The training grounds were quiet as two boys faced each other, wooden staves in hand. Neither moved at first, their eyes locked in a tense standoff. Then suddenly, both lunged forward at the same time. Their staves clashed in the center of the arena with a loud clash, echoing across the field as they exchanged powerful strikes. One of the boys suddenly jumped into the air and brought his staff down with great force. The other quickly raised his weapon and blocked the attack. Without hesitation, the boy who struck from above followed up with a punch that hit squarely on his opponent's chest, sending him flying backward.
The boy who was hit slid across the ground but regained his balance almost immediately. He lifted his head and looked forward, trying to locate his opponent, but the arena in front of him was empty. His eyes narrowed as he realized something was wrong. Before he could react, his opponent suddenly appeared from his blind spot behind him, launching a powerful kick while still in the air. The boy reacted quickly and blocked the kick, then instantly counterattacked by thrusting his staff straight toward the attacker's stomach. The strike sent the opponent flying backward through the air, but before he could crash to the ground, he stabbed his staff into the earth, using it to halt his momentum. Dust rose into the air and spread across the arena, covering the battlefield in a thick cloud as the clash between the two boys came to a brief standstill.
The two of them looked at each other, their breath coming in heavy as they tried to steady themselves. Sweat streaked down their faces and dampened the ground beneath them. After a brief pause, one of them gripped his staff more tightly, preparing himself anew, while the other took a deep breath to regain composure. Silently, they shifted their positions and closed the gap once more. A flurry of punches, kicks, thrusts, and slashes filled the air, moving swiftly back and forth. Some blows were avoided, others hit their mark, and quick counters followed immediately. Their intense battle pressed on without pause.
Suddenly, after dodging a thrust aimed at his torso, one of the boys swung his staff low in an attempt to sweep the other off his feet. The opponent reacted instantly, leaping into the air to avoid the sweep. While airborne, he planted his staff into the ground to stabilize himself and launched a powerful kick toward the other boy's chest. However, the boy who had attempted the sweep reacted just as quickly, raising his palm to block the kick before forcefully pushing his opponent backward.
The opponent landed several steps away, sliding slightly before regaining his footing. Once again, the two of them stared at each other in silence. Slowly, they raised their staves and pointed them toward one another. Both of them took a calm breath before stepping forward at the same time. As they advanced, they shifted their right hands to the bases of their staves and gripped them tightly, the pressure of their grip leaving visible marks in the wood. When the distance between them was only about two arm lengths, they thrust their weapons forward with tremendous force.
The tips of their staves collided violently in the center.
The impact shattered both weapons instantly, the wooden ends splintering into pieces that scattered across the ground. The two boys froze for a moment, glancing down at their broken staves before looking back at each other. Without hesitation, they tossed the broken weapons aside and stepped forward once more, raising their fists as they assumed fighting stances.
Then, they moved toward each other once more, fists raised—one wielding his left, the other his right—each aiming to strike with the force of an elephant tumbling down a steep hill. Just as their fists were about to collide, a voice rang out sharply, halting their advance.
"Enough, you two!"
Both boys froze and turned toward the source. A man stood there, tall and commanding. His hair was glossy and dark, framing a sharp, masculine jawline. He carried himself with a natural poise in his neatly tailored blue-and-white training robes.
The two boys turned to face him with quick, bright smiles, their expressions shifting from tense focus to cheerful friendliness.
"Oh, Teacher Xu Luo, good morning!" said one of them, bowing politely.
"Good morning, sir," the other echoed happily in unison. Xu Luo gave a slight nod.
"Good morning to you both." One of the boys looked at him nervously.
"We're sorry about the mess we made. We'll clean it up right away." Xu Luo's eyes twinkled with mild irritation.
"Clean it up? That's what you said last time, and yet it's still not done." The boys lowered their heads further, remorseful.
"We're sorry about that, sir."
"Good," Xu Luo responded, his tone faintly frustrated. "Then leave now. You've already damaged the equipment enough and turned the sparring area into a mess."
The boys bowed again, whispering, "Yes, sir. We're sorry again."
Without another word, they turned and walked down the stairs, leaving the training area behind. Nearby, a sparring partner paused and excitedly exclaimed, "Did you see that? Their movements were so fast, I could barely follow!"
His partner replied, "I know! And to think, they're in the same year as us."
The first said, "It's no surprise coming from the sons of the sect leader of the Jade Mountain Spear sect." He added, "Yes, they're truly the top of the top here."
An outsider joined in, "And yet, they're still so polite to Mr. Luo, even when he's not at his best." Both boys looked at the newcomer with puzzled expressions.
One asked, "Where did you come from?" The outsider didn't answer directly, saying instead, "But Mr. Luo wasn't always like this. It's said he sacrificed his spiritual root—an A-rank spiritual root—to save the academy, and now he's left with what some call a useless root."
One of the boys looked surprised. "Why are you telling us this random story?" he asked.
The outsider gently shushed him, putting a finger on his mouth, then continued, "Sorry, I just feel like sharing. Some say it was a plot by jealous teachers who didn't want him to succeed. Later, he was given some land in the academy — that's where he lives now. Many believe it's just a rumor, but even if it's not, aren't we mistreating someone's noble act of heroism?"
The boy who had been silenced said softly, "Wow… I had no idea about his past. That's really sad."
Mumble sounds drew the attention of the two boys. "What are you saying?" one asked, unable to understand anything the mumbling person was saying.
The boy, with his mouth covered, rolled his eyes at the stupidity and took his hand away, sighing deeply. "Those are just rumors," he said. "They might not even be true."
Mr. Luo had been hearing their conversation from afar. He sighed quietly and walked away.
My name is Xu Luo, he thought to himself. And guess what… I'm a reincarnator.
Even now, the thought still amazed him.
Who would have thought those cultivation stories I used to read could actually be real?
As he walked, he entered a lavish forest within the academy grounds. Beautiful flowers bloomed everywhere, and insects buzzed lazily in the air as sunlight filtered through the leaves above.
Xu Luo continued his thoughts.
Well… in my original life, I was what you would call a promising student.
I graduated from college with first-class honors. Two weeks later, I was offered a job as a company manager.
On my way to my first day at work, I had just come out of the subway and was about to cross the street to get to my workplace.
Standing there, he had looked around at his surroundings and couldn't help but feel proud.
I was talented, he thought back then.
Good in sports, good in academics, and good at music. I even had fairly decent looks.
But then something strange happened.
A boy nearby was holding a phone but was staring straight ahead in shock.
Following the direction of the boy's gaze, Xu Luo saw something unbelievable.
There, in the middle of the road, was a swirling blue wave.
It stood in the air like a wall between the lanes of traffic.
Everyone froze.
The wave emitted a beautiful blue glow, and tiny purple sparkles flickered around it.
The cars on the road slowly came to a stop as drivers and pedestrians alike stared at the spectacle in disbelief.
Then—
Something came out of it.
Even now, despite living for so long in this world and replaying that moment over and over again in his mind, Xu Luo still found it hard to believe what he had seen.
From the glowing wave stepped a tiny green creature. It was about the size of a fourteen-year-old child. The tiny green creature was holding a club. It was dressed in crude armor made from animal skin. Its head was large with long, pointed ears, while its small body was covered in blood.
The boy holding the phone quickly raised it and took a picture of the strange monster.
At that moment, a man in a suit hurried out of the subway. He held a briefcase tightly while glancing at the golden watch on his wrist, bumping into people as he rushed forward.
I'm almost late for work, he thought anxiously.
Without noticing what stood in front of him, he stumbled straight into the green creature.
Looking down at the bloody figure, confusion flashed across his face.
"What the—"
Those were his last words.
The creature raised its club and brought it crashing down.
CRACK!
The man's head was crushed instantly. His body collapsed onto the ground as blood splattered across the street.
The onlookers stood frozen.
Was it shock? Fear?
No one knew.
All they knew was that their bodies refused to move.
Then the creature lifted its club again and let out a terrifying scream.
"RAHHHH!"
The sound echoed through the entire street.
A moment later, more green creatures began pouring out of the swirling blue wave.
They looked around.
Then their eyes locked onto the humans.
And they started running toward them.
Only then did the crowd finally react. People screamed and ran in every direction. Some managed to escape. Others weren't so lucky; they were caught, killed, butchered, and even eaten.
The once peaceful street turned into complete chaos.
But by then…
I was already dead.
How, you ask?
Well…
It was probably the most embarrassing death in history. While everyone else was standing there staring at the monsters like idiots, I did the smart thing.
I ran toward the subway.
But while rushing down the stairs…
I tripped, Fell, my body rolled down the steps, and my neck snapped before I even reached the bottom, and just like that everywhere went black. Yes i was dead.