"So this is how my life ends," the old man sighed from his deathbed. "Single and alone. Poor and unknown."
He had lived to reach a hundred years, yet he remained poor and wanting. Even as he lay dying, he was alone in his room with no one there to see him go. He had truly known no luck in this world.
"I wish…" the old man began, but then he breathed his last.
* * *
"Where is this?" The old man opened his eyes again and asked. He would have moved to investigate further, but alien memories flooded his mind, giving him a head-splitting headache. He screamed in pain. An eternity later, the pain finally subsided.
"This is..." The old man was shocked, not because this was a xianxia world he was already familiar with, but because he now possessed a young body. Much younger, but most importantly, one that could cultivate.
"Hahaha!" The old man laughed and did not waste any time. He sat in a lotus position and began following the cultivation steps in his memory. He closed his eyes, searched for the spiritual essences in the world, pulled them towards his body, and finally purified them.
Bang!
3rd stage of the Qi Gathering stage!
.
..
...
10th and final stage of the True Immortal realm!
In just ten breaths, the old man reached the peak of this xianxia world!
"How is this even possible?" our mc asked, confused. Using his divine sense, he instinctively grasped his newfound strength. He then saw the entirety of this nearly infinite universe, and within its folds were countless multiverses for his taking. What was most curious was that there wasn't a single other 10th stage peak True Immortal in any of the multiverses. There were, of course, other immortals, but all of them shivered at the mere presence of his intimidating, monstrous divine sense.
"Sigh! It's a lonely sight at the top," our mc shook his head, experiencing a sudden change of perspective. This was the perspective of the strong, of course.
He was excited to live life anew. In the past, he had lived a life of mediocrity, but this time he was determined to have a full, happy, and exciting life.
Our protagonist closed his eyes with a big smile on his face.
*
Morning came, and he got up, took a bath, and ate a simple breakfast of eggs and bread. Although he could live without eating, it was a force of habit. More than that, he enjoyed delicious meals and aged fine wine.
Having finished his breakfast, it was time for his drink. Drinking had been his best friend in the loneliness of his last life. With a big smile on his face, he went outside and saw the rush of disciples running out to do their morning training. Although cultivating to gather the spiritual essence of the world was crucial, it was even more important to hone one's body through training. This was especially true for Qi Gathering disciples, who needed to nourish their bodies first in order to build a good foundation for the next realms of power.
But since our Mc was already at the apex of this world, there was no need to follow this trend. He moved out of the courtyard he shared with his fellow outer disciples.
"Are you not training, John?" one disciple asked, noticing John's carefree attitude. This was unusual since the John he knew had been a relentless disciple who trained three times as hard as anyone else.
"I won't be doing morning training anymore. I'm on a different path now," John replied cryptically, earning more strange looks from his peers. Still, he continued his walk, shrugging off the conversation.
The walk took an hour, yet he didn't break a sweat. He enjoyed the stroll, whistling happy tunes from his past life. Eventually, he arrived at a renowned establishment within the Iron Will Sect: the Dragon's Breath Pavilion.
Ding! The huge double doors swung open wide, and a hushed urgency fell upon the patrons. Some blinked hard, incredulous that a lowly junior in outer disciple's uniform would dare enter such an esteemed place. After all, the prices here were far beyond a junior's means.
"Hey kid! Are you lost?"
"Go back and train."
"This place is for adults only." Unsolicited advice came from the patrons, but our OP MC simply smiled. His gaze settled on the beautiful woman at the far end, who busied herself cleaning glasses, though her eyes betrayed curiosity and perhaps authority as the manager.
"Another round of drinks for everyone here, on me," John announced, breaking the awkward silence. All eyes turned to the beautiful woman, waiting for her response.
"..." The beautiful woman, resembling a meticulously crafted character from a fantastical tale, paused to assess the newcomer. The young man was undeniably handsome, a common trait among cultivators. Yet, what distinguished him was his relaxed demeanor. In his gaze, she sensed a strength and power that belied his humble status as an outer disciple.
"What are you waiting for?" the beautiful woman finally decided, her gaze sweeping over her waitresses.
"Serve the drinks!" she commanded.
"Yes, Lady Veronica!" The waitresses hurriedly obeyed, causing a chorus of hushed whispers among the patrons. Many men in the establishment even used their spiritual senses to discern the newcomer's identity, but all they could perceive was that he appeared untrained—a young man who seemed nothing more than a mortal. This was impossible, as the minimum requirement for outer disciples was a cultivation base of at least the first stage of Qi Gathering Realm.
"He must possess a treasure that conceals his true cultivation base!" was the deduction circulating among the men. They marveled at the young man's apparent wealth, for such a treasure capable of masking one's cultivation base from even formidable cultivators was undoubtedly not cheap.
"Even they don't have a treasure that can do that," remarked one of the men. All eyes turned to our MC, tagging him as a wealthy young master.
"Thank you for the drinks, young master!" Some patrons praised his generosity. John merely nodded and found himself an empty table to settle into.
"How may I serve you today, young master..." A waitress approached, keen to attend to this affluent customer's needs. Still, she was wise to delve more information when needed.
"John. John Foster," our MC supplied.
"You have a very fine name, Young Master Foster. It suits your kind and handsome demeanor perfectly!" The waitress complimented him warmly before attending to her duties.
"Hmmm… Life should be spent this way," John mused inside as he took his first taste of the store's bestselling drink. He couldn't help but close his eyes and enjoy the wine thoroughly. Without a doubt, this wine was the tastiest and strongest he'd had in his life.