Chapter 2: The City Lord's Son's Struggle (Part 1)

After dying, Su Chen found himself in a strange space.
The space was pitch black.
"Damn it!"
"That old dog from the Xu family actually has such luck!"
Thinking of Xu Ba's last words,
Su Chen was filled with resentment. The city lord's breakthrough to the Spirit Pattern Realm was practically guaranteed.
Yet, it was the Xu family who broke through first.
Fate was cruel, destiny played a cruel trick.
Just as the Xu family patriarch had said, if the city lord had broken through first, it would have been his Su family's turn to attack the Xu family.
"Someone from the Su family betrayed me!"
If he could see Su Chen's face, he would see it as black as charcoal.
Those who could be sent away were either his descendants.
Or his sworn brothers.
But Su Chen had no time to care about that now.
Because he had received a cheat code. The cheat code he had longed for for a hundred years hadn't come; instead, it had arrived after his death.
Truly the underworld.
Su Chen looked at his cheat system.
It was a book.
Just one glance.
Three words flashed through Su Chen's mind:
'The Book of Reversal of Fate'
Radiating an eternal glow.
It looked extremely extraordinary.
Su Chen picked it up and began to read.
The first page read:
[In your first life, you were young and impetuous, committing many mistakes. After running away from home, you endured hardships, fought in mercenary groups, rose to high positions of power, established a family, became an ancestor, and spread your influence, leaving your mark on this world. Although you died, your legend still circulates in Changchuan City. Your life was indeed remarkable.
Rating: White Three Stars
Reward: 30 Reversal of Fate Points]
[Please select your Reversal of Fate Points to enter your second life.]
A prompt appeared before Su Chen.
[Aptitude: 0 (+)
Comprehension: 0 (+)
Family Background: 0 (+)
Mental State: 5]
[Hint: Reversal Points can be used immediately or saved for the next life, but after one life, everything except the mental state will be reset to zero.]
Su Chen understood.
This was his cheat code.
With enough Reversal Points, he could defy fate in the next life and write his own destiny.
Su Chen whispered, "Xu Ba... the Xu family!"
"The grudge against my Su family is not over yet."
If he died, the past would be wiped clean.
He was still alive.
The grudge of the massacre of his family could not go unpunished.
Su Chen used all 30 Reversal Points without reservation.
Among them, Aptitude +15, Comprehension +10, Family Background +5
Having cultivated for one lifetime, Su Chen understood that in the early stages of cultivation, aptitude was needed for rapid progress, while in the later stages, comprehension was needed for breakthroughs.
Without aptitude in the early stages, there are no resources; without resources, there is no future.
Therefore, he added 5 points to his aptitude.
A flash of white light, and Su Chen entered his next life.
......
Northern Wind City
A handsome young man stared dumbfounded at himself in the mirror.
“Damn it, you only awakened your memories at seventeen? You should have awakened them sooner!”
Su Chen was speechless.
If he had awakened a year earlier, he could have done so much more.
For example, participating in the top martial arts academy assessment.
For example, participating in the top sect assessment.
In this life, his identity was good; he was the son of the city lord of Northern Wind City. Su Chen had already prepared himself to be a servant.
Unexpectedly, he was born into an official family.
The city lord of Northern Wind City was surnamed Jiang, and his given name was Li.
In this life, Su Chen also became Jiang Chen.
However, there was good news: he was still in the Tianfeng Kingdom in this life.
Thinking of the Su family's massacre in his previous life, only twenty years had passed, and the Xu family's patriarch was still alive.
Su Chen felt that the revenge he couldn't take in his previous life, he could take it in this one.
"Young Master Jiang Chen, Master wants to discuss something with you."
A cute girl with a round face, wearing a pale yellow dress, came running over with small, quick steps.
This was Su Chen's maid in this life.
Su Chen nodded and followed the maid to see his father in this life.
In the spacious room, Jiang Li had already instructed the servants to set out the meal.
A tall, rather stern-looking middle-aged man and a woman wearing a moon-white silk dress, her long, black hair tied back with a jade hairpin, sat in chairs waiting for Su Chen.
Upon seeing the two, Su Chen smiled and respectfully greeted, "Greetings, Father and Mother."
Wang Hanyu pulled Su Chen over, saying, "You silly child, come and sit down. There's no need for so many formalities at home."
Su Chen sat down obediently.
Jiang Li said, "Eat first, we can talk afterward."
After Su Chen obediently finished his meal, Jiang Li explained why he had summoned him.
"Chen'er, you've already reached the peak of the ninth level of the Spirit Awakening Realm, only one step away from the Spirit Gathering Realm."
"This Spirit Gathering Pill might be able to help you."
After the meal, Jiang Li took out an exquisite box containing a single pill—a Spirit Gathering Pill.
A Spirit Gathering Pill can help someone break through from the peak of the Spirit Awakening Realm to the Spirit Gathering Realm. The method for refining it is only possessed by top-tier forces. Not only is it extremely expensive, but most importantly, even money can't guarantee you'll be able to buy it!
Although Jiang Li was the lord of a city and a Spirit Pattern Realm expert,
obtaining a Spirit Gathering Pill was not easy.
Su Chen felt a surge of emotion.
Three days later, Su Chen had already reached the Spirit Gathering Realm, and he was only seventeen years old.
In his previous life, after leaving his family, he didn't reach this stage until he was twenty-five. Now, he had achieved it eight years earlier.
The future was promising.
After his breakthrough, Su Chen returned to the Lingyun Martial Academy in high spirits.
Although the Lingyun Martial Academy was far inferior to the two top martial academies, it was still one of the ten great martial academies of the Tianfeng Kingdom.
Upon returning to the Lingyun Martial Academy,
Su Chen's breakthrough to the Spirit Gathering Realm caused quite a stir.
After all, reaching the Spirit Gathering Realm at seventeen was already considered genius. Even within the genius-filled Lingyun Martial Academy, only a small number of people possessed such talent.
Su Chen also entered the inner courtyard ahead of schedule and chose an elder as his teacher.
The elder Su Chen chose was named Jiang Xiangyang, a powerful expert at the seventh level of the Spirit Pattern Realm, four levels higher than Su Chen's father, Jiang Li, in this life.
Jiang Xiangyang was a disheveled old man, but out of consideration for sharing the same surname, he accepted Su Chen as his disciple.
Thus, Su Chen gained another powerful backer.
That evening, urged on by his friends, Su Chen held a banquet to celebrate entering the inner sect and successfully becoming Jiang Xiangyang's apprentice.
After all, his journey hadn't been easy.
Su Chen almost got a beating from his mischievous friends; in their eyes, Su Chen's life was practically a cheat code.
With the city lord as his father, achieving Spirit Gathering at seventeen, entering the inner sect, and becoming an apprentice of Elder Jiang Xiangyang.
If this isn't a winner in life, what is?
"You don't understand, you understand nothing."
Su Chen simply shook his head. How could they possibly understand how difficult his journey had been?
Although that was in his past life.
Leaving the tavern, the moonlight was hazy, and Su Chen felt a shiver run through him.
He saw a familiar face.
The face of an old acquaintance.
This old acquaintance was an enemy, or rather, the Xu family!
“Li Ming, do me a favor.”
Su Chen looked earnestly at the drunken man beside him. Seeing Su Chen's earnest expression, the man instantly sobered up.
“I knew you were faking it!”
Su Chen looked at Li Ming, who had instantly sobered up, and was furious.
Li Ming smiled sheepishly. It wasn't that he didn't want to help Su Chen, but if he hadn't pretended to be drunk, he might have died in the tavern.
“You were faking it too,”
Li Ming muttered under his breath.
Su Chen didn't take it to heart. Back in the mercenary group, this level of alcohol was like water to him; he just couldn't show too much abnormality now.
"Investigate someone for me."
Su Chen pointed at the young man who looked like an old acquaintance.
The young man turned around and smiled at Su Chen.