“Xiaou Xiu it is 10,000 years too early for you to face me!”

My name is Xiaou Xiu and I am on the floor after having lost a battle against Bao Jian who is a mere one star sapphire ranking level. I say mere, even though he is far stronger than me for I am only of one star flame rank cultivation.

“….”

I cannot even reply back. I hold my head down in shame. Though I am much weaker now, in my previous life I had attained the legendary divine solar rank cultivation level and I could move mountains with my will alone. I had defeated and tamed the bearded dragon Tanzhi Qing and with a wave of my hands I could cause the clouds in the sky to part and the ozone layer to disintegrate turning the blue skies into darkness.

How many tens of thousands of battles had I fought and won in my previous life? How many long lost ancient secrets had I discovered? It is thanks to my previous life cultivation level that I am able to hold memories of it. Yet here I am now, merely a commoner.

“It looks like the Xiu family will be driven to poverty this year, hahahahaha” laughed Bao Jian who then kicked me in my face. “You are only of one star flame rank cultivation, even if you train for a thousand years you are no match for me, hahahaha” he laughed again before heading off.

I could hear the whispers from the onlookers as I lay on the floor in defeat. My injuries forbid me to get up.

“Poor Xiaou Xiu, he was once the genius of the Xiu family”

“I cannot believe the beautiful Lai An is engaged to such a loser”

“The Jian family has truly surpassed the Xiu family this generation”

“He was such a genius as a child, but I would be sad now to have such a weak son”

I clench my fist while bleeding out on the floor. It is all I can do. My chi channels have been completely obstructed and no matter how much I try they will not burst open. I try again to open them but pass out in the attempt.

Many hours later

“Wake up my son Xiaou Xiu. I have come to bare bad news.”

It was the voice of my father Yazhu Xiu. He was one of the top 10 general ranking cultivation experts in the city village. He was very powerful but very old now in his 70s. Though he will live a longer life than most due to his cultivation level, he has far too many responsibilities in the city village and this depletes his energy without fail every single day. Due to this he has not been able to train me and delegates the work to my mentors Lubai Chin and Wei Zhelan, though due to my strength in my previous life, they have nothing to teach me.

The place I live in is the city village lake town called Holy Monkey Sanctuary, named for the holy monkey that inhabit the forest.  We have 10 general ranking cultivation experts in the city village and the city lord is of Jing Star General rank, a very powerful man. We have been invaded several times by neighboring villages but have always won in defense.

“I am awake now my father,” I say to my father.

“Xiaou Xiu, this is about Lai An. Though the marriage was arranged before your births, the An family has decided to renege the deal. Despite putting up our treasures the Porcelain Elephant and Jade Figurine, they have decided not to allow their Lai An to marry you.”

Lai An. She was one of the most beautiful women in the Holy Monkey Sanctuary with a cultivation ranking of seven holy stars, very gifted for her age. I was very lucky to have a pre-arranged marriage before our births to marry Lai An when we come of age, but now the An family has decided to cancel. Was it because I was weak? Was it due to Bao Jian? I cry while lying in bed, a tear drips down my face as I pass out covered in bandages all over my body.

One day later

I need to get stronger, I thought as I walked down the path to go out of the village. Suddenly I bumped into something and I fall to the ground.

“Where are you going Xiaou Xiu? Don’t you know the forest is filled with holy monkeys?”

It was Bao Jian. Did he know I was going to go into the forest to meditate and raise my cultivation levels?

“What’s it to you Bao Jian? Mind your own business”

“You talk of arrogance. Stand up Xiaou Xiu, I challenge you now. We shall fight and I will prove to you I am far stronger”

I stand up again and get ready to fight him. I channel my chi and my energy seems stronger than yesterday. I feel stronger, I think I can do this.

A crowd gathers and begins whispering.

“Oh no Xiaou Xiu will get pummeled by Bao Jian again”

“What is Xiaou Xiu thinking? He was a genius but now… he should no longer be fit to fight”

“I bet that Bao Jian will win again”

“AHHHH!!!”

I jump out at Bao Jian channeling my chi to my fists, in my previous life doing this was enough to shatter the earth and leave a crater the size of a continent. First I get beaten by a mere sapphire rank cultivation novice and then Lai An leaves me! I am beyond angry! Here I come Bao Jian, you will not survive this attack!

“Ironed Fist Attack!”

I launch at Bao Jian who looks shocked. He senses the chi coming from my fist and makes it of utmost importance to dodge my attack which he dodges successfully. I was not expecting that.

“It is still thousands of years before you are ready to face me Xiaou Xiu, you should not have challenged me”

In retaliation he channels his own chi into his fists and punches me in my face with a counter and I pass out.

Many Hours Later

I wake up on the ground near the exit of the village. This is where Bao Jian stopped me with his fist. It seems like they just left me here. After recovering, I get up and continue to leave the village to go into the forest, where I know a good place to cultivate.

When I was first reincarnated I had a bit of my power lingering from my previous life. I was even stronger than my father as a one year old infant. This is why the village people praised me as being a genius before, but as I grew older my chi channels were blocked and I was no longer able to cultivate. I became the weakest person in the village overnight. Still, in my youth I came to this forest and I sensed a strong energy emerging behind the 6^th monkey statue in the monkey shrine.

I reach the monkey shrine and see the different monkey statues. Ah, it was this statue that I was feeling the most energy coming from. I sit in front of the statue to meditate and raise my cultivation levels.

Many hours pass and I enter a dreamlike state. In my dream I saw a holy monkey emerging from the statue in front of me surrounded by a silver aura, and I saw it enter my body. I then saw the chi channels in my body with blockers on the paths blocking the chi from flowing. The monkey reached out and opened a chi block and I instantly felt a huge surge of energy.

The monkey continued to open the chi blocks for hours until all the chi blocks were finally open and I could feel my chi flowing freely. The monkey then left my body and went back into the statue. I open my eyes and feel stronger than ever before. I will continue cultivating here, I decided, and so I cultivated for a few more days.

*stomach rumbling*

After a few days of non-stop cultivation, I have grown hungry.

In the marketplace

“I would like to buy three oranges please”

I tell the fruit vendor as he gives me three oranges and I pay. This will be my snack. For lunch I will need to go buy rice, tofu, and a bag of beans. As I go to the stores that sell these foods, I bump into something again although this time I do not fall.

“He- hey! Watch where you’re going”

Said a man on the floor who seems to have fallen down. It was Bao Jian.

“Bao Jian?”

“Well well, if it isn’t Xiaou Xiu. Have you not learned your lesson yet?”

Bao Jian says as he stands up and dusts himself off. I put my groceries down on the ground beside me and a crowd gathers around and begins whispering.

“Oh no it is Bao Jian, he will torment poor Xiaou Xiu again”

“Xiaou Xiu I would run if I were you, you have lost too many times to Bao Jian already”

I ignore the crowd and focus only on Bao Jian. After several days of cultivation I have broken through the jade cultivation wall and have reached aquamarine ranking cultivation. I am far stronger than Bao Jian who is stuck at the sapphire level.

He punches at me with fists filled with chi but I instinctively dodge.

“It looks like you are a little faster than before Xiaou Xiu, but you are still hundreds of years too early to face me. Dragon Crescent attack!”

There it was, Bao Jian’s signature move that he has never used on me before as he deemed me far too weak. This attack would be able to destroy the food stand behind me if I dodge it, or I can take it full force but I may not survive. No, there is a third option, to block! I shall block!

With my intent to engage against an enemy, time suddenly slowed down all around me. I could see Bao Jian launching his attack but in slow motion. I could walk many circles around Bao Jian and he would not be able to see me at these speeds. The crowd is moving in slow motion as well, almost as if time had stopped completely, but I could see Bao Jian moving slightly.

I lightly touch Bao Jian, and wherever I made contact, his physical flesh disappeared and turned into a liquid red. What? I try again by trying to grab his arm, and again the area I tried to grab turned into a red liquid and his arm looked split in two. I touched the disconnected part and that disappeared and turned to a red liquid too. I touched his entire body, and it all turned into a liquid red.

When I no longer saw him there but as a red mass of floating liquid, I relaxed and time started to speed up again. Time ran normally again and suddenly a red liquid exploded in my face. Where there was once a Bao Jian was now blood, exploding all around me and the crowd nearby. I had defeated my rival, no, I had erased him from existence.

…

Many years passed by and I continued to cultivate. I grew stronger with each passing day. Many thousands of challengers have come to challenge me and I had defeated them all by erasing them from existence. No one even stood a chance.