"Wow…" Xuefeng muttered, his mind reeling with the flood of information he had absorbed from the previous owner of his body. "This world is… amazing."
No other words came to his mind as he grappled with the reality of his new existence. He understood the value of retaining the memories of his predecessor, realizing how crucial they would be for navigating this unfamiliar world.
His name was Liu Xuefeng, remarkably similar to his old name from his previous life. He also discovered that he was the son of Liu Xiaobei, the leader of the prominent Liu Clan. This Earth Realm, significantly larger than his former world, housed Phoenix City within a country known as Aurora. According to his memories, Aurora rivaled China in size, yet it was merely one of many vast nations in the region.
"I wonder how big the other countries are…"
Liu Xuefeng tried his best to imagine how vast the other kingdoms were when another thought crossed his mind, and he paused, a smile spreading across his face upon the realization.
"I actually reincarnated into a cultivation world!"
Cultivation was only a concept on Earth, where ordinary humans could extend their natural life by practicing a set of martial and spiritual arts achieved through meditation and the gathering of qi or energy. The ultimate goal, of course, was to become immortal or attain the level of a god.
Liu Xuefeng, in his eighteen years of life, had only ever heard and read of this concept as a genre in literature. Who would have thought that in this new world, it would truly exist!
The knowledge that he was now in a magical world filled him with elation. Despite initially thinking he would have a hard time adapting to his new environment, he was now completely excited about the future.
On the other hand, in this world, strength stood above everything else. It didn't matter whether you were right or wrong; as long as you had power, no one could defy you.
"I guess I need to be careful and mindful of my actions… At least for now."
The only bad news was that the previous owner of his body knew nothing about cultivation, as his dantian had been broken since birth. In a way, the Xuefeng of this world was handicapped.
Xuefeng's only hope was the healing effects of his reincarnation that could potentially awaken his potential.
"Please, I really don't want to be a cripple," he wished while praying to the ceiling.
It would be truly tragic to be in this world and not even be able to practice any kind of magic.
At that moment, the door gently opened, and someone entered the room. Before Xuefeng could even turn his head to look at the person, he heard a scream.
"Aaaaah! Young Master, you can't stand up!"
A sweet voice called out to him, and his heart skipped a beat at the familiar sound. He turned swiftly to face the newcomer and saw a young lady in a modest dress running towards him in a panic.
"Please, go back to bed," she pleaded, her voice breaking with worry as she reached him.
"Wuying…" the name left his mouth instinctively, surprising even himself.
He remembered that Wuying was the name of the servant whom his predecessor was in love with.
"I'm fine. Don't worry," he told her gently with the hopes of appeasing her obvious anxiety and patted his chest. "See? I'm all healed up."
Wuying was momentarily shocked as she touched his chest to confirm his words before asking in awe, "Young master, what happened with the injury?"
Xuefeng had no idea how to explain himself so he came up with a pleasant reason. "Well, I guess it healed up overnight from all the good care you gave me. I can't be more thankful to you."
"You… You had a huge wound across your chest. There is no way it would disappear without leaving a single scar," Wuying commented in bewilderment, clearly not buying his story.
Xuefeng glanced at his chest where she was touching and held her hand, sharing a kind smile. "I guess you saved my life then. I don't know how I can repay you."
The brown-haired beauty blushed from his gaze and swiftly pulled away, trying to avoid his gaze. It was for the better as he himself wasn't feeling good. Whenever he looked at Wuying he felt his heart tighten up, which was probably caused by remnants of his predecessor's feelings for her.
"I really didn't do much, but I'm happy you are feeling better," Wuying muttered and after a short hesitation, she dove into his arms to hug him tightly. "I couldn't sleep thinking about you…"
His heart skipped a beat again and his lungs stopped working as her firm bosom pressed against his chest. He now finally understood how the Xuefeng from this world managed to fall for this girl, knowing any man would have difficulty resisting such sensual hugs.
"I'm sorry for worrying you…" he replied weakly and returned her embrace, trying not to expose his identity.
They stayed that way for a while, holding onto each other tightly until she finally realized her actions were inappropriate and stepped back. Blushing heavily, she stood up and ran towards the doors.
"I will inform Milady about your condition. She was also worried about you," she called out happily and left.
Only after she was gone did Xuefeng manage to calm down his mind.
"So this is the lady you fell for, huh," he muttered as if his predecessor could hear him. "I guess your situation was also hopeless. Although you were of higher status, you didn't wish for her to be together with a cripple. You decided to sacrifice your happiness for her future."
The two of them were similar in this regard, each of them battling with their inferiority complex.
"As much as I wish at least one of us succeeded, I will need to lessen these feelings. They are not mine after all," Xuefeng decided after thinking it through.
Five minutes had passed since Wuying left when he heard hurried footsteps from outside. The heavy door opened with a bang and two adults barged inside, their presence imposing. From his memories, he could tell that the black-haired man with a dignified gaze was the current clan leader as well as his new father. The woman following behind him who looked like she was in her twenties was his mother, Mu Lan.
Liu Xuefeng's parents…
He thought similar overwhelming feelings would come rushing this time as well, but surprisingly, he didn't feel much. It must have been because the emotions were not strong enough to break through.
"Feng'er, Wuying said you have already recovered from your accident. We came to check on you."
His mother informed calmly as she scanned his body, her gentle but firm hands meticulously searching for any type of injury. After a moment, she gave her husband a knowing glance and pulled away in surprise.
"How did you recover so fast? You were gravely injured just yesterday," his mother asked in confusion and awe, the same way Wuying did just earlier.
It was a good thing that Xuefeng had spent the last minutes preparing an alibi after being questioned by Wuying earlier. He was able to come up with something that could match this world and also gave a justified explanation for his sudden recovery.
"I initially thought it was all Wuying's doing, but then I remembered I had this medicine with me that's now gone. I got it from the city a week ago when I helped an old beggar by buying him a loaf of bread. To repay me, he gave me a medical pill which I must have swallowed in panic when I was injured. I'm guessing it was something good considering I recovered so quickly," Xuefeng lied through his teeth, narrating the story he prepared.
"When I woke up today, not only was I healed, but I could also feel something unlock in my stomach," Xuefeng added as he turned to the clan leader with an excited look on his face. "Father, can you check if my dantian has also recovered?"
"Oh?" Liu Xiaobei raised an eyebrow with interest. "Pass me your hand."
Xuefeng didn't hesitate to reach out, and he felt a weird sensation as soon as their hands touched. The feeling spread to every part of his body before the clan leader exploded in laughter.
"Hahaha! God did not abandon us!" Liu Xiaobei exclaimed as if he'd gone mad and hugged his wife excitedly. "Lan Lan, our son's dantian is not broken anymore!"
"Wait, I need to check myself too," Mu Lan pushed him away as she poured energy into Xuefeng's dantain, and sure enough, she exploded in happiness just the same.
"Feng'er, this is such great news! You can finally cultivate!" Mu Lan called out while kissing his cheeks excitedly.
"Let's see which bastard will call my son trash again!" Liu Xiaobei challenged, his hands balled into fists as if remembering the taunts and name-calling they endured in the past years.
"Feng'er, there will be a Spirit Awakening Ceremony for all ten-year-olds in our clan in two days. Although you are a little bit older, it doesn't matter. After you awaken your spirit, you will finally be able to begin cultivating," his mother mentioned happily.
Xuefeng paused as he searched through his memory, and nodded upon remembering what it was. The Spirit Awakening Ceremony wasn't needed to awaken the spirit, but it gave the cultivator a headstart in his journey. Most would normally participate around ten years old, but since his dantian was broken since birth, he had never joined.
And now, he was finally qualified.
"Right! I need to contact the Resource Department Elder. Now that my son can cultivate, Xuefeng should get his part of the cake," Liu Xiaobei announced with the enthusiasm of someone ten years younger. He looked the part as well. It was as if the good news made him visibly younger.
"Son, you should rest for now, we will take care of everything. I will send someone to teach you the basics of cultivation tomorrow," his father advised, and all Xuefeng could do was nod in agreement as they left the room happily.
As soon as the door closed though, the happy expressions on their faces vanished, quickly exchanged with serious contemplation.
"Shadow," Liu Xiaobei called out, causing the shadow on the floor to expand forward and turn into a black-robed man, his face hidden behind a black mask.
"Yes, my Lord," the man answered his master's summons with a deep, dark voice.
"Did you hear what my son said?" Liu Xiaobei asked, ordering without waiting for an answer. "Investigate. I give you a day."
"Right away, my Lord," the black-robed man bowed in response and vanished into thin air.
It was clear Mu Lan had a lot to say, but she only broke her silence after they reached the confines of their bedroom.
"Only the third-rank pills or above are capable of healing a broken dantian. To create such a pill... there exists only one such person in Aurora Country who can do it," she informed with a puzzled look. "But he is currently in the capital so he can't be walking around Phoenix City dressed as a beggar and giving out third-rank pills in exchange for loaves of bread. He is not someone to sell his pills easily since I asked him many times for one and he always refused."
"He must have lied to us, but we won't know for sure until we investigate. We should ask Wuying to question him. They have gotten close lately," Liu Xiaobei suggested, but his wife only whacked him in the shoulder.
"But what if it was true and what he got wasn't a healing pill, but a poison pill instead? What's the use of your Shadow Guard if they can't even protect our son from danger?" Mu Lan scolded. "Talking about danger, where was Wuying when our son was injured? Do you want me to believe he was injured during training? We need to find out what happened and eliminate all dangers, especially now that his dantain has recovered."
If other people had seen the powerful Clan Leader being scolded like that, he would become the laughingstock of the city. However, unknown to many, his wife Mu Lan was significantly stronger than him. He didn't even know by how much, but every time they sparred, he would be defeated in only a few moves.
"Don't send her on any missions from now on. Just let her stay and guard our son at all times! Now that he can cultivate, he needs to be protected," Mu Lan added, but her husband found it unreasonable.
"But she is the leader of my Shadow Guard. She needs to participate in group training and…" he tried to reason, but his voice trailed off upon seeing his wife's cold stare. He had no choice but to swallow his protest and agree.