Alexei didn't know what would happen to him now that he was dying again. He didn't come from this world; he was a transmigrator. He came from twenty-first-century Earth, where modern conveniences were readily available. Easy access to the internet and food had always felt like heaven to him, until he died in a car accident while going to pick up his takeout from his favorite fast-food chain.
When he regained consciousness, he was reborn into this world of cultivation. He thought he might be the main character of this world, destined to receive a golden finger, because that was what transmigrators always got whenever they reincarnated into a new world. But he didn't. He received no golden finger, no system. Still, he persevered and joined a sect to pursue immortality and unparalleled strength, despite the hardship and constant killing required to obtain resources.
His primary focus in cultivation and techniques was assassination. He was capable of fighting his enemies head-on, but a quick and clean death was what he preferred. And now, here he was, lying and dying in this wretched place, betrayed by his senior brothers, who didn't want to share the heavenly treasures they had obtained from the tomb of the heavenly immortal. How wrong he had been to think he was the protagonist of this world and story, only to end up dying because of his own foolishness.
Death was not something foreign to him. Now, he wondered what would happen next. Would he be reborn again? Would he be the protagonist in his next life? Or would he truly die and join the others in oblivion? These were the thoughts running through his mind as he took his last breath.
November 15, 1895
"Push, Your Majesty," urged the chief midwife as she assisted the noblewoman giving birth in a large room bustling with people. The lady was the wife of the Tsar of Imperial Russia, and the atmosphere was charged with urgency and chaos. The chief midwife and her team worked diligently, wiping sweat and blood from the woman's body and ensuring she remained as comfortable as possible. Surgeons and physicians were also present, ready to intervene should any complications arise during the delivery or to examine the baby once it was born. Despite her exhaustion, the lady displayed remarkable courage as she endured the trials of childbirth.
"Push, Your Majesty! The head is showing. It will be over soon," the midwife called out again when she saw the baby beginning to emerge. This time, the noble lady did not hesitate and pushed with all her strength. It worked. Soon, the room was filled with the sound of a baby crying, so loud it seemed to echo throughout the entire palace.
"It's a prince, Your Majesty!" the midwife exclaimed with a smile as she wiped the blood and grime from the newborn. The birth of a prince filled everyone in the room with joy; to them, it seemed far more significant that the child was a prince rather than a princess.
"And he will be a strong prince, judging by how loudly he cries!"
The empress did not hear any of this. Too exhausted, she fell asleep as soon as she knew the baby had been safely delivered.
Not long after, the doors opened and the Tsar of Imperial Russia entered upon hearing his son's cries. He looked at the baby with a smile full of happiness, clearly delighted to have a prince. His gaze sharpened when the midwife handed the child to him. To his surprise, the baby stared back with wide eyes and fell silent. The Tsar felt immense joy at having an heir, especially one who already showed such vitality.
"Alexei, his name will be Alexei Nikolaevich," he said gently, cradling his son as he watched the child drift off to sleep in his arms. Afterward, he handed the baby back to the midwife and checked on his wife. Seeing that she was merely asleep and exhausted filled him with relief.
Shortly after, the rest of his family entered the room, gazing at the sleeping prince. Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, now third in line to the succession after his brother Grand Duke George Alexandrovich and the newly born Alexei, congratulated him with a pat on the arm.
"Congratulations, brother! It seems you can relax now that you have an heir."
Nicholas was glad to sense that he genuinely meant it. He smiled and replied, "Thank you, brother." Still, he was saddened that his other brother, Grand Duke George Alexandrovich, could not be with him at this moment. A moment later, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna also offered her congratulations before turning her attention to the baby, leaving her brothers to continue their conversation.
It did not take long for the rest of the family members to arrive and see the child. Once their curiosity was satisfied, they departed one by one. Nicholas then turned to his aide.
"Arrange for a baptism as soon as possible. Also, prepare a grand banquet to be held in the coming months to celebrate the birth of my son and heir."
He spoke while they were still in the birthing room, clearly overjoyed. He was willing to spare no expense to make this the grandest banquet in centuries. Although he was still grieving the death of his father, Alexander III, this was a time for celebration. With the birth of his son and heir, it was time for the empire to rejoice.
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty," Boris, the Tsar's trusted aide, replied before excusing himself to begin preparations for the baptism and banquet. Letters would need to be sent to nobles and other important figures throughout the empire. Considering the time required for correspondence and travel to St. Petersburg, and the need for the baby to be healthy enough to be presented at court, the grand banquet would be held six months later, while the baptism could be carried out as soon as possible.
Boris was thrilled that the Tsar and Tsarina had welcomed a son and heir as their first child. He was determined to ensure that this banquet would be the grandest event of the century. To accomplish this, he would need to gather his subordinates and begin drafting a detailed plan.
Not long after the birth of Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov, a formal Orthodox baptism was held at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
Soon after, an official announcement was made throughout the empire. It stated: "From now on, in accordance with the Fundamental Laws of the Empire, the Imperial title of Heir Tsarevich, and all the rights pertaining to it, belong to Our son, Alexei." The people rejoiced, while the revolutionaries did not.
6 months later…
Alexei was unsure whether to laugh or cry with happiness the moment he realized he had been reborn yet again. No one wants to die, or at least, that was what he believed. Because of this, he felt a deep sense of joy inside, even if it did not show on his baby's face. He was curious about where he had ended up this time. Judging by the number of visitors he received and their elegant clothing, it seemed his new family held a prominent position in this country, or perhaps in this world. He rarely laughed, even when people tried to make him smile. Instead, he simply stared at them with open curiosity.
It was difficult at first, but this was not the first time Alexei had become a baby. The first time, he had not been aware of it. During his second life, his first reincarnation, he had experienced it firsthand, trapped in a body that could not even move freely, able only to eat, sleep, and soil itself. Now he was going through it once more. After the happiness of being reborn again subsided, the bitterness of living through infancy returned.
Alexei was always listening to the conversations around him while pretending to sleep. He despised this body; it could hardly stay awake for more than a few hours. He could only wake up when he was hungry or needed to relieve himself. After six months of constant eavesdropping and comparing words to actions, he had begun to understand both the language and his situation. He realized he was in the Russian Empire, that his name was Alexei, his father Nicholas II, and his mother Alexandra Feodorovna. This knowledge helped him grasp that he was now back in his original world, but in the past.
Oh, how he wished he could smash everything within reach with his tiny arms and hands, yet he couldn't. If whoever was responsible for his reincarnation truly had such power, why not send him back to the modern world instead of the past? Nonetheless, after a while, he calmed himself. After all, he had already endured the brutality and harshness of the cultivation world. Compared to that, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were still more appealing.
Though he did not remember much history from his first life, he knew for certain that the First World War was approaching. He also recalled very little about the name given to him by his father, Alexei, only that this Alexei was the youngest child of Tsar Nicholas II and the only son. This realization led him to wonder, where were his sisters?
"Damn, there's so much to think about," he mused. The history he had learned in his past life consisted mostly of monarchs, their families, and the empires that existed, and even that knowledge was superficial at best. He supposed he would have to make the best of what he had. Still, he promised himself to live this life to the fullest and to avoid dying before reaching old age. After all, he had yet to experience what it truly meant to grow old.
During those six months, Alexei tried to sense qi in this world using the many cultivation techniques he knew from the cultivation world. He noted that the qi here was extremely thin, so faint that he could barely feel it, yet it undeniably existed. After repeatedly attempting different techniques, from high-grade ones down to the lowest, only a low-quality body cultivation technique from his second life worked. It was a technique that enhanced physical strength, agility, and the senses. It strengthened only the body and nothing more.
He felt bitter after confirming that he could not cultivate powerful techniques that would allow him to conquer the world with ease and be revered as a god. But he soon got over it. He had no desire to conquer the world anyway. The drama and politics that came with such power already gave him a headache. All he wanted was to live as freely as possible. Being the Tsarevich was already a privilege; being emperor was more than one could reasonably expect, assuming he and his family survived the coming revolutions, of course. He did not want to play politics if he could avoid it. If possible, he would prefer to solve everything through assassination, but he knew that was impossible in this world. He would face it when the time came.
Anyway, perhaps those heaven-defying techniques were simply too powerful for this world, or perhaps he had been weakened during reincarnation for the sake of balance. It was also possible that the qi here was simply insufficient for higher-level techniques. No matter the reason, this body cultivation technique was still enough to help him survive a world filled with revolutions, uprisings, and wars. For now, Alexei cultivated the only technique that worked while pretending to sleep. Who knew how long it would take him to reach level nine of body cultivation? The qi in this world was so thin it might as well not exist at all if not for his complete cultivation technique. Better to start early than not at all.
Alexei continued pretending to sleep while examining his body for any diseases or issues. He discovered that he did indeed have an illness, though he was unsure what it was. Still, he wanted to see whether his body cultivation technique could cure, or at least suppress it. He felt nervous, knowing the technique was low quality, and worried it might not be effective against this kind of disease. Fortunately, after repeated attempts and careful circulation of qi, he began to feel a slow and gentle healing process taking place. He knew it would take time, but he was grateful to learn that the illness could be healed.
Alexei did not know how long he had been faking sleep when he was disturbed by one of his maids. Seriously, he didn't even have any privacy in this world, he thought.
"Your Imperial Highness, it's time to wake up for the banquet."
She lifted Alexei into her arms and began dressing him like a peacock, the clothes itchy to the extreme. He did not want to go through this experience again if he could avoid it, but he had no choice. He remained silent, watching the maid work while listening to her chatter, pretending not to understand her, even though he actually did.
The maid carried Alexei from his room to his mother, who smiled brightly the moment she saw him. She embraced him and showered his face with kisses, much to his annoyance. He flailed his arms in protest, trying to stop her, but that only made her laugh more.
"Look at our little Alexei, he doesn't want his mother's kisses anymore," she said, pretending to pout as she looked at her husband, who was watching the scene with a bright smile. The rest of the family simply observed from a distance.
"You can kiss him more after the banquet if you wish, but we need to go now and present Alexei to the guests," the Tsar of Imperial Russia said. With that, he rose from his seat and led his wife and family toward the banquet hall, where the nobles and important figures of the empire were already waiting.
Banquet Hall…
"Damn, these people are really dressed for the occasion, and what is this? Too much perfume,"
Alexei thought the moment he saw the crowd. Even from the doorway, he could smell the various perfumes they had doused themselves in, and the overwhelming scent made him feel dizzy. Everyone stood when the Tsar of Imperial Russia entered with his family, smiling as they offered their blessings. But Alexei knew better. Behind those smiling faces were snakes, ready to strike the moment an opportunity presented itself.
Still, he didn't care much about what they thought, as long as they did not bother him or those he cared about.
Did he even have anyone he cared about in this world? That question required time to answer, as he did not yet feel deeply attached to his current family.
Soon, Alexei was handed to his personal maid and paraded like some kind of saint before the crowd. He carefully memorized the names of the people introduced to him, knowing this knowledge would be useful in the future. He did not know much about these historical figures, only the names of certain organizations and revolutionaries. Who studied history seriously in high school, anyway? At that time, all he cared about were games.
He maintained a calm demeanor as he was paraded around, mostly staring and occasionally smiling when something caught his interest. But damn, these perfumes were assaulting his nostrils. He complained silently.
He also met his uncle, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, who looked genuinely happy despite being pushed back to third in line for the throne after Alexei's birth.
It did not take long for Alexei to fall asleep as he was carried through the banquet hall alongside the Tsar and Tsarina. Eventually, his father ordered that Alexei be taken back to his room to rest and announced the start of the real banquet. This was met with cries of "Za zdorovye," and the festivities truly began, with alcohol and entertainers livening the atmosphere. The celebration lasted until evening, when the Tsar and Tsarina finally retired to their chambers.
Alexei did not know whether the banquet had truly been for him or merely an excuse for his parents to celebrate, judging by how long it lasted. Still, he did not care. At least peace returned after a week. He resumed cultivating with renewed determination, hoping to gain enough strength to crawl, or even stand as soon as possible. Lying helplessly and waiting for maids to pick him up felt suffocating.
Based on the speed at which he absorbed qi, Alexei estimated he would be two years old by the time he reached level one of body cultivation, a painfully slow pace by his standards, but unavoidable. Still, he was grateful to be ahead of others in this world in terms of strength. He estimated that reaching level two would take another three years after reaching level one, allowing him to possess the strength of an average adult while still in the body of a child.
And so, until he reached the age of five, that was what mostly Alexei did, cultivating.