2026-08-11 05:22:24The room was spacious and lined with dark wooden shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling, each one crammed with scrolls, bound texts, and artifacts that hummed with faint spiritual energy.
A large desk dominated the center of the room, its surface cluttered with papers and a single ornate lamp that cast warm light across the space, and behind that desk sat a man Jasper recognized from the borrowed memories—his father, Lord Aldric Stonehart.
He was a stern-faced man with graying temples and eyes that held the weight of decades of responsibility. His robes were simple but finely made, and his posture spoke of a man who had spent his entire life carrying burdens he never asked for.
“Jasper,” his father said, his voice neutral. “Sit.”
Jasper didn’t move.
The man might be his father, and Jasper might have his memories, but to the current Jasper this was a stranger—a powerful stranger at that. If his borrowed memories served correctly, Aldric was a Master Phase expert, and for someone like Jasper who hadn’t even begun cultivating, that said everything about the gap between them. So he just stood there, not daring to sit, his hands clasped behind his back like a servant awaiting orders.
Aldric looked up at him and sighed, a flicker of something—disappointment? exhaustion?—crossing his features before he threw a scroll that landed at Jasper’s feet.
He pointed to the ground, the command clear, and Jasper picked it up and looked at it before lifting his gaze back to his father, because that was the only way out of this room.
“You have no talent for cultivating,” Aldric said flatly. “So this is what the family can do for you.”
Jasper looked down at the scroll in his hands—a marriage proposal.
“The marriage is between you and the illegitimate daughter of a prominent family in the Asura Sect.” Aldric looked up from his work, his eyes meeting Jasper’s for the first time. “Maybe this will help you, and also, the family will finally rest from the disgrace you have put us through.”
Jasper bowed without saying anything, every movement based on the memories of how the person who owned this body behaved around his father. The original Jasper had been obedient, quiet, never questioning—a ghost in his own home—and the current Jasper had no reason to break character. Not yet.
He didn’t know what a real parent was supposed to feel like. He’d had parents back on Earth, sure, but they were more like a virus than anything else, parasites who only wanted money and used the fact that they’d given birth to him as leverage, as if creating a child meant they owned him forever. So even though the man sitting before him was scary, Jasper felt no emotional bond to him—no need for approval, no ache for recognition.
He just needed to leave this city and find somewhere quiet and peaceful to live out the rest of his life.
The old Jasper had been filled with dreams of chase, fame, and money, but now he wanted something small and simple. And in the world of cultivation, he needed power to protect himself—that much was obvious. Besides, to Jasper, everyone here was just a character in a world that wasn’t real, so why should he care?
The so-called father before him might be terrifying, but all Jasper saw when he looked at the man was a dead body talking back to him about selling his third son.
This might look like an easy deal—the family doing Jasper a favor by arranging a marriage—but Jasper wasn’t blind. The Stoneharts were selling him off for something, and he wanted to know what, because he was not going to be a lamb led to slaughter.
All he could do was nod and leave the study.
---
After leaving, Jasper decided he needed to cultivate first, to reach the first stage of cultivation before anything else. He was tempted to use the blindfold, but he didn’t want to waste one of his three uses when explaining how he’d suddenly gone blind to his family would be more than a little difficult.
He was about to enter the cultivation room near the outer part of his quarters when a message appeared before him.
Congratulations, Host. You are about to be married—something you did not do in your past life. You have been rewarded with Mind Intent Runes, a new cultivation technique, and a Foundation Pill.
In order to double your reward, the Host should feel what it means to be a man before marriage.
Jasper stared at the screen, his eyes widening.
Wait. I can double my reward?
He quickly entered the room and sat cross-legged before opening the rewards, his heart pounding with anticipation as he checked the first one.
Item: Mind Intent Runes
Grade: Unknown
Description:
A cluster of pale, silver runes etched into an ancient black surface. Their patterns are impossibly delicate, each line bending into the next as though the runes were not written, but grown. They seem to shift whenever they are observed directly, yet remain perfectly still when viewed from the corner of one’s eye.
There is no aura of power surrounding them. No murderous intent or overwhelming presence. And yet, those who gaze upon the runes for too long often find their thoughts becoming strangely quiet.
It is said that the Mind Intent Runes were created for those who sought to understand the Sword Dao beyond technique—to see the sword not as a weapon, but as an extension of the mind itself.
Ability — [Mind Cleansing]
The runes seep into the wielder’s mind, washing away distractions, doubts, and all unnecessary thoughts. For a brief moment, the mind becomes unnaturally clear. In that silence, the wielder is able to perceive the essence of the Sword Dao more deeply—to understand its rhythm, its intent, and the path hidden within every movement.
The deeper the understanding, the more profound the cleansing becomes.
However, no one knows what happens to a mind that is washed too deeply.
Jasper blinked.
Sword Dao?
He’d read about it in countless novels, but he’d never truly understood what it meant—half the time, he suspected the authors didn’t either.
Still, he was going to try anyway, because in this world, to cultivate was to defy the heavens, and each realm of cultivation was another act of defiance.
He’d always thought of cultivation as creating your own chaos world to challenge the heavens’ order, but this rune changed his perspective entirely.
If he wanted to walk the path of the sword, he needed to cultivate his mind sea first.
He looked at the second reward—a cultivation technique he didn’t need—and moved on to the third, a Foundation Pill meant to help with cultivation.
With a sigh, Jasper entered his inventory and removed the breathing technique he’d received earlier, opening it to reveal the Silent River Breathing Method.
He had no cultivation, so he read the technique carefully and did as the book instructed, but it was hard—harder than he’d expected—and Jasper, being a transmigrator who had spent years sitting on a couch reading novels, found that sitting still and meditating was not his strong suit.
He sighed and removed the Mind Intent Runes, looking at their description again.
Learning about the Sword Dao felt more appealing than the tedious work of breathing exercises, and besides, cultivation was hard. So with that in mind, Jasper looked at the item and prepared to summon it.
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Chapter 25 Blood on the Floor
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Chapter 24 A New Roommate
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Chapter 23 Three Against One, and It Wasn’t Close
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Chapter 22 The Free Meal
Aris pushed open the restaurant's carved wooden doors, and the four of them stepped inside. Warmth embraced them immediately. The rich aroma of freshly grilled beast meat, fragrant spirit herbs, roasted spices, and simmering broth filled the air, blending into a scent so inviting that it made the bustling restaurant feel warm and alive.The dining hall was spacious, its polished wooden floor reflecting the gentle glow of spirit lanterns suspended from the ceiling. Thick cedar pillars, intricately carved with drifting clouds and soaring cranes, supported the upper floor, while silk banners embroidered with mountains and rivers hung gracefully between them.Rows of sturdy wooden tables filled the hall, occupied by travelers, merchants, wandering cultivators, and noble families enjoying their meals. Waiters moved effortlessly through the crowded room, balancing heavy trays piled with steaming dishes and clay wine jars without spilling a single drop. Laughter and conversation blended t
Chapter 21 Master Phase
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