Worth it

Somewhere between dimensions Li's spirit floated towards the unknown...

'Fuck where am I?! What the fuck's happening?' He was anxious. Butterflies in his non existent stomach was an understatement.

He couldn't see yet could. He couldn't feel but at the same time he could. It was a complete mess. There were another a myriad of colors or there wasn't any at all. When he thought he had an idea of what he was traveling through he didn't.

What seemed like years or seconds or nothing or more later space seemed to ripple like a piece of fabric in the wind. A moment later Li was once again under the light of a starry universe.

In the front, a dazzling display of colors from red to yellow to blue to green to purple to orange to black to white to clear to teal to grey to gold and even more blinded him. They took the shapes of ribbons, sandstorms, clouds, dragons, animals, and more. Deep within the display of colors a spherical shape gradually began forming. Unfortunately for Li his soul was headed straight for it.

'Oh shit oh shit oh god oh Buddha...'

Nothing happened. Despite the magnificent display he suddenly realized that while he was heading straight for the dazzling rainbow cloud he was in fact a very far and unknown distance away.

Two hundred years later...

'Oh boy! Here it comes! Come on baby!'

Despite seeing the cloud for such long time he could not help but feel some excitement at entering it. What was going to happen to him now?

As his spirit came into contact with a strand of red energy he "howled" in agony. It was fucking painful! But it wasn't completely worthless. Every time a strand of energy came into contact with him he felt stronger. He could feel something growing. It wasn't a familiar feeling but it sparked excitement for him.

Moreover he could sense that he wasn't the only thing forming. He could feel masses of energy condensing although there was no spirit inside of them. Based on all the light novels he read...

"Everything points to that thing! The birth of a new world and the primordial creatures" he "exclaimed."

The only thing he could feel now was pure excitement. Not even the pain could deny him the pleasure of being reborn. He could feel it the aura of life permeated the area around him! Better yet he was still spiraling into the center of the of whatever was happening.

Particles being gathering around him condensing themselves and from it a single cell was born. Then another and then another. Gradually a skull formed and then a spine. Soon an entire skeleton system had formed out of pure energy. The skeleton began producing flesh and blood. Every strand of muscle fiber that formed brought Li great agony. Every cell formed was like a needle being stabbed into him and knitting a new body for him.

A growing mass of blood and flesh filled he gaps within and created the muscular and nervous system. Finally an embryo formed over him covering his newborn body. Although his body felt as strong as steel, he was in fact an embryo. The shell around him was to develop even further as the world completed its final stages of birth.

An indeterminable amount of time later...

Darkened... nothing but darkness. Li could feel a godly amount of energy flowing through him. He grit his new teeth, and began writhing and struggling.

Cracking sounds resounded all around him. With one final push he shattered the egg and with a casual flex of his hind legs he head butt the earth around him breaking the solid rock and scattering the soil around him. He traveled several miles upwards and broke free from the underground.

Li scattered large shards of earth around him. Bellows of dirt and dust swept the surrounding area. Instinctively he opened his mouth and let out a huge roar. Oddly that same roar also released a wild jet of rainbow colored flames that shot hundreds of feet into the air and rained down on the surrounding mountain.

Li looked around him and took a deep breathe. The surroundings had smoking craters and black ash floating in out into the wind. It looked like a jet had bombarded the surrounding area with missiles.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!" Li couldn't believe it. He had reached a level far beyond anything in the previous world and he didn't even need to cultivate. True he was asleep for god knows how long, but for him it only passed in an instant.

However, he suddenly froze.

'Wait a second. I feel very strange. My head it's so heavy and the wind is blowing my back hair?'

He slowly looked down and his jaw dropped in shock. He saw beautiful scarlet red scars lining his stomach and azure scales covering the rest of his torso. His arms ended with beautiful golden claws like short blades, each easily a foot long. He had hooves at the end of his legs with the same patterns as his arms.

This revelation stunned him for a few minutes but as he thought about more deeply he was convinced it was all worth it. There was nothing he missed as a human. He had enjoyed all the pleasures life had to offer and due to his rockstar life he was sure he had left behind at least one child back on earth.

A cultivator should have a broad mind and as a millennial who travelled the world with a liberal mindset he did not have an aversion to being an animal. Besides he suspects that he was not just an ordinary animal but a divine beast only spoken of in legends like a dragon or a phoenix, born as God's from the heaven and earth when Pangu gave birth to the world and all life within it.

What he really needed right now was a mirror to check his appearance. He should find a source of water... water... water... water...

Suddenly his vision began to blur and his eyesight was filled with golden splendor. He saw that there were paths and other shapes extending countless miles away. There was one path that was more golden than others as though it were telling him "Walk this way!" and he did. He got down on all fours which felt quite natural and trotted down the path.

Li ignored all the trees in front of him, crashing and crushing them, sending splinters everywhere. His hooves imbedded permanent footprints across the earth. Despite all the destruction he was causing his aura alone brought life around him. The surviving plants bloomed and the animals gathered around his tracks. Everywhere he passed glowed with vitality. Such were the gifts of a divine beast.

Moments later he arrived at a gorgeous blue lake. As he neared the edge of the bank, fish began popping out the water and welcoming him.

'I feel like a celebrity' he thought to himself as he looked into the water to see his reflection.

He gazed at a magnificent turquoise dragon's head with ruby like eyes that glowed with golden flames hidden deep within. A flowing jade mane with purple jade ends drifted in a nonexistent breeze. Jade and white horns jutted from the back of his head like a crown signifying his divine status. Mystical cloud and ribbon like patterns arched down his jaws down his neck across his body and to his carp tail. White hairs lined his back to his tail like a sage's beard. A dragon' head, a deer's torso and legs, tiger claws, carp's tail and the ability to see through destiny and luck, he could only recall one name, a qilin!

The qilin was a beast that signifies luck and prosperity. Although it was not talked along the likes of the dragon, phoenix, xuanwu and others it was definitely on the same level. It was just more independent and free compared to them. As such it was not as well known and included in the classics. It was a mysterious beast that came and go.

Li was ecstatic. 'The qilin is a beast of good luck. The vision I just had was one that could show me good and bad fortune. The ability to see through fate was one that only the most powerful beings had. These beings were greatly feared and respected for they could see disaster and fortune easing heroes or destroying enemies from far away. Controlling luck, destiny, and probability is one of the most powerful abilities in any fictional world and was a reality warping power. As long as I'm careful enough I shouldn't have any problems on my road of cultivation.'