In an old broken house, surrounded by tall grass and under a grey cloudy sky, the sound of thunder echoed loudly. Rain hit the windows and roof of the dark house. Inside, a person was sleeping on a broken bed, shaking from the cold.
Suddenly, the person opened his eyes and looked at the leaking ceiling. His head was hurting badly. He sat up and put his hand on his face.
"How did I end up here? I'm sure I was on my deathbed after that injury. And this place... isn't this my old home?"
He looked around, trying to understand the place and gather his thoughts. But soon he noticed something strange.
"What's going on? Why is my mind so slow? Why do I feel so weak? I can't even sense my consciousness! Where is my Qi?! Damn it, did they destroy my cultivation? Those bastards!"
He stood up quickly and checked his body. It was not his body. Not even close.
'What's happening? Am I in an illusion formation? Or maybe under a special technique? But I never heard of anything that can seal both cultivation and consciousness… unless they have my real body and sealed everything before using this method.'
While thinking, he walked around the house. It looked very familiar. He saw sunlight coming through a window, so he walked to it. Not far from the house, he saw a tree with two graves under it.
'This...'
A few minutes later, he was standing in front of the two graves.
He looked around and saw only long green grass and the sad grey sky.
"Could it be… did I travel back in time?"
Suddenly, he saw a black dot in the sky. It came closer slowly.
As it got near, it became clear — it was a young man with long black hair and a calm, handsome face. He was riding a flying sword. When he landed, he looked straight at him without breaking eye contact.
"Hello."
The man greeted him, then looked at the two graves. His eyes showed deep and complex emotions.
"Aren't you going to say hello?" he said while looking at the graves.
"…Hello."
Silence filled the air. The man walked closer and started cleaning one of the graves. He ignored the second grave, even though it was in worse condition.
After a few minutes, the young man spoke again. "I will go with you."
The man stopped cleaning for a moment. His face could not be seen clearly because his back was turned, but it was obvious he was touched.
Then he stood up and said, "Then let's go now."
Without saying more, they both got on the flying sword. The young man held on from behind.
After two hours of flying, they reached a tall mountain range covered with thick fog. As they flew between the mountains, they saw a deep valley surrounded by the peaks.
Around the mountains, there were many big and old buildings. They looked powerful and impressive. In the valley below, there was a very large village. It was full of light from many lanterns.
The place was built in a complex way. Some valleys were connected by bridges. The mountains had caves in use. There were even stairs leading to mountain tops that couldn't be seen clearly.
The two of them landed in front of a big cave. There were stairs going down.
The man went in, and the young one followed.
Two statues stood at the cave's gate. They stared at the young man. But when he looked at them, their eyes quickly looked away.
'Damn it, I remember why I hate this place. It's full of watchers. I'm sure they saw us before we even entered. That explains why no defense system activated around the mountains.'
They kept walking down for a long time until they reached a big reception hall.
An old man with glasses was sitting at a desk, reading a book. He looked up, annoyed. The sounds of their steps echoed loudly and had been bothering him since they entered.
"Name and reason for coming?"
"My name is Gu An. I'm here to register this boy at the Middle Academy."
The old man squinted. "Which academy?"
"The Tenth Family."
The old man stayed quiet for a moment, then touched a glass orb and asked, "Gu An, number 8222010?"
"Yes."
He pulled out a file and narrowed his eyes. "Ah, Mr. Gu An, so it's you. An honor to meet you."
"Thank you. Glad to hear that."
"You are welcome, full respect. Now, what's the name of this boy? I'll send the request once I get his details."
"His name is Lucian. He's 13 years old. Cultivation: none."
The old man started writing Lucian's information. Lucian looked around. The place was empty. It seemed like a place for the rich. It was full of class difference.
But as Lucian looked at the details around him, he became sure — this wasn't an illusion. No illusion could build such a detailed world and still work with fast flying movement. Especially after reaching this city with so many things — the illusion shouldn't be able to handle that much.
But the idea of time travel was even crazier. Right now, he couldn't jump to conclusions. He didn't have enough information. So, he decided to just go with the flow.
"Alright, that's enough." The old man created a file for Lucian and placed it in the glass orb. Then, he tapped it in a certain way.
"Sent."
"Thank you," Lucian said and bowed before leaving with Gu An.
Outside the cave, Gu An flew with Lucian over the busy city streets. The place was full of lights and colors. Very crowded.
They arrived at a wall on the side of the valley. There was a high platform hanging on the cliff. It looked like only people who could fly could reach it.
Gu An finished the booking and paid the money, then left quickly.
"Don't leave your room until I come back."
'That bastard put me in a place like this so I can't escape.' Lucian sighed and looked down at the city with complex feelings.