The dog barked.
It wasn't majestic. It wasn't prophetic. It was loud, stupid, and annoying—like most things in the Outer Sect. Still, Su Chen turned his head the moment he heard it.
The same filthy mutt from before. One ear bent, eyes half-blind, tail swaying with confusion more than loyalty. It had barked at him once in his first life—just before Elder Shen's disciple 'accidentally' handed him the death scroll. He hadn't thought much of it then. Just a random dog. Background noise in a sect that barely noticed his existence.
But now? That bark was fate's cough. A cosmic throat-clear before the real scheme hit.
Su Chen narrowed his eyes. "There you are, you hairy little omen."
The dog tilted its head.
[Anchor Confirmed: "The Dog That Barked in a Past Life"]
[Cooldown: 71:42:16]
[Warning: Reset Functionality Severely Limited During Fragmented State]
Su Chen stood on the edge of the herb courtyard, the wooden basket slung across his back practically empty. Normally, Outer Sect disciples would be elbow-deep in weeds and mud by now—scrambling for merit points, praying for a chance to enter the Inner Pavilion but he had no time for weeds. He had assassins to avoid, poisons to dodge, and worst of all—sect bureaucracy.
"Hey! Su Chen!"
Speak of the demon or should I say mutt.
A youth dressed in dark green robes strode up the stone path, smug grin firmly glued to his face. Liang Fei. Outer disciple. Bootlicker and a fucking bastard . The kind who smiles with his mouth but never with his eyes.
In Su Chen's last life, Liang had handed him a "gift"—a scroll said to contain a rare Qi Circulation technique. It did. It also contained a timed explosive rune embedded in the ink. The resulting explosion had nearly crippled him permanently.
It was the opening move of Elder Shen's silent purge.
"Fei," Su Chen said, calm. "You look well-fed."
Liang blinked, the grin slipping. "Uh… thanks?"
"Not a compliment. It means you're not working."
"Ah." He straightened his sleeves. "Well, that's because I'm here on behalf of Elder Shen. You've been selected for today's special opportunity. The Broken Meridian Pavilion."
"There it was—the bait, wrapped in a smile. This idiot still thought he was the fisherman. " said in Su Chen's mind.
To anyone else, it sounded like a promotion. The Pavilion was said to be a hidden test ground for low-tier disciples who showed 'unusual resilience.' In truth, it was a dumping ground. A trap. A convenient graveyard for those who needed to quietly disappear.
Su Chen's face didn't change and acted naive.
"Truly? Me?"
Liang nodded. "You should be honored. The Elder said you had… promise."
"Of course he did," Su Chen said flatly.
Liang's eyes narrowed slightly, the smile curdling. "You're not going to make this difficult, are you?"
"Oh! no no," Su Chen replied, already spinning the basket off his back. "Wouldn't dream of it. In fact…"
He tilted his head toward the barking dog, still growling near the courtyard gate. "Take the lead, Fei. After you."
Liang scoffed. "What, scared?"
"Let's just say I'm developing a new appreciation for dog omens."
"…What?"
"Nothing."
They began walking. The Broken Meridian Pavilion was half a mile down the mountain, past the moss bridge and the abandoned pill kiln. The path was narrow, stone-lined, shaded by overgrown willow trees. Beautiful, if you ignored the fact that several 'accidents' had occurred here in the last two years.
Liang talked as they walked. Something about meridian cleansing. Something about hidden opportunities. Su Chen barely listened. His mind was already mapping out the deathtrap ahead.
In his past life, the Pavilion's inner formation had been tampered with—subtle shifts in the array lines made the spiritual energy inside violently unstable. Anyone below Foundation Establishment would experience backlash or death. Su Chen had collapsed mid-meditation, only surviving due to a fluke activation of his latent Void Physique.
This time, he wasn't walking in blind. When they arrived, the Pavilion looked the same: a squat stone structure half-swallowed by vines, its entrance framed by cracked jade tiles and rusted bells.
Liang stopped at the door. "Just go in and sit cross-legged on the platform. Close your eyes. The array will guide you."
Su Chen stared at him.
"So I just walk in, trust the ancient spiritual architecture, and let it 'guide' me. No risks, no fine print?"
Liang hesitated. "You're… overthinking it."
"I'm really not."
Still, Su Chen smiled and stepped forward.
He stepped onto the pavilion's threshold where his last life had ended the first time.
[System Notification: Spatial Imbalance Detected]
[Array Instability: 39%]
[Internal Qi Distortion Likely]
[Triggering Passive Protocol – 'Recall Thread']
[Temporary Memory Retention Enabled for 1 Reset]
Oh? So the system was watching. Even if it was broken, it still had its instincts.
Su Chen glanced around. He found the cracked jade hidden under a vine near the foundation stone. The same one Liang had used last time to trigger the sabotage.
He crouched, brushing it clean.
"Fei," he called out, casual. "Is it standard sect protocol to hide destabilization runes beneath access points?"
Liang blinked. Then shouted.
"You shouldn't—!"
Su Chen moved. One foot behind Liang's heel. One firm push. A twist of the wrist.
The boy crumpled with a yelp, slamming face-first into the grass.
Su Chen stood over him. Calm. Cold.
"You know," he said, voice low, "last time I entered this Pavilion, I nearly died. Then, I lost all my merit points. Then, I got framed for stealing a cultivation manual. Then, I was exiled. Then I came back. Then I died again."
Liang choked on dirt. "W-what are you talking about?!"
Su Chen crouched beside him. "Let's play a game. You confess to Elder Shen's plans. I let you keep your teeth."
Liang stammered, "Y-you're insane!"
"No," Su Chen said. "I've just had time to think."
He didn't kill him. Not here. Not yet.
Instead, he tied the boy's hands with his own belt and dragged him halfway back up the mountain. Just enough to make sure someone found him—and reported the commotion.
That should be enough to derail the immediate plan.
[System Update: Anchor Holding Steady]
[Cooldown: 70:18:49]
Good.
Very good.
Su Chen exhaled and looked out over the sect from the ridge. The Spirit Baptism Ceremony was three weeks away. The first assassination attempt was two nights from now. His first real opportunity for advancement… six days out, in the abandoned archive buried under the Second Hall.
He had time.
Not much but enough to flip the first pieces of the board and the ones who thought he was still that weak little boy?
Soon, they'll hear a roar—not from a lion, but from the dragon they thought was dead.
"Let them prepare their traps. I already walked through hell—now I'm bringing it back with me." said Su Chen confidently.