André quickly collected his thoughts, refocusing his attention on the rather handsome face in the mirror.
Mixed-race individuals in this world were usually quite beautiful, and André's parents had both been rare beauties. So the original owner's face was naturally fresh and handsome, elegant and charming, much better than Tao Ran's original body.
The only flaw was that this guy's complexion was slightly pale, showing signs of some nutritional deficiency.
At this moment André's gaze was vacant as he dipped his hand in water and wrote the three characters "Li Mochen" in the mirror, then fell silent.
He thought that regardless of the past, no matter what happened in the Original Dome Realm, in this world he could only be called André. From now on, the name Tao Ran could only be hidden in his memories.
This was not only to better merge with André's residual soul and quickly achieve perfect fusion with this physical body, but also to establish himself in this world.
When Tao Ran's soul entered this body, he had sensed this world's "rejection" and "suppression" of him. For this very reason, he had chosen fusion rather than the simpler methods of "devouring" and "refining."
But this method could only provide temporary relief. Until he and André's residual soul truly became one indivisible whole, he would remain an outsider in this realm.
Moreover, the numerous cultivators in this realm deserved Tao Ran's vigilance.
According to the original owner's memories, the great ascension realm Tao Ran had achieved in the Original Dome Realm was only equivalent to the "legendary" level in the West and the "void refinement" stage in the Eastern cultivation world.
It was hard to imagine that this world had so many powerful beings above his level!
His title in the Original Dome Realm was "Divine Sky Limitless Purple Void Immortal King," but this was merely an investiture from the Langya Celestial Dynasty, more name than substance. However, in this world, there truly existed kings of immortals and lords of gods.
André suspected that outsiders like himself were not welcomed by this realm's cultivators, so he needed to be restrained in daily life to avoid being detected as abnormal.
To avoid revealing flaws, he had to start with small matters and never be careless in "self-recognition."
Thinking this way, he was truly beset with internal and external troubles, finding every step difficult.
"André, André Lee Wiltonstein? Well then, congratulations on your new life."
After sighing in an American tone, André began brushing his teeth and washing up. Having lost his great ascension realm body, he no longer possessed that pure glazed body - if he didn't wash his face for a day, it would show some oiliness.
After cleaning himself thoroughly, André came out to carefully examine his dwelling.
This room was narrow and dim, cold and damp. All four walls showed patches of peeling due to years of neglect, and the room was filled with a moldy smell.
Just from this dwelling one could see that the previous owner of this body was living in extreme hardship.
This matched André's memories - two months after that incident, the original owner could no longer afford the mortgage on the house his parents had bought. However, according to current American federal law, when the bank repossessed the property, they still rented him this room as shelter for one year.
But André's character should have been quite diligent - every corner of the room was spotless, and the bedding was clean and odorless.
Only the refrigerator was completely empty, not even containing breadcrumbs. Before his soul rebirth, the original owner had already consumed all food reserves.
André rubbed his growling, grumbling stomach, his face again showing helplessness.
Since reaching the fasting realm where he could survive long periods on wind and dew without eating or drinking, how long had it been since he'd experienced this sensation of hunger?
But there was no choice - this body was only a third-level magic energy swordsman, far from the fasting realm. Moreover, America's cultivation system had no concept of fasting, even the Eastern civilization here, which somewhat resembled the Original Dome Realm, didn't have it.
People here were very capable eaters, believing that the more and better one ate, the faster their strength would grow and the more powerful their bodies would become.
This was probably due to different environments. The Original Dome Realm was resource-poor with weak elemental essence, so cultivators emphasized "harmonizing virtue with heaven and earth, aligning brightness with sun and moon." Not only did they use heaven and earth's elemental essence as sparingly as possible during cultivation, but they also protected precious materials and rare beasts, avoiding excessive harvesting and killing.
In local terms, they had to integrate with nature, protect nature, and practice environmental conservation during cultivation to avoid waste.
But in the original owner's world, both material and elemental resources were abundantly rich beyond belief.
At least in his view - all cultivation systems in the original owner's memories would mostly be considered demonic if placed in the Original Dome Realm.
André felt no conflict about this, nor did he feel he had standing to despise or criticize this world's cultivators.
Different environments naturally led to different perspectives on things. Besides, people in this world had actually recognized this issue.
In any case, he was prepared to adapt to local customs - this world's various precious treasures and miraculous pills could help him quickly recover his strength.
But the urgent priority was still filling his stomach first.
So André followed his memories, moving aside the corner of a desk in the corner, revealing a hidden shallow pit below. Inside was a pile of bills of various denominations.
André counted them - 560 gold shields total, the original owner's entire fortune. According to America's current prices, this could sustain him for about a month. He was truly poor—
Just then, he heard "knock knock" sounds at the door, and William's male voice from outside: "Mo, have you slept enough? We need to go to work."
Having passed a night, André didn't react immediately. Only after twenty seconds did he realize the visitor outside was calling him.
After coming to his senses, he nimbly took one bill from the stack in his hand and put it in his pocket. The remainder he rolled into a bundle, preparing to stuff it back under the desk corner.
But then he frowned slightly, feeling this money-hiding method wasn't quite appropriate.
André first looked around carefully, then kicked off and gracefully ascended the wall like a swallow, placing the rolled bills behind the back of the fluorescent light fixture on the ceiling.
In the original owner's memories, America's public security showed polarization.
In the wealthy district where André used to live, thanks to numerous patrolling officers' efforts, security could be called excellent. But this district called "Wanderer" where he now resided obviously couldn't enjoy such treatment.
This was just a slum in south Atlanta, populated by poor people, with large numbers of unemployed blacks and illegal immigrants, plus a nearby government-built housing project specifically for blacks. So the streets were filled with streetwalkers and blacks selling various drugs, with robberies and thefts commonplace. Groups of people could pull out guns and shoot at each other at any time, or groups of powerful "outlaws" could brazenly use their abilities on the streets.
When the original owner first moved here, he was victimized twice, having all his possessions looted.
André had practiced martial arts with his father from childhood and his swordsmanship had actually reached preliminary mastery. But facing guns pointed at his back, he was powerless.
Only then did he learn to be smart, always calling friends when going out and never carrying more than ten gold shields. Other possessions were stored at home.
But André felt the original owner's thinking was still too simple. For habitual thieves, money hidden under the desk corner wasn't actually safe. For complete security, he needed a more appropriate method.
When Tao Ran was in the Original Dome Realm, he had been a stingy person, and now that he had fallen on hard times, this tendency was intensifying.
These 560 gold shields were now his entire fortune, also his current foundation for survival - he couldn't afford to lose them.
Just as André was carefully examining the fluorescent light above, checking whether any traces were left, the knocking sounded again.
"Hey! Mo, André, why is there still no movement? Are you sleeping like the dead?"