Previous Life Memories

With his promotion to an outer sect disciple, Han Chen's world grew larger—and far more treacherous. What had once been a life of quiet anonymity now came with higher stakes. The newfound access to advanced techniques, better resources, and broader opportunities was a double-edged sword.

The sect's inner workings were a battlefield of silent alliances and quiet rivalries. Every glance carried weight, every smile a potential dagger in disguise. Han Chen was no longer a nameless shadow; he was a player on the board, whether he wanted to be or not. But he still clanged on to the general populace or atleast tried.

For someone like him, with his Heaven-Defying Understanding, attention wasn't always a blessing.

His talent, while extraordinary, painted a target on his back. The sect demanded loyalty above all else, and anyone who stood out was quickly roped into the complex web of politics and expectation.

Even with his unique ability, Han Chen understood one crucial truth—geniuses need time to grow. And time was a luxury this world rarely offered for the powerless.

But Han Chen didn't falter. Instead, his resolve grew sharper. He avoided conflicts when he could, deflected attention when it became too dangerous, and poured himself into cultivation.

In the sect competition every six months he scored the average deceiving even the elder's scrutinizing eyes. He specifically trained his movements for this.

Quietly, methodically, he worked to master techniques far beyond his realm, preparing for a future where he would no longer have the luxury of being overlooked. In a world of destined heroes and tragic villains.

Venturing Out and Early Struggles

Life as an outer sect disciple wasn't confined to the walls of the sect. Missions beyond its borders became routine—a trial that Han Chen had no choice but to undergo.

Resource-gathering expeditions, courier tasks, reconnaissance missions—on paper, they seemed straightforward. In practice, they were anything but that. Han Chen quickly learned that the cultivation world had a cruel sense of humor.

Spirit beasts with razor-sharp instincts stalked him in the shadows. Even spiritual cats are monstrous as a top predators like Lion and tigers he knew of his previous world;

For predator beasts like monster tiger? Nascent soul monsters are the size of a mountain. Treacherous terrain threatened to claim him at every step. And then there were the rival sect disciples, each as ambitious and cutthroat as the last, all vying for the same treasures that Han Chen sought.

It was as though the world itself conspired against him, testing his resolve at every turn. Yet, despite the odds, Han Chen survived. He adapted, leaning on his Heaven-Defying Understanding to turn each misstep into a lesson and every danger into an opportunity. But he was only learning and didn't fully understand the true art of low-profile-ness yet.

His luck may have been abysmal, but luck alone didn't decide the fate of a cultivator. Han Chen's journey was riddled with struggle, but with each hardship, he took another step forward, carving his path through a world that seemed intent on stopping him yet remained in the unknown.

Despite his chronic misfortunes, Han Chen relied on his mastery of movement techniques and combat fundamentals to navigate most of the dangers he encountered. His Heaven-Defying Understanding often allowed him to devise unconventional methods of escape, earning him a grudging reputation as someone who always managed to survive, no matter the odds.

But survival came with its own price. One particular mission would prove to be more trouble than he could have ever anticipated. Not the trouble due to lack of strength per se, but the human factor.

While out collecting resources, Han Chen encountered a young woman in distress and chose to help her without much thought as she was of same sect. Somehow his true identity was known by her. What he didn't realize was that this seemingly innocent girl had ties to a powerful and dangerous figure—a rising villain with ambitions that cast long shadows.

The guy is attracted to her.

The young woman, intrigued by Han Chen's calm demeanor and the peculiar techniques he employed, began to take an unexpected interest in him. She visited his abode in sect to express her gratefulness. Her attention did not go unnoticed. A haughty young master, closely linked to her and nursing his own grand designs for power, felt slighted by Han Chen's presence.

The arrogant young master saw Han Chen as a nuisance in his way to her, albeit a minor one, and plotted to disgrace him. His schemes, however, took an unexpected turn when they drew the attention of a "Heaven's Chosen"—the local protagonist destined for greatness. Simply the subordinates fell victim to the act of misidentifying the person to the worst possible one.

This protagonist, in a typical display of cunning and overwhelming power, pretended to be meek while turning the tables on the would-be villain. The encounter erupted into a dramatic confrontation, one that left the young master humiliated and shaken.

Caught in the crossfire of this clash between fated individuals, Han Chen narrowly escaped with his life, though not without sustaining serious injuries. He didn't bother to go over to help the hero, who with the smiling face told him to persevere and fight against injustice.

It became clear to him that these entanglements weren't simply unfortunate coincidences—they were a reflection of a deeper truth about the world he now inhabited. Someone jumping out of order of fate would be attacked back if, without much power inherent.

In the cultivation realm, karma and fate were the invisible threads that bound everything together. Proximity to either a protagonist or a villain inevitably brought turmoil, as their destinies seemed to shape the very fabric of causal events for anyone around them.

Realizing the inherent danger of being anywhere near such figures, Han Chen made a pivotal decision. He would distance himself from these entanglements, avoiding contact with both "Heaven's Chosen" heroes and aspiring villains alike. His goal was no longer to merely survive but to find a way to rise above the chaotic swirl of destinies that seemed determined to drag him down.

Silent Cultivation and Inner Sect Promotion

Han Chen quickly came to understand a hard truth about the cultivation world—he couldn't rely on heavenly treasures or external aid, especially not with his consistently abysmal luck. Every resource he acquired, often at great risk, seemed to slip away, claimed by stronger hands or tied to hidden dangers as he had to be low profile and not aligned with any parties. Yes, he could have fought back to get things back. But he knew fighting never ends.

Resigned to the uphill battle of his reality, he decided to rely on the one thing no one could take from him: his own diligence.

He dedicated himself to pure cultivation. Day by day, he immersed himself in perfecting techniques, deciphering formations, and unraveling the fundamental principles of the Dao. His progress was painstakingly slow, each breakthrough hard-won, but the steady pace ensured his foundation remained solid.

Han Chen's life became a quiet repetition of study, cultivation, and reflection—a rhythm that suited him, far from the chaos of fame or fortune. The people around him had progressed twice as fast as him. He had to stop pretending and exert his potential to maintain the average facade.

Over the course of decades, his dedication bore fruit. Han Chen reached the golden core stage, a level that finally allowed him to stand among the sect's most talented disciples, the inner sect. His foundation was deeper, his golden core was of highest order, but it wasn't anything heaven defying or legendary.

His progress, while unspectacular by the standards of heavenly geniuses, drew the attention of the elders again. Seeing his unwavering perseverance, they granted him a promotion to the Inner Sect and thus explore previously restricted access to knowledge.

With his newfound status came access to greater resources, responsibilities, and, most importantly, the deeper chambers of the library. These chambers housed esoteric techniques and forgotten knowledge, much of which was ignored by others in favor of quicker, more explosive gains. But Han Chen's Heaven-Defying Understanding turned even obscure fragments into profound insights.

The missions he undertook as an Inner Sect disciple grew more dangerous, pushing him further with each venture. Yet, his mastery of formations, alchemy, talismans, runes, weapon making, artifact refinement improved leaps and bounds and with meticulous preparation, and patient approach ensured he always found a way to survive—even in the face of odds that would crush most others.

The Fall of the Sect

One day, returning from a particularly harrowing mission, Han Chen was greeted by a nightmare. The sect that had been his home for so many years lay in ruins. Smoldering structures, shattered formations, and lifeless bodies scattered across the grounds told a story of utter devastation.

It wasn't just a simple attack—it was annihilation. But it was a single attack. The sect was destroyed like someone stomped an ant to death. Probably a strong cultivator did this.

The culprit was no ordinary adversary. Word spread among the few survivors that the sect had been destroyed by a seemingly, destiny villain which he later knew about, someone wielding a system of their own.

Unlike traditional antagonists destined to challenge, send experience and eventually lose to a protagonist, this villain broke the mold entirely. He played by no rules, wielding overwhelming power that crushed not only the sect but the local Heaven's Chosen. No climactic battle, no last-minute heroics—just destruction.

When Han Chen was in his late God transformation realm, through cunning approach he managed to kill him and extract the system inside him for himself, well extraction part was done by his system itself. He never knew it had this ability, but it simply prompted itself. To the villain who did bring out many underhanded tactics to escape he crushed with brute force before giving him time to respond. Ofcourse, he was no less stronger than him even with being years younger. Cunningness won the effort.

Coming to past, by the time Han Chen pieced together the events, it was already too late. The sect's treasury had been ransacked, its formations destroyed, and its most valuable treasures lost. Yet, curiously, the sect library remained untouched.

To the attacker, it had likely seemed worthless—an archive of dusty knowledge, far less tempting than artifacts or spirit stones or maybe they had better ones.

As looters descended on the ruins, Han Chen's understanding of the library's intricate formations became his greatest shield. Carefully bypassing its defenses, he slipped inside.

What he found was a bittersweet reminder of what would have been lost. The library's endless troves of knowledge, its ancient techniques, and priceless records were still intact. But without the sect to guard and nurture them, they were at risk of being forgotten forever.

Faced with the enormity of the possible loss, Han Chen made a bold decision. Using every storage artifact he possessed; he began to transfer the library's contents. Every jade slip, scroll, technique manual, and artifact he could carry was preserved.

It was his way of honoring the sect, ensuring that its legacy—its wisdom and history—would not vanish alongside its shattered walls.

When Han Chen finally emerged from the ruins, burdened with the weight of an entire sect's heritage in over 100 storage rings, he knew his path had changed. He was no longer just a cultivator quietly finding his way. Now, he carried the responsibility of preserving the knowledge of the past and forging a future from the ashes.