Yang Huo's eyes snapped open, greeted by the familiar darkness of the void realm. As he pushed himself into a sitting position, a sharp, stinging pain surged through his head, halting him mid-motion.
All at once, it felt as though a lock deep within his consciousness had shattered.
Knowledge surged forth from the depths of his mind, flooding him with fragments of worldly understanding.
The influx was overwhelming, leaving him dizzy and nauseous. His stomach churned uncomfortably, but despite the physical discomfort, Yang Huo's focus remained on the chaos unfolding in his mind.
But before he could steady himself, a screen flickered into his shaky vision, accompanied by a familiar, cheery voice.
[Did you miss me, Host?]
Though the owl was nowhere to be seen, Yang Huo instantly recognized the tone.
The System had returned.
[No need to be shy. I'm sure you did!]
[Anyway, congrats on your synchronization!] it continued, punctuating the words with a cheerful, celebratory toot.
Yang Huo didn't respond.
His attention remained fixed on the chaos unfolding inside his mind, sorting through the flood of information piece by piece. His silence was deliberate.
Oblivious to his indifference, the System continued.
[Hehe, are you wondering what Body and Soul synchronization means?]
[It's very simple actually! It's—]
"Quiet." The word cut through the System's chatter, edged with annoyance.
[...Eh?]
The System faltered, momentarily stunned by the coldness in his tone.
H-Had it been gone for too long? Was Yang Huo angry that it disappeared without notice?
Yang Huo's gaze sharpened at the interface. 'Will you answer me if I ask where I am right now?'
When the System heard his sudden question, it hesitated. It naturally knew the answer—but…
He pressed further, the edge in his tone cutting. 'Will you answer me if I ask how Yang Huo is still alive?'
[W-well...]
That was enough.
Yang Huo had long since learned that the System rarely gave anything away for free. It wouldn't even bother informing him that he was a guest in the Su residence. Expecting it to explain something this critical now would be laughable.
'Do you not see the situation I'm in?' he said. 'I've been dragged into god-knows-what, stabbed in the back by a dead person, forced to relive their memories, only to wake up alive, yet still trapped in this place—with the enemy nowhere to be seen.'
At first, his words carried a sharp irritation, but as he spoke, the edge dulled. The emotions drained from his voice, leaving a detached, matter-of-fact delivery.
'So unless you have something useful to help me right now,' he concluded flatly, 'be quiet.'
The System fell silent... before replying meekly.
[Y-yes…]
It felt wronged, all it wanted was to congratulate him. Why did it got scolded? Didn't you miss me?
But Yang Huo's commanding presence was too overwhelming. To say anything more felt... unwise.
After removing the distraction, Yang Huo no longer had his attention on the System anymore.
Body and Soul synchronization.
The term itself was self-explanatory. With a bit of deduction, it was likely triggered by his death.
That wasn't hard to infer on his own.
Right now, the priority was to get out of this accursed place. And figuring out why that suddenly-alive-man was nowhere to be seen.
Yang Huo's mind churned as he began analyzing.
The first clue came from the System itself. The person it declared dead had supposedly been alive—alive enough to stab him, no less. Yet the System showed no signs of alarm or acknowledgment to this. Strange.
The System may be stingy, but it had no reason to lie—at least, deception didn't seem to be within its nature. If it had been wrong about something as critical as the original Yang Huo's death, it wouldn't have brushed it off so casually.
'Could it be… that wasn't the real Yang Huo?' he mused.
Assuming Yang Huo was truly dead, who—or what—had attacked him?
Whoever it was, they knew about the body possession. Which alone was already puzzling. After all, he had only arrived in this world mere hours ago.
If this imposter had been close to the original Yang Huo, it made even less sense. What kind of person would stage such a grotesque charade—pretending to be a dead man returned to life—only to strike once before vanishing?
Just to terrify him?
Yang Huo's gaze swept across his surroundings. The void remained infinite and featureless, offering no answers. Darkness stretched endlessly around him, swallowing every direction.
He was utterly alone in this unending abyss.
'Just where the hell am I?'
One moment, he had been sitting in the guest room. The next, that person had dragged him into this surreal realm, right under the noses of the Su family experts.
How?
The synchronization hadn't granted him the original body's memories.
Instead, it had filled him with ingrained, common knowledge—concepts so basic they operated beneath conscious thought. Meridians. Cultivation stages. Social hierarchies. Even the rough prices of mundane goods.
At first glance, it seemed mediocre. But to him, it was invaluable.
As someone new to this world, information—especially the kind everyone took for granted—was his greatest limitation.
This senses filled that gap, allowing him to piece together the basics of this world's logic.
And it was precisely this clarity that made the strangeness of this realm all the more apparent.
This abstract, undefined space was too intricate and bizarre for just anyone to create. Those capable of such a feat wouldn't need such a convoluted method to kill him.
Yang Huo lowered his gaze, inspecting his chest. Not a single speck of blood marred his robes, not even a tear where the blade had pierced. His clothing was pristine, free from dust or wear. It was as though the stabbing had never happened.
'Healing me is one thing,' he thought, eyes narrowing. 'But my clothes too? What am I supposed to believe? That this person reversed time and space to undo it all?'
Absurd.
The simpler explanation was that this was a property of the realm itself.
An illusionary space, perhaps.
But if it was merely mental manipulation, how had it triggered Body and Soul synchronization?
That process didn't seem like something that could occur without a significant catalyst. It should require more than mere mental manipulation.
As he considered confirming the synchronization's trigger with the System, a sudden thought cut through his analysis.
Until now, he had assumed Su Meiying's necklace was the key to his being transported here—a medium used to pull him into this place, or perhaps even the realm itself.
It was a reasonable assumption.
But… what if he was wrong?