Tang Xiu's first sensation was pain—not the searing agony of his tribulation, but a dull, throbbing ache in his head. He groaned, his hand instinctively reaching up to rub his temple.
His eyes blinked open, and he was greeted by an unfamiliar sight. A plain ceiling, cracked and yellowed with age. The air smelled of dampness, and the faint sound of traffic drifted in from outside.
"This… isn't the Immortal World," Tang Xiu muttered, his voice hoarse. He sat up slowly, his body feeling weak and unfamiliar.
Looking down at himself, he froze. Instead of his powerful, muscular frame, he saw the thin, frail body of a teenager. His hands trembled as he reached for the nearby mirror.
Staring back at him was a face he hadn't seen in over ten thousand years—his own, from when he was just seventeen years old.
"What is this?" he whispered, his heart pounding. "How… am I back on Earth?"
Memories flooded his mind. His name, Tang Xiu, had once belonged to an ordinary high school student. Before his rise to immortality, before the countless battles and victories, he had lived here, in this mundane world.
"But why now? Why this body?" His mind raced as he tried to make sense of his situation.
A sharp knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. "Tang Xiu! Get up, you useless brat!"
The voice was shrill and impatient, and Tang Xiu's lips curled into a frown. He recognized it immediately. His aunt, Tang Min, who had raised him after his parents' deaths. She was known for her constant nagging and sharp tongue.
"I'm coming," he called back, his tone calm but cold.
As he stood, his legs wobbled, unused to the weakness of his new body. Clenching his fists, he steadied himself. "It doesn't matter how weak this body is," he muttered. "I've risen from worse. This time, I'll rise even higher."
Walking to the small, cracked dresser, he caught sight of the pendant around his neck. The same pendant that had pulsed with energy during his final moments in the Immortal World.
"It seems you're the reason I'm here," Tang Xiu said softly, gripping the pendant. "Very well. If this is a second chance, I won't waste it. Earth may lack spiritual energy, but I have ten thousand years of knowledge. Let's see what I can accomplish."
His eyes gleamed with a cold, determined light. The heavens may have struck him down, but Tang Xiu was far from finished.
The journey was about to begin again.