"Ahhh…"
Su Yang groaned in pain.
His eyelids slowly opened.
For several breaths, he remained motionless, staring blankly above him. His head felt unbearably heavy, while waves of pain continued throbbing through his mind.
He slowly turned his head and looked around in confusion.
Towering ancient trees surrounded him. Thick vines hung from enormous branches, while dense vegetation stretched as far as his eyes could see. The cries of spirit beasts occasionally echoed from somewhere deep within the forest.
"Where… am I?"
Then—
Everything came rushing back.
Not merely what had happened in the alley.
His lost memories.
His real childhood.
The Xiao Family.
His biological father.
His biological mother.
The night drenched in blood and fire.
He remembered hiding while assassins slaughtered his clansmen.
He remembered watching his father fall.
He remembered his mother's final embrace.
He remembered the promises he had made to her.
And he remembered the power she had sealed within him.
"Mother…"
Su Yang's voice trembled.
Tears silently streamed down his face.
For years, those memories had remained buried deep within his consciousness.
Now they had returned all at once.
Su Yang—or rather, Xiao Feng—finally remembered who he truly was.
But remembering came with pain.
His entire body suddenly convulsed.
"Argh!"
He curled up as violent waves of energy surged through his meridians.
He remembered what had happened before losing consciousness.
The crimson-robed assassin.
The blade against his neck.
The fear of death.
Then the barrier inside him had exploded.
After that, everything had gone dark.
As Su Yang writhed in pain, his blurred vision caught sight of someone approaching.
A middle-aged man dressed in green robes walked calmly toward him.
The man crouched beside Su Yang and examined him.
"Your internal energy is still chaotic."
He retrieved a pill and popped it directly into Su Yang's mouth.
The moment the pill entered his stomach, it dissolved into a powerful stream of medicinal energy.
Warmth spread throughout Su Yang's meridians.
The violent spiritual energy gradually calmed.
An hour later, Su Yang's condition finally stabilized.
He slowly sat upright.
The mysterious middle-aged man was sitting nearby, calmly waiting for him.
Su Yang remained cautious.
"Where am I?"
"You are deep within the rainforest of the Azure Water Dragon Abode."
Su Yang frowned.
He looked directly at the man.
"And who are you?"
The middle-aged man smiled faintly.
"I brought you here for a reason."
He stood and placed his hands behind his back.
"My name is Bao Xin."
His next words caused Su Yang's expression to change.
"Your biological parents once saved my life."
Su Yang immediately stood.
"You knew my parents?"
Bao Xin nodded.
"Before the Xiao Family fell, your mother came to see me."
Su Yang's heartbeat accelerated.
"When?"
"About a month before the massacre."
Bao Xin's expression became solemn.
"Your mother told me that she sensed something terrible was going to happen to the Xiao Family. She did not know exactly when it would happen or who would strike, but her instincts told her that disaster was approaching."
Su Yang listened without interrupting.
"She entrusted several things to me for safekeeping," Bao Xin continued. "She told me that if anything happened to her, I was to find you and guide you when the time came."
His expression became regretful.
"Unfortunately, on the day the Xiao Family was destroyed, I was away on a mission."
Bao Xin sighed.
"By the time I returned, it was already too late."
Su Yang lowered his head.
"The Xiao estate had been destroyed, your parents were dead, and you were nowhere to be found. I searched everywhere for you, but there was no trace of you."
Bao Xin's gaze suddenly moved toward Su Yang's neck.
"The necklace you're wearing is one of your mother's keepsakes."
Su Yang instinctively touched the necklace.
His fingers trembled.
"Mother's…?"
"Yes. It was originally given to her by your father."
A faint smile appeared on Bao Xin's face.
"Those two loved each other very much."
Su Yang tightly gripped the necklace.
Images of his parents appeared in his mind.
Their smiles.
Their voices.
And then their deaths.
His eyes gradually became cold.
Mother. Father.
I will not forget.
Everyone responsible for what happened to our family will pay.
No matter how long it takes.
Bao Xin quietly observed him but said nothing.
After a moment, he retrieved a spatial ring.
"Take this."
Su Yang accepted it.
"What's inside?"
"These are the items your mother entrusted to me for safekeeping."
Su Yang stared at the small ring in his palm.
His mother's final possessions were inside.
"Don't open it here," Bao Xin said. "Wait until you return home."
Su Yang nodded solemnly.
"I understand."
"Your mother must have already told you certain things before she died, so I won't repeat what you already know."
Bao Xin retrieved another storage ring.
"And take this as well."
Su Yang looked surprised.
"Another one?"
"This is from me."
Bao Xin handed it to him.
"Consider it compensation for failing to find you in time."
Su Yang shook his head.
"Senior, what happened wasn't your fault."
"Whether it was my fault or not doesn't change the fact that I made a promise to your mother."
Bao Xin pushed the ring toward him.
"Take it."
After hesitating, Su Yang accepted it.
"Thank you, Senior Bao."
He suddenly remembered something.
"Senior, may I ask you a question?"
"Ask."
"You said I'm the last inheritor of the Dragon-Tiger bloodline."
Bao Xin nodded.
"Then why…"
Su Yang clenched his fists.
"Why do I find it so difficult to break through?"
Bao Xin stared at him for a moment.
Then—
"Hahaha!"
He suddenly burst into laughter.
Su Yang's face darkened.
"Senior, I'm serious."
"I know."
Bao Xin stroked his beard.
"Your problem isn't a lack of talent."
Su Yang froze.
"What?"
"Quite the opposite."
Bao Xin pointed toward his dantian.
"The problem lies with the martial spirits residing inside you."
"The Dragon and Tiger?"
"Exactly."
Bao Xin nodded.
"The spiritual energy in this abandoned region is far too thin. The martial spirits within your dantian require enormous amounts of spiritual energy to grow."
Su Yang's eyes widened.
"So all these years…"
"They have been consuming a large portion of the spiritual energy you refined."
Su Yang nearly coughed blood.
Years!
He had endured years of ridicule because of those two!
Bao Xin continued, "Ordinary cultivation resources won't be enough for you either. If you want to advance quickly, you need resources containing vast quantities of spiritual energy—preferably spiritual energy that is dense, violent, or berserk."
"Berserk spiritual energy?"
"Yes. Resources ordinary cultivators might struggle to refine could be extremely beneficial to you."
Bao Xin's expression became serious.
"However, don't become impatient."
He pointed at Su Yang.
"Your first priority is stabilizing your foundation."
Su Yang listened attentively.
"All the Qi you believed had disappeared over the years wasn't completely wasted. Much of it was absorbed into your bones, meridians, and acupuncture points."
Su Yang looked down at his hands.
"My bones and acupuncture points?"
"Yes."
Bao Xin nodded.
"You may not see the effects now, but this process is necessary for your future cultivation."
He paused.
"Think of cultivation as constructing a tower. Most cultivators are desperate to build upward as quickly as possible. They neglect the foundation because they want everyone to see how tall their tower has become."
Bao Xin smiled.
"But what happens when the foundation cannot support its height?"
"It collapses," Su Yang answered.
"Precisely."
Bao Xin nodded approvingly.
"Your progress may appear slow now, but once your foundation is fully established and your martial spirits receive sufficient spiritual energy, your cultivation speed will increase dramatically."
A sharp gleam appeared in his eyes.
"Others who advanced rapidly when they were young may eventually become trapped at bottlenecks for years or even decades."
He pointed toward Su Yang.
"You will be different."
Understanding finally dawned upon Su Yang.
"So that's why I've remained at the Second Level of the Spirit Realm…"
All these years of failed breakthroughs.
All the spiritual energy that mysteriously vanished.
All the ridicule.
There had been a reason.
Su Yang's expression twitched.
His spiritual consciousness immediately sank toward his dantian.
Within that mysterious space rested two enormous martial spirits.
A Dragon.
And a Tiger.
Su Yang's face darkened.
You two gluttons!
ROAR!
ROARRR!
The Dragon and Tiger suddenly roared in response.
Su Yang's consciousness trembled.
He immediately withdrew.
Bao Xin raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Su Yang rubbed his forehead.
They actually heard me…
Bao Xin looked toward the sky.
"You should hurry and leave. You've been missing for some time. Your adoptive mother is probably worried sick by now."
Su Yang's expression immediately changed.
"Mother!"
He could already imagine Su Mei searching frantically for him.
He quickly stood.
However, before leaving, another question occurred to him.
"Senior Bao, wait."
"What is it?"
"What happened to the man who tried to kill me?"
Bao Xin looked at him strangely.
"You truly don't remember?"
Su Yang shook his head.
Bao Xin folded his arms.
"He's dead."
Su Yang froze.
"Dead?"
"Yes."
"Did you kill him?"
Bao Xin shook his head.
"No."
His next words stunned Su Yang.
"You killed him yourself."
"I did?"
"When the fear of death triggered your lost memories, the barrier sealing your power reacted."
Bao Xin's expression became solemn.
"The force that erupted from your body struck the assassin directly."
Su Yang remembered the violent explosion before he lost consciousness.
"That power… came from me?"
"From the seal protecting you, to be precise."
Bao Xin looked toward the surrounding forest.
"You were fortunate I arrived when I did. That sudden burst of power created a noticeable spiritual fluctuation. Had I not suppressed the remaining aura and brought you away immediately, powerful cultivators nearby might have sensed it."
Su Yang's expression became serious.
Bao Xin placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Remember something, Xiao Feng."
Hearing his birth name again caused Su Yang's heart to tremble.
"You are still weak."
Bao Xin's gaze became stern.
"Regaining your memories doesn't mean you're ready to avenge your family."
Su Yang clenched his fists.
"Your enemies were powerful enough to destroy the Xiao Family. If you recklessly expose your identity now, you'll only follow your parents into the grave."
Su Yang slowly relaxed his fists.
"I understand."
"Good."
Bao Xin removed his hand.
"Lay low."
"Don't reveal the Dragon-Tiger Inheritance unless absolutely necessary. Don't go around seeking trouble simply because you now know who you are."
He looked directly into Su Yang's eyes.
"Focus on one thing."
"Becoming stronger," Su Yang answered.
Bao Xin smiled.
"Exactly."
Su Yang touched the necklace around his neck.
His mother's face appeared in his thoughts once again.
This time, there were no tears.
Only determination.
He was Xiao Feng, the last descendant of the Xiao Family.
But he was also Su Yang.
Su Mei's son.
Su Lan's younger brother.
For now, the world did not need to know that Xiao Feng had survived.
Until he possessed enough strength to protect both his identities and the family he had gained—
Xiao Feng would remain dead.
And Su Yang would continue cultivating.