章 2: Fourth Chance?
A familiar yet strange feeling assaulted Fang Yuan.
This sense threw him back since 500 years ago in his previous life. It was however, different. Unlike the feeling of being exited out the womb being the emergent feeling, it was like he was flowing in a river.
Contrasting Chaos, the river made him feel calm. Had he not been in an unconscious state, he might have fallen asleep from the serenity.
As he was drowning in this sense, a sudden pain hit him. An indescribable sense of pain coursed through his body.
Through the pain, Fang Yuan persevered. Gritting his existent, yet non-existent teeth all the while the intense pain assaulted his very being.
Fortunately this only lasted for a little while. The familiar sensation of being out in the surface now replaced it. The lukewarm air touched his infantile skin.
Fang Yuan felt his tiny arms and legs, and strangely enough, he could move them as he pleases. And then, unlike a normal newborn, he opened his eyes. The vision he holds is extremely blurry, as if submerged in clear water.
"It's a boy!" His muffled and liquid full ears could identify it to be a woman. Realizing it to be a lovely, relief-filled voice, he could only conclude it to be the midwife. He then felt his body being moved, given to another's arms.
"My... son." The mother's voice held mixed emotions, hate, and satisfaction. Fang Yuan could not place why, but he would realize it in time. Although he doubted the reason for it to be any good.
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The shaking and weakened arms of the mother held the abnormally quiet infant, but she was not surprised. The infant, since his beginning of being formed in the womb, was incredibly unusual.
In only 3 months, the child was born. In 2 months, she could barely keep him contained. And in 1 month, she seemed like her belly was already 7 months in pregnancy. Adding on to that, she had never copulated with her husband for the child.
Safe to say, her husband became convinced she had an affair that resulted in a pregnancy. It was simply unthinkable for her to be fertilized with no apparent reason.
Since then, her relationship with her husband had become estranged. Though he did not dare break off their marriage lest he incur the wrath of her and his family.
Her conflicted gaze became warm at the the child as she stroked his head: "Your name will be... Fang Yuan. Gu Yue Fang Yuan." The infant named became surprised at his previous name being used once again. Typically a new name would be bestowed post-reincarnation, yet he was simply renamed to his old name.
The thoughts of any higher powers did not come to Fang Yuan's mind. He was cautious, not paranoid. A name given provided no benefits for them whatsoever, what use was it? And considering how the clan name was the same, it was an unbelievable coincidence.
He inwardly chuckled, smiling by his lonesome through his thoughts: 'What a strange state of affairs.'
With a new world, he would be granted access to new methods for his ultimate goal, eternal life. Though it may have come at the cost of his research from his previous life, he can reuse it instead to be given an easier method of attaining it.
'The new world's power system better not disappoint.' A cold glint unfitting of a newborn flashed in his eyes. He made sure however, to hide his excitement from the possibly observant eyes of the people around him.
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6 years later...
"Is that him?" An immature voice whispered in a barely audible tone. He had an average chubby face as expected of a 6 year old child.
"I heard his mom's unfaithful." Another whisper, but this time it was from a different location.
"Really? I heard his mom got pregnant by herself."
"Mom said he was born 6 months too early!"
"He looks so girly..."
Whispers continued in the crowd. Most spoke in a rude and judgmental way, from the events leading to his life, to his appearance. The crowds had an assortment of children and their parents. Some were alone, presumably orphans. They all walked in a direction as a group with a destination in mind.
The child in discussion however, gave no heed. He couldn't care less about the whisperings of lesser characters. The variance of each of his steps never increased nor decreased. He calmly walked alongside the crowd. However, the people around him made sure to keep their distance. A few children attempted to interrupt the alienation but their parents pulled them away and reprimanded them.
It was unfortunate even in this life that his reputation was terrible. In his previous life, he was thought to be an arrogant, cold genius. And now, he is a bastard, cold child. At the very least, the pressure brought upon him is far less than that of his previous life in the Gu Yue clan.
This time, he was no obstacle for one who lived in his shadow, nor was he a child genius setting himself up for disappointment of all those around him.
Fang Yuan was happy about this. With less pressure in his development, there's also lesser chances of him using a desperate and risky move. Less risks means he has more time to develop quietly and then find out the truths of this world.
Exploring the world for information in his current state is not ideal. He has no clue about the outside world after all. But, Fang Yuan does know about the power system the new world he found himself in has. As well as the name of this world, being called Douluo Dalu.
Apparently, Gu masters in his original world are now called 'Spirit masters'. When he learned of the aspects of this system, he found it to be incredibly similar to Gu.
However, unlike Gu, which can be taken and removed at will, Spirits are assigned at birth. They cannot be changed, only improved. The lack of versatility is definitely something Fang Yuan disliked, but if he could get a useful enough Martial Spirit, he could work with it to his path to become the strongest once again.
There is no invincible Martial Spirit, only invincible Spirit Master.
Derived from the old saying back in his second world, considering how close this world is in similarity with the Gu world, a quote like this fits perfectly.
His thoughts went to his attainment levels. It is possible that all that he had gathered would be deemed useless. The knowledge of this didn't bother Fang Yuan much. Since he lost the usefulness of attainment levels, he can simply accumulate it once more in this world. As a supreme grandmaster of Refinement path, he could very easily alter the methods of this path to suit the new world he found himself in.
He felt solemn about this possibility, but nonetheless did not allow it deter him from his ultimate goal.
The crowd he was drowned in had halted in front of a building. It resembles a church or shrine back in Earth. While some in the crowd paused at the front door, a few children who had no one accompanying them, like Fang Yuan, directly entered.
Inside, he saw a pedestal, not unlike a church's one. But the person standing there was no priest. It was a rough man who had his arms crossed replacing one. He had visible scars on his body, skin a dark grey tone. He wore an elegant outfit fitted in blue in contrast to his appearance. His bald head shined from the light.
The man was silently waiting. His intimidating figure halted the children from making any loud noises, aside from the whispers that Fang Yuan heard.
He took his seat on the right lane of wooden benches. The rest of the children, watching him, followed suit and sat alongside their friend groups.
As Fang Yuan waited patiently, the wooden door opened again followed by groups of children who swarmed inside.
The children who just arrived replayed the same scene made from before, silence ensued once more.
"Seeing as you're all here. We can start now." The bald man still crossed his arms as he addressed the children, "I am your examiner for this year's awakening ceremony. I am a rank 26 Spirit Grandmaster. This is my Spirit."
"Moonlit Deer!" Horns emerged from his head. Greyish hair sprouted from his head, reaching his back. His legs restructured to becoming similar to the legs of deers.
The children became shocked from his transformation. Most held stars in their eyes, thinking his form changing to be something cool in their eyes. A few were dumbfounded by the man's sudden switch.
'Transformation path.' Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes at this. As a great grandmaster in this specific path, he naturally knew the processes of this powerup. It was more of a partial transformation though. In comparison to the Gu world, this was like having a portion of the Gu required for a transformation path killer move. Of course, this indicated that the strengthening was far inferior.
"As you may know, there are different types of Spirits: Tool, and Beast. My own spirit, 'Moonlit Deer' is a Beast type Spirit." He approached a child, his hand was stretched out in an open palm towards said kid.
"Spirit, Awaken!" He chanted out. Three golden formations appeared on the boy. They were placed in different locations, namely the top of their head, their torso, and their foot.
A figure appeared from the boy's hand. A pot emerged, floating on the palm: "Of course, there is also another type of Spirit, that might as well not even be considered as such. Junk Spirits are the weakest of all. They do not hold any combat capability, making it so even if one does have Spirit Power, they cannot grow any further as a result of a Junk Spirit." A cold look was all that remained on his face. He pulled out a crystalline ball and held it out for the boy to place his hands.
The child did so reluctantly. He pressed the ball with as much force as he could possibly exert, gritting his teeth with hope that he could still become a Spirit Master.
The next words from the examiner made him feel panic, "Spirit Power: 0." He still refused to let go of the ball.
"Please mister, wait! I have Spirit Power, I really do!" He desperately pleaded to the man, who only stared blankly. While he refused to let go, the man moved his other arm and grabbed the boy's collar. With a small exertion of strength, the boy flew to a nearby bench.
His back collided with the bench as it was thrown away alongside the boy. He was unconscious, and severely injured. It appeared to Fang Yuan that mortal lives still held little value to these powerhouses.
"Next!" The gathered children felt apprehensive, fearful of the same happening to them. One boy in particular however, stepped forward and gulped a lump of saliva.
Again, the procedure initiated. But this time, something was different. The Spirit was still a Junk Spirit, but his Spirit Power...
"Spirit Power: 2!" The boy was silent at first, then felt teary-eyed. To think he would have a chance to become the Spirit Master! Was what he, and the other children thought. Those around him began feeling envious at this turn of events.
"Don't get your hopes up. You still only have a Junk Spirit." His cold voice halted the boy's joyous expression as he quietly returned to sit on a bench.
The ceremony continued. Most had no Spirit, but they were all orphans and outsiders of the Gu Yue clan. On the other hand, the clan members all held Spirit Power with a few having Tool Spirits and most having Beast Spirits.
Time passed by until it finally became Fang Yuan's turn to move. He stood up from his seat and walked towards the examiner. Whispers ensued once again.
"You think he has Spirit Power?"
"No way! I heard his dad was an outsider, how could two of them make a clansman?" One snickered.
"Watch him have a Junk Spirit." Another spoke in anticipation.
"Maybe he'll have a good Spirit, but no Spirit Power!" Speculation made by another.
He stopped in front of the transformed man, who already had his palm opened towards him.
"Spirit, Awaken!" Familiar words resounded as the golden circles emerged and moved on him. He held out his hand to display his Spirit but...
"..." Silence filled the hall. Nothing appeared from Fang Yuan's palm at all. No Beast Spirit, Tool Spirit or even a Junk Spirit.
The children were dumbfounded at first, until one of them snorted, followed by a snicker. The Spirit Hall turned lively once more, laughing at Fang Yuan's misfortune.
Meanwhile, the examiner narrowed his eyes. Someone never having a Spirit? Never heard of it. Even the lowliest have a Spirit. He grew suspicious. He would have to report this to the clan leader. A child not having a Spirit, moreover his own? How could this happen?
He was reminded that he wasn't the clan leader's though. Apparently the clan mistress had fornicated and birthed the one in front of him.
The man got his crystalline ball again and held it out for Fang Yuan. He put a hand on the ball as a light shined.
"...Spirit Power: 4!" The audience had their eyes widened. To think someone who doesn't even have their own Spirit would have more talent than them!
Envy spread out across the children. No doubt they wanted to humiliate Fang Yuan now, but they know the latter was freakishly strong. They heard he once crushed a rock with his barehands two years ago. How could they want their own skulls to be crushed like that?
"Mm. Go back." He shooed Fang Yuan away, who obeyed. He sat back down on the wooden bench he laid on previously.
"This is the end of the Awakening Ceremony. You are dismissed." He moved from the pedestal and out the front door. The lines of children followed him out.
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As Fang Yuan walked home, a group of children stopped him. The one at the front; he had his arms crossed in an attempt to be intimidating. "Fang Yuan! Do you think you're so cool now that you have Spirit Power?" He remained silent, a pair of cold dark eyes stared him down. The leader wavered for a moment before returning his composure: "You need to be taught a lesson!" He drew back his clenched fist and jabbed at Fang Yuan's face.
The former Venerable effortlessly stopped the approaching fist by grabbing it by the wrist. The child tried pulling back but his hand was held in a vice grip.
The other bullies continued watching, unaware of his predicament. Fang Yuan's grip strengthened slowly.
The leader changed expressions, from one of anger to fear. He felt his hand hurting, alot. "Ow! Ow! Let go!" He voiced his pain out loud. Fang Yuan did not care though. His gaze moved to the other children, and they froze.
"Ahhhh...!" The boy screamed out at the growing pain on his wrist. His other hand tried prying the grip on his hand, but could not even budge it.
With a burst of strength, the grip tightened even more: "A-Aaaahhhh!!" Pain filled the boy as his wrist was crushed. Only then did Fang Yuan let go. The boy fell to the ground and grabbed his crushed wrist. His eyes settled to Fang Yuan's retreating back as fear and hatred filled him. Heavily breathing, the boy stood up and ran away.
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With the minor mishap that interrupted his stroll home dealt with, he entered his house.
It was a poorly maintained house. Wood rotted on parts, and patches of the roof were ripped off.
He entered through the main door. On his way in, he spotted a woman who had long dark hair, and dark eyes, resembling his old self before the Sovereign Immortal body.
They did not greet each other. Only silence was the sound present in the whole house. His mother never really bothered him much, he deduced that the reason was that he had basically ruined her life.
The mistress of the patriarch of the clan, having an affair? During the times he had been in the womb of his mother, said mother never had any sexual intercourse with her husband. The patriarch had been too busy, dealing with an upcoming beast tide didn't help.
Fang Yuan predicted that Gu Yue clan would once again be driven to the brink just as his last life. Unless they had a method like awakening the Gu Yue clan ancestor, it would be finished.
Then there's also the issue of the other two clans. It seemed that heaven truly was playing games with him and is trying to reenact the same events in the Gu world.
But what made Fang Yuan curious was if Bai Ning Bing is here.
He knew his younger brother was here. He saw him, same age, same birthday and similar characteristics. Unlike his Awakening Ceremony taking place in a Spirit Hall, he was personally awakened by the elite clan members.
Unlike his previous life, he is only half brothers with this world's Gu Yue Fang Zheng. Not to mention Fang Yuan had never appeared as a genius to the clan, so he would have no motivation to try and obstruct his path.
Even if he did obstruct his path... he would not repeat the same mistakes and allow him to grow any further. He had become an annoying obstacle as the Demon Judgement Board Lord. Always staying cooped up in his Immortal Gu house, repeatedly being a nuisance, a fly wearing a steel shell.
He would nip the bud before it sprouts, provided he was given a chance and it did not bring harm to himself.
For now though, he has no use in doing so.
He went inside his own room. Although the house looked poor, there were separate bedrooms in it. Likely a request of the lady herself.
Nevertheless, Fang Yuan did not care. He sat down on his bed. Thankfully, there is one unlike the old bamboo house he used to stay at in his first life.
He went into a meditating position as he initiated his cultivation. Though he has no idea on how to do so, dealing with it like Gu apertures was a start.
He inhaled, then exhaled. He tried searching around for any sort of construct. Yet he could find none. There was no aperture, it was empty. But he persisted. He continued searching.
"Hm?" He touched something, as if he had been here physically himself. It was solid, like rock. He moved around, more and more.
"This..." He could see now. There was a deep darkness that clouded his vision, but he could see the outlines.
The Mini Gu World appeared before his eyes. The same balls of vision widened in surprise at the turn of events. He had essentially re-refined himself into the womb of an unsuspecting woman. If he had a choice in the matter, he would have found a much more suitable candidate for his growth. He thought that through his technique, he would be reborn into a new body, one of native origins and returning back into a half Otherworldly Demon.
But now... his thoughts flew into the possibilities of his new discovery.
He smirked just thinking about it. If he could get a hold of both of these powers, two power systems would be granted to him. The aspects that Gu cultivation lacked could be filled in by Spirit Power cultivation.
He also had an answer to his question now too. Why was he so strong? It was simple. The Strength path dao marks numbered in the millions. While the strength he could display right now was incomparable to the real thing, he could tell that his current strength was still a very tiny portion of his true one's. Hell, even the current power he can show is merely an insignificant portion of the 100 dao marks he had gained through his rebirth from the Sovereign Immortal Aperture.
With his discovery, he exited out of his Aperture. As it turns out, it was sealed with a bit of its powers leaking out, turning into his strength, and likely could unseal itself given enough time.
This was essentially a ticking time bomb, just like the Spring Autumn Cicada in his third life. He smiled at this turn of events, to think that it would be mandatory for him to always receive an incredibly dangerous but also useful tool at his disposal. By then, he would have to re-refine the Sovereign Immortal Aperture again and either turn it into rank 10, which is highly unlikely as that would cause an extreme response from heaven's will, or repurpose it into consuming Spirit Power instead.
How else could he survive? It is likely impossible to find a Gu master here, let alone a Venerable. He could not have sustained himself at all had he been reincarnated with an unsealed Sovereign Immortal Aperture.
His mind shook off the thoughts about the Sovereign Immortal Aperture. He had no plans at the moment for it. He could arrange for its eventual refinement but he could not do so with the current materials in his hands.
For now, he has need of advancing his current Spirit Power. After all, only with a Spirit Power of rank 10 can one truly begin their Spirit Master journey.
And with that, he continued sitting in a lotus position and for hours on end, cultivated diligently.
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hello_there_0468 Correct me if I'm wrong about anything, and also don't expect much from my update schedule (See my previous works xd). I do this as a hobby cuz I want an outlet to all my ideas of crossovers.
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