Bai Chi went into the bathroom to take a shower, washing away all the impurities in his body.
The black ooze flowed down his body, giving off a strong and acidic stench, which he washed away with some soap and a sponge.
When he was done bathing, he checked his body again, looking at the contours of his arms that squirmed in delight.
He dried himself up, wore a pair of shorts and sat on his bed.
After all this time, after all these years.
"The sweat, the blood, the pain. I had to shatter my own 'Perfect' cultivation, ruin his Draconic Grade Meridians, and literally had to shatter out my Divine Root Core! All for this moment, for this very moment" Bai Chi said to himself with a tired and weary voice, more advanced for his own age.
He looked at the ceiling and plopped to his bed, feeling his arms.
Yes, all the misfortune's of his past weren't caused by bad luck, or retribution from the heavens.
No… he had been the orchestrator of his own downfall.
From the day Bai Chi was born, he was different.
That was because he wasn't from this era at all.
He had been an Almighty Existence from over thousands of years ago, just over 8000 to be precise.
"Who knew that I still couldn't face true annihilation? The Heavenly Law must hate me for that one" he muttered to himself.
About nineteen years ago, he'd been born to the small family of the Bai's, raised as their first and only child.
He hadn't remembered who he was at first, but that all changed when he was a year old.
He suddenly fell ill, a serious headache and a fever.
It was at that time he slowly began to remember and recall his past life as Bai Chi: The Spear of Constellations and the King of Dragons.
In his past life, he had ruled the heavens and the deep dark crevices of the abyss as the Universal Overlord, a title held by only the strongest cultivator at the Peak of the Overlord Realm.
With a wave of his hand, Bai Chi shook the air around him, causing a smacking noise to erupt from his palm.
"At my prime, one casual hand and I could end all life in the known universe… Now…" he spoke and then paused.
His palm clenched to a fist as his face scrounged into that of cold fury.
His eyes shimmered as they almost became golden.
He remembered how he fell, and those who orchestrated it.
Those he held dearest to him.
Those he called friends and allies.
Those who swore an oath on Mount Erhu to live and die together.
Those were the ones who betrayed him.
And all for what…
The Earthly Vessel Cultivation Technique.
A technique only he knew about
A technique that only existed in his head.
But just as his killing intent was about to surge, he suppressed it.
He could smell something nice in the air.
His face turned blank, and then grew into a smile.
When he first reincarnated from the modern era in the year 2026, at the ripe age of 26, to this world of cultivation, he had lived his whole life as an orphan.
When he transmigrated to this world of cultivation, he came into the body of an orphan, with almost nothing.
So now that he had a family on his third incarnation, something grew in him.
He had lived over 12,000 years of life collectively, and for the first time, in just 19 years, he was living his best life ever.
He had a father to scold him, a mother to cherish him. And though he didn't like talking about his extended family, at least, he had enough love as is.
The sound of footsteps caught his attention as his ear pricked up, followed by a soft knock on the door.
He jumped up his bed and opened it, seeing his mother whose beauty still shone from her aged face behind it.
"Xiao Chi, I made meat dumplings and soup with Bubble tea the way you like it."
Bai Chi sighed as he took the tray and turned to face his mum.
His shattered and betrayed heart took so much time to mend, but at least it was patched enough for his family.
"En! Thank you for taking care of me mum. I'll help with the cooking next time." Bai Chi replied, before closing the door to avoid more questions.
His mother quickly put her foot on the door and sighed.
"I know as a mother… I've failed you. But stop pushing yourself too hard. Just leave school and focus on a normal career. Help me in the shop, you'll become a sellout in no time"
Bai Chi's face turned white as he looked at his mother, whose eyes held a hint of amusement in them.
"You're still trying to get me to do free labour huh?" Bai Chi replied as he left the door open and dropped the food on his reading desk a few meters away from his bed, before sitting down to eat.
Bai Han lifted her hands up in surrender, her smile not a smile.
"Fine fine, you caught me. But at least, start up your own shop, your pastries as just as good as mine now
"Maybe you can even settle down, get a wife, have your kids…"
"Mother! Please stop" Bai Chi's voice had a tone that demanded obedience, cutting his mother off.
Bai Han stopped, taking a mouthful of air and exhaling out, before returning to her worried look.
"Just… just stop. You're too young to become crippled. You can just put cultivation behind and… be happy"
"But mother…" Bai Chi spoke up as he turned to face mother "... I am happy. And trust me, just this once, this semester, I'll make you and dad proud"
Bai Han gave up after seeing the determination in his eyes. If there was one thing her son had that always made her tense and relaxed at the same time, it was his eyes.
He had a visionary, a determined person who wouldn't stop at anything until he reached his goal.
He had his father's eyes.
She sighs as she turns around and closes the door behind her, silencing her unspoken approval.
She just hoped that this Bull-headedness would be stifled quickly.
She didn't want to lose another child.
***
The next morning, at about 8:12am
The sun rose high in the sky, dying the world with a deep orange hue.
Just at the edge of the large Guangzhou City was a piece of land measuring over thousands of acres. It was filled with large buildings built with strong white marble, with buildings uniformly painted with white with red and golden accents at the edges.
On the biggest building that stood over five hundred feet tall was the symbol of the Shuangying College of Cultivation emblem, pasted for the whole world to see.
School was recently opened, as students flocked in droves, some chatting, others walking alone.
Some students came in with various manners of transportation.
Some came in luxury cars, others in motorcycles.
Some even came on flying swords or divine beasts.
Bai Chi walked in, like most of the traffic did.
He wasn't a high level cultivator, neither was he from an influential or rich background.
He just kept his hair down and his glasses up to keep a low profile.
He made it without a hitch to his class.
First 1-C.
The third class for first years.
The College of Cultivation was divided into two major curriculums.
Theoretical and Practical.
The theoretical classes were held for students to understand the various levels of cultivation, the history of cultivation, and sometimes various Cultivation techniques.
Practical classes dealt with on site training that built up the body in preparedness for advancement in cultivation.
Most students would need to advance to the Foundation Realm in order to graduate from this class; and most students of this session had reached this realm.
All except for that one person that everyone knew.
"Brother Chi!!!"
Someone called from behind him, making him frown slightly.
A young and tall stout man came right behind him and smacked him square in the back.
The figure was as tall as Bai Chi, a few inches taller than him.
He stood at a whooping six feet three inches, brown skin and brown eyes.
His hair was cut short and his face was slightly chubby.
Normally, this would be the big brother in a bromance that stands by me against my enemies. Probably rich or from some influential family… the Fatty Brother. Bai Chi said in his head as he almost tumbled over from the force of the smack.
Then he turned his face to meet the man, who he replied.
"Brother Kang, how much I help you?" He replied, his eyes filled with disgust.
"Oh Brother Chi, don't look at me like that, we're brothers you and I. Let's help each other as usual" Brother Kang Jiufei answered with a righteous demeanor.
Then he smiled before rubbing his thick grubby hands before asking
"Will you join me to spar today?"
Or, can you be my punching bag today?