Night had draped the Heaven's Gate Sect in its velvet cloak, but the Sect was never truly asleep. Somewhere, disciples trained under moonlight, elders meditated within secluded chambers, and shadows moved where light dared not reach.
And in one of those shadows… stood Su Chen.
He was dressed in a dark robe that masked his presence, the Elder'swooden token clenched in his hand. The glyph on it pulsed faintly—a key toforbidden knowledge.
Ahead of him loomed a stone gate set into the side of the mountain: the Forbidden Records Vault.
Su Chen had heard the rumors.
Even among the core disciples, few had ever seen the real vault. The knowledge hidden inside wasn't just ancient cultivation techniques—it was the buried truth of the sect, of realms long erased, and of godswho hadfallen screaming.
But Su Chen had lived once before.
He knew this place had something more. Something tied to the Tribunal that betrayed him. Something tied… to the Reset System itself.
The gate flared with blue light as he pressed the token into a hidden slot. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—click.
The stone slabs trembled, then slowly pulled apart.
Inside, the air was cold and dry. Dust hung in shafts of faint blue light. Shelves carved into the mountain wall stretched deep into the earth, filled with scrolls bound in black silk and books sealed with waxes of blood and starlight.
Su Chen stepped lightly, his spiritual sense coiled tight, ready to vanish at a whisper.
> [System Alert: Forbidden Zone Breach. Stealth Mode Activated.]
Duration: 30 minutes. Penalty if discovered: Disciplinary Exile.
"Thirty minutes," he murmured. "Plenty."
He moved quickly, bypassing the outer shelves of mundanelost techniques. He was looking for something older. Something hidden.
Halfway down the spiral stairs, a strange pressure hit him. It wasn't physical—it was mental. Memories whispered. Regrets clawed at the edge of thought.
A test.
Su Chen grit his teeth and forced his will to the surface. "I've died once. I've carried lifetimes of pain. This is nothing."
He pressed onward.
And there it was.
A narrow stone alcove with a broken seal. The dust here was disturbed—not recently, but not ancient either. Someone had come here before him.
Inside was a singlebook.
No title. Just a black cover that pulsed faintly with void qi.
He reached for it—and the second his fingers touched the cover, the worldshifted.
Darkness swallowed him.
Su Chen floated in a pitch-blackvoid. No sky, no ground. Only starsblinking in and out around him, like dying embers.
Then a voice—faint, distant, feminine.
"Do you remember the first time you reset?"
Su Chen froze.
"You thought it was a blessing... but it was a punishment."
Memories surged. Pain. Fire. A thousand timelines collapsing. A city of light burning under silver flames.
The System hadn't granted him reset.
It had bound him to it.
Su Chen's eyes snapped open.
He was back in the vault, clutching the book to his chest. Sweat ran down his back, and his heart thundered.
> [System Notification: Origin Fragment Acquired – 1/7]
[New Passive Unlocked: Echo of the First Reset – Clarity in Chaos.]
A piece of the truth.
There were six more fragments.
And someone else had already tried to collect them.
He turned to leave—only to pause. Someone was outside.
Two figures.
He heard them whispering beyond the door.
"…He's not here, right? Elder Li said he wouldn't dare."
"…Still, this token's been used. We have to check."
Two inner sect disciples. Spies.
Su Chen cursed silently and slipped between shelves, activating Void Veil.
Their footsteps echoed as they entered.
He moved silently behind them, one step at a time. They turned corners, checking scrolls. One paused—eyes narrowing at the open alcove.
"That's odd. Was this seal already broken?"
The other leaned in.
"Wait... what is this book?"
Su Chen struck.
Crack—one fell unconscious with a precise hit to the neck. The second turned, startled, but Su Chen was faster.
A burst of Starfire Qi struck the air, not harming him but burning the scent trail in the wind.
"You—!"
A hand clamped over the disciple's mouth as Su Chen whispered, "Scream, and your soul won't reset."
His eyes glowed briefly. Not a bluff.
The disciple passed out from sheer fear.
Su Chen didn't kill them.
Yet.
He left silently, the black book hidden beneath his robes.
Back in his quarters, Su Chen sat with the book before him.
Seven fragments.
Seven secrets of the System.
And if the voice was right, then the power to breakfree from it... or bend it to his will... was scattered across the realms.
"This isn't just reincarnation," he muttered. "This is something older. Deeper."
His eyes narrowed.
"The System is not a gift. It's a prison. But I'll become its warden."
And far away, in a place where light could not reach, a hooded figure laughed softly.
"The Reset Sovereign has found the first gate. Let's see how far he gets."