Prologue
In a narrow street filled with people in Hangzhou, China, a somewhat tall man in his early 20s can be seen blending along with the crowd. He wore a white buttoned up long sleeve shirt along with a black set of trousers and over his shoulders is a dark brown small sling bag.
To describe his facial features to be average would be a complete understatement yet to say he was handsome was a little too much, his dark brown eyes are clean and clear, giving anyone a sense of gentleness, his nose and lips were just right and his black hair although slightly messy was nice and kept.
He, overall, had a calm and carefree temperament and because of this, he obtained many friends throughout his average life. However, although he had many friends, he had not gotten a single girlfriend due to the request of his parents to focus on his studies.
Picking up the vibrating phone from his pocket, he answered: ”Hello?”
“Hey, you free this weekend Yu? We’re planning on having a group study for the upcoming finals.”, the voice of an energetic male replied in a familiar tone, expressing a hint that the two had known each other for quite some time.
Recognizing the voice, the man named Yu replied casually: “Yeah I don’t mind, just tell me when and where.”
“Alright, we’re still deciding one where we’ll go so I’ll call you again when we’ve decided.”
“Aye.” Yu replied as he ended the call. He continued on his way as he crossed the pedestrian lane. But his peaceful walk ended abruptly as the sound of sirens can be heard in the distance.
Turning his head to look, time slowed down as he managed to see a speeding van being chased by police cars. As he did however, he realized a grave matter, and that he was standing directly in front of it. He couldn’t even heave a sigh nor have his life flash before his eyes as he was hit by the speeding van, directly sending his poor self to the next life.
Expecting himself to be reincarnated as a human for all the good he’s done in his life, he was greatly surprised as he could still think and wonder.
Am I alive? That’s not right, I can’t feel a single thing…. Maybe I’m in a vegetable state? No, I wouldn’t be conscious then… Then what?! Yu murmured continuously, frustrated as he was thinking of his current situation. He could not see anything, nor could he hear or feel anything! As a human who's very used to having those sense, the sudden lack of them started to drive him mad and insane.
But as he thought, the scenery around him drastically changed as he descended from the pitch black darkness into a vast and endless sea of glowing greenish blue light.
Beautiful… Yu said as he was completely mesmerized by the scene, he was someone who enjoyed looking at beautiful scenery and the scene that only the dead could witness and appreciate was something he greatly appreciated. He was completely immersed in this scene, causing him to have a trance as he slowly descended into it. But the closer he got, the more he realized as to what his current predicament is.
So I am dead, and those greenish blue lights should be souls… and I’m about to descend and become a part of it. Yu said, trying to sigh yet could not causing him to have another fit of anger.
But before he could touch its surface, he stopped. Confused as to why, an evil light covered his soul as if it were trying to pull him out.
Frightened by this scene, he was helpless as his rice grain sized soul was pulled from his descent into a small rift that could barely fit a pen. Although its size was so-so if it was looked at from the perspective of humans, the same could not be said for the small and insignificant soul of Yu. He was completely terrified, he felt like crying but he remembered that his uncle once said that men don’t cry, and even if he wanted to cry he would be unable to as he was nothing but a soul being pulled into the rift.
Good bye oh great sea of souls! Yu shouted in his consciousness as he was finally pulled into the rift. As he did he found himself in a beautiful and boundless night sky, high above the ground and beyond the clouds. Realizing this, Yu was terrified yet again, but to his surprise, he did not fall as he floated calmly in the sky.
Looking around, he realized that the sky had a massive moon whose color was of a beautiful silvery blue, lighting up the entire sky with its greatness. Yu wanted to appreciate its beautiful appearance more but he discovered a figure at the corner of his eyes.
A middle-aged man, who like himself was floating in the sky, wearing a beautiful set of white and gold clothes, giving him a sense of divinity and even more so as his body radiated a beautiful pure white glow, making him stand out in the middle of the night sky. He had a head full of white hair and his facial features were nothing short of perfection, although he had a few wrinkles under his clear blue eyes, they, instead of looking out of place, gave him an elderly like feel, making anyone feel the need to shrink down in front of him out of respect.
Yu then decided to nickname him “Perfect grandfather” for now.
Perfect grandfather’s face was calm and serene as he called out: “A soul? I’m amazed that you were able to pull one out of the sea of souls.”
So it was the sea of souls! Yu secretly thought as he continued observing.
“He heh, spare me your flattery. This soul will be your undoing!” A cold and cruel voice sounded out in the night sky, making things more ominous than what they really are.
Looking back, Yu saw a terrifying scene. An old man, whose skin was shriveled, malnourished and littered with writing, his eyes were pitch black and empty, causing anyone to have a sense of dread as they peered onto it, his head was bald, devoid of hair and what replaced it instead were even more writings. The old man wore a set of evil looking black and red clothing, making him look even more ominous. Much like Perfect grandfather, he had a glow around his body although this one was looking evil and ominous.
Yu decided to nickname him “Very Evil grandfather”.
This Very Evil grandfather looks scary… looks like he was the one who dragged me here. Yu thought again, deciding to play the role of a spectator.
“What can this small and insignificant thing do to me? Although its spirit energy is slightly stronger than average and its radiance more pure, it is still not enough to help you in this fight.” Perfect grandfather replied as he had a hint of worry in his eyes.
What do you mean small and insignificant thing?! I maybe be small but my mother always told me that I had a big heart! Hearing his belittlement, Yu could not help but rebuke, however, as he was nothing more than a stranded soul, his cries were not heard.
“He heh, your arrogance shall be your fall.” Very Evil grandfather replied as he made multiple different gestures with his hands and began chanting an evil mantra like verse. As he did, the ominous aura around him grew immensely strong as it covered half the night sky.
“You!” Perfect grandfather started to panic as he started doing the same, although quite opposite as he had a more righteous appearance as his pure white aura covered the remaining half of the sky.
What is this?! Am I in a movie?! But I don’t think normal humans are capable of flight… let alone those powerful auras… What have I gotten myself into… Yu thought in despair as could not do anything to the scene in around him.
“Useless!!! Since I can only resort to this method, the two of us shall perish! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Very Evil grandfather replied as his aura grew even more and more powerful, with this however, Yu’s soul became covered with an evil radiance as it attempted to tear a hole into it.
AAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGHHHH!!! Yu could not help scream as he experienced an immensely great pain, as if his very being was being torn and shredded. However, as he was without a body, no one was able to hear this soul tearing scream. Puns
Soon enough, a hole was made, and with it, Very Evil grandfather finished his gestures as he shouted: “HAHAHAHAHAHA, with this, we both perish!”
As he did, he, along with all his evil aura, was dragged into the tear into Yu’s soul. After his aura was fully absorbed, Yu’s soul which grew from the size of a grain of rice to the size that could rival that of the moon in the sky. Along with the increase of its size, the tear in Yu’s soul grew equally as massive. But unbeknownst to the two old men, Yu’s pain ceased.
Eh? The pain stopped? Why? Confused, Yu suddenly realized that another presence entered his soul, causing it to become chaotic.
AAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH!!! The presence screamed as it grew weaker and weaker. Before completely disappearing, leaving Yu alone in his soul. But as it did, the pain transmitted again to Yu, causing to scream a soundless scream yet again.
Outside his soul, Perfect grandfather grew increasingly terrified.
“You madman!” Perfect grandfather shouted as he tried to resist the great force that wanted to drag him into Yu’s soul. Using his utmost best to escape its pull, numerous beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
But it was all for naught as he was pulled into the soul eventually, causing its size to grow ever twice, overshadowing the moon, causing the sky to turn from its slightly blue tinge into a greenish blue color.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
This scene caused everyone, within the radius a several hundred thousand miles, who was still awake and gazing at the sky at the time to be immensely terrified as in the sky floated two spheres. One was the moon they were all familiar with, the other was an enormous greenish blue sphere, more than twice the size of the moon. The scene caused an uproar in the world, making everyone worried and awed at its majesty.
“What is this?! A phenomenon? I’ve never heard of anything like this! But this sphere… it looks familiar… A soul? But it’s too massive! What is it!?” A beautiful female voice rang out inside a grand room as it grew ever worried about the great sphere in the sky. Terrified, the figure vanished from the room as it went outside to observe it. She was not alone, as countless experts from all around this world flew at great speeds to observe this grand phenomenon.
As this world was in turmoil, Perfect grandfather who was pulled into the great sphere shouldered Yu’s pain in his stead, causing him to scream out in pain and horror as his presence, much like Very Evil grandfather, grew weaker and weaker before thoroughly vanishing.
Seeing this worried Yu, he clenched his nonexistent teeth as he prepared to brace the pain again, but to his surprise, he felt no pain. Confused, he observed the situation outside, only to feel that things are somewhat tinier and look as if it was painted over with a greenish blue tint, causing him to grow even more confused.
As he hungered for answers, a clear and profound voice that was neither male or female rang out in his soul.
“Amazing! To see a soul of a mortal being grow to this size, you’re an interesting one!” the voice said.
Eh? Who are you! Yu asked.
Not minding the impatience in Yu’s voice, the voice replied: “I am one who stands above all in the realm. A being known as a God in your language.”
I see… Yu weakly replied.
“Not surprised? Every time I reveal myself to a mortal they would immediately bow down apologize for not realizing who I am.” The voice said with a tinge of surprise.
Sorry to disappoint, but I’m just too damn tired to be surprised. I died, got sent to the sea of souls and was pulled out, experienced great pain as two old men fought and got sucked into my soul resulting in their demise. Yu said as he wanted to sigh but could not.
“I see, you’ve had a rough day child. But sadly I cannot return you to the sea of souls.” The voice replied, trying to comfort Yu.
I see… am I stuck here? Forever floating in the sky? I mean, the view is nice and all and I won’t get tired of seeing it anytime soon but… I’ll get tired eventually and probably go insane… Yu said, worried for his future predicament.
“Fear not child, I shall provide you with a body.” The voice said proudly.
Really?! Will I be able to do what those old men were doing?! Yu replied excitedly. As a child he’s always wanted to become like those immortals from the novels he’s read who were able to move the mountains and calm the seas with a flick of their fingers. Hearing he’ll probably be able to live in this world caused him to become thoroughly excited.
“Most likely, with a soul this powerful, you’re nothing less of a demigod. Although you lack skill, and experience, just with your sheer strength alone will allow you to live at the peak of this world. Although I was worried for the balance of power at first, but after reading through your memories you don’t seem to be an evil fellow, and the influence of those two souls that you absorbed has been removed by me, so I don’t have to be worried of you taking over this world.”
Eh? Your read through my memories? Removed their influence? Yu replied dumbfounded.
“Indeed, but don’t worry child, I have not tampered with it. As for the two souls, the only thing that remains is their strength which you have surprisingly absorbed.” The voice replied with amusement.
Was I not supposed to absorb it? Yu asked worriedly.
“You were, but what surprised me is that you’re still there and not them. I guess your perseverance is quite good.” The voice said, giving Yu the imagine of it nodding to itself.
Will I be fine? My soul won’t blow up right? Yu asked again.
“You’ll be fine, consider their strength as yours and ease your worries, your soul is currently stable and I doubt anything can cause it to be chaotic.”
That’s good Yu said, as he was about to sigh in relief only to remember that he can’t. Sensing his troubles, the voice chuckled.
“Now then, I can make the body to your liking, do you wish to become an extremely handsome young man? Or perhaps you want to become a female this time around?” The voice asked.
Making it look like my old self is fine, I shouldn’t be too greedy. Yu calmly said.
“I see, well that’s a good trait. I like you even more child!” The voice replied gleefully.
Soon, Yu found himself from the middle of the sky to the calm and serene meadows below. The night sky returned to its original color as if there wasn't a massive sphere floating in the sky to begin with.
Feeling up his new body, Yu was relieved to find that there were no abnormalities, the only difference was he was wearing a clean set of grey robes. He then found a simple silver ring on his right hand’s middle finger, confused as to what it was, a voice rang out in his head.
“That is a divine sealing ring, don’t let its looks fool you as it has the ability to even seal the power of your terrifying soul!” The voice from before said as a warning.
“I see, but can I take it off?” Yu replied worriedly, after all, how can he be like one of those awesome immortals if his strength is sealed?
“Fear not, you can unseal it without removing the ring, just imagine yourself without restraint and you will be as powerful as what you should be. Let me tell you child, it was hard making a body that can withstand that kind of power, let alone suppress it to the point of hiding it from plain sight. If your body was any weaker, your alone aura would be enough to paint the sky greenish blue again.” The voice explained.
“Paint it greenish blue? That was me?!” Yu said in surprise.
“Indeed. Go ahead and try unleashing your full strength. No one’s around to see anyways.” The voice replied, somewhat amused with Yu.
“Okay.” Yu replied as he imagined himself without restriction. Soon an immensely powerful greenish blue aura surged from his body, causing the wind to blow outward and making the calm surrounding scenery look chaotic.
Surprised, Yu decided to throw a punch into the air.
BANG!!!
But to his absolute surprise, the somewhat weak looking punch blew a force so powerful, it caused the surrounding wind to blow even more chaotic and the ground in front of where he threw the punch to be dug out in a slight fan like manner. The ground was decimated from where he stood to a hundred meters or so in front of where his punch was launched, creating a 3 meter deep crevice that grew deeper as it went further.
Beads of sweat formed on Yu’s forehead as he even he himself was scared of his strength, before asking the voice: “Is there a way to adjust this?”
“Full of requests aren’t you?” The voice replied.
“Sorry for the trouble…” Yu said with a small voice.
“I’m just joking! It’s fine, just give me a few seconds.” The voice made a small chuckle and after a few moments, the ring on his right hand grew more complex, with lines and symbols being magically carved into it by a golden light.
“There we go, now you can access up to ten levels of strength, each form revealing a 1/10th of your power. Satisfied?” The voice replied.
“Yes, thank you very much.” Yu very much wanted to bow but as the voice was in his own head, he didn’t know what direction to bow.
“It’s fine. It would’ve been troublesome for me if I didn’t. I’ve also given you a small spatial bag, that should be in front of you. It contains a map, money, food and clothing so you should be fine.” The voice replied, comforting Yu.
“Many thanks!” Yu replied back with a smile as he picked up the sling bag that was similar to what he had before, but again, realizing that the voice was in his head, he ended up looking like a fellow who was not only talking to himself, but smiling for no reason in the middle of a chaotic meadow as well.
“Oh right, how do you open the bag? And how do I seal my strength again…” Yu said somewhat shy as he’s been asking questions since the beginning.
Chuckling a bit, the voice replied: “Just imagine yourself opening it, and imagine your strength being restricted. As to how you can open up the seals just think of the number as each represents what amount of will be released. For example, the number three releases 3/10ths of your strength and so on and so forth. As for the meadow, I’ll fix it up for you to make you less suspicious.”
The voice said as the scene in front of him changed back to how it was, seeing this, Yu was surprised, but it soon died down as he suppressed his strength to a what it had been back in his original world.
“I see, many thanks! Again…” Yu replied, still shy due to the amount of help the voice has been.
“It’s fine.” The voice said kindly.
“I haven’t even asked you what your name is even…” Yu said, even more shy than before.
“It’s Tian Shen, well at least what I’m often called.” Tain Shen replied.
“Okay, again, many thanks Tian Shen!” Yu said wanting to bow yet again. Feeling helpless, he decided to bow anyways, giving him the appearance of someone who’s bowing in the middle of a meadow for no reason at all. Sensing him bow, Tian Shen chuckled as he he felt satisfied.
“You’re an interesting on I’ll give you that child. Now that everything is settled I’ll bring you somewhere else as it appears that there are people heading your way. Hold on!” Tian Shen said as Yu vanished from the meadow appearing elsewhere.
As he did, experts from all around started to gather in the sky above the meadow.
“Hmph! It appears that there are others that came here to investigate!” A tall arrogant handsome man who’s wearing a beautiful dark green robe said. Behind him are more than ten experts emitting a grand green aura, as if they’re trying to suppress everybody else.
“Fufu, your Thousand Poison Sect isn’t the only group in the world Da Feng.” A mischievous sounding female voice rang out. A girl with an alluring figure wearing a colorful robe appeared, her beautiful face was calm, as if she didn’t place Da Feng in her eyes.
“Shut your mouth Li Mei! Your Lotus pavilion is nothing compared to our Thousand Poison Sect!” Da Feng arrogantly said as he narrowed his eyes. From this short exchange one could tell that they are not in friendly terms.
“Now isn’t the time to fight, a great phenomenon just occurred and if I am not mistaken it should be the birth of a Divine Soul, maybe even stronger.” A calm handsome youth who’s eyes are lightly closed said. He appeared to be wearing a black set of armor that is decorated with golden dragons. Seeing him appear made the two calm down.
“I agree with the Sir Prince. We should spend our energy trying to resolve our current issue.” A handsome middle aged man said. On his face was a friendly smile, calming the current situation down, he wore a beautiful white robe and his hair tied to the back of his head.
“Oh? Even the great Kuang De is investigating. It appears that this Divine Soul is something to be worried about.” Li Mei replied making multiple gestures with his hands to her back, causing a few females dressed in a similarly colored set of light armor to appear behind her.
“Indeed, this event is most likely the result of a fight between two peak Saints.” The man called Kuang De replied, his face looking somewhat dim.
Hearing the words Peak Saint caused everyone’s hairs to stand, Long Ye, the first to speak, said: “Then this is definitely something we should not ignore.”
“But what can we do? The powerful aura vanished without a trace several minutes ago and I don’t believe that we have the means to track it.” Kuang De replied.
“We won’t be the only ones in this field, it’s likely that all the powerhouses of the Divine Continent is coming to investigate.” Long Ye said, and soon enough, more than a dozen powerful experts started appearing from all around.
While all this was happening, Yu appeared in the middle of a forest, somewhat troubled as he has no idea where he is at the moment.
“Don’t worry, if you get the map from your bag you should see a red dot. That is where you are at the moment, convenient no?” Tian Shen in his head said.
“Mhm, quite so!” Yu replied in relief.
Sensing his relief, Tian Shen replied: “Well then, good luck on your adventure! I need to go handle other things at the moment so I’ll be gone for a few years. I’m sure you’ll be fine without me”
“Yeah… Many thanks Tian Shen!” Yu said as he bowed deeply.
“Hahaha, I’ll talk to you again when I can.” Tian Shen said as he left, leaving Yu alone in the middle of the forest. Pulling a map out of his bag he mumbled to himself: “Now then, where is the nearest City… or town, I’m sure they have an inn or something similar…. Right?”
Author Note: Second I've written! Hope you enjoy! More of a causal author but expect agood amount of chapters for now as I've been having fun writing this.