Chapter 1

Wang Xuan slowly woke up from the endless darkness, feeling a splitting headache and the lingering pain from being hit head-on by a large truck, making even breathing feel extremely difficult.

"Guess I really have a strong will to live! I was hit so far by a truck and still didn't die!"

He endured the waves of pain, forcing his eyes open, and found himself staring at a wooden ceiling.

"Strange! Where am I?"

Feeling very puzzled, he continued to look around, taking in the surroundings.

At this sight, he almost cried out in shock!

He saw that he was lying in a strange small room, with tatami mats on the floor and several ink paintings hanging on the walls. The scene was exactly like a typical Japanese house in an anime.

Wang Xuan was surprised and looked down, only to find that he was wearing a kendo uniform commonly seen in anime, and more importantly, his hands were delicate, the size of a child's!

This meant—

"I've been transported to another world! And... I've become a child!"

"Hisss—"

At this moment, many fragments of memory suddenly surfaced in his mind, making his head feel as if it were about to explode, and his breathing became rapid and labored.

After a while, the scattered memory fragments were fully absorbed, and his breathing gradually stabilized. Wang Xuan was drenched in sweat, but his heart was filled with bitterness— "So, I really did die!"

He was hit solidly by a truck that suddenly appeared, dying on the spot. However, the crystal plate he had bought from an antique shop and always wore as a pendant suddenly emitted a bright light, enveloping his soul and tearing open a spatial rift, bringing him to this world and possessing the body of this unfortunate person.

The current body was that of a twelve-year-old boy named Ryūdō Reikan, the eldest son of the head priest of "Ryūdō Temple" and the first choice to be the next head priest!

In Ryūdō Reikan's memory, his father, the head priest of Ryūdō Temple, was one of the few true mages with spiritual power in the entire town. There were fewer than five mages with such spiritual power.

As the only great mage of Ryūdō Temple, his father often went out to exorcise demons and spirits, earning fees to maintain the temple and cover daily expenses. Since Ryūdō Reikan, who was born with great spiritual power, reached the age of three, his father devoted most of his attention to teaching and nurturing him, day after day, year after year, until he was twelve.

Ryūdō Reikan himself had outstanding qualifications as a mage. In just nine short years, he had reached the peak of being a mage apprentice, and becoming a full-fledged mage was just a matter of time.

A few days ago, Ryūdō Reikan took on an exorcism task on his own while his father was away. Due to his lack of experience, he was overwhelmed by the demon. By the time his father arrived to rescue him, he was already unconscious.

"Screech—"

Just as Wang Xuan's mind was in chaos, the door was suddenly pulled open from the outside, and a three- or four-year-old boy ran in. Seeing that he was awake, his eyes lit up, and he pounced in front of Wang Xuan, calling out in a babyish voice, "Brother, you're awake."

The little boy spoke heavily accented Japanese, but Wang Xuan, having absorbed Ryūdō Reikan's memories, understood what he was saying and knew his identity.

He was Ryūdō Reikan's four-year-old younger brother—Ryūdō Ichise!

Looking at the little boy who was affectionately and worriedly watching him, Wang Xuan felt a mix of emotions and was dazed.

"Brother? Are you okay?" Ryūdō Ichise, seeing his brother's dazed expression, waved his small hand in front of his eyes, asking worriedly.

"No, no! Ichise, go out first. Brother needs to rest a bit more. We'll play together later," Wang Xuan came to his senses, forcing a smile, and patted Ichise's little head.

"Okay, brother!" Ryūdō Ichise's mouth curved into a smile, his big, bright eyes sparkling, "Let's pinky promise, and the one who lies is a puppy!"

Looking at the serious Ryūdō Ichise, Wang Xuan couldn't help but laugh and cry. Because he often focused on training, "he" often stood Ichise up, which led the little boy to develop the habit of making pinky promises for everything. He subconsciously reached out to pat Ichise's little head, then extended his hand and smiled, "Alright, let's pinky promise!"

Although Ryūdō Reikan had become Wang Xuan, after the memory fusion, his habits and personality had also merged into Wang Xuan's soul, so making such a promise felt completely natural to him.

"I knew brother was the best!"

Ryūdō Ichise made the pinky promise with Wang Xuan, then excitedly cheered and ran out, not forgetting to carefully close the door as he left.

"Brat!"

After Ryūdō Ichise left, Wang Xuan softly laughed and scolded, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Since I'm here, I might as well settle in! Since being transported to another world is a fact, I should first adapt to the environment!" Thinking this, Wang Xuan slowly sat up, walked to the tatami mat, and slowly stretched his limbs, calming his mind. Then, he sat in the posture he remembered and began his first cultivation according to the methods passed down through generations of Ryūdō Temple.

With Ryūdō Reikan's memories and cultivation experience, Wang Xuan quickly entered the state of cultivation.

His mind gradually calmed, his eyes gently closed, and he stopped thinking, shutting out all external senses. The chaotic images in his mind flashed by one by one, all being cleared away...

After a moment, Wang Xuan entered a very mysterious state.

Compared to the noisy, changing, and colorful real world, this place was extremely quiet and vast. The boundless aura was like a massive nebula slowly rotating...

Wang Xuan, at the center of the nebula, observed quietly. Everything was so familiar, yet so strange. In a daze, Wang Xuan felt as if he had returned to his mother's womb, surrounded by warm and affectionate auras, which made him involuntarily fall into a state of no thought, completely entranced and unable to pull himself away.

Faintly, he felt streams of fine currents continuously flowing out from the massive nebula, directly entering his body. In these streams, the essence of the nebula was systematically converted into a pure force, which was then absorbed and stored by Wang Xuan's body.

He was clear that this force was the spiritual power on which mages relied for survival!

Due to the discomfort in his body, Wang Xuan soon exited the state of cultivation. However, even so, his body had been nourished and repaired by the spiritual power, reducing the pain significantly.

Opening his eyes, he felt a bit uncomfortable and couldn't help but look down at his body. The sweat from earlier had made him feel damp all over. Now that he had more control over his body, he immediately felt the discomfort.

After some thought, he stood up and, relying on the memories in his mind, found a clean set of casual clothes in the wardrobe and changed into them. Then, he pulled open the door and slowly walked out of the room.

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