1 Reincarnated

He suddenly woke up with a gasp and sat up abruptly, eyes wide and sweaty chest heaving up and down as he took rapid breaths in and out.

'What in the…' he thought as he slowly starts to calm down on his own as his eyes begin to look at his surroundings.

The bed beneath him was quite comfortable even though it was only a twin sized bed by his estimations. He was within a modest room that also had a medium sized wooden desk, a wooden nightstand, a wooden wardrobe and a full body mirror next to it. There was also a simple wooden window with simple curtains that were preventing the light of the sun from leaking into the room. A wooden door was in the middle of the wall opposite of where the bed was. The walls and roof of the room were made of concrete while the floor was also made of wood.

It was after he finished inspecting the room that something quite bizarre happened. What could only be a notification window from an RPG game appeared right in the middle of his field of vision and in front of his face.

[Reincarnation into the Reality of 'Tales of Demons and Gods' successful! Your soul has successfully merged with Nie Li's as he was sent back in time! Bring up your 'Status' in order to check your overall progress according to the parameters of this Reality!]

His eyes widened in realization as he read the message in front of him multiple times.

'That's right! After I was stabbed to death by that robber, I was given three wishes by what could only be the 'administrators' of all Realties because it turned out that my fate was altered due to a mistake they made! I thought it was just a dream but it turned out to be real!' He thought in excitement as he jumped off the bed and walked to stand in front of the mirror.

A wide grin appeared on his face as he took in the sight of his reflection. "I really am Nie Li!" He couldn't help but exclaim a bit loudly.

The body and face being reflected in the mirror weren't the ones he recalled having. Instead, the reflection in front of him was that of a handsome ten-year-old boy with long and spiky orange hair, blue eyes and a slim build with a normal amount of muscle mass and definition for his age. He could appreciate that because he was currently wearing some kind of underwear.

He then closed his eyes and concentrated on 'his' memories. After a moment, he opened them again and his grin had turned into a wicked smirk. 'It seems like I do have all the memories from Nie Li's first life! Since I chose to reincarnate three years before the start of canon, I should have enough time to make all the changes I want in preparation for what{s coming in the future!'

When he had been offered three wishes by the 'Administrators of Reality', he had seized the opportunity to live out his dreams. As an avid fan of videogames, anime, manga, manhwa, light novels, xanxia novels and wuxia novels, he had always wanted to be in the shoes of the MC of his favorite stories so he could do the things he considered those MCs should have done.

With that in mind, the first thing he had wished was for his soul to have Eidetic Memory, the ability to recall with pin point perfection everything he learned and perceived with his senses. The second thing he wished for was all the knowledge he could 'comprehend', meaning that he now knew everything from his previous world. And finally, he had wished for a System that allowed him to reincarnate into any Reality he wished, however he wished and whenever he wished and keep track of his progress within that Reality using the parameters of that Reality.

Even though it was the reincarnation system that would allow him to actually live out his dreams for the rest of his continued existence, his first and second wish were actually what could be considered as his 'cheat' ability. Eidetic Memory by itself was already overpowered but when you mixed it with acquiring knowledge of everything he could comprehend, it became simply unfair.

Since his soul had been from his previous Reality, he had only acquired the knowledge of that Reality because it was what he could comprehend. However, since his soul merged with that of Nie Li's after his first life, he had become capable of comprehending the knowledge of the TDG Reality. Thus, not only did he acquire the knowledge Nie Li himself acquired during his first life, but he was also able to comprehend it completely.

With his own unique perspective as someone that reincarnated into this Reality, he wouldn't be surprised if he could take things even beyond of what the 'original' Nie Li had been capable of.

And that was why he had decided to reincarnate three years before the start of 'canon'. Despite of everything that the original Nie Li accomplished during his second chance, he considered that Nie Li didn't live up to the potential of what Nie Li could actually accomplish. All because of his 'devotion' to Ye Ziyun and not wanting to 'stand out' too much… which ended up happening anyways but Nie Li still felt the need of holding himself back.

He, however, had no such things holding him back. Since his soul had merged with Nie Li's, thus acquiring his knowledge and memories, he did feel the compulsion towards Ye Ziyun but not to the extent he would be solely devoted to her alone. He still was going to make her his… along with every single female that he found attractive enough. And since not standing out was the opposite of what he wanted, he would be doing everything at his disposal to be recognized as much as he could.

'I have two general objectives before the start of 'canon': to rise the standing of the Heavenly Marks Family to at least noble status and to make myself known as a peerless genius within Glory City. On the prestige side of things, the first one would require for Nie Hai, the Patriarch, to reach Black Gold Rank as a Demon Spiritualist. He should be a Gold Rank already so with the knowledge I know possess it shouldn't be difficult to achieve that. On the financial side of things, I will have to use the knowledge from my previous Reality to my advantage. Al things considered, my first objective should be more than doable during the time frame I have,' he thought while stroking his chin in a considering manner.

The Heavenly Marks Family was currently one of the twelve aristocrat families within Glory City and the weakest one in regards of finances and prestige. Even though it was comprehensible on the prestige side of things, since that was acquired solely depending on the highest Spiritualist Rank of a member of the family, the Heavenly Marks Family actually had the potential to become the most powerful in the financial side of things thanks to all the lands they possessed, which they only used to farm and grow and collect herbs which was simply a waste.

There even existed normal animals that weren't Demonic Beasts that could be used for cattle as well! He knew that this was because people within this Reality focused more in the development of cultivation and everything surrounding it, but their lack of advanced knowledge in other things was actual beneficial for him and he was going to take advantage of it to the fullest.

'I'm going to make sure the Heavenly Marks Family eventually becomes the most powerful family within Glory City!' He thought to himself resolutely before his thoughts shifted towards his other objective. "Alright. Let's see what I have to work with regarding my own potential. Considering that my soul merged with Nie Li's, it should be significantly higher than his own. Status!"

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General Information

Name: Nie Li

Race/Tribe: Human

Age: 10 (10) (27) (316)

Perks: Eidetic Soul Memory – Aspect of Comprehension Knowledge – R-System

Reincarnation: 2

Cultivation Technique: N/A

Physical Aspects

Strength: 18

Agility: 21

Stamina: 19

Qi: 20

Martial Arts Style(s): N/A

Martial Rank: N/A

Martial Skill(s): N/A

Spiritual Aspects

Soul Realm: Indigo

Soul Force: 62

Soul Form: Yin-Yang Primordial

Soul Attribute: Neutral

Demon Spirit(s): N/A

Spiritual Skill(s): N/A

Soul Rank: N/A

__________________________________________________________________________

As he stared at his status window, he began to read from the upper parts of the contents.

"Hm. So my name is actually Nie Li. I should start getting used to that being my name now," he commented idly before continuing. "Human, that's obvious. My current physical age is ten but in terms of mental age I have ten from Nie Li's current life, twenty-seven from my previous Reality and three-hundred and sixteen from Nie Li's first life. That checks out as well."

Nie Li continued after a short pause. "The 'Perks' of Eidetic Soul Memory and Aspect of Comprehension Knowledge are clearly the names of the abilities I acquired from my first and second wishes. R-System clearly stands for Reincarnation System and since it's also my third wish it makes sense that is listed within 'Perks' as well. Two reincarnations? I guess Nie Li returning back in time counts as one. Since I merged with his soul it should add up two so that makes sense too. And I have never cultivated so it's obvious I won't have a cultivation technique."

As he followed with the next part, Nie Li's eyes widened in interest. "Physical Aspects? Well, those who can't cultivate can become Fighters so I guess…" Nie Li trailed off and his eyes widened even more at the parameters listed under 'Physical Aspects'. "Strength… Agility… Stamina… Qi?! Is that a thing within the TDG Reality?!" He couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief before quickly calming down and thinking logically. "Since the original story was told mostly from Nie Li's perspective, the 'Fighter' aspects of the world were never completely explored. Since they were considered to be weaker than a Demon Spiritualist, it makes sense that the physical aspects were never explored beyond determining their rank only using their physical strength."

Nie Li could immediately see what this could mean for everyone. "It should be quite obvious, really. If there's spiritual energy then there must be physical energy as well. While this doesn't necessarily mean that those who can't cultivate the soul will suddenly become equal to those can, I can explore and discover the actual methods of growth within the physical aspect of things, then it would not only help to establish my standing as a peerless genius but it should also help the overall chances Glory City has to survive against the Demon Beast Hordes! I most certainly will be studying this more in depth later."

After making a mental note to remind himself to do that in the future, Nie Li then went to the section named 'Spiritual Aspects'. A pleased expression appeared on his face as soon as he began to read. "It seems like my Soul Realm is now Indigo instead of Red. Perhaps because of the merge of souls? Oh, well," Nie Li shrugged uncaringly at that thought. "While one's Soul Realm type doesn't determine one's potential and growth rate as long as the cultivation technique one uses is the most fitting, Indigo is still considered the stuff of legends and no one currently has it within Glory City. If nothing, it should greatly help establish myself as a peerless genius early on."

He paused before continuing and his eyes eyebrows rose up a bit. "Soul Force of 62 already? Hm… I guess it could also be because of the soul merge since it's what makes sense. I recall Nie Yu, Nie Li's younger cousin, having a Soul Force of 32 when she was only nine and she was considered a very talented child. Almost twice that amount plus the Indigo Soul Realm at the age of ten should assure my status as soon as it is known by others."

Nie Li's eyes widened when he read the next part. "Soul Form is Ying-Yang Primordial?! What is that?!" He closed his eyes and focused on his Soul Realm, using the experienced he acquired from Nie Li's first life to do so. What he saw left him shocked. When he focused on his Soul Form, he saw an endless space that resembled the universe filled with galaxies, the Yin-Yang symbol right in the middle of the space with the roots of an endless tree, which reminded him of the myths of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, growing from it.

His eyes opened with a gasp. "What is this?! A result from the soul merge or something more?! I recall Nie Li's Soul Form at first being disordered and then being a vine with an unknown starry sky. Is this what it would have eventually turned out to be? While it's fitting, I can't help but think that there more to it than it just reaching its final stage. I will have to study it more in the future. My Soul Attribute is still Neutral. That's good. That means I can develop all of the other attributes even if they won't be initially as strong when compared to one developed by someone with a specific attribute."

Nie Li eventually finished checking his Status and he closed it with a sigh. "There are a lot of things that are either different, not what I expected or just currently not comprehensible by me due to lack of knowledge. Truthfully, it shouldn't be surprised since the Reality of TDG was not completely fleshed out by the time I died. Either way, what I have and what I know is enough for me to accomplish my goals for the future and also adapt to anything unexpected that crosses my path."

After he made that declaration, there was a knock on his door and a cute, young voice of a girl that had to be around his age spoke from behind it. "Li'er?! Are you awake already?! If you aren't, I won't hesitate to use cold water to wake you up! Today is an important day!"

"No! I'm awake! Give me a minute…" Nie Li trailed off as he quickly searched for the memories of the current life of Nie Li and his eyes widened at what he learned. "…Yu'er!"

"Good! I'll wait for you outside then! We cannot be late so hurry up!"

"Erm, yes!"

It turns out that he wasn't the only one that changed. Nie Yu, who was Nie Li's younger cousin by four years in canon, was actually the same age as him within this Reality. Wondering what else was different, Nie Li used his Eidetic Memory to rapidly review and 'remember' everything the ten-year-old Nie Li knew.

When he was done after a few moments, a wicked smirk appeared on his face as he chuckled evilly. "How… interesting…" While most things matched the actual 'lore' of canon, there were a few things that were quite different to say the least. His plans would require quite a few adjustments if he wanted to make the most out of different things.

He was already planning to change a lot of things already so… who was complaining? Certainly not him, who has reincarnated and was now Nie Li.