaning close to Su Yuehe's ear to ask.
"What else do you know about the Black Wind civilization? Are there more records about their king in ancient texts?"
Su Yuehe shook her head.
A mix of excitement and worry played across her face.
"There are very few records about this civilization. I've only seen fragmentary mentions in the marginal notes of some forbidden texts."
She recalled the incomplete words as she walked.
"What I can tell you is only speculation based on those fragmented texts."
She paused to organize the chaotic thoughts in her mind.
"The Black Wind civilization has virtually no records in all existing historical materials, because it's the most ancient civilization known. Even the name 'Black Wind' comes only from that peculiar wind."
"The power structure of this civilization isn't unfamiliar to us. They practiced a hereditary monarchy based on bloodline."
"A monarchy? Like the ancient dynasties?"
Hong Yuan interjected from the side. She wasn't entirely unfamiliar with these historical terms.
"More stringent than that."
Yin Chen took over the conversation, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.
"Ancient dynasties could still change."
"But what Su Yuehe mentioned is bloodline inheritance. That means only someone with a specific bloodline could become king."
"This type of power is divinely ordained and innate, impossible to take away by external force."
As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at Chen Guan, who was walking at the very front.
"Your meaning is that Chen Guan is that chosen one?"
Hong Yuan's expression turned weird.
"He doesn't look the part, does he?"
She remembered the princes in those novels, all elegant and noble. Compared to them, Chen Guan was still too down-to-earth.
"Appearances don't mean anything."
Long Ao spoke up then, walking at the very end of the line, his gaze constantly fixed on Chen Guan's back.
"The essence of power is often invisible to the eye. The rules here acknowledge him; that's enough."
Su Yuehe nodded in agreement.
"Long Ao is right. And this civilization has another peculiar aspect."
"They worshiped a single deity."
"All texts mention that the king was God's representative on earth, and the king's bloodline was an extension of divine power."
"The authority of the king and the authority of the deity were perfectly unified in that era."
"A deity?"
An Changqing frowned.
"What kind of deity? Is there a specific name or record?"
Existing deities all have names, categorized as righteous gods or demonic gods. Their old acquaintance, the demon lord Baal, is the foremost among the demonic gods.
"That's the strangest part."
Su Yuehe shook her head, a deep puzzlement appearing on her face.
"Every record that refers to this deity uses terms like 'That Being' or 'The Most High' as placeholders."
"There's no name and no description. His very name became taboo."
"In later texts, records of this deity, along with the civilization itself, completely vanished."
"I'm sorry, but my so-called knowledge might not be better than a children's picture book."
"A forgotten deity doesn't sound like a good omen."
Yin Chen gave a light snort.
"Usually, when a deity is forgotten by its followers, it either means it has fallen, or it has done something that terrified every last believer."
"So much so that they would rather erase everything than mention it again, speaking of the deities they once served."
These words once again tightened the atmosphere among the group.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
