It was a warm spring night. The sky was clear and the whole world was embraced by the moon's gentle light. Alongside the moon, thousands of stars shone brightly, making their elegant yet proud nature seen, using the inky black skies as a canvas to display their nobleness.

Down bellow, a gentle breeze caressed the trees, as their leaves swayed ever so slightly. Amidst the gentle rustling of the leaves, a distant waterfall contributed its soothing melody, its rhythmic splashes echoing through the night like nature's own lullaby.

Meanwhile, a symphony of insects played intermittently, creating a chorus that harmonized with the night breeze. The air was filled with the serene sounds of the night, creating a tranquil ambiance that wrapped around everything like a comforting cloak.

Far in the distance, a massive mountain range towered over the scenary. Like an impenetrable barrier, preventing anything from the outside world from sullying the purity of what laid before it.

If one were to take a closer look at one of mountain peaks, one would be able to see a young man. In the embrace of the tranquil night, his towering figure graced the scene. His height and muscularity commanding the very air around him. Cascading like strands of sunlit silk, his long and wild light brown hair added an untamed allure to his presence, a testament to a spirit unrestrained.

His skin, reminiscent of the sun-kissed hues that adorned the likes of Alexander the Great, carried a timeless radiance under the moon's gentle glow. And then, his eyes, pools of vibrant green, deep and profound, exuding an air of greatness and power that seamlessly blended with the celestial tapestry of the moonlit night.

Observing him, one couldn't help but ponder if a heavenly general had descended from a higher realm, ready to start his holy war and etch his name into the annals of history.

However, that couldn't be further from reality.

This young man was Lao Jianming. He was currently 20 years old. Son of one of the most influencial elders at distinguished sect, Lao Jianming had enjoyed a life most could only dream of. This, coupled with the his exceptional cultivation talent, having been the youngest cultivator to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in the sect's history, meant he was supposed to achieve great things.

However, reality is cruel. Just 2 months after he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, his father ended up facing an acident and losing his life in the process. This was the beginning of the downfall of Lao Jianming's life.

As it was to be expected, after the death of such an influential individual, all his rivals and enemies start manuvering to take advantage of the situation. Like a pack of hungry hyenas, each of them competing for who would be able to bite out the biggest chunk.

Naturally, Lao Jianming was caught in the middle of these political games. Without even being able to properly grieve the death of his father, he was immediately thrown into the lion's den, and unfortunatly for him, he was a juicy swan that every lion wanted a piece of.

Obviously, even though Lao Jianming was indeed a cultivation genious, he had no way of standing up to these Golden Core and Nascent Soul old monsters. He was simply too young and still needed time to get to their level, and time was the one thing he did not have.

To make maters worse, Lao Jianming had always been an antisocial individual. Having the strong backing of his father, he never had to worry about money or resources nor did he ever have to bother dealing with people at all. He could simply focus on his cultivation, something that was very much encouraged by his father.

This, however, came with its downsides. Firstly, it meant that his social skills were truly subpar. This inability to comunicate led to many misunderstandings which, one by one, ended up giving him a reputation of an arrogant and power hungry young master.

Secondly, it meant that Lao Jianming had nobody he could truly call an ally. His father had indeed many conections and aliances, but that was his father alone. He himself was mostly an isolated figure.

He actually enjoyed thinking of himself as a lone wolf. So what if he didn't have friends? So what if he arbored many enemies? He would just get strong enough to trample over everyone that crossed his path with his power alone. The truly strong stand on their own.

This was actualy not a wrong mentality to have in this world. In fact, it made him much more resilient and determined in his cultivation. However, for this strategy to succeed, you need to make sure that the conditions for you to grow without interference are in place. Unfortunatly for Lao Jianming, his father died, and with him, the umbrela that protected him from the outside world.

Lao Jianming had barely turned 18 when his father's life ended. For the next 2 years, he faced challenge after challenge. He witnessed everything his father had built up in his life being stolen and ruined. He saw his fathers' so called allied immediately turn into vultures, taking large bites from his corpse, as soon as he wasn't around anymore. He was used as a pawn by everyone, abused when needed and discarded when he lost his use.

In the end, he lost everything. His father, his home, his dreams. All scattered as if they were never real in the first place.

Seeing nothing else worth fighting for, Lao Jianming decided to abandon his sect. Before any of the hyenas decided his usefulness was over and sent him on his way to meet his father, he left the sect. He may have lost everything, but as long as he kept his life, everything could be reversed.

With his heart burning with anger and hatred, he vowed to return one day and make every single one of those bastards face the consequences of ruining his life.

Indeed, had Lao Jianming been a main character, you could definitely expect rivers of blood to flow upon his return to the sect. Unfortunately for him, he was no main character. His tragic backstory served no real purpose other than to show how ruthless this world was. There would be no cathartic release for him in his lifetime.

Stolen story; please report.

Leaving the sect might have been the correct choice for Lao Jianming at the time, but it does not mean it would not come with its own set of challenges. Lao Jianming had lived his entire life inside the sect. After all, he has no need to leave. Everything he could ever need was provided by his father. He was truly a coddled youth, protected from the world's darkness by the massive reach of his father's strength.

As such, he had no real clue as to how things actually worked out there. The world outside the sect was nothing compared to it, and he was about to find out the hard way. Bandits, scammers, mercenaries, thieves, cults, slave traders. Lao Jianming experienced all the best the world had to offer.

For the next year of his life, suffering would be the best way to describe his existence. The once proud genious, whose capabilities left everyone in awe, reduced to such a miserable state. If anyone who knew him from his time in the sect met him now, they would not be able to recognize him. That was how much he had changed.

And not just physically. Life had batered him so badly that the aura that used to surround him, an aura only exceptional people are capable of creating, had completely vanished. His once proud eyes lost their sheen and the will of fire to overturn the heavens had been extinguished.

Just as he was at the end of his rope, with the last bits of sanity holding him together threatning to disappear, it seemed as though the heavens took pity on the young man.

On one fateful night, Lao Jianming was resting on a mountain top. The sky was clear, alowing the stars to shine in all their glory. Lao Jianming was not interested in taking in the beautiful scenary, however. He was focused in applying some sort of oitment in his arm.

"Again. How many times has it been this month? How many more times am I going to be robbed until the heavens are satisfied? It's not as if I have anything valuable in the first place. What is the point in robbing a beggar?"

As had become almost a daily tradition, Lao Jianming was murmuring his misgivings with the world. These witty and snarky remarks at his pitiful existence were the only way for him to keep his sanity intact.

As the young man was focused on tending to his wounds, unbeknownst to him, a shooting star appeared in the horizon. This was no normal shooting star, however. Even though it had a trail, its nucleus was not shedding itself to create said trail. This meant that, no matter how long it travelled, the shooting star would never extinguish itself.

The mysterious star kept going on its course, until it suddenly made a sharp turn in its trajectory. Yes, you guessed, it started moving straight towards the unaware Lao Jianming. At an incredible speed, it moved towards it's target.

However, Lao Jianming didn't notice any of it, still busy lamenting the tragedy that was his life.

Eventually, the star collided directly with Lao Jianming's head. The poor guy was stopped mid-sentence and fell to the ground face first.

The result of this collision was not what one would expect at first. Instead of a gory mess of brain matter scatered all around, Lao Jianming's head was still intact. In fact, he was still alive. Unconscious and spasming like a fish out of water, but alive nonetheless.

And as for the star, that appeared to have an infinite supply of power to keep it moving about, it vanished without a trace. It was as if it never existed in the first place.

Silence reigned in that lonely mountain, as if Death itself had passed by. For an hour, besides the ocasional sound created by the unconscious Lao Jianming spasming about, nothing else could be heard.

That silence was broken by an incredible light being shot to the sky. A green beam shot out from the mountain, just like a holy sword intent on slashing the high heavens. A green hue painted the pitch black night sky.

In the middle of said light was none other than Lao Jianming. His eyes already opened and filled with astonishment.

Slowly, the light started to recede. In about 5 minutes, the light had completly vanished. The moon regained, once again, the position of master of the night sky and everything returned to normal.

Lao Jianming was still in shock trying to process what happened. When the star rammed into the back if his head, he thought some crook had come to rob him blind again. However, after waking up, he realized that was not the case. A bright green light was surrounding him, as if he was some sort of divine being being celebrated with blessing from the Heavens.

While the light remained active, Lao Jianming was too unnerved to think things straight, so he just waited without moving a muscle. Knowing his luck, it wasn't the Heavens blessing him, but rather cursing him for eternity.

As he waited for Heaven's punishment to come down and smite him, the light slowly faded out of existence. Seeing the world come back to normal, he finally allowed himself to relax.

"First let's get out of here. I don't know what this light meant, but this crazy phenomenon was definitely seen far and wide. If I'm caught right in the place where it happened, the Heaven's punishing me will be the last of my worries."

And so, he quickly fled.

An hour later, he finally stopped. He found a small cave and invited himself in.

"I should be safe around here."

He sat down in a comfortable position, collected his breath, and focused on his body.

"Now, let's see if there's anything wrong with my body. Getting showered with green light usually is not a very good sign for your health."

He looked at every nook and cranny of his body, but found nothing particularly problematic.

"I guess nothing hap-"

Before he could finish the sentence, he noticed something.

"This..."

He was at loss for words. Was it real? Were his senses playing tricks on him? How could something like this have happened?

These questions immediately popped in his head. Shock and fear filled his mind at first. However, these feelings were quickly submerged by a wave of happiness and excitement.

"The Heavens are truly fair! They haven´t abandoned me after all" he shouted emotionally.

"All this suffering I have endured was worth it in the end. With this in my hands, I will be invincible!!"

Lao Jianming gets up, laughing maniacally. This was the turning point for his life. He would finally be able to regain his standing, his dignity, his pride. Everything he thought he had lost forever was now at the tip of his fingers.

"This calls for a celebration. It's time for Lao Jianming's magic potion"

This so called magic potion was actually just alcohol. You may now be asking yourself, "How does Lao Jianming have any alcohol in him if he was just robbed of everything he had that day?"

Well, my dear reader, the truth is Lao Jianming didn't have any alcohol at that exact moment. He was going to brew some. After 1 whole year living in the wilderness, Lao Jianming had learnt many things. One of them was how to brew a special alcoholic beverage using some commonly found herbs. It wasn't particularly good, but it was one of his only solaces in life.

But regardless, this is how the story starts right? The protagonist finds a special power and claws his way out of the jaws of misery. He beats everyone in his way and reaches the pinnacle of the world right?

Unfortunately for Lao Jianming, that was not the case. As I said before, he was never destined to be a protagonist. And fate had a final cruel joke prepared for him.

By the following morning, Lao Jianming was lying down in his cave. The smell of alcohol was the first thing you'd notice. The second would be the fact that Lao Jianming was no longer breathing. With a content smile on his face, Lao Jianming laid there, already devoid of life.

Fate is cruel indeed. Just when he had found the solution to all of his problems, he drunk himself to death before being able to make any use of it. He saw the light at the end of the tunnel, only for a bus to run him over before he could get out.

And here ends the story of Lao Jianming. A tragic tale from beggining to end.