The ground was cold—colder than I remembered.
I knelt upon it, both of my hands digging into the earth. My fingers pierced the hardened soil, pushing aside gravel and stones that should have been impossible to move with ordinary human strength.
Crack.
A large rock was lifted up. I tossed it aside without thinking. The pain followed soon after—or perhaps it had been there from the beginning, and I had simply stopped acknowledging it.
Blood flowed from my palms. My skin was torn, my nails broken, and the soil before me changed color. Yet my hands continued to move. Kept digging. Kept tearing through the earth, as if stopping would make all of this fully real.
And I wasn't ready for that.
Strange.
I smiled.
A thin, dry smile—utterly out of place.
Why… why do I always lose the things most precious to me?
In my previous world, I lost everything little by little—my family, my hopes, even myself. When I thought death would be the end of all that loss, I instead woke up in this world.
And now… I've lost them again.
I lifted the body of Old Man Jo, split into two halves. Memories of my childhood—of him scolding me for bathing in the river—flooded my mind.
With heavy breaths, I laid his body into the ground and offered a short prayer.
"I'm sorry I can't burn paper money for you. I hope you can rest in peace."
After the last grave was sealed, my body finally gave in. I lay flat on my back atop the soil, breath ragged, hands trembling, staring at the gray sky.
Is the sky always this calm… when the people beneath it are shattered?
Suddenly, I felt something.
The pressure in the air changed. Something was approaching from afar.
In the blink of an eye, someone descended from the sky. He appeared to be a man in his thirties, standing atop a flying sword. The wind stirred as he landed. His previously neutral expression darkened when his gaze fell upon the dozens of graves surrounding me.
I forced my body to rise and knelt.
"Greetings to the Immortal."
The Immortal's gaze settled upon me—a thin young man covered in dirt and wounds.
"What happened here?" he asked.
I lowered my head. My voice trembled as the scene from when I first returned to the village resurfaced in my mind.
"The bandits looted and slaughtered the entire village," I said. "I don't know the exact details… I was in the city when it happened. But for the past few weeks, we had no harvest to offer them. Perhaps… that's what provoked their anger."
The Immortal frowned and let out a soft sigh. "What is your name? And do you know where those bandits are?"
I bowed even deeper. "My name is Lin Wu. As for their base… I roughly know its location."
With a light wave of his hand, my body lifted from the ground. The world spun briefly, and then we arrived at the bandits' stronghold. Without hesitation, the Immortal slaughtered them one by one. Their screams echoed through what had once been a silent forest. Blood soaked the earth. Every bandit was wiped out in an instant—leaving only the bandit leader.
"Immortal, please grant mercy!" he begged, kowtowing in terror.
The Immortal turned to me and handed me his sword. "I want to see your decision."
I took the sword and slowly walked toward the bandit leader.
Without hesitation, I swung the blade at his neck—and his world ended in a single clean strike.
His head fell, rolling across the ground.
After killing the bandit, I felt no satisfaction at all. Only emptiness.
The Immortal walked up to me. "I hope you can calm your heart after avenging them."
I remained silent.
"Because I arrived too late, part of this fault can be considered mine," he continued. "How about following me back to the Heavenly Bagua Sect?"
"I will follow the Immortal's arrangements."
He smiled, then carried my body into the sky—toward the Heavenly Bagua Sect. Along the way, he began explaining the basics of cultivation.
In this world, cultivators are divided into levels:
Qi Refining → Foundation → Qi Condensation → Golden Core → Origin Spirit → Nascent Soul → Soul Formation → Enlightenment → Nirvana → Transcendent
I listened quietly.
Yet in my heart, only one question kept repeating:
If I become strong enough… will I no longer need to suffer the pain of loss again?
After flying for quite some time, a gate towering like it touched the heavens appeared before me.
"Welcome, Daoist Brother. How was your mission this time?"
"Quite bad. I was tasked with eliminating bandits across several towns, but due to my negligence, I arrived too late, and one village was completely wiped out."
The Immortal pulled me to his side. "Fortunately, this child survived. Out of guilt, I decided to bring him back and see whether he has the qualifications to join the sect. If not, I'll give him some money and let him live as an ordinary mortal."
The gatekeeper nodded in understanding and allowed us entry. After flying a short while longer, we arrived at a hill surrounded by bamboo.
"From now on, you will live here. In a few days, there will be the monthly recruitment. If you pass the trial, you will officially become a disciple of the Heavenly Bagua Sect. If you fail, I will take you down the mountain."
The Immortal tossed me a token and a small bottle.
"Drink the potion drop by drop. If you can finish it, your chances of passing the trial will increase significantly."
"Immortal, may I know your name?" I asked, wanting to remember the name of the one who helped me.
"You may call me Zhu Quan."
I watched the Immortal depart and etched his name into my heart.
I opened the bottle in my hand. Instantly, the scent of herbs filled my nose. As instructed by Zhu Quan, I took one drop of the potion and put it into my mouth.
In an instant, my body felt as if it were burning. My breathing grew labored, and my vision wavered.
Before I could adapt, the sensation transformed into thousands of needles piercing my body. I writhed on the ground, struggling.
After about an hour of unending suffering, I finally lay still. My breath came in ragged gasps, my chest rising and falling erratically, as if every breath was a new torment. My body trembled—not only from injury, but from pain that seeped into my bones and soul.
Yet amid that agony, my mind became strangely clear, and tears began to fall from my eyes.
Not because of the pain, but because of the loneliness I felt. In the past, when I was hurt, someone would rush to tend to me. When I fell ill, someone would ask about my condition. But now—even after screaming for a full hour—no one came.
I stared at the gray sky, then slowly let out a small laugh. The laugh was hoarse—almost mad. All this time, I had avoided trouble, even kneeling before bandits to avoid provoking them, hoping that one day someone strong enough would come to save me.
But now I understand.
No one will come to save me.
Every drop of pain I feel is proof that I am still alive. That I can still struggle. And that my path—has not yet ended.
If pain is the price I must pay to move forward and become strong… then I will pay it in full.
My trembling hand reached for the bottle beside me. The liquid inside shimmered faintly. Without hesitation, I pulled off the stopper.
"I won't stop here," I muttered softly. "I will walk a path from which there is no turning back."
I took a full gulp, draining the potion in one go.
Scorching heat exploded within my body, far more brutal than before. My bones creaked, my blood boiled, and the world around me seemed to collapse. Yet this time, I did not scream.
I smiled.
Because from that moment on, I knew—
My journey toward immortality had begun.
"In this life, I will become Invincible"