“Damn it, I actually feel pain. Am I not dead?”
Ling Xiao opened his eyes and muttered softly.
“Xiao’er, you’re awake! Your mother was worried sick!”
A simply dressed woman, yet not without grace, wiped away her tears and caressed Ling Xiao’s face as she spoke.
“What’s this? What’s going on? Although this guy is also good at picking up girls, this really seems like…”
As Ling Xiao thought this, his head suddenly throbbed with pain, and a flood of hazy memories surged into his mind.
Seeing Ling Xiao’s bewildered expression, the woman quickly grasped his hand and said:
“Xiao’er, Xiao’er, what’s wrong? Is anything else bothering you? Don’t scare your mother like that.”
“No, no, Mom, I, I’m fine.”
Ling Xiao quickly stammered out his reply.
Damn it, this guy actually transmigrated!
Ling Xiao then realized he was no longer on Earth, but had transmigrated to a world called Xuanling Continent. He had fought a great battle with the four super experts of the Ghost Sect, and in the end, self-destructed his dantian, which should have been the complete end of him. He hadn’t expected his luck to be quite good, to have transmigrated and revived. And the woman before him was the mother of this body, Meng Xiyun.
Meng Xiyun looked at Ling Xiao with a pained heart and said:
“It’s good that you’re alright. From now on, don’t go practice martial arts anymore, so you won’t always be bullied by them. I see your father is also like this, and my heart aches!”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you, Mom. Mom, could you go out for a bit first? I feel a bit tired and want to rest more.”
Ling Xiao forced a smile and said.
“Alright, Mom won’t bother you anymore. You go back to sleep for a bit; Mom will go brew some medicine for you.”
Meng Xiyun wiped away a tear, nodded, pulled the blanket up for Ling Xiao, and then left the room. As she went out, she didn’t forget to close the door properly.
Ling Xiao had intentionally asked Meng Xiyun to leave; he wanted to sort out the chaotic memories in his head.
An hour later, Ling Xiao opened his eyes and let out a heavy breath:
“The situation is better than I imagined. At least this guy is still alive.”
Ling Xiao sorted through the original memories of this body and realized he had transmigrated and been reborn into the body of another ‘Ling Xiao’ from the Ling family in Meteorite City. As for why he had acquired this body, it could only be attributed to the saying, “It was destined long ago in the dark.”
The original ‘Ling Xiao’ was originally the most outstanding cultivation genius of the Ling family’s eighteenth generation. At the age of fifteen, he broke through the Profound Practitioner stage to become a low-level Profound Warrior, earning him the reputation as Meteorite City’s number one genius.
Unexpectedly, a beautiful tree is always the first to be felled by the wind!
Not long after the original ‘Ling Xiao’ became a Profound Warrior, he was ambushed by someone and had all his meridians crippled. From being a glorious Profound Warrior, he became an ordinary commoner, not even considered a martial apprentice. From then on, his reputation as the number one genius turned into that of a cripple, not even as good as a commoner.
In a world where martial arts were revered and martial might was king, and being a member of the Ling family, the number one family in Meteorite City, being unable to practice martial arts meant he was destined to live out a dull and ordinary life.
However, the original ‘Ling Xiao’ possessed an unyielding and resilient character and began to cultivate from scratch again. Unfortunately, after two years, it was all in vain. Throughout those two years, he endured the ridicule and mockery of the Ling family and the world, living only in silent endurance, powerless to do anything.
But two days prior, Ling Rui, the grandson of the Ling family's Fifth Elder, provoked 'Ling Xiao' and ultimately went so far as to insult his parents. Although 'Ling Xiao' was a tiger fallen into the plains, allowing others to mock him at will, he could not tolerate anyone insulting his parents. Thus, suppressing his anger, he attacked Ling Rui. Unfortunately, with his cultivation base crippled, how could he be a match for a low-level Profound Practitioner like Ling Rui? He was beaten half to death on the spot.
This was how Ling Xiao ended up lying in bed!
…
"A world of the strong, huh? Even better!"
Ling Xiao's eyes gleamed with confidence as he spoke. He climbed out of bed and felt his own weak body, touching the fatal blow to the back of his head, where a swelling still hadn't subsided.
"Let me help you avenge this grudge."
Ling Xiao sighed, then began to survey the room's surroundings.
The room was fairly spacious, though simply designed. Besides a large one-and-a-half-meter bed, there were a few chairs and a tea table. Most noticeable was the wooden stake in the corner. It wasn't hard to imagine how diligently the original 'Ling Xiao' had cultivated, only for it all to be in vain.
*Creak* The door opened. This time, a middle-aged man with a bold demeanor entered, approximately thirty-seven years old. He had sharp features, a high nose bridge, and eyes that were chaotic and spiritless. Dressed in a grey robe, he held a bottle of wine in his hand. In his previous life, this image might have belonged to a typical lady-killer, but in this life, he was merely a disheartened and unbearable middle-aged man.
This middle-aged man was Ling Xiao's father, Ling Zhan. He was also a cripple whose meridians had been destroyed. The father-son duo were the infamous 'Cripple Father and Son' of Meteorite City.
Over a decade ago, Ling Zhan was also a rare genius in Meteorite City. Although not as monstrously talented as Ling Xiao, he had broken through the Profound Practitioner level at eighteen, achieving the Profound Scholar stage. By twenty-five, he was already at the peak of the Profound Scholar stage, just a step away from becoming a Spirit Master, a rank among the few supreme experts in Meteorite City. Unfortunately, his promising future also ended in crippling defeat. His situation was identical to Ling Xiao's current one, truly thought-provoking.
Ling Zhan glanced at Ling Xiao, took a swig of wine, and said profoundly:
"How do you feel?"
Ling Xiao looked at this convenient father figure before him and said:
"Not dead yet!"
"That's good!"
Ling Zhan sat on the edge of the bed and suddenly said to him:
"Want a sip?"
Ling Xiao didn't stand on ceremony, snatching the wine bottle from Ling Zhan and tilting his head back for a gulp. The burning sensation filled his entire body, from his limbs to his bones, making him let out an involuntary sigh of comfort before taking a few more gulps.
In his previous life, he had also drunk a fair amount of strong liquor, such as Shāodāozi, Nǚ'ér Hóng, Chénnián Lǎojiào…