Chapter 2 A New Beginning

Yun Che faded in and out of consciousness as he tried to put his thoughts together. What's happening? Am I still alive? It's impossible to survive the fall from Lourtry Cliff. Why am I feeling fine? I don't experience any pain at all... His eyes flew open, and he sat bolt upright, staring around the room. He was sitting on a large bed with a festive-looking red fitted sheet. A girl's shrill voice reverberated in his ears, "You… You're finally awake, Xiao Che!" Not long after, she appeared in his line of sight. The girl, adorned in an emerald green dress, looked around 15 to 16 years old. Her skin was white as snow, and her lips were red as cherries. Her eyes were bright and clear, and her cheeks were rosy with a healthy glow. Her beauty was stunning even at such a young age. One can only imagine how mesmerizing she would be as she got older. Xiao Che was momentarily surprised by the girl's appearance. He said, "Aunt Lingxi?" The young woman reached up and laid her slim, smooth hand on his forehead. She looked visibly relieved as she spoke, "This is fantastic, Xiao Che! Your body temperature has gone down. You scared me earlier when you looked so unwell. Are you still feeling any discomfort?" The man shook his head and gazed at her blankly. He was obviously still in a daze. "All right, then. Have a good rest! I'll let Grandpa know that you have awoken. Today is your big day, Xiao Che. Grandpa panicked when you fainted all of a sudden. He went out looking for Master Situ," Xiao Lingxi said gleefully. She was so excited that she did not notice the man's odd demeanor. She hastily exited the room after assisting him to lie down on the bed to rest. Xiao Che sat back up on the bed and put his hands about his head after Lingxi left the room. I'm at Cloud City, a small city located east of the Tucame Empire, one of the seven empires in Heavenly Arcana Land. I'm the Xiao family's fifth grandmaster's only grandson, Xiao Che! I'm only sixteen years old. The man was in confusion as he tried to piece his memories together. He realized he could recall his time as Yun Che and Xiao Che. I'm Xiao Che… but why do I have memories from the Aderon Cloud Continent? Did I transmigrate to this body after my death? Hold on. I'm Xiao Che! Everything in this room and my childhood memories are still fresh in my mind. I didn't steal another person's memories. Was my experience at the Aderon Cloud Continent a dream? Maybe I woke up from my dream after jumping from the Lourtry Cliff? However, the experience seemed so real… How could the twenty-four years of pain and grievances be a dream? The man, who was now Xiao Che, gradually calmed himself down as he collected his thoughts. It was in the wee hours of the morning, and the sun had not yet risen. Today was Xiao Che and Xia Qingyue's wedding day. Lingxi woke the groom up two hours ago, and after changing into his red bridal robe, he drank a bowl of porridge cooked by his aunt. Shortly after, he became extreme fatigue and eventually lost consciousness. Xiao Che finally woke up after a long time. When he licked his lips after smelling something strange, his expression froze. This is the Wicked Heart Poison! He researched every poison in the world when he was in possession of the Sky Poison Pearl on the Aderon Cloud Continent. There was no poison that he did not know; all he had to do was take a whiff, and he could quickly determine the identity and type of the poison. He could experiment with any poison, no matter how fatal, because the Sky Poison Pearl made him immune to all toxins. The Wicked Heart Poison was created by mixing the Immortal Soul Grass and Purple Begonia. When put into water, it was colorless and odorless. After drinking, though, it could kill a person within ten seconds, and there would be no evidence of poison on the victim. Xiao Che had a sudden epiphany. I didn't pass out earlier; instead, I was killed by the Wicked Heart Poison, which was added to the porridge! At the same time, Yun Che jumped off the cliff and was supposed to die. However, in an unexpected turn of events, I was reincarnated into a body that recently died. Odd as it may sound, this looks like the only plausible explanation for my situation. Hold on a second! If that's the case, I shouldn't be immune to toxins now. Why am I still alive after trying the remnants of the Wicked Heart Poison on my lips earlier? When Xiao Che opened his left palm, he was surprised to see that the green circle mark was still there. Based on the size, shape, and color of the mark, he was sure it was the Sky Poison Pearl! Before jumping off the Lourtry Cliff earlier, he had swallowed the pearl and forced it down his abdomen. However, he was unaware of the ramifications of his actions. It seemed that the Sky Poison Pearl had followed him to the afterlife! "Sky Poison Pearl…" Xiao Che muttered to himself as he stared at the green mark on his palm. Suddenly, the mark began to emit an aquamarine glow. Xiao Che, startled by the abrupt burst of light, felt a pang of dizziness engulf him, and he subconsciously closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he found his surroundings had changed. The man was now in a field of greenery, with no end or horizon in sight. The air still held the weak scent of the Sky Poison Pearl. After much deliberation, he deduced that he had entered the world of the pearl. It's amazing that there's an inner world in the Sky Poison Pearl! It seems like my decision to swallow the pearl has allowed me to gain access to this mystical place. The pearl has become part of me now. I'm confident I'll be able to locate an escape, just as I was able to enter. Xiao Che closed his eyes and gathered his strength. The green world vanished in a second, and he was back in his bedroom when he opened his eyes. He looked at the green mark on his palm and grinned. Even though Xiao Che could not find a reasonable explanation for his peculiar experience, he was still thankful that he had a second chance at life. Not only that, he was now armed with two sets of memories. Despite losing the battle as Yun Che, he was still a fearsome fighter dreaded by the masses. However, it was unfortunate that he had to now make do with a frail human body like Xiao Che. One's status in the Heavenly Arcana Land was based on their arcane power. Although Xiao Che was born into the Xiao family and the grandson of the strongest grandmaster in the family, he was still stuck at the lowest Arcane stage - Nascent Arcana stage. The man started honing his arcane powers when he was 7.5 years old. He began learning the 1st level of the Nascent Arcana stage when he was 8 years old. However, by the age of 16, he exhibited no signs of improvement. As a result, Xiao Che faced mockery from the Xiao family members. His grandfather, Xiao Lie, had sought help from the best physician in Cloud City, Situ Yun, to treat his grandson. However, the diagnosis left him devastated. Xiao Che was born with damaged arcane energy pressure points with no hope of recovery. This meant that the boy could not progress past the 1st level of the Nascent Arcana stage, no matter how hard he tried. He was doomed to be looked down upon in Heavenly Arcana Land, and the laughingstock of the Xiao family. No one would pay attention to Xiao Che if it weren't for his grandfather, the most powerful cultivator in Cloud City. The Xiao family was one of the three most powerful families in Cloud City. They had many strong cultivators, with each generation outperforming the preceding. Hence, they saw Xiao Che as an unnecessary addition to the family. Nobody would shed a tear if he were to pass away one day. It was strange that someone had intended to use such a rare poison to kill him. Xiao Che deduced that his attempted murder was motivated by his marriage to Qingyue, who was also 16 years old. However, unlike Xiao Che, Qingyue had already reached the 10th level of the Nascent Arcana stage at such a young age. In fact, she was about to complete the Nascent Arcana stage and ascend to the Arcana stage. Few cultivators could match her accomplishments at the age of 16. She was not only the first rare talent in the Xia family in a hundred years, but she was also the most promising young cultivator in Cloud City. Some speculated that if Qingyue kept up her present pace, she could be the first member of the Xia family to reach the Earth Arcana stage a few decades later. In fact, she might be the first individual in Cloud City to reach the Heavenly Arcana stage in the past few centuries. Not only was Qingyue a talented young lady, but she was also a ravishing beauty. She had been voted the most beautiful woman in Cloud City. Most of the promising young lads in the city yearned to marry her. If the Xia family held a contest to look for grooms, the waitlist of candidates would probably be long enough to stretch between the south and north gates of Cloud City. Alas, the most talented beauty in Cloud City was to wed the Xiao family's most useless fool. Many citizens were outraged when they learned about their marriage. They felt it was beneath Qingyue to marry a man with a bleak future. The men smitten by Qingyue's beauty were jealous of Xiao Che, and they felt he was unworthy of her. Someone could have gone to the extreme and poisoned him. "Women are the root of troubles." Xiao Che got off the bed and lamented to himself. When he thought of Qingyue's gentle demeanor and good looks, he flashed a smile and said, "But it's great to have such an awesome wife! I'm off to a great start!" The stages of arcana powers from the least to the most powerful are as follows: Nascent Arcana stage, Arcana stage, True Arcana stage, Soul Arcana stage, Earth Arcana stage, Heavenly Arcana stage, Royal Arcana stage, Noble Arcana stage, Sovereign Arcana stage, Divine Arcana stage. There are a total of 10 levels in each Arcana stage.