A squirming darkness surrounds me followed by a deafening, rhythmic sound of pulsating flesh.

It reminds me of a feeling I had long ago. A warm, squishy feeling, like holding the still pulsating heart of your fallen enemy.

Wait!

who am I?>

As the pull of slumber once again dulls my senses and drags me to sweet oblivion, I notice a sort of power seeping into me. A glowing whiteness, unlike anything I have ever seen before and yet, it seems so familiar. It's almost like... Qi?

........

Yet again I am greeted with my warm, fleshy prison.

Where it seemed foreign , yet familiar at the same time, the first I saw it, it now radiated with an almost comforting glow.

Trying to make sense of my predicament, I look within myself. An almost nagging sense telling me to delve into the depth of my own black heart, as if scratching on rotten wood to see just how frail it had become.

Clearing my mind I sense a second beat, over the still droning pulse that echoes within my chamber in it's soothing rhythm. Tuning into this second, this small and tiny sound, I see my own life force. A blinding star in the middle of an ocean of darkness, tiny, jet growing at a steady pace. A second, much larger one feeding it a white stream of energy.

Feeling an unfathomable sense of displacement, I wonder how someone like me could be born with such pure, untainted Qi, but at the same time, would this not mean I would get what I want? I remember my fall, how two of my brothers killed me the most agonizing way possible. I remember the darkness that clung to my heart the moment this demon pierced my being and betrayed me, but who, when, or where, these questions still elude me. I do not remember who I was, exactly, and yet I must revenge myself.

Suddenly...

The walls seem to shrink, to fall into themselves. Vibration running through me as if that pulse decided to kill me. A deafening sound, blinding light and with it, a cold and reluctance I cannot describe.

" Whaaa! WHAAA! WAAAAAAA!" (...and so, I am born. No matter what it'll take, I will get my revenge!)

"It's a healthy young boy!"

"...my son."

.........

A few months have passed. I not only seem to have been reincarnated into a lowly human male, but in one of the lower mortal planes as well. My luck has never been great, but no matter, if I cultivate this body, I will get there eventually.

My memories grow more and more fleeting however, so I have decided to seal them deep within my conscience, letting only the knowledge of the most basic of insights into the laws of heaven and earth, as well as my personal agenda into my surface thoughts. I have lost too much knowledge already and maybe, with my memories buried deep, I just hope that my instincts will not fail me...

........

"Happy birthday, Owen!" (Mother)

"Happy birthday, my son, so... how old are you now, hm?" (Father)

"uhm... 4!" (Owen)

"Hahaha! Yes, you are!" (Father)

"You know, Owen. You are already so big, what would you say, do you think you might be a good big brother?" (Mother)

"YEAH! I'm going to get a little brother or sister?" (Owen)

"Indeed you do, little man!" (Father)

"Dad? I wanna be as strong as you! So I can protect them! Can you show me?" (Owen)

"mmmh, I'm not so sure about that. You're still small, so you'll have to wait a bit more." (Father)

"But daaaad!" (Owen)

"How about you take him to the daily drills, dear? So he can at least watch?" (Mother)

"Alright, alright! I'll take you tomorrow!" (Father)

"Yaaaay!" (Owen)

Finally my father is taking me with him! I've always wanted to go! I'm much stronger than any of those stupid big boys around the village! That Blumer even had his big brother show him some cool move, it's so unfair!

I really want to get stronger, I know I can beat everyone in the village. I just know it.

Father is one of the man in charge of training any young boys so that they can go fight for someone important and he does loads of heavy lifting, so he must be strong! Mother is pretty frail, but she has a big belly. It must be heavy, carrying around such a big belly everywhere.

Growing excited I start running around and start playing around the house. I often just play at home, it's pretty fun to get this tingling feeling after using up all that glowing, wobbly energy over the day and letting it come back while resting under the moonlight. It comes back when I rest, or concentrate on it really hard, but somehow the moonlight makes it special for me. I love the moon!

Every day at dawn, the men would gather in a clearing in a forest near the village to train and learn to be strict with themselves, or so I was told. Dad said I was too young though, but he didn't say I can't train on my own!

The following day I quickly run behind my father, so not to lose him. He's walking with a relaxed pose, but somehow I cannot keep up at all! Whenever I match, he just seemingly gets faster! Au, whatever, we should be here now?

As if he could read my mind, my father smiles and points to a large stone to the side of the clearing.

"Hey son, we're here! Why don't you sit on that rock? That way you'll be able to see better."

"Sure, dad!"

Soon enough the rest of the students arrive. The all seem pretty big, but as soon as they come, dad puts on his scary face and they all stand in line.

"Today we have a visitor! He'll be joining us in a few years, so why don't we get him motivatied!?"

A groan seems to escape most of them while they whisper:

"Here he goes again..."

"Every chance he gets, geez"

"Oh no! Not again!"

"I just hope he'll stay on track today..."

"SILENCE!"

"...I see that you're not in the mood? Well then, let me indulge ALL of you, before we do DOUBLE the trainings units today."

It somehow got real quite and I could have sworn one of them just became a ghost!

"Well, let's start then! ALL of you here, have one goal. ONE. That is to become strong! Why?

Well, let me tell you, young'ens. In this world, strength is everything to a man, or even women, if they choose to walk down the path of a true warrior! How can we peasants live in a world where these damn nobles just pick up their books, with secrets of masters 1000 years old? Where they can cultivate in the best environment, with so many privileges?

WELL! One. Simple. Reason. 'CAUSE WE HAVE MOTIVIATION! We don't laze around, or take things for granted! We make the opportunities ourselves!

I WILL get all off you to at least a rank 1 warrior before your sorry butts turn 16. I will not let you get hauled off by the army to be canon fodder. You'll learn the basics and become strong. You'll serve your duty until you're 21 and return to this village, proud men with coins in their pockets and experience to boost, you hear!?"

"YEEEES!" (students in unison)

"Alright... so. Some of you may think what I'm talking about is just fairytale, don't you? Who knows just how powerful a warrior can be, hm?"

"He can crush rocks and lift very heavy things, right?" (student)

"Hahaha! Yes! Ah, but even I can do that, you know?"

Saying this he walks over to and suddenly grabs the rock under me, but before I can even jump off I'm suddenly high above the ground looking down on the students. The younger ones even seem to be able to pop their eyes out, it seems.

"See? To a any expert warrior a few rocks that weigh even 10 times their weight will be light as a feather!

No, young'ens, a true expert, someone that reached rank 6 or higher, has the power to even turn boulders like these to dust! Their power is tremendous. You know what the best thing is? One can do that all on his own, without any stinkin Qi, or battle-techniques! Just on muscle training alone! As you bodies grow stronger, your life force does too. If you reach into the high ranks, it's not uncommon to live 3 times as long as a normal person!"

Now this is something I've never heard of! Qi? battle-techniques? Life force? All seems so familiar and exciting! I really have to ask dad later...

"So, what is a warrior who has surpassed the 9th rank called?"

"uhm... a super expert?"

"Indeed, sunny! A super expert is someone that has surpassed human limits again and again and is on the verge of breaking into a saint-level combatant! These super combatants are the pinnacle of human capabilities! They can fly in the air as if they are taking a stroll and no one has outlived one yet, ever! They are seemingly immortal! If a super expert can shatter huge rocks without a care, saint-level may just shatter a mountain for fun!

So... enough talk, let us begin our training!"

It's fun watching them train, as they struggle after such a short amount of time and get scolded by dad, all the time. It kind of makes me curious how the other trainers are. I do know one thing, however! I will be joining them soon and I'll just show 'em what I'm made off!