The Forgotten Gatekeeper Shrine had survived ten thousand years of decay, countless spiritual storms, and the collapse of an ancient civilization.
Yet, somehow, its greatest threat was now a chubby outer disciple attempting to steal its offerings.
"Chen Wei."
"Yes?"
"Put that down."
Chen Wei froze with one hand inside an ancient stone offering box.
"I was examining it."
"With your mouth?"
Chen Wei slowly removed a dried spiritual fruit from his teeth.
"This is a traditional method of inspection."
Li Tian stared at him.
Han Feng turned away, pretending not to know either of them.
Mei Ling sighed.
Bao Bao, meanwhile, was already sitting inside the offering box, surrounded by stolen fruit.
"Leave him alone," the fox said. "The shrine has been abandoned for ten thousand years. The food is practically public property."
Chen Wei pointed at him triumphantly.
"Exactly!"
Bao Bao narrowed his eyes.
"However, I found it first. Everything inside belongs to me."
Chen Wei's expression collapsed.
"That is not how public property works!"
While the two argued, Li Tian examined the system window hovering before him.
[Hidden Cultivation System]
Host: Li Tian
Public Cultivation: Qi Refinement Layer 1
Stored Cultivation: 1,160 years
Memory Recovery: 0.09%
Technique: Silent Dao Circulation — Comprehension 1%
Technique: Heaven-Splitting Sword Intent — Comprehension 0.01%
New Trait: Sovereign Will
Effect: Resistance to forced memory alteration and external identity suppression.
Warning: External observation detected.
The last line had appeared moments after Li Tian regained consciousness.
Something had noticed his awakening.
Something far beyond the Void Court.
He remembered the crimson eyes opening between the stars and the voice that had called him an empty vessel.
Let us see whether the little Dao Ancestor can survive long enough to remember what he was created to destroy.
Li Tian rubbed his forehead.
"Why can't I have a normal cultivation system?"
Bao Bao glanced at him.
"Because normal cultivators don't carry ten thousand years of trouble inside their heads."
"That is not an answer."
"It's the best one you're getting."
Li Tian dismissed the window.
He had learned something important inside the black-star realm: neither the system nor the First Witness deserved unquestioning trust.
But that did not mean he should abandon the system entirely.
For now, it remained useful.
He would use it without surrendering his judgment to it.
That distinction might be the only thing keeping him alive.
"Everyone," Han Feng called from the far end of the chamber. "I think you should see this."
The joking stopped.
Han Feng stood before a stone wall behind the shrine's main altar. A section of the wall had shifted, revealing a narrow passage.
Golden symbols covered its entrance.
Mei Ling approached first.
"Is it another formation?"
"Yes, but it isn't the same type as the outer formation." Han Feng pointed toward the symbols. "The energy isn't flowing outward. It seems to be waiting for something."
Li Tian stepped closer.
The moment he entered the passage, the golden symbols illuminated.
One by one, they formed a familiar pattern.
Nine circles.
Eight silver.
One black.
Chen Wei immediately stepped back.
"I vote that we don't enter."
"Noted," Li Tian said.
"Excellent. Then we can leave."
"I didn't say I agreed."
Chen Wei looked betrayed.
"Why do you ask for opinions if you intend to ignore the useful ones?"
Mei Ling smiled faintly.
"Because yours are rarely useful."
"That is a cruel misunderstanding of my talents."
Li Tian placed his palm against the wall.
The symbols shifted.
A line of ancient characters appeared.
To the one who carries the forgotten name:
The inheritance of the sword is not the inheritance of the gate.
The inheritance of the gate is not the inheritance of the one who built it.
And the inheritance of the builder must never be claimed by the one who seeks the throne.
Li Tian read the inscription twice.
"The inheritance of the builder..."
Bao Bao's ears rose.
For once, the fox looked genuinely alarmed.
"Everyone, step away from the wall."
Li Tian turned toward him.
"Why?"
"Because this isn't Jian Wu's inheritance."
Bao Bao jumped from Chen Wei's shoulder and landed on the stone floor.
"This shrine was built to hide something from the ancient war. The sword was merely the entrance. The real inheritance lies beyond it."
Han Feng frowned.
"Then why didn't the records mention it?"
"Because whoever wrote those records wanted the truth to remain hidden."
Bao Bao looked directly at Li Tian.
"And because the real inheritance may belong to the person who created the Ninth Gate."
Silence followed.
Chen Wei slowly raised his hand.
"I would like to propose that we stop discovering inheritances."
Nobody acknowledged him.
He lowered his hand.
"Fine. Democracy is dead."
The golden symbols on the wall began to rotate.
A low rumble passed through the shrine.
Then the wall opened.
Beyond it lay a circular chamber filled with floating stone tablets. Each tablet carried thousands of tiny inscriptions, but none of them appeared to be written in any language Li Tian recognized.
At the center of the chamber stood a small wooden table.
On the table rested a single object.
A cracked golden sphere.
Li Tian's breath caught.
It was identical to the sphere he had seen inside the black-star realm. The source of this chapter is g.com.
The original system core.
Or something that looked exactly like it.
The sphere pulsed once.
Every stone tablet turned toward Li Tian.
Then a voice emerged from the object.
"Welcome home."
No one moved.
Chen Wei slowly hid behind Han Feng.
"I don't like objects that speak."
Han Feng did not take his eyes off the sphere.
"Neither do I."
"Then why aren't you running?"
"Because the door closed behind us."
Chen Wei turned around.
The entrance had indeed sealed itself.
He stared at it for a moment.
Then he looked back at the sphere.
"I would like to formally withdraw my participation."
Li Tian ignored him.
He approached the wooden table cautiously.
"Who are you?"
The sphere flickered.
"I am the remnant of the original system core."
"Are you the First Witness?"
"No."
"Are you the system that has been guiding me?"
"Partially."
Li Tian stopped.
"That answer is becoming a pattern."
The sphere emitted a faint sound resembling laughter.
"Your original system was created to preserve your freedom of choice. It stored your cultivation, concealed your aura, and prevented outside forces from examining your soul directly."
Li Tian studied the sphere.
"Then why does the current system hide information from me?"
"Because the original system core was divided."
A series of images appeared in the air.
Li Tian saw the golden sphere split into three pieces.
One piece became a stream of golden light.
Another transformed into a black ring.
The final piece disappeared into a vast darkness.
"The first fragment became the system you know," the sphere explained. "The second was sealed within the Ninth Gate. The third was taken by the First Witness."
Bao Bao's expression darkened.
"That means the Witness possesses part of the original authority."
"Correct."
"And the fragment inside the Ninth Gate?"
"Remains inaccessible."
Li Tian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because you established a restriction."
"What restriction?"
The sphere fell silent.
Then it answered.
"Only the version of you who has learned to trust others may claim the second fragment."
Li Tian stared at it.
He immediately disliked the implication.
"That sounds suspiciously like a test."
"It is."
"Who designed it?"
"You did."
Li Tian closed his eyes.
"Of course I did."
Mei Ling stepped beside him.
"Why would you create a restriction like that?"
The sphere turned toward her.
"Because the original owner of this soul vessel believed that absolute power had destroyed him."
Li Tian opened his eyes.
"Explain."
"The person you were before the ancient war possessed enough power to alter the laws of the mortal heavens. He could conceal his existence from immortal emperors, erase entire battlefields from history, and reshape the flow of spiritual energy across thousands of worlds."
The floating tablets began to glow.
"But he could not trust anyone."
Li Tian felt a strange pressure in his chest.
The sphere continued.
"He believed that every relationship could be used against him. Every ally could become a hostage. Every affection could become a weakness."
Mei Ling glanced at Li Tian.
He looked away.
"During the final battle of the ancient war, he attempted to solve every problem alone. He sealed the Ninth Gate, divided the system, erased his memories, and placed himself beyond the reach of those who had once followed him."
The sphere's light dimmed.
"He believed that if he became ignorant enough, he could begin again without repeating his mistakes."
Li Tian stared at the cracked golden sphere.
"So I designed a system that would hide the truth from me until I learned to trust people."
"Correct."
"That's an incredibly roundabout method."
"You were very fond of complicated plans."
"Was I at least good at them?"
The sphere paused.
"Your plans were successful."
Li Tian waited.
"And?"
"They were also responsible for the deaths of many people."
The chamber became silent.
For once, Li Tian had no sarcastic response.
He looked toward Mei Ling.
She did not pity him.
She did not look afraid.
She simply met his gaze, as though reminding him that the person standing before her was not entirely defined by the mistakes of a forgotten life.
Li Tian turned back to the sphere.
"How do I access the second fragment?"
The sphere brightened.
"Not by force."
"Then how?"
"By completing the inheritance of the builder."
A stone tablet detached from the wall and floated toward him.
Golden characters appeared across its surface.
The First Law of the Hidden Dao:
Power without understanding becomes destruction.
Another tablet followed.
The Second Law of the Hidden Dao:
Knowledge without judgment becomes deception.
A third tablet illuminated.
The Third Law of the Hidden Dao:
Li Tian read the three inscriptions.
The words felt familiar.
Not like a memory.
Like something he had once known so deeply that forgetting it had left a wound.
The sphere spoke again.
"The inheritance will not grant you greater cultivation. It will teach you how to use the power you already possess without destroying the person you are becoming."
Li Tian looked at the floating tablets.
"Then begin."
The sphere pulsed.
[Original System Fragment Detected]
Compatibility: Confirmed
Inheritance Trial: Initiated
Condition: Identify the flaw in the three laws.
Li Tian stared at the message.
Then he looked at the inscriptions.
"The flaw?"
The sphere remained silent.
He read them again.
Power without understanding becomes destruction.
Knowledge without judgment becomes deception.
Strength without trust becomes a prison.
They sounded reasonable.
But the system was asking him to identify a flaw, not simply repeat their meaning.
Li Tian paced slowly around the chamber.
Power without understanding could become destruction, but understanding alone did not guarantee wisdom.
Knowledge without judgment could become deception, but judgment itself could be manipulated.
Strength without trust could become a prison, but blind trust could be just as dangerous.
He stopped.
"The flaw is that none of these laws explains who decides what understanding, judgment, or trust should mean."
The sphere's light flickered.
Li Tian continued.
"Power can destroy, but it can also protect. Knowledge can deceive, but it can also reveal deception. Trust can become a prison, but refusing to trust anyone can become one too."
He looked at the inscriptions.
"These laws aren't absolute truths. They're warnings. If I follow them blindly, I'll make the same mistake as before."
For several seconds, the chamber remained silent.
Then the stone tablets began to rotate.
A fourth inscription appeared.
The Hidden Dao cannot be inherited.
It must be chosen.
The golden sphere shone brighter than before.
[Inheritance Trial: Passed]
[Original System Fragment: Partial Access Granted]
[New Ability Unlocked: Independent Analysis]
Effect: Allows the Host to question system assessments and examine incomplete information without relying solely on system conclusions.
Li Tian felt a subtle change inside his consciousness.
Nothing dramatic happened.
No surge of spiritual energy.
No sudden increase in cultivation.
Instead, the world seemed to become slightly clearer.
He could sense the difference between the sphere's own energy and the faint foreign influence wrapped around it.
He could distinguish the original golden light from the black residue that had corrupted part of the system.
For the first time, he could examine the system without treating its messages as unquestionable truth.
It was a small breakthrough.
But perhaps it was more important than gaining another thousand years of stored cultivation.
Then the sphere spoke again.
"One additional message remains."
Li Tian looked up.
"From whom?"
"From the original owner of the soul vessel."
The chamber darkened.
A projection appeared above the table.
A young man stood in an empty room, wearing plain robes and carrying no visible weapon.
His face was not Li Tian's.
His eyes were different.
His expression was different.
For the first time, Li Tian saw the person who had inhabited this body before the ancient war.
The projection spoke.
"If you are watching this, then I have failed."
Li Tian remained motionless.
The young man continued.
"I don't know whether you are the one who replaced me, the one who inherited my memories, or the person I became after the Ninth Gate was sealed."
He lowered his head.
"But if you have reached this place, then you deserve to know the truth."
The projection flickered.
"I was not the one who created the Ninth Gate."
Li Tian's eyes widened.
The young man looked directly at him.
"I was the first person to open it."
The projection shattered.
At the same moment, every tablet in the chamber turned black.
The golden sphere began to crack.
A voice emerged from somewhere beyond the shrine.
Not the First Witness.
Not the system.
Something deeper.
Something that had been listening since the beginning.
"The inheritance has been claimed."
The shrine shook violently.
"The original soul has been identified."
Li Tian felt the blood drain from his face.
A final message appeared in the system.
[Critical Revelation]
The current Host is not the only soul connected to this body.
A second soul signature has awakened.
Mei Ling grabbed Li Tian's hand.
"Li Tian!"
He turned toward her.
Before he could answer, the golden sphere split into two pieces.
One half fell onto the table.
The other floated toward Li Tian's chest and vanished into his body.
A voice whispered inside his consciousness.
It sounded exactly like him.
But it carried none of his humor, none of his uncertainty, and none of his restraint.
"You have taken long enough."
Li Tian froze.
The voice continued.
"Now move aside."
For the first time since arriving in this world, Li Tian felt something inside his own body trying to take control.
And deep beneath the western mountain, the Ninth Seal opened its ninth eye.
To be continued…