At dawn, a storm gathered—not of clouds, but of Qi.
It coiled above the Serpent's Spine Pavilion like a silent hurricane, spiraling with invisible weight. Spiritual beasts across the inner sect stilled. Birds fell silent. Even the wind, once playful, hesitated to pass through Su Chen's domain.
Beneath the pavilion, deep in the cellar lit only by the soft glow of runes, the Soul Mirror began to shimmer.
Su Chen knelt before it.
Three nights of resonance. One assassination attempt. Countless silent calculations, meditative hours, and layered preparations.
Now came the moment he had cultivated toward—not raw power, but something rarer:
Insight.
> [Soul Mirror Synchronization Complete – Tier 1 Memory Echo Available]
[Warning: Mental Pressure Will Be Significant. Proceed?]
He didn't hesitate.
"Proceed."
The world didn't crack with sound.
It cracked with presence.
Su Chen's consciousness tore free from his body like a moth from a flame, flung into the Mirror's Dream—a liminal realm of fractured time, lost thoughts, and memories that never truly belonged to him.
Images bled into form: a battlefield made of stars. Corpses of ancient cultivators drifted through the void like shattered constellations.
Above them spun a throne of bones, turning slowly in the dark.
Upon it sat a man cloaked in black and silver fire.
The Void Sovereign.
But not Su Chen.
Not yet.
An echo of one who had come before.
"So you've found my fragment," the man said. His voice was soft, yet rippled across eternity. "Curious... I left this behind to be forgotten. And yet, here you are. Bearing my name. My blood?"
Su Chen stepped forward.
"I am Su Chen. I don't come for your inheritance. I come to know why you fell."
The figure chuckled—a low, resonant sound that cracked nearby stars.
"Honest. Rare."
He pointed into the void.
It twisted. Shifted.
Memories spilled out, scenes unraveling in reverse: grand realms collapsing, heavenly sects bowing before golden thrones, and an Immortal Tribunal rising from blood and betrayal.
"We weren't defeated in battle," the Sovereign said, his tone turning blade-sharp. "We were outplayed. Bound by oaths. Betrayed by lovers. Sold out by our own disciples."
His eyes darkened.
> "Remember this: The higher you climb, the fewer rules apply—until the only rule left is who resets first."
Su Chen's pulse raced.
That phrase—it wasn't a coincidence.
It matched his System.
"Did you have the Reset System?"
The Sovereign's echo shook his head.
"No. But someone did."
He extended a hand—pointing downward.
Below them, in a sealed plane buried beneath collapsing timelines, Su Chen saw a silhouette wrapped in chains. A being screaming silently, imprisoned across layers of reality.
"He reset time again… and again… and again. Until the world broke to give him what he wanted."
Su Chen's voice trembled. "Who was he?"
The Sovereign's echo leaned closer.
His smile held neither warmth nor malice.
"He called himself the First Resetter. But I knew his real name. And so do you."
> [Warning: Soul Pressure Reaching Critical Threshold]
[Forcible Ejection Initiated]
Su Chen gasped awake.
He sat upright in the cellar, drenched in cold sweat, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.
His body trembled, but his mind burned with clarity.
The First Resetter.
A name older than sects. A being even Void Sovereigns feared.
And now, Su Chen was walking the same path—whether by fate, design, or something darker.
> [Memory Fragment Acquired: "The First Resetter" – Lore Unlocked]
[New Questline: "Unravel the Echoes of Reset"]
Far above the sect, atop Observatory Peak, a woman stirred.
She had been meditating for days—Elder Lanyu, the Watcher of Fates. Her silver hair drifted like silk in the wind, her gaze pale as moonlight.
She opened her eyes.
The Mirror had spoken.
"Qingxue's gamble has stirred something ancient," she murmured. "A Sovereign's Fragment… not seen since the War of the Ten Thousand Thrones."
She stood.
And sent a soundless command into the wind.
"Bring me Su Chen. Quietly."
That same morning, Su Chen stepped out of the cellar and found a sealed scroll waiting on the training stone.
The wax was blue. Inner Sect seal.
He broke it open.
> To Disciple Su Chen,
You are summoned by Elder Lanyu to Observatory Peak.
Bring nothing but your presence. Do not delay.
– Internal Disciplinary Office
Su Chen's brow furrowed.
Elder Lanyu. The name alone carried weight. She hadn't taken a disciple in thirty years.
He burned the scroll.
Turned toward the north path.
Already, the game was changing.
But this time?
He was ready to play it from the center board.