1 A New Start (1)

The birds were chirping while little white clouds floated peacefully through the blue sky. Up high on a gigantic, natural stone pillar lay a tranquil manor surrounded by countless gardens. Those gardens held all the medicinal plants that existed in this world. They radiated a dreamy atmosphere, peaceful and serene. Butterflies were dancing gracefully above the colorful flowers and streamlets of celestial water gurgled quietly. If a mortal being were to see this they would surely only think of one place:

Heaven.

It the manor of natural grace, lazy dragging footsteps could be heard. With a heavy sigh, Hei Su dropped on a chair in front of his ten-thousand year old peachwood desk. He put his head to his neck and stared at the white ceiling in a daze.

He had everything one could wish for. A big house with more rooms than he could wander in a day, gardens so far that they would reach behind the horizon and they were filled with the mightiest of treasures that could throw the whole mortal world into war over it. All the rivers in his land held celestial water and all the animals were majestic tamed spirit beasts with unsurpassed grace and beauty.

If he wanted food, whatever it may be, he just had to snap his fingers and it would appear before him. If he wanted women, he just had to say what kind and they would willingly deliver themselves to his doorstep. His looks and strength surpassed the mortal realm by far.

Hei Su was an immortal.

He had reached the pinnacle and entered the realm of gods. His life was so very perfect and so..... utterly boring!

Just two-hundred years ago he advanced from a Grandmaster alchemist of the Ninth Stage to an immortal. Ever since then, absolutely nothing new or exciting happened. He spend his days with concocting new holy-grade pills that he had no use for, experimenting here and there or playing childish pranks on other immortals who usually felt too dignified to react properly.

Compared to his exciting life as a youngster in the mortal realm, this perfect life he had now was way worse!

Back then, his Master had picked up that dirty street-child, out of pity and started to teach him alchemy. That old man surprisingly was a Master alchemist on the run. His enemy was formidable and used to chase them without rest. They would change their hideout every two days at least. Always running, hiding, disguising and all the while learning and improving without rest only for the sake of surviving! It was difficult, yes, but Hei Su loved that life.

Sadly, the old man couldn't see him reach the pinnacle. One day he simply closed his eyes and never opened them again. He liked to think that even though he couldn't take revenge, the old man died happily. Such a life, just how exciting was it? There was hardly anything his Master didn't do!

With a clear "Bump" his head hit the tabletop.

His Master had warned him, didn't he? The old man used to say that cultivation was like cake. The more powerful you became, the sweeter the cake would be. At the end he failed to appreciate the sweetness and only rushed for the next bite that would be even more delicious. The thing was, there was only a limited amount of cake and in his greed, he ate it all in no time leaving him in this state.

In reality, what Hei Su's Master meant was to cherish what you got but still strive for the next stage, since most people wouldn't be able to eat the whole cake, no matter how hard they tried. But Hei Su obviously didn't have that problem.

Now there was nothing left for him. He had seen all the mysterious and grant places, had taken revenge on his and his Masters enemies, had hunted for hundreds of treasures and fought against thousands of foes. Always striving for that one goal until he finally reached it.

Now what?

Do it again? How was that possible. No-one would dare to oppose him and even less be a thread.

Hei Su's fist weakly hit the table.

"Master…...This immortal one is regretting! Had I savored and appreciated the taste of life like you did, I wouldn't be like this now. If I could start again, I would try to live my life a bit more like you."

Like this he lay there for a short time. Suddenly his peerlessly beautiful face shot up.

'Start again?' he thought 'Like the old man?' A witty glow passed through his eyes.

THAT'S IT!

If it was starting all over again, forget it. Reincarnation, while possible, was way too risky. You couldn't control where you'd end up, your body's aptitude or circumstances. It was perfectly possible to end up as a Good-For-Nothing in a desert. Furthermore, he'd have to train himself up all over again, which was a real pain.

But if it was walking the world as a free man, with good strength and supporting the newer generation, like the old man did, that was basically easy!

This time he wouldn't be the main character, but play the supporting role of the Master, himself!

Hei Su jumped up from his chair, which fell behind his back, excitement exuding from his entire body.

His lips curled up into a joyous grin. This time it wouldn't be him who rose up, rather he would start a new story and be the author behind the scenes instead! Just like his Master did with him, he would teach the boy and help him rise, dragging him through numerous dangers and challenges in the process! Like this he could truly live like his old man and all the while experience something new!

He almost trembled in anticipation. 'Finally! Finally, I can say goodbye too this boring life! I will be surrounded by those foolish mortals again, will have enemies, will have companions, will have a life again!' He could already see it in front of his eyes. This time he wouldn't chase power, he would experience everything he missed before. He would find friends and an arch-nemesis for himself, chase true love and fight with a love rival. He would wander the world once again and teach a young man how to survive in this cruel world. So what if he already saw it! If he already knew all the mysterious and celestial places, he just had to uncover new ones! If he found all the treasures, he could just send down a few! He had more than enough just lying around and catching dust after all. Thinking of this Hei Su swept a glance at the artifact he used as a paperweight.

Azure Ocean King's Dagger. A legendary weapon capable to let whoever wielded it, rule over the seas and all its inhabitants! If the mortal realm could see how it just lay on his desk to catch dust, maybe entire empires would cought up blood and curse him to death!

To Hei Su however, it was useless. He merely picked it up to gather some materials from the sea in peace. In the hands of a capable person however….it could be possible to dominate the mortal world.

He thought a bit about it and let his glance run through the room. Finally, he choose a few things from his house and called for a spirit bird. The majestic red-feathered abyss eagle came soaring to the huge window. Those proud and vicious predators were the nightmare of every hero. These dark red wings, that seemed to drip with blood, could create a slicing storm that could annihilate entire cities. But in front of Hei Su it respectfully bowed it's head and quietly waited for orders.

"Go take those", he pointed at the pile of precious treasures he had gathered "and bring them to the mortal realm. Hide them well so it's not easy for them to be found but it should be possible to be found by a mortal putting in some effort!"

The red-feathered abyss eagle looked at the pile of treasures on the ground and then at Hei Su who stood at the side with sparkling eyes. It swallowed nervously. What did this troublesome Master of his plan this time…..