Chapter 20 - Beginning

Arthur opens his eyes.

The view of the lonely cave greets him as soon as his vision focuses. This sight was becoming very familiar due to the countless times he had encountered it since arriving in that world.

He had just finished reading the library's entire book collection, which amounted to only three books.

He had to admit, he was quite disappointed to learn that this ancient and profound library, supposedly the beacon of knowledge from a bygone era, contained only three books. Considering the vast amount of knowledge that might have once been stored in those halls, he felt a twinge of regret that he had no access to it, with those three books serving as a mere consolation prize.

However, these feelings of disappointment, while not completely erased, had significantly lessened when he actually began reading those three books.

They were incredible. Each one focused on explaining the earlier levels of cultivation for their respective paths, and all of them did a tremendous job. They elucidated every concept, possibility, factor, and best course of action down to the most minute detail.

Of all the subjects those books could have covered, cultivation was certainly the most relevant to him. In this world, power was king. The strong were righteous in their every endeavor, and the weak existed to be consumed by the strong. It was a very primal setting, showcasing the full extent of humanity's feral nature.

Thus, anything that would help him advance his cultivation progress would be, by far, the most useful to him, especially given his current condition. Books detailing the most insidious of poisons or presenting the locations of secret hidden treasures, while undoubtedly incredible, wouldn't benefit him at the moment, as he lacked the appropriate ability to fully utilize them.

Therefore, books focusing on cultivation were what he needed most at the moment. And for that purpose, those three books had everything he could have asked for, and even more.

A few moments prior, Arthur was completely clueless about anything regarding the body and soul cultivation paths, which was understandable considering the previous owner of that body had no accomplishments on either of those paths, never bothering to investigate them.

Though understandable, it was not a desirable situation, especially for someone with such lofty aspirations as Arthur.

Even concerning the Qi cultivation path, the one his predecessor followed and focused on, his knowledge could only be considered subpar at best.

All in all, his future prospects were looking rather grim.

That all changed after his study session. After consolidating those three books, there was probably nobody in the whole world as knowledgeable as him in any of the three cultivation paths, at least as far as the lower levels were concerned.

Even ancient masters, who dedicated their whole lives to exploring a certain path, would lack expertise when compared to Arthur.

To possess such a deep and profound understanding, not of one, but all three paths, was unheard of.

And he was planning to put this advantage he had over everyone else to good use.

Though, for now, he couldn't afford to bask in satisfaction. He still had a lot of things to do, and time waited for nobody.

He gets up.

He looks around the cave.

The fireplace had completely died out by now. Not a single ember remained. The air started getting colder as the temperature adjusted itself to the lack of a heat source. The comfortable nature the cave had sported just a moment prior slowly faded away, as nature slowly but surely regained its footing. The last vestiges of Lao's existence in that world were slowly fading away.

That cave, the fateful place where the man Lao Jianming had lost his life and, ironically enough, the place where Arthur had gotten a second chance at life himself. His fortune quite literally represented the misfortune and downfall of another.

If he had a regular functioning human mind, he would probably feel quite bad for his predecessor. Not even death was enough to end his suffering. Immediately after his life ended, his corpse was instantly defiled and occupied by somebody else. A truly tragic tale.

However, he didn't feel much of anything. After all, the fault for Lao's demise lay in nobody else's hands but his own. How could an accomplished young cultivator like him drink himself to death? Cultivators of his level had tremendous resistance to alcohol, to the point where most couldn't even get drunk unless they deliberately prevented their body from purifying the alcohol.

They could still be affected by higher-level beverages, made from higher-level fruits, as their alcoholic content would be intensified by the Qi content of the materials used in the conception of the drink. However, that wasn't the case for Lao. Lao's drink was made from some random plant that grew in great amounts everywhere in the area. Even mortals had easy access to them, so how could his drink have been of high grade?

No, Lao had simply gotten wasted of his own accord. And not only that, he had no self-control in the slightest. Once he got started, he only stopped when life left his body.

He had dug his own grave and laid his body there all by himself. His untimely end was ultimately his own fault. He gained access to a power capable of changing his life, capable of allowing him to settle his past grievances and climb higher in the world, only to throw everything away.

He felt nothing for the perils of such a fool.

He was grateful to him, though. After all, had Lao not been a buffoon, he probably never would have had the chance to come to this world. For gifting him his body and allowing Arthur to explore this fascinating world, Arthur was thankful to Lao.

Quite the self-centered way of thinking, right? Lao would revive and die of anger all over again if he knew what this man was thinking.

Arthur closes his eyes. He breathes in deeply, taking his time to feel his surroundings. The place where his new life began. This would probably be the last time he was ever here. In the journey ahead of him, there would be no looking back. The only path was forward.

So he made sure to remember everything about the cave. The fresh, slightly earthy air, the rugged walls, the faint scent of burned wood and alcohol still lingering in the air.

This was the starting point of his journey. This was his point zero. A blank canvas, waiting to be painted by the journey ahead of him.

What sort of man would he be at the end of his journey, he wondered. Would he be a saintly figure, defending the weak and opposing corruption? Would he become a tyrant, ruling over all the land with an iron fist? Would he turn into a demon, flooding the world with blood? Or would he follow in the same footsteps as Lao did, trampled by the world, dying as nothing more than a footnote in someone else's story?

He couldn't wait to find out. In his empty heart, devoid of emotions, now flickered a sparkling new light. It was still small and very dim, appearing so fragile one would think it might fizzle out at any moment. But behind that apparent weakness, there was also a sort of resilience, making the small light gain ground rather than lose.

Would this light erupt into a fully-blown supernova, engulfing everything around it in its brilliance, or would it die out and fade back into the void? Only time would tell.

He opens his eyes again.

He heads toward the cave's exit. From the moment he starts walking to the moment he leaves, not once does he look back at what's behind him. His eyes keep facing forward, never once looking back at what is behind him.

Everything that came before was going to stay behind him. His previous life, his previous connections, his previous existence—everything that defined him before was going to remain there. This was the resolution he made to himself.

From this moment onwards, he would no longer call himself Arthur. He would no longer be someone whose soul resided in a foreign body. He was no longer someone who came from another world.

From now onwards, he would be called Lao. He was a cultivating genius who was going to take the world by storm. He was the man who was going to rise from all his misfortunes and accomplish the impossible.

He was the man destined to stand at the top of the world, to set foot where no one had ever set before, and to discover the mysteries that nobody had been able to solve.

His name was Lao Jianming. And his story was now beginning.