"Sharon," said Wu Fa slowly, "please let me have a word with this senior in private."
Sharon glanced at Wu Fa in surprise but acquiesced. She pushed Wu Fa next to the beggar and stepped off to the side. "Holler if you need me," she told Wu Fa.
After she had gone, Wu Fa turned to the old man and asked cautiously, "Why do you know my name? Who are you? What's going on?" He was not hostile to the beggar, but he had his guard up.
"Aiyo, young ones are so impatient nowadays. Slow down and I'll explain," said the beggar. "The one who brought you into this planet is the Watcher. He is the guardian of the Local Group of the universe."
"Local Group?" asked Wu Fa.
"Yes, the Local Group is a collection of 54 galaxies including the Milky Way where Earth was," explained the beggar. "So you haven't travelled to a different universe. You're just in a different galaxy."
"Did I die on Earth and get reincarnated?" questioned Wu Fa.
"No, no, no, that's not how these things work. If you had died, you woulda gone to either heaven or hell. Even an entity on the level of the Watcher dares not interfere with matters of life and death. Here's the deal: your body back on Earth is actually not dead. It's currently critically injured. The Chinese government lists you as 'in comatose.' If your real body dies, then you'll instantly die here as well," said the beggar.
"What about John Wessex? What happened to him?" asked Wu Fa.
"He died. Poor fellow. Otherwise you couldn't possibly borrow his body," said the beggar.
"Okay, I seem to be getting some idea of what's going on, but I'm still confused. Who are you? Why did the Watcher bring me here?" continued Wu Fa.
"I'm just a humble beggar from the Eastern Continent. The Watcher brought you to Arkologia because this world is going to experience a great calamity within thirty years. I'm not supposed to tell you any more than that, but you better prepare yourself," said the beggar.
"WHAT?!" Wu Fa shouted. "Hey, I already experienced assassination. I was planning to live a nice life with no fighting. Plus, I'm a cripple with no magic talent, so what good will I do in the event of a world calamity?"
"You know how to construct nuclear bombs, no? Only the strongest mages could possibly survive one of those," countered the beggar. "So what does it matter if you can't use magic?"
"Dude, I don't have any uranium so my knowledge is useless. The same goes with all other weapons. This world is too technologically backwards for me to do anything," complained Wu Fa.
"Don't worry. What this world lacks in science, it makes up for in magic. Everything will be A-Okay!" said the beggar.
"Everything is NOT A-Okay! Why doesn't the Watcher just do something about the calamity? He's really powerful, right?" yelled Wu Fa.
"Ai that he is, but he doesn't do anything other than watch. He's not allowed to interfere in the matters of us puny ones," explained the beggar. "So he chose you to do something about the calamity. But he doesn't know for sure what'll happen in the future either, so we're all in this together. Worst-case scenario this world is destroyed and you die along with it. I mean, you were going to die anyways."
"True, good point," said Wu Fa as he calmed down and thought about it. "Hey, I wanna ask you. Does Qi Cultivation exist in this world?"
The beggars eyes changed. "Oh, what an interesting question! Why would you ask? Isn't magic enough of a shocker to you? I didn't think an Earthling would believe in such a thing as Qi Cultivation."
"Because I know as a fact that Qi Cultivation exists. I witnessed it firsthand back on Earth," said Wu Fa seriously.
"Hmmmm, how interesting!" exclaimed the beggar. "How about this, I'll tell you everything I know about Qi Cultivation, and you have to tell me about your past! Man, the Watcher sure left out lots of important details about you."
"Okay, I have nothing to lose anyways," agreed Wu Fa.
"Alright then. Here I go. Qi Cultivation is what's known as 'Internal Magic' in this country. I have to say, the level of Cultivation on the Western Continent is pretty crap. These white people, aiyah! All their cultivation techniques are trash that the Eastern Continent didn't want, which is why the highest grade cultivator is only a rank 7 King Realm cultivator."
"What? King Realm cultivator? What's that?" asked Wu Fa.
"Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. In this world, cultivation is split into many different realms. In order of ascension they are, Qi Condensation, Spirit Realm, Martial Warrior Realm, Sage Realm, King Realm, Emperor Realm, Monarch Realm, Divine Sovereign Realm, Divine Master Realm, and then finally Saint Realm. There are higher realms after that, but you don't need to know about them. Each realm is further divided into 9 ranks. Basically, with a nuclear bomb, you can kill everyone up to the rank 9 King realm pretty easily."
"Ai stop it with the nuclear bomb. But this is exciting news! How strong is Qi Cultivation compared to external magic?" asked Wu Fa.
"Both have their strengths and weaknesses. In the Eastern Continent, we have many Divine Sovereigns and even a few Divine Masters, however we are not necessarily stronger than the Western Continent because we are far inferior when it comes to external magic. If I had to say it in terms you'd understand, then External Magic users are squishy wizards while Cultivators are better close-range combatants. We cultivators are stronger, faster, and more durable, but they have more range and firepower," explained the beggar. "Also, don't get excited. Not only do you have zero talent in external magic, but you also have zero talent in cultivation. You're absolutely talentless, you hear me? On the other hand, if you started making a few nuclear missiles then--"
"Oh shut up old man! Why are you so fixated on the nuclear bombs?"
"Obviously because we don't have them on this planet! The Watcher told me about them and that was pretty much the only reason I accepted the job of spanning 3 continents to find you!" exclaimed the beggar with excitement. "Okay, now I've talked enough. Tell me why do you know about Qi Cultivation?"
Wu Fa took a deep breath. He was about to tell the old man a secret he had never told anyone else before in his life.