Chapter 7: Before Transmigration (Mortal Realm)

In a spacious room, a huge circular device was planted on a dark blue mithril platform.

It was shaped like a giant circular donut similar to the portal from st@rgate and constructed from the finest magic conducting stones.

The deep purplish red of the circular device had immaculate golden patterns carved upon it breathtaking like dancing phoenixes with the elegance of a swan.

Within the empty space inside the circular device was a thin transparent and blackish film.

This was a teleportation circle.

Similar to the n3ther portals in a game Minedcraft back on Blue star, it was a device developed during the Sky calender by a certain genius magic caster adept in spatial elements.

Capable of long distance warp travel in a safe stable manner with luggage included!

And now Qiubai Blain stood in front of this majestic structure in awe.

Although he had seen many new sights in this new life, he still couldn't get used to the miracles in a world where not only physical laws exist.

Einstein and newton would surely jump from their coffins!

It was also spectacles like this that made him feel so insignificant that he truly realized this was no longer Blue Star.

He was probably stuck here forever…

But now at least he had a home.

Qiubai Balin glanced with nostalgia at the sky above his head and took a deep breath and moved forward while cursing the capitalist millions of times in his heart with a wry smile.

Expensive..but he could still afford it.

As the saying goes..join if you can't beat..

He was now a second generation capitalist.

Qiubai Balin took a last look at the sky out the large crystal windows.

The evening sun was bright and clear bringing hope in a desolate winter.

Though Balin was looking at the skies of the Mortal Realm, his heart was looking elsewhere far away…

______________

Two years ago.

Sky Calendar Year 525

‘Thump’

In a well furnished room with bright chandlers, a young boy collapsed on the desk face first into a still open book.

His name was Qiubai Balin and this year he was still sixteen.

The gradual easing in the rise and fall of his chest signaled a horrifying conclusion.

He was dying…

Qiubia Balin wanted to call for help but…

Would he be troubling others?

What look would his parents have when presented with his dying face?

At the same time his voice was just too weak.

‘I don’t have to try so hard anymore huh?’

Memories seem to flash in his mind as his consciousness was sinking.

Images of the past when he was still naive and believed that the world was black and white.

“Is this the rumored flashback?” Qiubai Balin muttered to himself.

Humans are a race destined to struggle.

Everyone has problems from the rich to the poor.

Many times it’s not a problem of hard work. But more so the circumstances of their environments and the tools at their disposal.

The world was inherently unfair. Some were directly born directly at the finish line at the end of other’s struggle

Although he might not understand, Qiubai Balin believes that everyone has their own troubles.

For example, he, Qiubai Balin, was born of an aristocratic Marquis family. Perhaps he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth but…

Well he was.

The resources and potions that others saved every penny for was a mere fingertip away.

But as the saying goes, when God opens one window for you another is wedged shut.

He was born with a congenital deficiency…broken soul disease.

Those born with broken soul disease were born with weaker than average souls.

What is the soul?

A spiritual body conceived of invisible matter was the common answer.

The soul was a crucial aspect of a magic caster.

When magic casters use magic, Ether, which flows in the natural world of the mortal realm, was gathered to perform magic spells.

Ether was elusive to mortal eyes like the spectrum of light.

The magic caster’s soul were natural conductors of ether and utilized to cast miracles.

This was where the problem for Qiubai Balin came.

With a broken soul disease. It made the difficulty of perceiving and interacting with ether increase multitudes of times for him.

With the resources of the Qiubai family however, this obstacle was still minor..

Didn’t you know money was also a superpower?

Under the chugging of potions made by truth seekers he was able to forcibly fill himself with ether and complete the first stage of a magic caster- the first order magic apprentice.

Then reality hit and dreams were broken.

With a naturally weak soul, it was like being born without legs. (Even if one had money to buy prosthetics they still couldn't run like the average human.)

He was stuck at the peak of the first stage…because the second stage required a strong spirit.

The second stage of magic casters- the senior caster was forever out of reach.

Not impossible just out of reach.

The materials to strengthen the souls was something too expensive even for a marquis.

Though a person with no legs could finish the same race as one with legs…just a greater length of time.

But the lifespan limit of an apprentice magic caster was only one hundred fifty years. His expected calculated time to reach the next stage was two hundred years even with the resources at his disposal.

Rich but not rich enough…

So close yet so far….

Comparison was often the thief of joy.

At first with the resources at hand and his family background, he was always the one to look down on others.

To later on his peers catching up…giving him a rude awakening.

The same friends looked at him with contempt. Well they didn't.. Who would dare to openly mock an aristocrat's family?

A declining marquis was still a marquis.

But Qiubai Balin knew what they said behind their backs.

So that one night when he was fourteen, he rebelled against the arrangements of his family for the first time.

He was tired…so tired of noble etiquette, noble this noble that. Of all the expectations placed on him.

He ran away from home.

That was when he discovered the cruel reality of this world.

Away from the shelter of the family he realized…oh..

It turns out that not everyone has fine silk to wear…

Not everyone had the rich delicacies served everyday for him…

That his education was a privilege…

And magic casting was only for the rich.

Class separation was solidified by monopoly of the forces who possessed the methods of magic casters.

Although in the Kongwu empire this was less prevalent..it was only slightly.

It was that rainy day…where a best friend he met died in front of his eyes that he knew he wanted to do something.

But what could a fourteen year old child do?

Months of traveling had already depleted his private money.

In fact it was a miracle he had any left…

It was also that fateful day within the cascading rain and dark skies, that in his sorrow he came to a bookstore in order to comfort his soul.

He wanted to feel the same way as he did back then.

Back when his mother used to tell him bedtime stories of legendary magic casters.

Except this time he only had himself.

There, under the instigation of the store owner, he read his first ever adult story, crossed the grand line, and opened the door to a new world.

It was also there he found the book that would forever change his life.

“The Records Of Mage Kong”

Rumored to be the pioneer of the Kongwu kingdom. A magic caster who didn't take the conventional way and one of the handful to ever be certified as a legendary mageking.

An unyielding caster who once said,

“If you don't have the ambition to surpass the ancient sages, why do you dare to dream of being mighty if you don't even have their mind?”

This was a fierce man who firmly believed that what the ancients couldn't do doesn't mean that he couldn’t.

He criticized the latecomers in the world for being so unenterprising and then in order to prove his point he launched the fourth catastrophe challenging the gods and demons.

It was said that he was the closest mortal to ever slay a god.

The book didn't go into detail about Kong’s life and even speculated whether this person was fabricated by the Kongwu kingdom to spread propaganda.

But Qiubai Balin didn't care..

What he cared about was the section of the book depicting the heroic epics of the “knights” under Mage Kong.

What was a knight?

Sworn by oath and a pledge of loyalty.

A stalwart figure with a sturdy body rivaling a fortress and wrestling barehanded with demihumans.

Knights in the current era were only a foil to the magic casters. They couldn't cast spells so usually only those who were poor, talentless, and an embarrassment embarked on this path.

The strongest holy knight recorded could only rival today’s senior casters.

Though it was precisely because of their physical advantage that the current mainstream was to be used as a meat tank for apprentice casters still in their infancy.

That didnt stop Qiubai Balin from admiring knights.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

From them he saw a way…

Their perseverance and low reliance on talent.

That day the chuunibyou within Qiubai Balin awakened and he embarked on a path of no control…(8th grader syndrome, middle second syndrome, delulu behavior)

Making a secret oath that would later become his black history…[The following content is age restricted (redacted)]

It was also on that day he decided to return home claiming the bounty on his own wanted poster.

He was fifteen then, full of hopes and dreams, renewed like a phoenix arising from the ashes.

Unbeknownst to him though, his new temperment shocked the family head so much that he secretly conducted a soul scan to check for possession which fortunately came back negative.

That year he was fifteen.

Trying to embark on the path that others dare not take by combining the methods of knights and magic casters in order to break his congenital limits.

The enthusiasm of emotions doesn’t last long.

After spending months grinding…he realized…

He was not Mage Kong. He didn’t have his talent, preservation, or wisdom.

So he completely gave up and lied down.

With his sixteenth year near, he gave it his final shot by forcibly hitting the next stage with forbidden methods which led to devastating consequences.

Right now, with an injured soul Qiubai Balin thought back on his experiences with a wry smile…sometimes it really is about luck.

His vision plunged into darkness as he sensed an infinite, irresistible tug.

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Chapter 7.5 (Before Transmigration- Blue Star)

The day when Qiubai Balin transmigrated, the sky was shrouded in a thick, gray blanket of clouds. It was like a haze covering his heart.

On a fateful evening, he decided to take a stroll through a metropolis with high rise buildings around.

The pattering of rain glistened the glass windows with moisture and left the streets devoid of people.

He figured that because of the terrible weather he could find solace as he walked alone measuring the earth with his feet.

Just when he was feeling melancholic under the embrace of nature…

Dong! (╬⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾ Д ⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾)

His vision went dark…

Leaving him sprawled on the wet concrete with no one to help.

A toy truck was thrown by an unscrupulous child from a nearby balcony leaving Balin lying in a puddle of murky rainwater dyed by crimson streaks.

Committing murder at a ripe young age. The child was sure to have an impressive future.

Although he was unconscious, Balin QIubai was still able to survive.

However, this fact changed very quickly.

Until a glimmering point of light appeared at the far edge of the cosmos.

At first it was no more than a distant flicker of brilliance against the boundless dark expanse.

But as the evening transitioned into night, a long luminous object approached Blue Star leaving an ethereal trail in its wake.

Its descent was imperceptible, almost deliberate, as if it were guided by an otherworldly hand.

Such a divine phenomenon shouldn’t have existed in this world!

The rules of this universe would not allow such paradoxes that defy the laws of physics to exist.

It had to be quick, find an energy source, and escape this universe.

Faster than luring children into a van with candy, this flying object headed straight for an unconscious middle aged man sprawled on the streets below.

And like the grim reaper, it hooked Balin’s soul away from his body.

Eventually he would witness the stellar explosion that caused a disturbance in space-time allowing the flying object to kidnap Balin’s soul into another universe.

When Qiubai Balin could perceive again he was in a dim world shrouded in obscurity and shadows.

Somehow he knew…this was the sea of knowledge.

A term used by magic casters to describe the subconscious realm within the mind.

It was rumored that it was here the soul was stored.

Qiubai Balin glanced around.

He was most curious about the fact why spiritual bodies like souls see.

But he had to clearly figure out the situation beforehand.

The surroundings were still and a sense of mystery pervades the environment.

With sensory deprivation, every second seemed like an eternity

After aimlessly wandering about for an unknown amount of time, Qiubai Balin spotted a dim glow drawing him in.

‘This was?’ Balin felt emotional.

Sensations poured into his soul like returning to the embrace of a loved one.

The sudden profound and positive sensation overwhelmed Qiubai Balin for a moment.

As he walked towards the dim light he spotted a reflection within this orb of light. It had cracks on it like a shattered mirror. The surface of which no longer resplendent and shining.

‘What?!’

Qiubai Balin’s soul rippled as surprise coursed through him.

It was… himself. A person who looked exactly like him several years ago.

But not completely the same as if…a variation.

He instinctively reached out and gently reached towards the orb as if afraid it was fragile.

The self in the mirror weakly opened his eyes and gave a sudden wry smile.

Somehow he knew. Someone they understood each other. Without a word a tender light blossomed bringing two souls together.

From that moment Qiubai was dead. And a new Qiubai Balin was also reborn.

One entrusted the past and the other his future.

…..

On a mahogany study desk in a quiet room, a young boy was resting his head on the open pages of a book.

A serene smile hung on the corner of his mouth as if letting go of all the worries of life.

The ambient light from the chandelier ahead cast a soft glow on his complexion

In this peaceful moment a faint teardrop slid down the corner of his eyes.

In life parting was inevitable. At one point everyone would look back and find themselves a completely different person.

Change was always so sudden and enlightening.

Qiubai Balin eyelids moved and gradually awakened from the darkness.

He heaved a heavy sigh ( ˘ ^˘ )=3

His broken soul disease was cured with the fusion of two souls.

But he was now an ordinary person because of the rash attempt that the predecessor made to attack the official caster realm which damaged his cultivation.

He didn’t feel too bad, all blessings in life came with a price.

‘I'll carry your dreams in my heart.’ Qiubai Balin mused. ‘Just kidding…’

He would definitely do anything in his power but he was not some sort of protagonist in novels.

Being powerless and inexplicably taken to a foreign world, any average person would be startled whether they admit it or not.

Family gone, hometown gone, and friends gone inexplicably stranded in another world.

No modern conveniences or hostile conditions.

Going isekai was a technical job not for the weak or elderly.

Qiubai Balin stood up with a stretch. Now his priority was to gather information and think about his next course of action.

Of course, first the joys of man would have to be thrown after all kindness is a two way road.

It was a pity he didn’t have time to formatt his phone or clear the history before he died. Hopefully any kind soul that stumbled upon his body would do him a favor.

As for his predecessor?

His predecessor wanted to relieve the headache and tearing pain of a disturbed soul so his choice was quite peculiar…an adult book.

Qiubai Balin flipped through the packages on the still open book on the desk

“Tsk Tsk, how innocent. If this were placed in the modern era, no one would be invested.” (ill leave this up to imagination handsome and beautiful book friends)

While Qiubai Balin was “investigating” the source of moral degeneration, unbeknownst to him a pair of eyes was silently observing.

In an ocean of darkness, eyes black as midnight carried a mystic gaze.

Divine and obsidian pupils like two pairs of jewel pearls.

From the moment Qiubai Balin transmigrated “it” knew…

And when Qiubai Balin admired the “mysteries of man” it knew. (*´-｀*)

It scrutinized Qiubai with a glare that gleamed with the profoundness of twinkling stars and swirling galaxies.

Devoid of emotion yet with a captivating and weary grace holding secrets.

It seemed to contain the infinite cosmos uncharted and vast.

Yet within that eclipsing darkness, it held a moonlit glimmer within that night revealing a puzzling curiosity. (i had to google ‘what is a synonyms for xxx’ for this entire chap lololol)

“It” had a faint clue on Qiubai Balin’s origin, but his destiny was still far away.

Like a nostalgic silhouette behind a fogged glass.

The owner of these eyes held no malice, just a puzzling interest and a touch of generosity.

In fact within those eyes was a force stalwart enough to distort reality.

The pair of eyes had already helped Qiubai Balin once.

Blocking off the prying eyes of the mysterious beings of the world and exhausting itself to cross vast distances and send down its blessings.

The pair of eyes gleamed in the boundless darkness gave Qiubai Balin one last meaningful glare and faded into the background of the comic sky.

Suddenly Qiubai Balin, still engrossed with the “teaching material” felt a hair raising sensation crawl up his spine.

Fathomless and concealing endless mysterious.

Like the eerie feeling of something approaching when closing the lights at night and thus having to quickly dash back to one’s room (I wasn't the only one who did this right?) (sleep paralysis demons perhaps?)

An uncomfortable feeling as if his browser history had just been leaked gripped Qiubai Balin’s heart causing it to quicken in an unsettling way.

“What? Is someone watching me? No…impossible...the family grounds are equipped with anti reconnaissance magic…”

Qiubai Balin wanted to deny this premonition and dismiss it as his imagination…

But the goosebumps and his instinct told him…it wasn't an illusion.

Qiubai Balin closed his eyes attempting to recall the feeling of those sensations again. He had to get to the bottom of it or he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

He closed his eyes and visualized the impression he had … failed.

There seemed to be a thin film between him and that sensation. Like a lower dimensional being trying to observe a higher dimension creature..

Could it be…the gods and demons of legends?

Or a life that can rival the world itself?

The recollection of the sensation brought Qiubai Balin a suffocating feeling that couldn’t be described.

Like comparing a grain of sand to a star.

That is the hopeless comparison between humble ants and universe giants.

A kind of oppression that couldn’t be expressed bringing along a prehistoric aura surging in his heart.

His will was shakened.

Danger!

Qiubai Balin immediately wanted to stop…

‘No! It’s too late now! I can’t stop!’

He wanted to stop but he couldn't. Qiubai Balin wasn’t able to control the fear growing widely in his heart.

Anxiety completely crushed his thinking.

Untill…

His mind was completely swallowed by the universe.

Qiubai Balin’s consciousness shook violently as he fell into a nightmare.

He was clearly awake but mind seemed to be captured by the depths of the universe disassociating from the input of reality.

Into the deepest darkness and depths of a bottomless abyss.

Falling, falling, and falling into that endless void until eternal nothingness. The most frightening abyss without a trace in the world.

Until a brilliant light blossomed.

Qibai Balin seemed to see a distant figure…stalwart like a god.

A deity shrouded in light and cloaked in the stars of the universe.

With eyes mirroring the abyss conveying the sensation of nothingless.

The “god” shook their head at Qiubai Balin.

He heard an ethereal voice,

“Be careful next time, don’t directly look at the heavens.”

The voice was lingering like a distant melody that washed the soul…like returning to the embrace of the womb.

Beautiful, relaxing and…weary?

In the extreme darkness the voice seemed like a melody coming from a loved one instantly breaking his nightmare arousing Qiubai Balin’s spirit.

“Huh, huh, huh”

The moment consciousness returned to the body,

Qiubai Balin was like a drawing person desperately gasping for air, constantly pulsating his lungs and greedily swallowing air.

Just now, it felt as if his body stopped functioning for a split second

What the figure of light said was right…he understood instinctively now.

All matter contains information. But the information of a god was beyond imagination.

The information a god contained was endless like the starry sky and his brain couldn’t process the huge load of data.

Mortals cannot directly look at God!

They would become brain dead…

Had that celestial being been malicious…

Qiubai Balin quickly shook his head…

“No, I can’t continue thinking about this anymore.”

Qiubai Balin took a deep breath to soothe himself.

Deep breathe in through the nostrils, hold for three seconds, and then a long breathe out. (legit :3)

This world was more dangerous than he thought…It seems from now on..he should stay low key and prioritize gathering information.

And this book…

Qiubai Balin gave a wry smile.

Through the quick interaction with that celestial being, he instinctively understood many things.

What goes around comes around. Those who peer into forbidden books will one day have a forbidden existence peek at them.

Perhaps that divine “god” admired his handsome self? After all he was “blessed” by this celestial being similar to the chosen sons/daughters of churches in this world. Although the process was a tad different than the rumors…

Anyways, conspiracies were not something he should consider now. He was a weakling unworthy of any plots.

Beggars can’t be choosers, after all, he couldn’t even beat a magically enhanced rooster now.