Chapter 28: Inherited Memories, Dragon's Awakening

  Su Tianhao sat in the empty void, head lowered, pressing his hands against his temples. The weight of everything he had just learned pressed down on him like a mountain.

  "All these years... I thought my parents had abandoned me... I thought I was destined to be alone forever..." he whispered, his voice breaking as the reality finally settled in.

  Chenyuan stood silently before him, waiting patiently for the truth to land.

  After a long silence, Su Tianhao raised his head and looked directly at Chenyuan. "How is it possible that both my parents are so extraordinary, yet I awakened no talent for cultivation?"

  "Huh?" Chenyuan raised an eyebrow. "How could that be? As someone carrying the bloodline of a Supreme Dragon, your talent should be something no human in this world could compare to."

  Su Tianhao sighed. "It's true, though. A year ago during the talent test, the orb showed no reaction at all. Complete zero."

  "A year ago?" Chenyuan repeated thoughtfully. Then his eyes brightened with understanding.

  "You know something," Su Tianhao said, leaning forward.

  "Shengzi, you are half human and half Heavenly Devouring Dragon," Chenyuan explained. "Your dragon bloodline far outshines your human heritage, which means you possess the physique of a devouring dragon. This means you don't awaken at the same time humans do. While humans awaken their talent at fifteen, dragons awaken at sixteen—but only after the bloodline awakens first."

  Su Tianhao's eyes widened. "You mean I'm not worthless trash? I failed to awaken last year simply because my bloodline hadn't activated yet?"

  Chenyuan nodded. "Exactly. This is a natural result of your Heavenly Devouring Dragon physique. You have the body and bloodline of a Supreme Dragon—your development follows dragon patterns, not human ones."

  "So now that my bloodline has awakened..." Su Tianhao began.

  "...my cultivation talent has awakened as well!" He exclaimed in joy.

  Chenyuan smiled.

  Su Tianhao clenched his fists with barely contained excitement. "What grade of talent have I awakened? You can tell, right?"

  Chenyuan's smile turned mysterious. "It wouldn't be interesting if I simply told you. What I can say is that it surpasses any talent grade that exists in this world."

  "Higher than nine stars?" Su Tianhao asked.

  "Hmph! Nine-star talent is complete trash!" Chenyuan snorted. "How could the son of a Supreme Immortal awaken something as pathetic as mortal-rank talent?"

  "Supreme Immortal? Mortal-rank talent? What do these terms mean?"

  "Knowing too much right now won't do you any good," Chenyuan said, shaking his head. Seeing Su Tianhao's disappointment, he continued more gently, "You'll come to understand all of this naturally as your strength grows."

  "What does that mean?"

  "Before your mother and I left," Chenyuan continued, "we decided to give you a parting gift. When you were only a few days old, your mother sealed within you the memories of all her cultivation experiences, the martial arts techniques she had mastered, and her professional knowledge. Beyond being an extraordinary cultivator, your mother was also a brilliant alchemist."

  "Memories and knowledge?" Su Tianhao asked, his interest sharpening.

  “Yes,” Chenyuan nodded. “When I departed—you were barely two years old at the time—I also sealed memories of all my cultivation experiences, techniques, and martial arts, as well as my professional expertise. Apart from being obsessed with cultivation, I also studied weapon craftsmanship, but my main specialty was inscriptions and formations. I was considered a very powerful formation master.”

  "These memories are sealed inside me right now?" Su Tianhao's eyes widen, his breathing quickened.

  "Exactly. Before I left, I combined the inherited memories from your mother with my own, then separated them into different layers so they wouldn't overwhelm you." Chenyuan looked at him seriously. "Now that your talent has awakened, the first layer will unlock naturally. There are nine layers in total. As you grow stronger, more will follow. If we hadn't layered them this way, the flood of memories would have destroyed your soul."

  Su Tianhao nodded. He didn't need to think hard to understand why. His father had lived for over a thousand years as a Supreme Immortal. If that entire accumulation had crashed into him at once, his soul would have definitely shattered.

  Just thinking about it made him shudder.

  "You don't need to fear anything," Chenyuan said reassuringly. "As long as you increase your cultivation steadily, your soul will grow strong enough to handle each layer as it unlocks... unless you try to force them open before you're ready."

  "Oh." Su Tianhao exhaled with relief.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "With these memories, you won't lack for anything," Chenyuan said, a note of pride in his voice. "Knowledge of the cultivation world, history, martial arts techniques, cultivation methods, alchemy, formation mastery—it's all there waiting for you."

  Su Tianhao's eyes widened. Having access to the accumulated knowledge of two extraordinary figures—every technique, every insight—the implications were staggering.

  Chenyuan smiled knowingly. "Now that I've completed my message, I'll begin vanishing. I am just a soul fragment, after all."

  Su Tianhao looked at him, something complicated moving behind his golden eyes.

  "You don't need to look like that," Chenyuan said warmly. "Unlock all nine layers, ascend to the Immortal Realm, and you'll be able to reunite with both your parents."

  Su Tianhao nodded quietly as Chenyuan's figure began breaking apart, dissolving like golden stardust scattered by an invisible wind.

  "If it makes you feel any better..." Chenyuan's voice faded as he disappeared. "Your father left you a hidden site containing all the treasures and wealth he accumulated during his hundred years reign in the mortal realm. That is your inheritance. You'll learn its location when you unlock all nine layers of your inherited memories."

  Su Tianhao watched him go, tears forming in his golden eyes. He couldn't fully explain the sadness pulling at him in that moment—only that it was real.

  'What's happening to me?' he wondered.

  Just before Chenyuan vanished completely, he struck Su Tianhao's forehead with his palm.

  A powerful force engulfed him, dragging him back toward consciousness as the void dissolved around him.

  Chenyuan's final words echoed through the darkness:

  "I will be waiting for you in the Immortal Realm..."

  ---

  The morning sun shone brightly over a humble courtyard. Beneath the ancient oak tree, a young man in azure robes lay still on the ground. Then his brows tightened, and his eyes slowly opened—a brief flash of dragon eyes that faded back to gold.

  "I'm awake!" Su Tianhao gasped, breathing deeply as he sat up and glanced around to confirm his surroundings.

  He stretched, his joints cracking—not painfully, but refreshing, as if his entire frame had been renewed overnight.

  'Looks like I slept out here all night,' he thought, a smile spreading across his face as the events of the previous evening came flooding back.

  "I'm not worthless!" he declared, clenching his fists. "I am Tunlong Shengzi, son of Tunlong Chenyuan. From now on, I will carve my path to the top and ascend to the Immortal Realm!"

  He had never possessed a real goal beyond survival and basic improvement. Now his purpose was clear: grow stronger, achieve immortality, and reunite with his parents.

  Su Tianhao stood and raised his head toward the morning sun, feeling more alive than he ever had.

  Then the smell hit him.

  "Where is this stench coming from?" He glanced around until he spotted the black liquid covering his body.

  Before he could finish the thought, unfamiliar memories flooded his mind in steady waves.

  He clutched his head and dropped to one knee as the inherited knowledge poured into his consciousness—a vast understanding of the cultivation world, natural phenomena, martial arts techniques, cultivation methods, professional expertise, and countless other subjects. The mental pressure was immense, like a thousand needles driving into his mind at once, reaching not just his body but the very depth of his soul.

  "AAAAAAHH!!!"

  Su Tianhao screamed, clutching his head. The agony lasted only a few minutes before it subsided, leaving him breathing hard on one knee, back soaked with sweat.

  "Hah... hah..." He slowly removed his hands from his head and steadied himself.

  "And that was only the first layer," he murmured. "Yet I feel like I can rival an imperial scholar."

  His understanding of the world had expanded. Everything felt sharper—the cultivation realms and its mysteries, professional expertise, concepts that had once seemed distant now sat in his mind as naturally as breathing.

  "Ugh!" The foul stench hit his nose again, and Su Tianhao quickly covered it as he recalled information from his inherited memories. The black substance covering his body was impurities—toxins that accumulated naturally within mortal bodies over a lifetime. His bloodline awakening had transformed him from the inside, expelling them all at once.

  "So many impurities," he said with growing excitement. "The fewer impurities in the body, the faster cultivation speed becomes. I really struck gold."

  Normally, purifying the body to this degree required bathing in rare spiritual lakes—and even then, the effect would be minimal compared to what he had just experienced.

  Su Tianhao's face lit up. 'I can't wait to start cultivating. But first, I desperately need a bath.'

  He made his way quickly to the small bathroom in his humble dwelling.

  A few minutes later he emerged, water still clinging to his skin as he dried off with a worn towel. He moved to the cracked mirror beside his bed and stopped.

  All the bruises and training scars accumulated over a year of brutal self-discipline had vanished. His skin was unmarked, his frame more defined, and there was a subtle, healthy glow to his appearance that hadn't been there before.

  "Incredible," he breathed.

  He retrieved a clean set of azure robes, slid them over his transformed frame, and tied his long black hair into a neat ponytail.

  Grrrr!

  His stomach growled loudly. He clutched his midsection. "Damn, I'm starving."

  He checked the time. Still early—hours before the servants would bring his usual meal. He grabbed some silver coins and headed for the door.

  As he moved, his inherited memories surfaced again. Heavenly Devouring Dragons were notoriously ravenous creatures, capable of consuming entire households' worth of food. He recalled the vision—the ancestral dragon devouring an entire world—and felt a flicker of unease.

  'I won't grow to the point of needing to devour entire worlds to survive... right?' He gulped.

  Though if he was being honest, there was a thread of excitement woven through the nerves.

  From his memories, he understood the core of the Heavenly Devouring Dragon's power. They could devour anything—spiritual energy, elemental energy, matter, even souls—and convert it into cultivation fuel. The stronger the dragon, the more powerful their absorption became.

  Curiosity got the better of him before he'd even left the courtyard.

  "Let me test this," he murmured.

  "Devour."

  The moment the word left his lips, the swirling vortex in his dantian activated. Spiritual energy from the surrounding area rushed inward. The flowers in his small garden wilted instantly, their life force stripped away and absorbed by his body.

  Su Tianhao's eyes went wide. He cut the ability off immediately.

  'I need to practice controlling this. It can never be used in public.'

  He glanced at the withered flowers for a moment, then turned and walked briskly out of Fei Wu Quarter to find food.

  It didn't take long to reach the family's main quarters. Ignoring the disdainful stares and whispered mockery around him, Su Tianhao made his way toward the gates with newfound confidence. Strangely, he found he could hear their whispered conversations with perfect clarity from much greater distances than should have been possible.

  "That's the worthless Second Young Master..."

  "I heard he got beaten badly by Young Master Jian yesterday..."

  "What's he doing out here? Shouldn't trash like him stay hidden?"

  'Hmph! I'll silence all of you with my own strength soon enough!' Su Tianhao muttered under his breath, his confidence unshaken as he continued toward the gate.

  But his path was suddenly blocked by a familiar figure stepping into his way.

  "Trash! Where do you think you're going? You humiliated me yesterday, and now you're going to pay for it!"

  Su Tianhao frowned as he recognized the speaker. From the disciples' conversations, he remembered the name: "Yu Chen. I'm in a very good mood today, so step aside... or else."

  Yu Chen laughed coldly, his face twisted with arrogant satisfaction. "Don't get cocky, trash! You only beat me yesterday because I was careless. Kneel down and beg for my mercy... maybe then I'll let you go!"

  Their verbal exchange quickly attracted nearby disciples who gathered eagerly to watch the confrontation unfold.

  "Look! It's Yu Chen facing Su Tianhao again!"

  "I heard he was defeated because of his own carelessness yesterday. He must want revenge!"

  "This should be entertaining to watch!"

  In the cultivation world, conflicts and battles were normal occurrences that fascinated most practitioners, and a crowd began forming around them.

  Su Tianhao's frown deepened as he saw the gathering spectators, his eyebrows furrowing with growing anger.

  Yu Chen's arrogance increased as he noticed the audience. "I'm being gracious, Su Tianhao! Kneel down and kowtow three times, and I'll let you leave with your dignity intact!"

  The crowd drew in sharp breaths at this demand.

  "Yu Chen is being too ruthless! That's attacking a man's pride!"

  "Unfortunately, that's the fate of the weak. Su Tianhao can't beat him, so he can only comply."

  "What dignity does worthless trash have left anyway?"

  Most disciples looked at Su Tianhao with disdain, eager to see him humiliate himself. While a few felt pity for his situation, none stepped forward to help.

  Yu Chen smirked and continued his assault. "I'll count to five. If you don't do it, I'll personally break your legs!"

  He raised one finger dramatically. "One!"

  But before he could continue counting, he suddenly saw a figure launch forward at him with lightning speed, delivering a fierce punch.

  Su Tianhao had moved!

  "You're courting death!" Yu Chen snarled, tightening his own fist and launching forward with his full strength as he executed his martial technique. "Mighty Fist!"

  Boom!

  Both fists collided with explosive force. Su Tianhao was pushed back several steps, but Yu Chen's condition was far worse. His hand was mangled—fingers twisted beyond recognition, blood flowing freely from broken bones and torn flesh.

  "AAAAAHHHHH!" A piercing shriek tore through the morning air as Yu Chen collapsed, clutching his destroyed hand in agony.