《Rebirth of an Immortal》 c01 Awakening Light trickled in from behind the curtains of the room, ushering in a new dawn, yet the sole inhabitant of the room remained asleep even still. The blaring sound of the alarm was met with a violent reaction as the sleeping figure shot awake, alert and ready to react. For Lucius, this was ingrained into him, for in the wilderness sleep was a luxury, and deep sleep meant death. One had to be ready to react to the smallest of sounds, to the slightest change in the winds, to any unfamiliar scents; any anomalies were signs of danger, and over the past near-century, Lucius had learned his lesson. As he awoke, he realized the blaring was not to the growls of demon beasts or the sounds of something he expected to meet in the wild, but rather a simple alarm clock near him. He saw a room he had not seen for nearly a century, yet everything was just as he remembered. The bed, the closet, the posters, the desk and the assortment of odds and ends that littered the room. Not only was this beyond strange, but for one such as he who had taken up a self-appointed mission of exploring one of the few extremely dangerous Secret Regions, this was as much a sign of danger as having the open jaws of a rank 6 Basilisk staring at you. It was not unknown that there were countless types of demon and magical beasts roaming the world, especially since after the Great Cataclysm when the reproduction speed of animals affected shot through the roof and hunting them became a dangerous task. Mutations were commonplace, common cattle alone mutated into 5 known types: the Ice bull, the Fire bull, the Dark bull, the Fierce Bull and the Water bull. "Bull" was what they were referred to now at least, even if they were only cows before, for the rippling muscles and powerful strength in each of them did not allow one to make the connection of such a beast with mere cows. Just as there were countless types of beasts, a few categorizations had been made. The first was the split between Fierce beasts, Magic beasts, and Demon Beasts. That was for beasts alone, the other type being Plant type creatures, who were only separated into two types: the Magic and Demon type. And under such a vast category lied an uncountable number of species, many of which possessed the power of illusions, typically amongst the plant type monsters who used toxins and hallucinogens to attack their prey. After falling unconscious in the Secret Region, it is likely he had been affected by the toxin of a Plant monster. The only grace in this is the fact that these types of monsters are usually weak physically to balance out their advantage, and for a cultivator of his level, as long as he could deduce where the physical body of beast was he could stop it and use his cultivation base to push out the toxins that were affecting his body.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. As Lucius quickly tried to focus on where the monster might be, he closed his eyes once more, eliminating distractions and trying to circulate his cultivation base to flush out the toxins while using divine sense to check his surroundings. Yet what was surprising was he couldn¡¯t feel anything! No matter what he tried, his cultivation seemed not to respond to him, as if it wasn¡¯t there. He couldn¡¯t even use the power of Internal Vision that all cultivators above Foundation Establishment possessed! As these shocks settled in, Lucius discovered to his horror that it was not only his cultivation base that was not responding, but his physical state was abysmal! The countless hours he had put into body cultivation, to harden his skin, strengthen his muscles and reinforce his bones, all gone! A regular hallucination would not be able to cause this, to stop him from using his cultivation base and restrict his entire body, this type of power belonged to the realm of rank 8 beasts! Such a frightening thought sent fear coursing through him, if that was true, there was no way for him to survive. His power may allow him to survive most ordinary situations, and could even be said to be above the norm somewhat, but against a rank 8 beast, he was the same as an ant. And it was only his guess that it was a rank 8 beast targeting him, if it was something more powerful¡­. He dare not even think about it! Back drenched in sweat, Lucius tried his all to feel his cultivation and determine how to escape this hallucination, trying to find the truth in this world of lies. He often dreamt of the past, the pleasant days when everything was normal and when he and his family passed the days in happiness and joy even with the regular arguments and fights between siblings and family. Yet this was not a dream, the room was too lifelike to be a dream, only a hallucination or drug could cause this effect. Finding nothing out of the norm no matter how hard he looked, Lucius was pushed into the depths of despair. ¡®If only I didn¡¯t come to this accursed place alone¡­¡¯ With the feeling of certain death closing in, his mind thought back to the problems it would cause his loved ones. ¡°Maria, Marcus, Samuel, it seems we will not be seeing each other again, after all, I¡¯m sorr-¡° ¡°Lucius honey its time to wake up. You have school today remember, come down for breakfast, Marry made pancakes!¡± A sudden yell from the right put an abrupt stop to his internal monologue. This was a hallucination for god''s sake! How could it be possible to hear voices that sounded so real! It just wasn¡¯t possible, no matter how powerful the Plant monster may be, it could not look into his mind and take the memory of sounds and voices from him, at most, it could make him relive a scene/image from the past! As the shock settled in, the opening of the door was the only warning he got before a feminine figure stepped into the room. ¡°I-Impossible¡­¡± For right in front of his very eyes seemed to be a living breathing girl, no, a young woman. A woman he had not seen for nearly a century, a woman who amongst many others had been a part of his dreams since day one. His one and only sister, the one who had perished in the First Wave. c02 Accepting the Impossible Chapter 2 Marry ¡°I-Impossible¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s impossible brother, com''on get up already, mom sent me to get you. You do know it¡¯s only Friday right, not yet the weekend.¡± She replied exasperated. It was not strange for her brother to fool around, in fact even while being a year older than her he sometimes acted younger to fool around, of course, this was only with family and close friends. Marry didn¡¯t think much of his wide and disbelieving stare first thing in the morning, for although her brother wasn¡¯t exactly a morning person, he still wasn¡¯t not a morning person either, so for him to be acting the way he was could only be because he was fooling around. ¡°Com¡¯on bro, I¡¯m making pancakes, if you want to enjoy them while they¡¯re hot you have to come down quick!¡± She replied to his astonished face while turning around to leave, her job done. ¡°W-wait¡­¡± the seeming request from her brother caused her to once more face him. ¡°What is it bro? Hurry up though because I have to get back to the stove.¡± Raised in a traditional family, well mostly traditional at least, calling an older sibling or parent by name was not how they were raised, so Marry often addressed him with either brother or bro, or any number of other terms that were appropriate. Lucius ¡°W-wait¡­¡± ¡®How is this possible!¡¯ The actions, the movement, the voice, the poise¡­ it was all the same! All of it, this just wasn¡¯t possible, there was no way a beast could trap him in this type of situation. It was only his years of experience and mental cultivation that stopped him from jumping at the one who he had missed for nearly a century, all that stood between breaking down over the memory of his dead sister was the maturity that had developed over the years of surviving in the new world. As his sister once again returned to his room, he was able to better observe her. Younger by one year, she seemed to be around 17 year¡¯s old, the youthfulness still vibrant in her eye¡¯s. Back during the Great Cataclysm, he had only heard of her death, not even able to confirm it himself due to his powerlessness. But now¡­ now she stood in front of him once more, in the flesh. No sign of damage, no scars to prove injuries, even her eye¡¯s only showed innocence and the feeling of ease, not something one living in the world after the Great Cataclysm would still possess. With cascading dark hair and lightly tanned yet pale skin exhibiting her day¡¯s in the sun, she stood a little over five and a half feet. Her face carried trace amounts of continental European ambiance with a slim yet slightly curvaceous figure. An above average female specimen for sure. She was dressed in a school uniform with the crest of a falcon on her left breast. With white socks and a knee length skirt she seemed ready to head out, if not for the lack of shoes and the spatula in her hand.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Seeing his silent stare, Marry was obviously irritated, he had stopped her from leaving and now he was just staring at her. She had to get back to the pancakes! ¡°Say something already, what do you want, I reeeeeeeealy have to get back!¡± ¡°I-Is it really you Marry? What was it I got you for your 7th birthday?¡± His doubts had not yet disappeared. After all, if this was all an illusion from a beast, then why was he still alive? He couldn¡¯t use his cultivation and his physical prowess was as if he was a mere mortal again, whatever was hunting him could have easily killed him by now. The question was to allay his doubts. It was not unknown that strange things happened in the Secret Region. People went missing, people died, and people came back with drastic changes. Emperor Napoleon ¨C a famous, if eccentric - leader from what was once France had entered the Second Water Secret Region as a mere Adept magician yet had returned a week later with the prowess of an Arch Mage, allowing him to stand at the summit of power. Yet just so, Lord Marcus, a powerful King Rank Martial expert who had entered the much weaker Fourth Earth Secret Region off the eastern coast of China was never heard from again. Secret Regions were just that - Lands shrouded in mystery and danger, where the rewards were as great as the risks, one of the reasons Lucius himself had been desperate enough to enter one with mere Middle Foundation Establishment Cultivation. Lucius had believed everything so far to be false, a mere illusion. But with what he was just seeing it was becoming more and more obvious that this could very well be the reality. The question he had asked was something no one alive other than himself should have known, even illusion¡¯s had limits, they would not be able to look into his brain and find ancient memories he had buried to overcome his grief. ¡°No, I¡¯m not real, I¡¯m a mere figment of your imagination who is wasting her time to answer this pointless question rather than going back to making pancakes ¨C pancakes you wanted if I remember correctly. Com¡¯on bro, lets goooo, and if it¡¯s all you wanted to ask then fine. You got me a gorgeous iPhone 4 box that was filled with rocks. You knew how much I wanted a phone, even if I was only seven at the time. I was soooooooo excited until I opened it. I recall mom was pretty upset with you for making me cry that day, hehe.¡± Marry answered with a smirk as if the incident from nearly a decade ago was a victory for her. Doing so she once more left without waiting for a reply ¨C her pancakes awaited her! As Lucius watched his sister¡¯s back as she walked down the hallway before turning the corner, her words caused him to almost choke. ¡°It seems- it seems I returned to the past?¡± The question was mumbled and uncertain, disbelief still apparent even with the proof presented so far. The pressure felt in his stomach was another sign, yet the century-old cultivator in the body of a teen was unconvinced. No matter how amazing Secret Regions were ¨C time travel -, it just shouldn¡¯t be possible! Only after determining himself through research would he be convinced. ¡®It seems the old saying from Indian folklore was true¡­ the difference between the truth and a lie is the four fingers gap between the eyes and the ears.¡¯ Lucius had to go out and find out if this really was the past, and if it was¡­ what exactly should he do? c03 Planning Lucius The events after awakening were shocking, it was only Lucius¡¯ mental state training over many decades that allowed him to keep his calm. Meeting his mother again after so long, and everything that followed allowed him to accept that this was indeed the reality. Although the thought of time travel was astounding and unbelievable, the Secret Regions were known for their mystery and unfathomable depth. Even if this was indeed an illusion, it was a blissful one, one where he could relive happier times. The Awakening happened on a Thursday, so there was still school to attend. The thought of waking up from exploring a Secret Region and living nearly a century after the Great Cataclysm to simply going to school was bizarre, and for any mortal, it would indeed have been a cause of mental breakdown, disbelief, and instability. Yet for Lucius, who had cultivated the mind and the body for years, it was an initial shock he was able to overcome, after all: one does not survive in the New World without being able to adapt. What followed the meeting with his long-lost mother was a simple breakfast of milk and cereal. Seeing his beloved mother after so long was an emotional moment, his discipline along ensuring he did not act out of character. After all, no matter how good it was for him to have been reborn if news of this spread before he was strong enough, the danger faced would be terrifying. ---------- Eastwood Academy, a private school renown for its prestigious teachers and graduates. Running from J.k. to Grade 12, the Academy did well in preparing its students for the real world. Its high requirements ensured it was attended only by those with high social standing or impressive intellectual ability. The fees were only affordable by the upper class, while scholarships were fought for without abandon amongst those who did not have the recourses to get in the conventional way. Being from an upper-class family ensured both Lucius and his sister were granted easy access to the academy, the only requirement being the entrance test, which while grueling was still doable for anyone who was moderately intelligent. As Lucius sat in his seat in the auditorium cum classroom, it was not school that was on his mind, but rather the bizarre situation he was in. Rebirth¡­ the chance to start over. It was a heavy responsibility. He did not want everything to end up the way it was before, this time around he would change things, he had to. During the fifteen minutes before class started, Lucius took out a notebook and pen. To succeed, a good and well thought out plan was necessary. His main goals were the protection of his family and close ones and the ability to thrive in the New World. For many the Great Cataclysm had been a disaster, billions had died ¨C if not during the Cataclysm then in the years that followed ¨C and life afterward had never been the same. Safety was always a concern, death around every corner. Those without ability, those who were not Empowered, were at the bottom of the new world order. Democracy, peace, equality, mere dreams of the weak and powerless. The strong took what they wanted, ruling over the rest with an iron fist. They lived the lives of kings, their words were Law and the very land they walked on was worshipped by the weak. The world did not have a place for those without ability, they would forever stay at the bottom. As the years passed by after the Great Cataclysm, small kingdom¡¯s and large empires were formed. Clan¡¯s, Sect¡¯s, Guild¡¯s and organizations were formed among like-minded people. The world was split between the strong. Wealth, power, women, land, if one had the ability they could have it all. And Lucius was no saint, he wanted that as well. His rebirth allowed him to be prepared, to walk out of his past life¡¯s mediocracy and start a new path, one leading to the summit. But that road was for far in the future, for now, he was still a rich schoolboy with nothing to his name. The ringing of the bell signaled the start of class, student¡¯s quieting down and seating themselves to prepare for the day¡¯s lecture. The class was biology, and unfortunately, Lucius had yet to meet his close friends.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Sure, he had met acquaintances and other friends, a few nods and greetings exchanged as Lucius tried to once more remember his life nearly a century prior. He had tried his best to fit in, but the habits formed over decades, the awareness and paranoia that was deep-rooted inside of him were difficult to shake off. What he looked forward to the most in school were only a few people. Three boy¡¯s his own age, friends who had stuck together since the first grade. When the Great Cataclysm struck in his old life, Lucius had lost contact with them right away, only to reunite with two of them years later, learning of the death of the third. It was a devastating loss for him, for he saw them as his own brothers. Unfortunately, they had different classes right now, they would only meet up for lunch. ¡°Good morning everyone, we will continue to go over the circulatory system today so if you could all open your workbooks to page¡­¡± As the teacher begun, Lucius once again returned to his planning. Everything that was being taught he already knew, and in a class of nearly fifty students his inattention would not be noticed. Lucius had determined the date before getting to class, finding out there were indeed ten years till the Great Cataclysm struck, giving him ample time to prepare. There were a few key things he needed to survive - no, to thrive in the New World. Personal power was first, and with his knowledge, he was sure his aptitude was towards Immortal Cultivation. In the past, due to not knowing ¨C like everyone else ¨C Lucius had had to spend a lot of effort and resources to determine where his aptitude lied, whether it was towards Martial, Magical or Immortal Cultivation. One could determine aptitude by getting checked by powerful cultivators, all of whom demanded a steep price. And although his talent was only average compared to the rest, he had lucked out with his aptitude, being aligned with the path of Immortal Cultivation, a path that only 15% of those Empowered was able to travel, also often referred to as the Strongest path due to its focus on strengthening both the body and the spirit. Knowing his aptitude, Lucius would be able to much better prepared this time around, starting training early ¨C even with how scarce the spiritual power was before the Great Cataclysm, for those who knew how to, it was still possible to Cultivate. Much like the Monks in the East who trained their bodies to unbelievable levels using watered down Martial cultivation, Immortal cultivation was also possible, especially if one had a good method for it. The additional training time will allow him to make up for his lack of talent. The next factor to prepare for was wealth and influence. The currencies of the world now would become obsolete after the Cataclysm as the governments failed, so it was not dollars that he needed, but things that would have value afterward. Influence was just as important. Surviving alone was dangerous and forced one to always be on guard. Only by forming a group could one survive, but the biggest barrier to this was trust. The New World did not have any laws other than those enforced by the strong, and betrayal and treachery for personal gain was rampant. Only by growing his own power base before the Great Cataclysm would Lucius have a strong foundation to train and develop in the New World. These three factors had simple solutions. For personal power, Lucius would train, beginning his cultivation as soon as possible to be prepared for the change. With the advanced techniques he had learned and gathered through luck and change, it was more than likely he would become stronger than he was before. But he alone could not be everywhere, so if possible, he would also have to prepare others as well. This would be the beginning of his own power base, a Clan with him at the core, one which would be able to survive and join the ranks of the strong. His past life had given him a lot of knowledge, for after all Lucius had traveled the world, and what part he did not travel he had heard about. Secret Regions, treasures, calamities, disasters and fortunes, Lucius knew about many of them, but he alone would not be able to attend to them all. For this, he would need subordinates, those he could trust to carry out certain tasks. Training guards and subordinates would also ensure the safety of those close to him if he were to be away. And for the battles to come, having support would prove to be very beneficial. This all led to one thing. Wealth. For without wealth, building his influence was impossible. Wealth would ensure Lucius could easily get resources that are useful for training, while also ensuring that he and those close to him got to live in luxury. Money did indeed make the world go ¡®round after all. But the source of wealth was the problem, for before the Great Cataclysm, Lucius had very few ideas to raise resources. Halfway through class and the teacher was still talking, leaving Lucius to plan in peace. The method of raising money was the greatest concern, the fact that after the Great Cataclysm current currencies would be worthless and only spirit stones would work as currency the world over was something that he had to keep in mind. As the class neared its end, Lucius finally had an idea. One that would ensure limitless wealth for now onwards. A method that would only grow thanks to his future knowledge. Immortal Pills... c04 Treasured Immortal Pills Chapter 4 After the advent of the Great Cataclysm, the world was plunged into chaos. As ancient Arcane, Immortal and Spiritual energies erupted from the earth, it gave rise to the power of cultivation. Humans and beasts alike were able to harness these energies to strengthen themselves, birthing devastating power. Through years of understanding and experience, the powerful beings were able to determine that creatures who were able to harness these energies were split into three kinds, for the three kinds of energies. There had not yet been a precedent for anyone who was able to harness more than a single type of energy. The harnessers of Arcane energies were able to channel them through themselves to form a solid crystal inside of themselves, which existed in an unknown realm referred to as the ¡°consciousness sea¡±. They used the Arcane energy gathered to release devastating spells that displayed the might to level cities. By tapping into various elements, they were able to show a variety of abilities that were very much like the concept of ¡°Magic¡± before the Cataclysm. So much so that they were classified as ¡°Magi¡±, the second most respected of the three cultivation paths. The harnessers of spiritual energies were able to infuse it into the bones, muscles, and tendons. They aimed to strengthen their physical prowess to the limit, storing excess spiritual energies in an area of the body that eastern monks called the ¡°dantian¡±, while it was more commonly referred to as the ¡°sea of qi¡±. Spiritual energy harnessers were able to explode with devastating physical might using the spiritual energy inside them, such that they could break mountains and part seas with powerful attacks. Martial cultivators were the most common of the three paths of cultivation, with about sixty percent of awakened cultivators becoming martial practitioners. The limitations of spiritual energy to the physical body alone made it the least respected of the three classes, recognized as the weakest class amongst the same rank. However, they were not to be underestimated, for although they were limited to physical abilities, their speed and strength could destroy even the most powerful of magi under the right situations. With only twenty percent of the world¡¯s remaining population able to awaken, martial practitioners were still amongst the elite. Finally came the harnessers of Immortal energies. ¡°Immortal¡± was a term used due to the ability of the energy to boost the vitality and life force of the practitioner, this type of energy was known as the fastest way to extending one¡¯s lifespan and regeneration ability. These miraculous abilities of the energy alongside their destructive prowess was the subject of awe and fear amongst all cultivators and mortals alike. A mere ten percent of awakened cultivators were able to harness immortal energy, yet they were still the most powerful group out of all the cultivation paths, their ability to reinforce their bodies alongside their ability to use devastating energy attacks made them have the best of both worlds, usually making them unparalleled within the same cultivation rank assuming similar experience and talent. Beasts and plants had also succeeded in harnessing these energies, allowing them to reproduce under drastically greater rates and reclaiming much of the world from the hands of humans once more. Beasts and plants were thus broken down into three types: magical beasts/plants, demonic beasts/plants, and Fierce beasts/plants. Often creatures of the same species could follow different cultivation paths, like humans. There may be magical lion beasts but also demonic lion beasts. Furthermore, the countless mutations that developed because of the Cataclysm introduced innumerable new species into the world. Lucius had been blessed with the ability to harness immortal energies. Although his innate talent did not allow him to proclaim himself as one of the sons and daughters of heaven, he was able to catch up to the average level of power in the world even though he started cultivating late, precisely because of the advantages of immortal cultivation. His status as an immortal cultivator had brought as many benefits as perils into his life, for when there was respect there was also jealousy and fear. However, Lucius¡¯s innate disposition towards immortal cultivation left him with a path to make vast volumes of money.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The three different energies could be used for things other than just combat, and these uses were broken down into the various auxiliary classes. One such class was the medicine class, though using different energies would result in different names for the class. A martial practitioner could use spiritual energy to make spiritual dan, becoming dan makers. Magi could use arcane energies to make various potions with effects ranging from helping in cultivation and recovery to medical treatment and healing. An immortal practitioner could use immortal energies to form pills, termed ¡°immortal pills¡± that had the most obvious and varied effects. The ability of immortal energy allowed them to have the largest range of effects, making them the most desired creations. Yet it would be difficult to find even a single alchemist within a thousand immortal cultivators. This rarity further enhanced their value. Immortal pills could be used to boost cultivation, heal injuries, stabilize energies, sense energies and countless other things. These other uses included beauty enhancement, physical and mental treatment and treatment for illness as well. Lucius knew that to make a powerful base in the next ten years before the cataclysm would be beyond difficult, requiring innumerable resources in terms of both manpower and wealth. Although he could not start with other things right now, money was the basis of the world, regardless of the form it was in. Furthermore, after the Cataclysm the most important type of currency for cultivators would be primal stones, stones containing the primal energy of the world that could be absorbed by cultivators of all paths to enhance their powers. Although Lucius was no proper alchemist in his last life, he had read about them plenty, and with the future knowledge he possessed it was easy for him to become one. Being an alchemist had two requirements, knowledge and innate affinity with fire. These two would be vital for a alchemist to create an inner flame and make pills. While Lucius did posses an innate fire affinity, he lacked both a teacher and the time to study alchemy, only having the spare time to study it due to interest and the possible future use it had rather than practicing it. However, his studies during his spare time were a hobby he paid careful attention to, as with his fire affinity he indeed had the qualification to practice alchemy in the future. It could have become his greatest source of income rather than going into dangerous situations merely for the sake of sustenance and growth. Lucius remembered the use of immortal pills for the amassing of wealth. In the New World, pills that could beautify, pills to cure diseases such as tuberculosis and cancer, pills to regrow limbs, all of these could be easily made. Although alchemists were rare, considering the number of people in the world, there were still possible to find. Furthermore, Dan Masters¡¯ Dan¡¯s and the potions of Potion Masters also possessed miraculous affects, although to a lesser extent. By making and selling pills in the present world, a large untapped market could be exploited. Innumerable people would be interested if medication to cure previously incurable diseases were to be released. And it could completely revolutionize even the beauty industry. If Lucius could successfully create and sell pills, he could easily make billions and solve his financial crises as well. *Briiiiiiing* The ring of the bell brought Lucius back to the present. Seeing the end of class, he swiftly packed his belongings and prepared for lunch, counting down the minutes till he could go home and put his plan into motion. There were many creases to iron out, but if he steadily increased his cultivation while slowly growing from the most basic pills to more advanced ones while carefully planning each step, it would only be a matter of time before his influence would be felt worldwide.