Chapter 1: The Life of Ah Shen Tao

Light shines through the streets of a small shanty town. Buildings hang dilapidated from years of neglect, with barely anybody in the streets. Had it not been for the occasional merchant and beggar, this town could've passed for abandoned. And off the corner of a street into a small alley, a starved orphan sits on the ground, cheeks hollow from hunger. This urchin had sat there for days, yet nobody had gone to check if he was alive. That is until today when a monk walked into the town's gate. On his forehead a branded mark of the Shaolin. He walked around, taking in the view of poverty, before setting his eyes on the corpse of a child. He walked over and locked eyes with the starved child. From his pouch, the monk pulled out a bun. 

"Amitabha Buddha, child you must eat. Your qi is extremely weak, you must eat to live."

The child's eyes lit up at the sight of food. His bony thin frame leapt up from the ground and bowed with his head to the floor. 

"Thank you, sir! I haven't eaten in 13 days, thank you for saving this urchin's life."

"You may raise your head boy. Take the bun... and come to the Shaolin Temple if you wish for a bed."

"R-really? C-could I? W-why am I special?"

The monk smiled at the question as if he had felt a sense of nostalgia hit him with those words.

"Child, the Shaolin welcomes all those who wish to improve. May I know this child's name?"

The filth-encrusted boy beamed from ear to ear and croaked,

"This urchin's name is Ah Shen Tao!"

That was the day the life of this boy had changed for the better... and the day the Elder Pillar of Shaolin, second only to the Grand Abbot, was born.

2 Months later in the Shaolin Temple, the new batch of young monks were inducted. Among the 50 young monks, one of them stood out due to his small frame, Ah Shen Tao. Among all the trainees, he looked to be the weakest... yet when basic training began... he had performed better than every single trainee. Running, parkour, legwork, body endurance testing, hand-eye coordination training... even up to bone density, Ah Shen Tao was extremely competent in all subjects. At the age of 15, he had stayed at the top of the group for the whole 7 years. He had killed mountain tigers and defeated plenty of bandits and notorious villains of the lands. At the age of 20, Ah Shen Tao had mastered every weapon at the disposal of the instructors and was the only one of the trainees to manage to beat an instructor's ass in a test duel. At the age of 35, when he became the candidate to become a pillar of the sect, he had achieved many proofs, such as the defeat of the Taoyuan Poison God, the Hunt of the Dog Demon, and even became the winner of the 10 Great Sect's 10 year annual age 25 bracket. After defeating every other candidate, the title of Great Fist Pillar of Shaolin was bestowed upon his name. Any normal human would've seen this as a monumental achievement... Ah Shen Tao on the other hand had bigger dreams. At this point, his massive frame had been covered in scars and blemishes from his countless battles, marks of his achievements. In the next seven years, he hunted for more and more big names of the underground, such as the Rusted Demon Axe, the Drunken Inn Owner, and even the Fog Dragon of Sichuan. It was at this time the Blood Cult invaded the lands of the 10 Great Sects. Despite this massive invasion, Ah Shen Tao stood proud and assisted the Grand Abbot in the defeat of the Blood Cult's Leader. This crowning achievement landed him at the age of 42, the title of Eldest Pillar of Shaolin. 20 Years went by without much disturbance until a high-ranking Shaolin Monk strayed near the Himalayas... and was murdered. After a thorough investigation... the entirety of the Murim concluded the worst, that the Heavenly Demon Temple had descended from the mountain peaks to wreak havoc. Thus, the 5 year War of Attrition began, only to end with the destruction of all ten of the great sects. The Kongtong Sect fell first to the Blazing Blade Demon. Then the Emei Temple fell to the Lily Crown Demon. Next was the Qingcheng sect to the Black and White Masked Demon. The Mount Hua sect fell to the Blood Demon's descendant. The Wudang Sect fell to the Sword Demon. The Ashen Sect fell to the Mind Demon. The Kunlun Temple fell to the Poison-Eyed Demon. The Southern Edge Sect fell to the onslaught of the Hazy Demon. The Beggar's Sect fell to the Shadowed Dark Demon... And the Shaolin Temple was the only one left, being attacked ruthlessly by the Whipped Wind Fist Demon. People who fled from the razed villages lived under constant fear of invasion, with the number of warrior monks dwindling by the day. After 2 months of perseverance, the walls were breached. Every monk and villager was slaughtered, with the 5 pillars of the Temple falling to Demon elites. Ah Shen Tao, the Eldest Pillar stood like a mountain, fending off 10 high-level demon warriors. He was doing quite well until he heard a sound from behind him. He took a look, only to see a bloody bruised Demon Official... and a head-crushed Grand Abbot. He was distracted... and was stabbed in the neck.

"Waa-aaaahhh"

(What the hell? Why can't I talk normally? Where is Abbot? Where is the temple? WHERE THE FUCK AM I?)

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHAHHHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

"Shhhhsshhh... mommy's here..."

A beautiful woman caressed his tear-stricken cheeks.

"He's got your eyes hun!"

A man sitting next to "mommy" holding her hand responded,

"No, no, he's got your hair!"

"So... I was thinking... maybe his name could be Ashen? It feels right... I don't know why..."

(Oh god no) Ashen thought

"WAAAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHHAAAAA!!!!"

Ashen began crying as loud as he could because... well because he had been reincarnated.