Chapter 1: The Reincarnation of a Professional Fanboy
In the vast, boundless tapestry of the multiverse, there are worlds where steam powers engines, worlds where silicon governs minds, and worlds where the very breath of the universe is a weapon. This is a story of the latter.
In this world, Spiritual Power (SP) is the alpha and the omega. It is the fire in the hearth and the destruction in the storm. Here, experts can level mountains with a flick of a finger, and legendary warriors can walk across the stars. But every legend has a beginning, and usually, that beginning involves a lot of sitting still and trying not to look stupid.
Enter our protagonist. To the world, he is a ten-year-old "waste" who can barely sense the energy around him. To himself, he is a man who knows too much.
The Day the Truck Won
Before he was Ling Chen, he was Cang Yue Chen, a citizen of Earth and a professional enjoyer of Donghua (Chinese Animation).
Five years ago, tragedy had stripped the color from his life. A car accident—quick, brutal, and indifferent—had taken his parents and his younger sister. Since then, the only solace he found was in the glowing screens of his apartment, watching heroes defy fate.
"The graphics of this new Donghua are insane," Yue Chen muttered, leaning back in his chair, a half-eaten bowl of instant noodles on his desk. "It feels like I could reach out and touch the spiritual energy. If only..."
He sighed, his eyes fixed on the screen where the protagonist, Xiao Ming, was performing a ritual of supreme light.
"I want to be like Xiao Ming. He can revive his parents with Spiritual Power. He can mend the broken pieces of his soul. But dreams like that... they don't happen to guys like me."
Feeling the weight of his loneliness, Yue Chen decided to take a walk. The city lights of modern China flickered around him. He reached a crosswalk. The light was red, but his mind was thousands of miles away, lost in a world of flying swords and immortal lotuses.
He stepped onto the asphalt.
SCREECH.
A massive grille of a heavy-duty truck loomed over him like the maw of a hungry beast.
"Wait," Yue Chen had just enough time to think. "Is that... is that Truck-kun? In the middle of Beijing? Are you kidding me? This is so cliché—"
BAM.
Death was surprisingly quiet.
A New Set of Parents (and Eyes)
"Look at his cute face! He's so small!"
"He looks just like you, Ling Sheng. Hopefully, he doesn't inherit your snoring."
Cang Yue Chen struggled to open his eyelids. They felt like they were glued shut with cosmic honey. When he finally succeeded, he didn't see the white lights of a hospital or the grim face of a morgue attendant.
He saw two people dressed in exquisite, ancient robes that looked like they belonged on a high-budget film set.
Who are these guys? he thought, panicking. Am I at a Cosplay convention? Did the truck hit me so hard I ended up at Comicon?
The man, Ling Sheng, beamed with pride. "What should we name him, Yi Xian?"
The woman, Yi Xian, cradled him gently. Her warmth was something Yue Chen hadn't felt in five long years. "Ling Chen. His name shall be Ling Chen."
"Ling Chen... that's a good name," Ling Sheng declared, his voice booming with authority. "He will be the next leader of our Tian Ling Clan. He will rule over Hun Qin City!"
Ling Chen? He looked down at his hands. They were tiny, pink, and lacked the calluses of a keyboard warrior.
I am reincarnated! The realization hit him harder than the truck. Wait a second... what did they say? Hun Qin City? That's the starting location of the "Spiritual Master" series! I'm inside the story!
A young boy, only a few years older, leaned over the crib. This was Ling Hao, his new elder brother.
"Father, look!" Ling Hao pointed. "My brother's eyeballs are blue! Ours are black."
Ling Sheng leaned in, squinting. Indeed, the infant's pupils were a deep, iridescent blue, like the heart of a sapphire. "His blue pupils suit him perfectly. It is a sign of a unique soul."
Ling Chen's inner thoughts were racing. Blue eyes? I don't remember the protagonist having blue eyes. The protagonist of this era is Mu Bai! I have to check the date. If I'm in the same year as Mu Bai, I can use my knowledge of the plot to become a god!
He glanced at a calendar hanging on the wall. The characters were ancient, but his new brain translated them instantly: Year 2176.
Mu Bai was born in 2176! We're the same age! Ling Chen's tiny baby fist pumped the air. Mu Bai, you better watch out. I'm not just a reader anymore. I'm a player.
Ten Years of "Trash"
Fast forward ten years.
The optimism of infancy had been replaced by the cold, hard reality of adolescence. Ling Chen sat on a high cliff overlooking Hun Qin City, his legs dangling over the edge.
"My meridians are blocked," he grumbled, throwing a pebble into the abyss. "Completely blocked. Not even a toothpick's worth of energy can get through. I thought I'd dominate the world with my knowledge, but apparently, the world decided to lock the front door and lose the key."
In this world, talent was measured by the 16 Stages of Spiritual Mastery. Ling Chen knew them by heart—partly because he lived here, and partly because he had read the wiki a thousand times in his past life.
He looked down at the city square where Mu Bai, the "Golden Boy" of the era, was currently practicing. Mu Bai's movements were fluid, his body already glowing with a faint spiritual light.
Ling Chen sighed and began to recite the hierarchy of power, his voice dripping with irony.
"To become a legend, one must climb the ladder of the 16 Sacred Stages. And here I am, still stuck at the bottom of the first rung."
The 16 Stages of Spiritual Mastery:
* Spiritual Sensing Stage: The entry level. One must sense the fragments of energy in the air. If the environment is poor in SP, you're basically a glorified civilian.
* Meridian Opening Stage: The first true wall. A human has 108 meridians. To even begin real cultivation, one must open at least 8 Meridians. This is usually done with expensive pills or brutal training. Ling Chen? He was at zero.
* Spiritual Gathering: The point where you can actually attack.
* Sub-Stages: Initial, Intermediate, Advance.
* Spiritual Harmonization: Merging your power with the nature around you.
* Sub-Stages: 1st Layer to 9th Layer.
* Spiritual Manifestation: Creating physical objects—swords, shields, even wings—out of pure energy.
* Sub-Stages: Initial, Middle, Late, Peak.
* Spiritual Movement: Fusing internal and external SP to move at speeds the human eye can't follow.
* Sub-Stages: 1 Star to 10 Star.
* Spiritual Rotation: The SP is rotated at high speeds within the body, condensing it into a terrifyingly powerful state.
* Sub-Stages: Early, Middle, Late, Great Cycle.
* Spirit Stage: This is where things get "immortal." Your soul becomes spiritualized. If your body dies, your soul can survive and flee.
* Sub-Stages: Early, Middle, Late.
* Spiritual Master: Total mastery. You no longer need hand signs or chants; the energy obeys your Will.
* Sub-Stages: 1st Grade to 10th Grade.
*Lessor=1st Grade to 3rd Grade
*Greater=4th Grade to 6th Grade
*Advance=7th Grade to 9th Grade
*Perfection=10th Grade
* Earthly Spiritual Master: The power to control the very ground you stand on... and eventually, the entire planet.
* Sub-Stages: 1st Realm to 9th Realm.
* Half-Step Heavenly Spiritual Master: The "Trial" stage. You begin to form a Heavenly Core, though it is still incomplete.
* Sub-Stages: Initial, Intermediate, Advance.
* Heavenly Spiritual Master: The Core is formed. You have infinite energy storage because the core grows as you breathe.
* Sub-Stages: 1 Star to 10 Star.
* Immortal Spiritual Master: The core shatters and becomes a sentient soul. You can control puppets and enemies with a thought.
* Sub-Stages: 1 Star to 10 Star.
* Divine Spiritual Master: The level of a Creator. You can create life forms from nothing.
* Sub-Stages: Early, Middle, Late, Peak.
* Half-Step Great Spiritual Master: A bridge of unimaginable power. One finger can crush a hundred Divine Masters.
* Great Spiritual Master: The absolute peak. The Master of Earth, Heaven, and Divine Energy. A person at this stage can create a Galaxy with a wave of their hand.
The Silent Vow
"Sixteen stages," Ling Chen whispered. "And I'm at Stage One, Sub-Stage: Nothing."
He watched Mu Bai finish his training session to the cheers of the crowd. Mu Bai was already at the Meridian Opening stage, having opened 12 meridians at the age of ten. He was a genius. Ling Chen was a punchline.
But Ling Chen didn't have the eyes of a ten-year-old. He had the "Deep Understanding" of a man who knew that the current cultivation methods were flawed. He knew that the Ancient Ling Clan was watching, and he knew that somewhere, a 2nd Ancestor was planning to ruin everything.
Most importantly, he knew about the Great Heavenly Spiritual Eye hidden somewhere in his own soul. He just hadn't found the spark to light it yet.
"If I can't open my meridians the normal way," Ling Chen said, his blue eyes flashing with a sudden, dangerous intensity, "then I'll just have to break the laws of this world. Mu Bai, you can have the spotlight for now. But I'm going for the Galaxy."
He stood up, dusted off his robes, and looked at the sunset.
"I have to find a way to cultivate. And I think I know exactly where to start looking."
[End of Chapter 1]