As dusk deepened, the charred silhouette lying in the alley slowly sat up.
A pair of bright eyes opened in the soot-blackened face, yet they held only confusion and dullness. Staggering like a zombie, the figure shambled towards the end of the alley.
Fortunately, the light was dim and the alley was seldom used; otherwise, anyone seeing this would likely have thought they'd seen a ghost.
Lin Feng had no idea how he made it home. Pushing open the door, he didn't even bother closing it. He walked straight to his bed and collapsed face-first onto it...
...
In a daze, Lin Feng dreamed a very long dream—or rather, two.
In one dream, he was Lin Feng from Earth, an orphan with no family who grew up in an orphanage. After coming of age, he began supporting himself.
Without education or special skills, he could only do the simplest jobs to get by. Yet, being alone meant "one person full meant the whole family wasn't hungry." Coupled with his lack of grand ambitions, his simple life felt satisfying enough.
'Today,' having just turned twenty, he used most of his savings to buy himself a gaming pod as a 'birthday gift'—a newly released, world-shattering virtual reality game touted as a 'second life' and a 'world of passion and dreams.'
After entering the game, he killed minor monsters in the wilderness for half a day, then luckily encountered a mini-boss. After a hard fight, he was even luckier to have it drop a skill book.
But just as he was excited about the skill he'd gained, an unknown accident occurred, and he completely lost consciousness...
...
In the other dream, he was a minor rogue cultivator in Azure Cloud City, Mooncloud Continent, East Dragon Province.
As a very young child, he had a happy, loving family. In his memories, his parents were incredibly powerful cultivators—his mother kind and gentle, his father imposing and stern.
His mother often told him legendary stories from the cultivation world, filling him with a deep longing to cultivate. But she told him he would be taught when he was a little older...
But he never got that chance—at the age of eight, his parents went out one day and never returned...
Suddenly an orphan, he was lost, wept, despaired... but ultimately survived. Using the spirit stones his parents had left behind, he bought the most basic cultivation manual and began teaching himself.
By fifteen, despite extreme frugality, the family savings were gone, and even food became a problem. Thankfully, he was old enough. After immense hardship, he finally begged for a job as a 'shop assistant' in a magical artifact store in the city.
His monthly wage was a paltry three low-grade spirit stones, used for cultivation. The meager commissions earned from selling or buying artifacts, converted to silver, barely covered his living expenses.
This state of affairs persisted, day after day, for five years.
'Today,' after collecting last month's 'wages,' he was suddenly robbed on his way home. Not only did he lose the spirit stones, but the 'most important' thing was taken too...
...
Two dreams, two sets of memories, two lifetimes.
At first, these two sets of memories appeared separately. But later, they began to flash and intertwine until they became completely jumbled, indistinguishable as to which belonged to which 'person.' Finally, the two streams of memory seemed to find a subtle balance point and began gradually merging...
......
...
"Ahhh!!!"
A ray of sunlight pierced through the window, seemingly stinging his eyes. Lin Feng shuddered violently and sat bolt upright with a loud cry.
His eyes were still chaotic, his face even slightly twisted. He was drenched in sweat.
"W-what happened?!"
After gasping heavily for several seconds and finally regaining a shred of awareness, confusion filled Lin Feng's eyes as he tried to sort out his thoughts.
"Ah!!"
But attempting to think triggered a soul-rending pain. He couldn't help but clutch his head and groan.
Strange lights flickered incessantly in Lin Feng's eyes, his expression shifting rapidly. A stream of incoherent muttering spilled from his lips.
"I'm Lin Feng. Wasn't I playing a game? Why am I here?! I... traveled through?!"
"I'm Lin Feng, from Mooncloud Continent. Whose memories are those?! Was I possessed? No!!"
"Did I take over this person's body? No... I absorbed another soul..."
"I am Lin Feng..."
"..."
Gradually, Lin Feng's muttering subsided. The trembling of his body and the struggle in his eyes slowly calmed. Two souls, two lifetimes of memories, had completed their final fusion.
Finally, all struggle, hesitation, panic, and terror vanished, leaving only one thought in his heart—I am Lin Feng.
—Whether from Earth or Mooncloud Continent, I am me.
It was a peculiar state. It wasn't about one consuming the other, or one consciousness dominating. The souls of the two 'Lin Fengs' had merged perfectly, inseparable.
...
With the chaos of his soul settled, Lin Feng stared blankly at his hands for a moment, lost in thought.
From the perspective of the Earth 'Lin Feng,' this was 'transmigration.' He should have been excited, thrilled, or lost and helpless. Yet, simultaneously influenced by the other part of his soul, he was unusually calm.
Looking up unintentionally, he caught sight of a mirror on a nearby cabinet. Lin Feng froze.
—Reflected in the mirror was the figure of a clear-eyed young man still showing traces of astonishment. His body was smeared with black, ash-like grime. His build was proportionate, his hair short. His face wasn't classically handsome, but it was pleasant. Most importantly... this face looked incredibly familiar!
"Not only the same name and age, but even the same face? This..."
Incredulity filled Lin Feng's eyes. He suddenly recalled a movie starring Jet Li he'd seen before, The One. The story proposed countless parallel worlds in the universe, each containing a version of 'oneself.'
Could it be that the 'Lin Feng' from Earth and the 'Lin Feng' from Mooncloud Continent were the 'same person' existing in two parallel worlds?!
Of course, this was just Lin Feng's wild speculation, impossible to verify. After thinking for a while, he shook his head and pushed these useless thoughts aside.
...
Completely clear-headed now, Lin Feng immediately recalled the robbery in the alley the evening before. His expression instantly changed!
Frantically, he yanked open his collar. In his haste and with too much force, the already ragged garment tore with a "Riiip!" Looking down, he saw nothing but bare skin...
—The black ring that had hung around his neck was gone!
That spatial ring was his only clue to finding his parents. Now... it had been stolen!!
For a split second, utter despair flashed across Lin Feng's face. But gradually, his expression twisted into something fearsome and ferocious, his eyes blazing with a vicious light utterly unlike his usual character.
"Get it back... I have to get it back!!"
In the twelve years since his parents' disappearance, living alone, Lin Feng had always been extremely low-key. Even when bullied, he swallowed his pride. Even yesterday, when robbed of a month's hard-earned spirit stones, he endured it. Even when the muscle-bound man called him a "coward," he still endured. But that ring was his absolute bottom line, something he valued more than life itself!
Get it back... even if it cost him his life!!
At that moment, Lin Feng nearly lost all reason. He jumped off the bed, ready to rush out and reclaim his ring.
However, he only managed two steps before stopping, seeming to regain some clarity. Clenching his teeth, he sat back down on the bed.
"No... I have to stay calm! If I just rush out like this, even if I find those people, there's no way I could get the ring back!"
Admonishing himself not to act impulsively, Lin Feng's mind raced, searching for a feasible plan.
Finding that 'muscle-bound man' shouldn't be too hard. Those people were nothing but a bunch of hoodlums in the city—just a 'higher grade' version of common street thugs, hoodlums in the cultivation world.
Such people weren't uncommon in Azure Cloud City—groups of low-level cultivators with no background or prospects, gathering together to extort resources from other low-level cultivators.
Although they were a motley crew, they were absolutely not something Lin Feng could handle. Even just that muscle-bound man from yesterday's four, he couldn't beat.
Couldn't fight them. No one would 'uphold justice' for him. Could it be... the ring was truly lost forever?
—If he had weapons like guns or bombs, dealing with such small-time thugs shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, forget about having the materials; even if they were laid out before him, he wouldn't know how to make them!
Lin Feng was suddenly filled with intense regret: If I'd known I was going to 'transmigrate,' I should have stocked up on useful knowledge!!
"Seems I can only plan slowly. That muscle-bound man should only be at the mid-stage Qi Refining realm, at most Stage Six. He probably couldn't break the seal on the ring yet. As long as he has the ring, there's still a chance to get it back..." Lin Feng pondered slowly. "First, find out where those people are, what their usual routes are, then look for an opportunity..."
"My strength is too weak now. If I could advance to Qi Refining Stage Four, the chances of success would be greater..."
Thinking of this, Lin Feng stood up. He crouched and pulled a two-foot-long wooden box from under the bed. Opening it revealed seven faintly glowing white spirit stones arranged neatly inside, along with a tattered manual and a foot-long short sword that was slightly rusted and cracked.
—This was the sum total of Lin Feng's worldly possessions: seven low-grade spirit stones, one lowest-tier cultivation manual, and one nearly ruined low-grade magical weapon.
"Seven low-grade spirit stones... I wonder if it's enough to successfully reach Qi Refining Stage Four..."
Lin Feng frowned slightly, reaching in to take out the damaged low-grade magical weapon. At least I have one usable artifact. It's damaged, but still better than mortal weapons...
Lost in thought, Lin Feng stared at the short sword in his hand, a strange, indescribable feeling welling up inside him. Then, a string of utterly astonishing information flashed into his mind...
Equipment Damage: 70%
Repair Materials Required: Grade One Refined Iron.
"..."