“Don’t worry, I will avenge you, and I will fulfill your long-cherished wish!” That soul was completely unmoved, incomparably cold, but in just an instant, he became utterly terrified.

“How is this possible! You are—damn it! No! No! No!”

It was as if he had encountered something terrifying, letting out a chilling scream in Henry Stone’s mind, and then that soul immediately shattered, torrents of memories surging toward Henry Stone, vast beyond description.

Henry Stone let out a muffled groan and fainted on the spot.

“Hahahaha!” This made the boys around burst into laughter.

“So cowardly, he actually fainted from fright.”

“Look, he’s even sweating cold sweat.”

“Someone like this was once called the pride of our academy, and even represented us in the Imperial Capital’s martial arts tournament. What a disgrace!”

However, they soon stopped laughing, because the girls all gathered around, their faces full of worry and concern.

He’s not even your father or mother, is it really necessary?

……

Henry Stone had a dream. In the dream, he became another person, named Edward Warren, whose life was incomparably long, filled with countless experiences, yet all of them were extremely vague.

As Edward Warren, he learned many things—medicine, talisman arts, alchemy, and more—dabbling in all and achieving considerable mastery.

In the end, he ventured into an ancient ruin and obtained a cultivation technique called “Ninefold Heaven-Plundering Scripture” (《九转掠天经》), but triggered a restriction, causing his physical body to be destroyed, with only his soul escaping.

Even so, his soul was severely damaged and had to immediately seek someone to possess.

Thus, Henry Stone witnessed a familiar scene: a beam of white light descended from the sky and entered “his” body.

Whoosh!

Henry Stone suddenly sat up straight. When he saw the familiar surroundings, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Was it a nightmare?

No.

His mind was now filled with many memories, all from Edward Warren, including knowledge of martial arts, medical research, talisman arts, alchemy, formations—an endless variety.

However, Edward Warren had suffered severe trauma, and his memories were incomplete. As for this person’s life story, Henry Stone didn’t receive any clear images.

It wasn’t a dream—everything was real.

A strong sense of confidence welled up in Henry Stone, because he had inherited all the martial arts knowledge of a powerful expert.

“Useless, you’re awake!” someone next to him sneered.

Henry Stone looked over. This person was Brian Booth, who, nine months ago, had been his lackey, always hanging around him and trying to curry favor.

But after Henry Stone became crippled, Brian Booth was the quickest to turn on him, immediately siding with Henry Stone’s former rival, Thomas Song of the Tianzi Academy, becoming a loyal dog—so realistic it was hard to believe.

Was this really a boy who had just turned sixteen?

“Heh, there are sixteen more people before it’s your turn.” Brian Booth wore a look of utter disdain, leaned close to Henry Stone’s ear, and whispered, “Once you’re expelled and lose the academy’s protection, Brother Thomas can do whatever he wants to you—even… kill you!”

Chapter 2: Ninefold Heaven-Plundering

Henry Stone raised an eyebrow, somewhat in disbelief.

He and Thomas Song had always been rivals. Last year, he had outperformed him, winning the only spot to represent Xingfeng Academy’s fifteen-year-old students in the Imperial Capital’s martial arts tournament.

But that was fair competition—would it really make Thomas Song want to kill him?

He took a deep breath. The reason no longer mattered; what mattered was how he would resolve this crisis.

“Ninefold Heaven-Plundering Scripture” (《九转掠天经》)!

This was the mysterious cultivation technique obtained by Edward Warren, which had even led to that expert’s death. Now, it was his only lifeline.

At Xingfeng Academy, and even throughout the entire Huayuan Nation, martial artists could only rely on physical training, breaking through the body’s limits again and again through arduous effort, raising their strength to unimaginable levels.

Because of this, when Henry Stone injured the meridians in his leg and arm, he could no longer train, becoming half-crippled.

But the Ninefold Heaven-Plundering Scripture draws in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming it for one’s own use—its mysteries are endless.

In fact, in Edward Warren’s memories, he saw that cultivating with techniques was the true path, and physical training was only supplementary.

Yet now, in Huayuan Nation, martial arts had mistaken the supplementary for the main path, and no one even mentioned cultivation techniques—no one knew why.

Henry Stone recalled the incantation of the Ninefold Heaven-Plundering Scripture in his mind. Edward Warren had only memorized the technique and never had time to practice it, so Henry Stone could only reconstruct it. But as for how to understand it, he was at a loss.

In fact, it couldn’t even be called an incantation, but rather a series of symbols—utterly baffling. Yet, as these symbols flashed through his mind, Henry Stone was surprised to find that he knew what to do.

According to Edward Warren, the more profound the technique, the harder it was to cultivate. If he could comprehend it so easily, could it be that this technique was too low-level?

But Edward Warren died because of it—could it really be a low-level technique?

Ninefold—Heaven-Plundering!

Henry Stone tried to circulate the technique, and instantly, his consciousness extended outside his body, turning into tendrils that spread in all directions.