Liang Chen's eyelids fluttered open. He didn't immediately register the soft morning sunlight filtering through the curtains — only the brutal clarity of his own heartbeat.
Seventeen again.
His eyes slid over unfamiliar surroundings: a modest bedroom, plain walls, a neatly folded blanket. Nothing about it hinted at the magnitude of what had just happened. No scars. No reminders of war. No remnants of the man he once was.
And yet, in his chest, something heavy throbbed — memory.
Every betrayal. Every tragedy. Every moment of loss and regret carved itself into his consciousness with vivid clarity. He saw the battlefield, heard the last screams, felt the fatal betrayal that had ended his life… and he saw her — the woman he had loved and lost.
A soft exhale escaped him, but his expression was unreadable.
The city outside moved as if nothing had changed. Cars passed, people walked, students called to each other as they headed to school. Ordinary life — unaware, untouched, oblivious to the storm that had just reborn one man within its midst.
Liang Chen pushed himself up, feet touching the floor with the certainty of someone who had stood on battlefields where lesser men would have shattered. His body was young again — strong, agile — but his spiritual energy was not awakened. At least, not yet.
He reached inward, sensing the faint pulse of something buried deep — like embers hidden beneath ash. It responded, just barely.
That was enough.
His mind — sharpened by years he shouldn't have had — began to analyze.
Awaken spiritual energy. Build the Energy Sea. Cultivate.
The goals were simple. The path was not.
Liang Chen glanced toward the small desk where jars of herbs and a few old books lay stacked. This world was unfamiliar, but it had opportunities. With his experience, even small medicines and pills could be made to sell for money. Money meant resources.
Resources meant training tools. Training tools meant strength.
And strength was priority.
He took a step toward the desk — not with hesitation, but with resolve.
Modern Earth didn't recognize spiritual energy… yet. But Liang Chen did.
He would awaken. Not tomorrow. Not someday. Now.
Pain had shaped him once. Loss had forged him.
Rebirth was his first battle in this life.
And he accepted it quietly, with a steady heartbeat that spoke of wars yet to come.
Chapter End Quote:
"Pain carves the path, but resolve walks it."