[Word Count 2313]
***
After being swallowed into what felt like an endless blackhole, Zhao Wei felt as if his entire self had been rendered static - frozen in time, more like his always active mind had ceased its thinking capabilities.
Since his perception of time in that perpetual blankness of eternal abyss was zero, he didn't know how long he had stayed in there. Well, it could have been an instant in time, millions of years or even an eternity.
Luckily, his stagnancy didn't stay for long. A crack in the space-time continuum was all it took for his unassuming soul to escape from that relentless void. And thus, his existence and venture in the otherworld would sooner than later commence.
***
In the Fan Universe, off far at the corners of the boundless ocean, was the unremarkable, tiny Azure Flower Continent which was more like an island compared to the sheer enormity of the ever-blue ocean.
Further into the tiny Azure Flower Continent was the Cloud Country that harbored Sun Feather City - the initial point of destiny's progression.
In the Zhao Sect, when we zoomed in the lenses closer, we could see a particular small courtyard stationed away from the main residence just like any other courtyards meant for branch family disciples.
A youth abruptly sprang up from his bed and in the process, kicked away his blankets violently.
His opened eyes looked disoriented and unfocused. His long dark brows were knitted in confusion and a look of uncertainty loomed on his face. His thoughts were inevitably a little chaotic.
The youth's features weren't borderline handsome or reminiscent of that of a young master. He looked average and visually unimpactful except for his deep, abyssal eyes that seemed to peer through all the secrets of the world.
He seemed like someone who would totally escape your senses if you didn't concentrate on him.
"Fuck, I feel strange. My head's thumping like crazy as if countless hammers are being simultaneously pounded on my skull." A deep, youthful voice emanated from him as his face contorted in pain and puzzlement.
He couldn't help but clutch his temples in agony as a reflexive action to counter the unimaginable pain.
"Fuck! Damn it!"
After suffering for what seemed like an eternity, the pain was alleviated and his facial expression returned to normal.
"I have transmigrated," he murmured to himself, his voice laced in utter wonder and disbelief.
What he had been previously experiencing was the standard procedure for any transmigrator out there. The script had to be followed to perfection.
He found that he had retained his previous life's name and that meant that in this life, he was also called Zhao Wei. He then released a sigh of relief when he realized that his past life's memories were still intact and untouched after perusing through his present body's mind.
"I don't feel like myself. My mind and current body aren't perfectly synchronized," Zhao Wei mused while uncomfortably trying to move his body which made his actions look ridiculous.
"It seems I have to wait a little bit for everything to resume to normalcy," He said calmly while closing his eyes.
A few minutes later , Zhao Wei could be seen standing beside the now neatly spread bed.
'Good. Everything is now perfectly in line. I feel like myself,' he thought while moving around in his little room. He couldn't help but smile in satisfaction after that.
"For someone proclaiming to be unparalleled and unrivalled in the entirety of all of existence, shouldn't assiduity and perfection be included in her list of powers?" Zhao Wei asked himself with an amused smile on his face.
"All though she did a shoddy work while merging my earthly soul with this body's, I feel immensely thankful for this chance to experience an otherworldly life adventure." He felt eternally grateful indeed from the bottom of his heart. If it wasn't for the mysterious cat and his stroke of good luck, then he would have been still stuck in that repetitive loop of a boring reality.
"Now then… I am now a branch disciple of the Zhao Sect and I live alone. From the memories of this body, everything is the same as the written words depicted in the novel, 'King of Gods'."
"The Zhao Family Clan is one of three major families ruling over Sun Feather City and every five years, side branch families would be given a chance to send two of their talented juniors to cultivate in the Main family."
"My identity in the Zhao Family Clan is rather simple. I am from the side branch family, nothing more nothing less and it's good that nobody cares about my existence."
Through the memories got from his current body, Zhao Wei came to realize that his existence in this current reality had been altered to accommodate his ideal starting point. And that included, one, having no family, and, two, a typical background character's characteristics that the busy bodies of the cultivation world wouldn't be bother to turn their attention to.
"I previously lived in a world where there were laws and societal norms but in my current reality… do laws and morals matter anymore?" Zhao Wei had a grim smile on his face.
He knew what type of environment he was in. It was an environment where laws of the jungle prevailed and survival of the fittest was as its best. The strong ruled over the weak and the weak could only bow down to the might of their superiors. But the weak weren't completely hopeless and since it was a jungle, there was still a clear chance of evolving into a stronger existence and ultimately changing their predetermined fates.
"The cultivation world has always been portrayed as sanguinary. To survive as a weak being, one has to be savage, selfish, and cruel. It's only natural." Zhao Wei lamented on his cruel reality but that didn't extinguish the everlasting flame of curiosity and excitement from his deep eyes.
He had prayed for such a situation all of his entire life - To be transmigrated into a world of unpredictability, animosity, and limitless possibilities.
He, Zhao Wei, was now a resident of the Fan Universe, a little cultivator just beginning his cultivation journey but with dreams and ambitions surpassing even the heavens. He wouldn't call himself an otherworldly being if he didn't have grand aspirations. His mind already had a clear goal and he was determined to use any method that would actualize his dreams.
Zhao Wei then decided to sort out his turbulent thoughts and inspected his inner cultivation. It was beneficial to know where he currently stood in the hierarchy of lowly cultivators.
"2nd rank of the martial learner or is it better to say Second level of the Consolidated Realm?" Zhao Wei spoke to himself with an expressionless face.
From the novel, Zhao Wei remembered all of the stages in the cultivation realms. The consolidated realm was just the foundational or basic stage in preparation for upper realm progression. So this meant that it was ultimately important for a beginning cultivator to lay down a study foundation which would not stifle their future ascension. Even if one was talented, they would need to be careful with the basics.
Speaking about talents, his current talent was downright bad but definitely not the worst. To him, having bad talent as a setback was just a mere inconvenience.
"It's good that I am now in 2nd rank as a result of my transmigration. I will now be able to access the martial arts library and look into the techniques that would help me for now."
Rumble!
Rumble!
The sudden roar of thunder inadvertently made Zhao Wei think about the matters of the timeline.
"What time is it?" Zhao Wei hurriedly rushed outside and looked up at the sky.
The night wind blew with a hint of chilliness across his face. Heavy rain had already started falling onto the lands of the Zhao Family.
Lightning flashed brightly in the dark sky as if it was the only light that ushered the creation of the universe and thunder rumbled soundly as if proclaiming the might and boundlessness of the heavens.
Boom!
In the open space of the small courtyard, Zhao Wei stood alone while looking at the wonders of nature.
"From the memories I have gotten, Zhao Wei didn't know someone named Zhao Feng considering the huge number of disciples in the clan. Sigh, such is fate. Looking at the chaos being stirred by the lightning, I can guess that this might be the time that Zhao Feng's destiny is reversed completely."
"Even if I start looking for him, it would be too late. After the Ancestral Eye of Dream merges with his left eye, it would be next to impossible to take it away from him unless I had the corresponding technique for god's eye transplant which in itself has a very high percentage of failure."
Another reason was that he wasn't prepared for variables to occur at this juncture.
As the cool waters of the rain continued flowing down his body and ultimately soaking his martial arts clothes, Zhao Wei remained unmoving and continued staring up at the heavens with a calm expression. At that very moment, his figure seemed desolate and withdrawn from reality.
An air of sheer confidence and indomitability loomed over him as he spoke with a profound gaze in his dark eyes.
"In this life, I want to be free, unfettered throughout all of existence! I want to live my life the way I want and nothing… I mean nothing will deter me from achieving the ultimate freedom."
"The flow of destiny has already been reversed to give birth to the so-called protagonist. And about my fate… I would be the one to control it from here henceforth." Which meant that he had to be strong, so strong that the threads of fate and destiny would be his to control and toy with.
From reading the novel in his previous life, Zhao Wei had always wondered how the Ancestral Eye of Dream, something from the immemorial era - an age when the universe was in still in starting phase and innumerable ancient races roamed the world - could defy the concept of space-time and only choose to appear during that memorable moment that went on to alter Zhao Feng's destiny.
"Truly unexplainable, just like how something as intangible as luck can't be explained."
Zhao Wei then smiled to himself while combing through his wet hair.
"I better run inside instead of standing here under the veil of a lonely, rainy night."
"I might catch a cold." He chuckled while returning his soaked self to his humble abode.
Who was he kidding? A cold? Can cultivators even suffer from such a mortal affliction?
Maybe in the Gu Universe but not here in the Fan Universe. Lifespan issues were also kind of lax in the Fan Universe since those supreme beings such as God Lords could easily outlive millions of years. To live forever and never die could be said to be one of his goals.
But such grand aspirations were as hard as ascending the heavens in one step.
People die and new ones are born and the cycle continues infinitely. To escape this cycle of life and death and even samsara, one has to be eternally blessed and truly out of the ordinary.
Cultivation was in itself a long, arduous journey with seemingly no end but Zhao Wei was determined to reach the end of that journey and even if he… couldn't make it, no… something like that wasn't in his personal dictionary, such a thing couldn't be tolerated. He knew his journey wasn't going to be all unicorns and rainbows since he viewed pessimism and optimism at a balanced angle. So he had to be prepared for all kinds of variables and cut them all down from his absolute path.
After changing his wet clothes into warm and dry ones, he sat cross-legged on his bed.
He searched his mind for a moment and sighed helplessly, "As expected of such a treatment. Without a good background, you can't progress much in cultivation, not unless, you are both talented and lucky."
Just like Zhao Feng's starting technique, the Flaming Metal Fist, he also had one of his own - Tyrant Fists. It was a low-level cultivation technique. Zhao Wei didn't have any particular aversion to low-level techniques. As a cultivation novel enthusiast, he knew very well of the importance of everything that was basic. High level techniques could be said to share the same essence with low level ones, the difference could be portrayed during life and death fights where high level techniques have a high degree of lethality.
But what happens if you practiced the low-level technique to grand perfection? The effects would be comparable to a high level technique or even surpass it considering that such a technique would be very difficult to fully master.
"I should just sleep. I don't have enough mental energy to venture much into this technique. Tomorrow will be the day I start contemplating on the way forward." Zhao Wei nodded to himself while spreading the blankets over his body.
When it comes to early cultivation realms, a good night's sleep and a well-rested mind are very important.
'I remember now that I have yet to receive my transmigration starter perk. Oh well, the omnipotent-like entity wouldn't forget, right?' Zhao Wei felt his mind edging closer to drowsiness as those blurred thoughts ran through his mind.
It didn't take long before he succumbed to slumber, not knowing that his thoughts were heard by the godly entity that had transmigrated him!
"Of course how can I forget, silly human."
Zhao Wei's worries were of no concern!
He was in for a lot of surprises when dawn arrived.
***