╠ Earth, Dawnspire City ╣
"Do you dream of becoming the greatest cultivator of all time? Well, get in line!"
"Want to conquer the world with a single punch? Too bad! First, let's figure out how to make soup with spiritual energy!"
"Ever wondered how to craft a First Rank Energy Replenishing Pill? Forget that! Let's start with something more basic like, say, not starving to death first!"
Yan Zehan's lips twitched as he scrolled through the video titles.
He had merely drifted off to sleep, only to awaken in a world where Spiritual Energy had been restored and the practice of cultivation was thriving.
This world was like some weird crossover of martial arts fantasy, ancient relics, and more spiritual energy than a thousand year-old tea ceremony.
Sure, Spiritual Energy had been restored to the world, and sure, there were ancient relics popping up like free Wi-Fi hotspots, but all Yan Zehan really wanted was to wake up in his own bed, with a decent breakfast and a life that didn't involve dodging random flaming bulls or trying to make sense of his financial ruin.
And let's not forget about his personal situation.
Not only had the body he inherited belonged to a kid with unremarkable cultivation talent, but the kid's life was a textbook example of "how to fail at everything."
Yesterday, he gambled away his house for a measly thousand dollars.
The Silver Wolf Gang? Yeah, they didn't care about his dreams of becoming a Weapon Craftsman. They just cared about getting paid. And they took his house as collateral.
He was then given an ultimatum to vacate the house within three days.
Currently, at 20, he was not even a Beginner Warrior yet. He was only a Quasi-warrior, who was no match for even the weakest member of the Silver Wolf Gang.
And now?
He was stuck here in the middle of a cultivation world, where the only thing cultivating was his growing sense of hopelessness.
His recollection told him that this world's cultivation levels were categorized into stages like Beginner Warrior, Intermediate Warrior, Advanced Warrior, and more.
Yan Zehan, fully aware of the situation, couldn't help but let out a wry laugh.
"I'm facing so many challenges right from the start. What am I supposed to do now?"
Yan Zehan sighed.
With nothing but disappointment in his pockets and sarcasm in his heart, Yan Zehan shoved the door open and stepped out of his soon-to-be-not-home.
He looked around one last time, sighing dramatically like a heartbroken actor in a tragic play.
"Goodbye, moldy walls. Goodbye, broken table. Goodbye, mysterious corner that probably has ghosts. I'll miss none of you."
As he took a deep breath of morning air that was slightly tainted by the neighboring auntie's overenthusiastic use of chili oil, he saw someone sprinting down the path like a man possessed.
It was Hao Tian, his neighbor. His one-time charity case. His only semi-decent memory of this miserable timeline.
Yan Zehan squinted his eyes. "Why does he look like he's training for the Olympics at this hour?"
Hao Tian, noticing him, slowed down and waved with the kind of cheerful energy that made Yan Zehan's eye twitch.
"Morning, Brother Yan!"
Brother Yan. That stung his heart.
It is not because it was disrespectful, but because it reminded him just how much of an older-brother figure he (the original owner of the body) had been to Hao Tian… before Hao Tian outgrew him in cultivation, wealth, popularity, and probably jawline definition.
Still, Yan Zehan managed a weak smile and waved back. Hao Tian was, in all fairness, the only good thing the original Yan Zehan had ever done.
Three years ago, Hao Tian had moved into the neighborhood with his family. He was fresh-faced, eager, and about as clueless about cultivation as a chicken trying to do calculus.
Back then, Yan Zehan still had some leftover resources from his parents, which were a house, some money, and a few low-grade cultivation materials.
Feeling generous (or maybe just lonely), he had shared half of his resources with Hao Tian.
"Half," he muttered under his breath while narrowing his eyes. "Half of everything I had... I must've been high on spiritual fumes."
That small act of kindness had jumpstarted Hao Tian's journey, allowing him to become a Beginner Warrior.
Now, just three years later, Hao Tian was already an Advanced Warrior at 18. He was a certified genius. He was the kind of guy who probably got called up by sect recruiters while doing laundry.
Meanwhile, Yan Zehan was still struggling in the Quasi-warrior Stage, struggling to become a Weapon Craftsman, and now… soon he would start struggling to find a place to sleep.
"Life's fair," he muttered inwardly in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
Then his thoughts took a darker turn.
His parents.
The memory was like stepping on a spiritual lego. It was painful and unnecessary.
His mother, that graceful lady who once told him he'd become great, had run off with another man, leaving only a polite goodbye note and some unmatched socks behind.
As if that wasn't insulting enough, his father had decided to one-up her in emotional damage.
He remarried a new woman just two days later.
He did not even spend a full week pretending to grieve.
Two days…
Forty-eight hours…
That man didn't even give the house a proper cleansing before inviting another woman in.
And then, just like that, Yan Zehan was out. The family split their belongings, and he was left behind with an old house in this neighborhood, a bit of money, and some cultivation materials that apparently weren't good enough for his father's new "golden" son.
At the time, perhaps because he was young and dumb of course, he thought sharing with Hao Tian would mean they could grow strong together.
But now?
Hao Tian was strong, popular, and respected.
And he?
He had failed to become a Warrior, was about to be homeless, and was currently wearing socks with holes.
Yan Zehan gave Hao Tian a thumbs-up. "Training hard, I see?"
Hao Tian grinned cheerfully. "Always! I just sensed spiritual force last night. I think I can break through and become a Force Warrior in a few months."
Yan Zehan's face twitched when he heard this. He smiled so hard his face almost cracked. "Wow. Incredible. Amazing. Groundbreaking."
Inside, he was screaming madly.
Suddenly, a voice of urging came from a distance.
"Brother Yan, my dad is urging me, I'll go over first!" Hao Tian scratched his head and said apologetically.
"Okay, we'll talk later." Yan Zehan said with a smile.
"Of course!" Hao Tian waved his hand and ran away quickly.
"…"
Looking at Hao Tian who quickly ran to the door of another house not far away, Yan Zehan sighed slightly.
"Sigh! This body is really rubbish. I have been a Quasi-warrior for so many years without succeeding. If I rely on myself, I will probably only be a Beginner Warrior when I die. If I want to become strong, it seems I'll have to rely on him." Yan Zehan thought, and soon he determined what to do next.
He already has a good relationship with Hao Tian, and he must maintain this relationship. When Hao Tian rises in the future, even if he can help him a little, it will be countless times better than his own blind efforts!
There is no other way. His talent is rubbish and his strength is not good enough. The only thing he can do now is to make good use of the relationship with this neighbor.
Without staying there for long, Yan Zehan quickly returned to his house again. Anyways, there is nothing for him to do outside.
"Dear moldy walls, broken table, and ghostly corner. I think I'll say goodbye another day."
Looking at a few places, he mocked himself.
"I haven't cooked for a long time. I wonder if my skills have deteriorated?" Yan Zehan hummed a little tune as he walked into the kitchen, took out a few things from the refrigerator, and then began to wash and scrub.
His cooking skills were not very good, but they were not bad either.
After spending some time cooking, he ate heartily, and then, humming a little tune, he jumped onto the sofa to relax for a while.
However, not long after, a strange sensation ran through his body.
The next moment, his consciousness was pulled into a dark space.
"Where is this place? How did I come here?"
Yan Zehan was confused when he suddenly found himself standing in a dark space. This place was so dark that he could not see even his own hand here.
But then, a small ball of light slowly appeared far away. This was a golden ball, and it was the only source of light in this infinite dark space.
Curious, Yan Zehan started walking towards the golden ball, and when he arrived in front of it, he was shocked to discover a golden sphere of ever-changing energy. The outer layer of the sphere remained stationary, but the energy inside was swirling sometime, and sometimes transformed into waves before crushing down.
"What is this thing?"
Yan Zehan was puzzled. Then he slowly reached out to the golden sphere and touched it.