My eyes snapped open as I struggled to breathe. A tight, gripping pressure crushed my neck, and I instinctively kicked my feet, searching for any leverage to save myself. My fingers clawed at my throat, feeling the thick, coarse rope biting deep into my windpipe. Circulation was impossible; air was becoming a distant memory.
"What the hell is happening?!" I thought, my mind racing as I fought with everything I had to live.
"If only I had a knife to cut this damn rope" Just as my vision began to tunnel and my adrenaline started to fail, a flash of dim light sparked between my hand and the hemp. A sharp, metal knife appeared firmly in my grip. I didn't waste a second to wonder how it got there. I slashed the rope above me, dropping unceremoniously to the floor with a heavy thud.
The wind was knocked out of my chest as I landed face-first on the cold stone. I lay there for a moment, gasping, before carefully cutting the remaining noose from my neck to finally free myself. I sucked in a deep breath, the air filling my burning lungs like fire. I coughed violently, so hard I nearly vomited, while I rubbed my neck with a trembling hand.
"What the fuck!" My voice came out as a raspy, broken mess.
I stood slowly, catching my breath as I surveyed the unfamiliar room. It was a tomb. There wasn't much to see: an old animal fur rug, a small bed with thin, threadbare sheets, and a simple table at the center. Aside from a tiny window beside the bed, there was nothing but cold stone walls, floors, and ceiling.
"My neck fucking hurts..." I muttered, stumbling toward the window.
The view outside was nothing like I expected. Trees that looked like massive bonsais stretched toward the sky, but they were covered in purple leaves and blood-red bark. Even the grass was a deep crimson, giving the area a strange, haunting charm. I knew for certain that trees and grass like that weren't natural.
The high stone walls surrounding the area only confirmed my suspicions. This place reminded me of every cultivation novel or manga I'd ever read. Suddenly, a painful throbbing exploded in my head, so intense it nearly made me pass out on the spot.
"Damn... did I get brain damage from the lack of oxygen?" I slurred, barely catching myself on the cheap headboard.
That was when the memories flooded in—memories I had no recollection of, yet knew deep down I had lived. They felt personal but distant, like a vivid dream I couldn't shake. In these memories, people didn't call me Jacob. They called me Fang Jin.
Apparently, my life sucked.
My father was a low-level cultivator and a former sex slave to a female cultivator. He had escaped after she was killed and eventually fathered me with a mortal woman while on the run. Due to the brutal boundaries between mortals and cultivators, my mother wasn't even allowed to be seen with him, lest a stronger cultivator take her away for "fun." My father had only secured our safety by saving a powerful elder's life, earning us a place in this sect.
But the good fortune ended with him. I was a "weakling" with poor talent. In a world where everyone worked themselves to the bone just to stay off the bottom, my hard work was worth a fraction of those with natural potential. I was only stronger than common mortals; any competent starter with combat experience would have ripped me apart.
Yet, this body hadn't given up. It had pushed harder every day for one reason: my father's good deed had set me up to marry the granddaughter of the elder he saved. She was powerful, beautiful, and seemed genuinely interested in me.
At least, until she started using me for errands. I worked double-time one day just to finish early and spend time with her, only to walk in and find her in bed with an Inner Disciple. The sight had shattered this body's mind instantly. That was what led to the rope.
The original Fang Jin had died, and I had taken over. As for my own death... the last thing I remembered was cashing a check at the bank. I'd had my headphones on and didn't hear the robbers enter. Because I didn't "listen" to the order to lay on the ground, I was shot dead without hesitation.
"Damn. This guy lived such a pathetic life... and I'm pissed that I had to experience his whole story like it was mine," I spat, clenching my fists.
If I hated anything, it was a cheater. I couldn't even stand stories where the protagonist stole girls; to me, that was just as disgusting as being the one getting stolen from.
"I won't lie... I really want to kill them!" I grit my teeth before sighing. "But the chances of that right now are zero. I have to get stronger."
I looked around the room again. "And I need better living arrangements. Holy shit."
I looked down at the knife in my hand. How had I summoned it? As if the universe was actively trying to piss me off, another surge of information burned into my mind. I punched the wall out of instinct to distract from the pain of the knowledge transfer.
The ability was called "Creation of All Things."
It allowed me to create anything I could imagine at the cost of my own energy—stamina or that "Qi" stuff my memories yapped about. The more I knew about how an object worked, the less it cost. I could even add properties to existing items, though the price varied.
"Great. Just great," I laughed half-heartedly at the irony. "I'm a sad guy who just killed himself, and I've awakened a god-level cheat upon reincarnation. I don't know whether to laugh or cry."
I shook my head, a grin finally spreading across my face. "Who am I kidding? Whatever gave me this ability is a damn fool for trusting me with it. There isn't a chance in hell I won't do whatever it takes to reach the top."
Excitement hummed in my veins. I had the tools. I had the resources. I could become the mystery man every story talks about. I'd grow powerful, ruin the economy with artifacts, start a family, and maybe even create unstoppable beasts just to build heroes who could stop them.
"My mind has never run this free!" I cheered, only to be slapped back into reality by a muffled voice from the other side of the wall.
"Shut the hell up, loser! It's early in the morning!"
I went silent, staring at the stone wall. "I wonder..." I thought darkly, "if I should kill that guy first when I'm strong enough."