Upon seeing his new body, Robert was somewhat shocked.
"Oh my gosh, you can't be kidding. Is this me? No, this can't happen,"
he exclaimed.
"Um, big brother, it has already happened," Elena spoke out.
"Oh, yeah. It's already happened," Robert replied.
"I can't believe this is happening to me. This is amazing, and I feel so strong. Man, this body looks cool," he said, flexing his muscles in front of the mirror.
"And this thing on my chest, it's not a tattoo; it's more like a symbol."
He touched the symbol with his hand and examined it with the help of the mirror. The symbol was a spinning fan-shaped mark, and in the middle was an unknown writing. He kept looking at the changes in his body and thought,
I think this happened to my body because of what that crystal did to me two days back.
He then decided to take a shower.
"Yo, little sis, I guess you should go get ready for breakfast while I take a shower and meet up with you guys," he told Elena, who readily agreed.
"Okay, big brother, see you at breakfast and be fast," the little girl said joyfully and ran out of the room. Robert walked toward his room door and closed it, finally alone, and suddenly heard a mysterious voice.
"Well, well, looks like you are the perfect inheritor of the Dou Chi Element Crystal."
The voice sounded raspy, like an old man's, and this startled Robert.
"Who the hell is talking? Where are you? Come out now, because this isn't funny," Robert ranted, feeling a bit scared and skeptical, and then the voice came again.
"Fear not, child. I mean you no harm. I waited for your entire family to leave before I could talk to you," the voice said.
"Okay, that's reasonable, but will you at least show yourself so that I can know who the hell I'm talking with?"
Robert said out loud, a little annoyed.
"Then very well, child. I will appear to you," the voice said.
The whole room became silent, and a cold wind rushed around the room. A figure began to appear in front of Robert, and behold, it was an old man but not too old. He had long white hair like freshly fallen snow, a white mustache, and a long white beard. He was floating in mid-air, wearing a long white robe; his legs and feet were not visible, and his body looked transparent. He had deep black pupils filled with dignity and power. Robert was astonished by the old man's appearance and couldn't hold his questions any longer.
"So, first question first: who are you exactly?" Robert asked in a polite manner.
"Well, I am the guardian of the Five Element Crystal, Ling Zhong, and I will also become your master," the old man said in a straightforward manner. These words stunned Robert for a moment.
"So, to put this straight, you are the guardian of the crystal that landed in my yard, and you will also become my master? This doesn't make any sense," Robert said with a confused look at the old man floating in front of him.
"Well, the crystal that landed in your home has been traversing the universe in search of an inheritor of its power. But one thing I didn't expect is that the crystal suddenly came to your world, where there is no cultivation and spiritual Qi to cultivate which has never been recorded in the ancient scrolls of our world. And your world is a harsh place with restraints, meaning cultivation can't work in this world. I have been accompanying the crystal through the infinite cosmos for thousands of years, searching for a suitable inheritor, but I don't know why the crystal headed for your world and chose you instead. As the guardian of the crystal, whoever it chooses, I become their master," the old man explained and paused for a bit when Robert asked a question.
"Sorry to ask, where are you from? And what's the intention of the crystal choosing a nobody like me?" Robert asked, impatient to get an answer.
"Well, I am from a cultivation world known as Blue Maxima. It's a planet just like yours, but one thing is that our planet is five hundred times larger than your planet, and there are nine continents on the planet. I am from the Xinjiang Continent, a cultivation continent. When I was still alive, we were actually five guardians that guarded the crystal in the Holy Temple of the Heavenly Gods. But as they say, people's hearts turn black when they become greedy for more power. So one day, while we were on our usual watch, suddenly countless gods from different realms and of different races attacked the Heavenly Gods' realm in a bid to take the Dou Chi Crystal for themselves, and this caused a great war between the heavens. Me and my comrades fought with our lives to protect the crystal from falling into the wrong hands, we were at our peak in the cultivation world but what much can you do when you are overrun by countless gods? I watched my friends, my brothers and sisters in arms who were guardians with me, fight to the death just to protect this crystal. I watched them die. Upon the last one, the God of Principles ordered me to escape with the crystal, which I did but I still got pursuers going after me. They chased me day and night, and suddenly a god-tier arrow struck me from the back, and that was how my life ended. But the crystal, with one last escape plan, absorbed my soul into it, and the crystal, with its power regained to travel, dashed into the infinite cosmos and left the Xinjiang Continent for good, searching for the right inheritor. And it finally found you after eighty thousand years of searching, it finally found you. Even the humans and other races fought against themselves to prove who could get the crystal. Now it has chosen you, and me to be your master," the old man told his story and explained to him.
"Well, Mr. Ling Zhong, I'm so sorry about what happened to you, and it took you that long to find an inheritor," Robert said with sympathy.
"Well, there is no need to pity me. What the crystal wants is for you to become a strong cultivator and warrior in order to bring peace and prosperity back to the Xinjiang Continent and also fight against the evil races," the old man said with determination in his eyes, but Robert was not all that enthusiastic about it either, because everything was just happening so fast.
"Look, Mr. Ling Zhong, I don't think I can do this. I mean, I'm nobody, and I'm a loser, and I have a family and a life to live, and I can't comprehend all this. Look, I can't do it," Robert said with a sigh. Then the old man gave a smirk and spoke up.
"Well, I can't imagine it. I and the crystal traversed the cosmos for a good eighty thousand years. I searched endlessly for the right inheritor, and now I found you, this is what you say? I can't imagine this. Look, let me break the reality to you, Robert: do you think without strength you can defend your brother from bullying or stand up to your bullies? Do you think you can make a change in your life without facing the reality in front of you? Do you think you can stop the taunting of your parents? Do you think you can protect your loved ones without strength and courage?"