He was even smug about it: in the grand Howard Residence, one of the Four Great Pillars, there wasn’t a single forbidden item! How could that be? Once I get my hands on a forbidden item, everyone from my little sister to my grandfather will surely look at me with new respect for my abilities!

He treated this head-losing affair as a “merit” to accomplish! This shows just how foolish the original owner was!

So, the original owner made inquiries everywhere and finally got in touch with a group willing to sell a forbidden item. They didn’t say what it was in advance, since this was a secret transaction.

But the original owner didn’t care what it was—as long as it was a forbidden item and gave him face, that was enough.

The asking price was sky-high, and he didn’t have enough money on hand, so he resorted to force and seized the fortune of a merchant in the east city of Wudu, barely scraping together enough silver.

But when the deal went down and he saw it was just a brick, the original owner was completely dumbfounded. No matter how flowery the other party’s words, he knew he’d been duped. Yun Kong Temple was indeed a ruin, and while it might be hard to find anything else, finding a brick was all too easy—because that’s all that was left!

So the original owner refused to accept it and even wanted to hold the sellers accountable. But those who deal in forbidden items are all desperados; they didn’t care who he was. In the chaos, they snatched the silver notes and fled.

The original owner was not favored at home and was only accompanied by two ninth-rank Yongquan martial artists. The other side came prepared and was stronger; both bodyguards died fighting, and the original owner was killed on the spot. It was a passerby who found him, and after several twists and turns, his body was finally returned to the Howard Residence.

Perhaps because of his dying obsession, the original owner clutched that brick tightly, and it was brought back to the Howard Residence along with him.

By a twist of fate, Edward Howard became Edward Howard—the body was the same, but the soul had changed.

This “Secret Research Sutra” was one of only three Buddhist scriptures allowed to circulate after the Martial Sect destroyed Buddhism. It was the most basic Buddhist scripture. The original owner had truly treated buying a forbidden item as a way to “turn his life around” at home, so he even researched Yun Kong Temple and bought a copy of the “Secret Research Sutra.” But with his level of knowledge, he was baffled after the first page and tossed it aside on his desk.

The scripture was just a woodblock-printed product from a Wudu bookstore, with at least five thousand copies in circulation. For such a common item to trigger a phenomenon, it was clearly because of that brick.

Although Edward Howard was very reluctant, he had no choice but to accept that he had transmigrated into a useless, good-for-nothing wastrel. No matter what, at least he was alive, so he had to find a foothold in this world. He didn’t want to be looked down on for life, and he knew this world was still chaotic, so martial strength was respected. If he could inherit Buddhist secret arts, even if they couldn’t be shown in the light, at least he’d have some means to protect himself!

He carefully placed the brick on the desk, then spread out the “Secret Research Sutra” again. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to begin his experiment. At that moment, a sudden realization struck him: perhaps his future in this world would depend on the outcome of this experiment.

He picked up the brick and knocked it against the edge of the desk.

“Kon!”

It was that sound again—though not loud, it gave a sense of vast grandeur. In Edward Howard’s mind, an image appeared: a massive vajra pestle descending from the heavens, striking a great mountain with tremendous force.

Above the “Secret Research Sutra,” a faint golden sand of light appeared again, confined to the small space above the scroll. The golden sand tried to gather, but seemed to be running out of strength.

Edward Howard, inspired, began tapping the brick repeatedly on the edge of the desk.

“Kon, kon, kon…”

The sound was empty and distant, as if echoing from the ancient source of the river of time.

With each sound, a patch of pale golden sand of light would be released from the “Secret Research Sutra.” The more the sand gathered, the stronger the power became. Gradually, above the scroll, a golden character began to form!

The foolish original owner didn’t recognize it, and neither did Edward Howard. But he didn’t stop; he kept knocking, and with each strike, new golden sand was released from the “Secret Research Sutra.” The faint golden light was no longer limited to the area above the book—it began to spread outward, enveloping the entire room. A vast, magnanimous, far-reaching, and compassionate aura filled the air. Bathed in this light and aura, the twice-lived Edward Howard was so moved he nearly wept!

His hand kept knocking, the golden sand kept pouring out, and countless grains gathered into many golden runes. These runes began to pile up, and when they reached a certain point, they suddenly exploded. The scattered golden light then formed the image of a little novice monk.

The little novice sat with lowered eyes and joined palms, as if he had sat there unmoving since time immemorial, unmoved by the cycles of sun, moon, and stars, unmoved by the vastness of the universe.

The burn marks on his head glowed with solid golden light, filling Edward Howard’s heart with peace. From that golden light, it seemed one could see birth, aging, sickness, death, meeting those you hate, parting from those you love, unfulfilled desires, the five aggregates of grasping… one could see the sun and moon shining again, and the stars fading into illusion.