Darkness.
Not the suffocating kind from battle.
Not the crushing void of death.
This darkness was… quiet.
Jiang Chen floated within it.
No pain.
No pressure.
No system.
Just stillness.
"…So you're awake."
The voice returned.
Ancient.
Boundless.
Jiang Chen didn't open his eyes.
"…Not really," he replied calmly.
"…This isn't reality."
A faint ripple passed through the darkness.
"Correct."
"…Then this is you."
"…Part of me."
Jiang Chen finally opened his eyes.
Endless black stretched around him—but now, faint golden lines traced through it like veins across the void.
"…You said the system imitates you," Jiang Chen said.
"…Explain."
Silence lingered for a moment.
Then—
"What you call the Primordial System is a fragment."
"A tool created to replicate the laws of origin."
Jiang Chen's gaze sharpened.
"…Created by who?"
"…That answer," the voice said slowly,
"…you are not ready for."
A pause.
Then—
"You touched Origin."
"Barely."
"But enough to survive."
Jiang Chen clenched his fist slightly.
"…And if I use it again?"
The golden lines flickered.
"…You will break."
No hesitation.
No comfort.
Just truth.
"…Your body, your mind, your existence—none are prepared to contain Origin."
Jiang Chen exhaled slowly.
"…Then I'll prepare them."
A faint shift in the darkness.
Not approval.
Not rejection.
Recognition.
"…Good."
The void shattered.
Light returned.
Pain followed.
Jiang Chen's eyes snapped open.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar—but calm.
Wooden beams.
Faint medicinal scent.
"…He's awake!"
Chen Yu's voice.
Footsteps rushed closer.
"You idiot!" Chen Yu said, half relieved, half angry. "Do you have any idea what you just did?!"
Jiang Chen blinked slowly.
"…Survived?"
Han Wei laughed from the side.
"…Barely."
Zhou Yan stood near the window, arms crossed.
"…You were unconscious for three days."
Jiang Chen's expression didn't change.
"…Lin Xue?"
Silence.
Chen Yu hesitated.
"…She's alive."
"…But…"
Zhou Yan continued.
"…Her condition is unstable. She forced her domain beyond its limits."
Jiang Chen pushed himself up—
Pain shot through his entire body.
Crack.
He froze.
Zhou Yan's voice sharpened.
"Don't move."
"…Your body hasn't recovered."
Jiang Chen glanced at his arm.
The fractures were still there—
But faint golden threads pulsed beneath the skin.
Holding everything together.
"…Origin…" he murmured.
Zhou Yan frowned slightly.
"…What?"
"…Nothing."
The door opened.
Elder Zhao entered.
His presence immediately silenced the room.
"…You've awakened," he said.
Jiang Chen nodded slightly.
Elder Zhao studied him for a long moment.
"…What you displayed during the battle…"
"…Explain it."
Direct.
Sharp.
Jiang Chen met his gaze calmly.
"…I don't fully understand it myself."
Not a lie.
But not the truth either.
Elder Zhao's eyes narrowed.
"…That power does not belong to the Inner Clan."
"…Nor to any known cultivation path."
A pause.
"…Be careful."
Those two words—
Carried weight.
Elder Zhao turned to leave.
"…The clan elders are watching you now."
"…And not all of them are allies."
The door closed.
Silence lingered.
Chen Yu scratched his head.
"…That doesn't sound good."
Han Wei smirked.
"…When has anything about him ever been normal?"
Zhou Yan looked at Jiang Chen one last time.
"…Recover."
"…Because next time…"
"…We won't be fighting something like the Enforcer."
"…It'll be each other."
He turned and left.
The room grew quiet again.
Jiang Chen leaned back slightly.
His body still screamed in pain.
His system flickered weakly in the corner of his vision.
But beneath it—
Something else pulsed.
Quiet.
Waiting.
[New Path Unlocked: Origin Evolution]
[Status: Dormant]
Jiang Chen closed his eyes slowly.
So this is the next step…
Not just power.
Not just survival.
But understanding.
Mastery.
And something far greater—
Outside the room—
High above the Inner Clan—
Several figures stood in silence.
Watching.
"…That power…"
"…It's finally appeared again."
"…After all these years…"
Another voice responded coldly:
"…Then we cannot allow him to grow unchecked."
Far in the distance—
Luo Tian stood alone.
Looking toward Jiang Chen's location.
A faint smile on his lips.
"…Recover well."
"…Because next time…"
"…I won't hold back."