Eight years passed by in the blink of an eye with Jin adjusting to this new life. He learnt a lot through this infancy. About this world, that is. This world was supposedly very big but his family being poor peasants from a random village, they weren't quite sure how big. He believed it was likely to be like his own. It didn't matter how big it was though since he planned to explore the entirety of it. In these eight years, not much happened aside from him being taught by his parents and raised like an average child. What could a developing kid even hope to do? Building muscles at this age was not a good idea after all. He kept himself focused on imaginative training, exploring his memories of past battle, trying to learn new things from his past.

It turned that this world was exactly the kind he always dreamt of. A world where Might was Truth. A world in which one's fists determined his social status. And obviously, cultivators were at the very top of the chain. According to his parents, sects recruited kids between eight and twelve every year to teach them cultivation. To the worthy ones that is... And his parents didn't believe their own son would have the slightest chance to make it. For one thing, they were uncultured when it came to cultivation and such. They had no idea how it worked and they were no more than honest mortal farmers. They weren't the ambitious kind. They simply enjoyed their simple lives and considered it good enough to be together.

It was their way of finding happiness. It was not Jin's. But what could a little kid do?

They taught little Jin about farming and rearing. Instead of the impressive life of a cultivator, they believed he would succeed them as a farmer. Well, too bad for them. Jin had zero interest in being their heir to this small farm. Even if his was the first born, there were many more coming after him considering he already had two little brothers. He would let those be the heirs. This world was the kind of world he dreamt of for throughout all of his previous life. There was no way he would remain here.

During his eighth birthday party, as his parents were smiling brightly, probably happy about the fact that their heir was so healthy, he spoke "I plan to leave and join a sect" and the expressions of his parents crumbled. Needless to say, they did not take it well. They really loved Jin but they believed being a farmer was what he was supposed to become. What's more, he was simply a kid. To them, this little boy did not know anything.

A big commotion throughout the night and a little kid being grounded on the night of his birthday were the results. That being said, Jin had accomplished what he had decided to do beforehand. He told them of his plans, thanked them for their love and care and bid his goodbye. Whether or not they agreed, it did not matter. He had his goals and this was his life. He was already too lucky to be given a second chance only to waste it here.

His ambition was high. Because he realized as he died and after reflecting for the past eight years. It was not that he hated himself for his past choices or his martial path. He loved to be a martial artist and still did. What he had been sad about was that he reached a limit in the previous world. After reaching the top, only a fall awaited him with nothing to his name. In this world, it did not seem to be like that. From the many stories he heard, martial artists were respected and could live for centuries while continuously trying to become stronger.

This was what he wanted!

A never-ending pursuit of strength, of techniques...of his art!

In this world, be it wealth, fame or love, everything could happen alongside the pursuit of strength. He would not have to make a choice this time. And it was perfect.

So, now, he was grounded? No. He was just sent to his room and forbidden from leaving it. As such, he packed his stuff, the very little a poor farmer's kid had, and left through the window. Deep into the night, the lone figure of a small child with a small bag could be seen walking forward under the moonlight with determined steps.

He was already eight years old and sect recruited kids aged between eight to twelve. If he did not leave now, when would he?

The next morning, the parents, believing they might have been too harsh on their lovely child came to his room only to find it empty. The wife cried and the husband hugged her trying to calm her. Then, the husband left to search for his son while his wife was to stay here in case he came back and watch over the other two.

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Three days later, the husband came back. Alone. The couple cried as they realized their son truly left for good...

...

Meanwhile, Jin was walking through a forest. He knew that his father would likely come after him so he took a road that wasn't a road. He did not use the pathways and instead went into the wild. Thanks to his previous life's memories, surviving in a forest wasn't that hard. True, his small body wasn't helping but the knowledge was enough. Obviously, he wouldn't become the king of the forest but dodging the predators and hunting the small game wasn't a problem. Surviving as a bottom feeder was possible. One should not judge a book by its cover, Jin was an expert even though he seemed like a little kid. Just because he was weak body-wise did not mean there was nothing he could do. Traps and cunning would not disappear that easily. As a martial artist, who has not trained alone in some wild places? Of course, he had done so many times.

After some walking, he reached a village. He went to the people and began to ask them the way towards the strongest sect around. Apparently, it was the Wind Slash Sect. He had no idea what kind of sect it was. To be honest, he was not quite certain about what a sect even was. He did not have much knowledge on those except from the stories told by people who did not seem to know much either. After all, he had been raised like a normal kid by poor farmers. As for that particular sect, he wasn't even sure if his parents knew of its existence...

Still, he decided to go check it out. So, he walked. And walked some more. Until he reached the place. This was no longer a village but a city. Stone buildings and beautiful architecture lined up the streets. The streets were clean and paved, proof of it being a city. There were a lot of people. Many wearing armors and weapons of different kinds. Warriors. Little Jin was feeling his blood boil at the sight and his desire for spars began to spark once more.

Of course, he was still a child in body and knew he would just be beaten up. So, he did his best to keep his desires in check. Instead, he stopped warriors and politely asked them if the Wind Slash Sect was around here and if it was the strongest sect around.

Turned out it was here but not the strongest.

It was a bottom feeding sect in a very rural area. So, he asked to be pointed towards a stronger sect and got directions for the Lion's Bravery Sect. And he went on his way. There was only one reason for him to search for the strongest sect: it was because his goal was to become the strongest. He still had a few years left before the deadline of recruitments and he planned to make use of them. Having a better starting line could make a difference and that was a truth he knew. He would search for the strongest sect in hopes to get the greatest learning experience. As to whether he would be recruited, he did not think of that. He was an expert retaining his memories after all.

As he reached the city near that sect, he was impressed once again. Bigger buildings, more people, more wealth... It was grander without a doubt. And so, once again, he asked the warriors passing by "Is the Lion's Bravery Sect the strongest sect around?" and turned out that it still wasn't...

So, he kept walking towards a new one, more powerful sect. And that ended up being his every day for the next three years.

Sure, during these three years, he had some tough times when he couldn't find small game to hunt or encountered group of shady people in the woods. He could always adapt to the situation safely though. No small game to be captured? He could always pick some of the greeneries that were edible. Thanks to his own knowledge and what he was told by his farmer parents, it was not that hard. Shady people? Just dodge them by moving furtively in a different direction. Why would there be a need to confront them when he was weaker than they were? There was none.

He continued on his way while making sure to dodge problems and keep himself fed more than enough that his growth wouldn't be impacted.

And then, one day, he reached the capital city of the Empire of Twenty-Two Suns. This Majestic City was the home of the Palace of Myriad Suns. A palace that towered all the way to the clouds and was painted entirely orange with many artworks all over it depicting the suns. The thematic was clearly to have circular designs as even the normal houses were built with oval rooftops. All in all, the city was incredibly beautiful and seemed to glow.

But Jin couldn't care less. What mattered here was whether the strongest sect around was close-by. The Twenty-two Suns Pavilion.

As he walked through the streets, he asked the warriors passing by. Those warriors looked tougher and their equipment seemed miles apart from those of the previous places he visited. They were well-maintained and it was easy to see from just a glance. As he asked the first warrior, he got the answer he hoped for: "If the Pavilion claimed to be second, none would dare claim to be first!"

And from there, all the answers he got were mostly similar. To the people around here, this was the greatest sect. And so, he knew which sect he would join.

"Twenty-two Suns Pavilion, here I come!"