"Huh? Where am I…?"
Why is it so dim?
Did I fail to take over that man's body?
I found myself standing in a shadowed chamber. Before me stood a stern old man, his presence steady and overwhelming.
"Hoho… Fang Ryuu," he said, stroking his long gray beard. "You will be the future of the Fang Clan. With your talent, you shall lead this generation of geniuses."
His eyes sharpened.
"Remember this well. Our Fang Clan may be the wealthiest in the Laniakea Galaxy… but wealth does not equal power. Compared to the top three super galaxies, we are insignificant."
He stepped closer.
"You must work harder than anyone. The future of the clan rests on your shoulders."
"Yes, Grandfather," I replied, bowing deeply.
The strange part was—
The respect.
The excitement.
They weren't forced.
They were mine.
—
Shweesh.
The world blurred.
The chamber vanished.
Now I stood in an open grass field beneath a pale sky. Before me sat a wooden tub filled with steaming medicinal water.
"Ryuu, get in," Grandfather said calmly. "The medicinal bath will purge your impurities and strengthen your meridians."
"No… Grandpa, please…" My voice trembled as tears gathered in my eyes. "I don't want to."
"You will."
His tone did not change.
"My grandfather trained me this way. His father trained him this way. I trained your father this way."
He looked at me quietly.
"And you will be trained the same."
"No matter how much I love you, I will not break tradition."
Then, almost under his breath—
"Kid… what do you know? I begged my grandfather too. I begged and begged. But he told me the same words."
He sighed faintly.
"And he threw me in with his qi."
I took a step back.
"AAAAH! Grandpa, please! I promise I won't make fun of your beard ever again!"
Grandfather raised a single finger.
An invisible force lifted me into the air—
And—
Splash.
The boiling water swallowed me whole.
Sweesh!
The world shifted again.
I was back in the dim chamber.
The old man sat across from me, stroking his beard as if nothing in the universe could possibly disturb him.
"Ryuu, come. Sit. Have some tea. I have something to tell you."
His smile made something in my stomach tighten.
I sat down slowly.
"Do you know Mei Lei of the Flying Phoenix Sect?"
"Who doesn't?" I replied. "She's the most talented member of the Mei Clan. At only four hundred and twenty years old, she's already a peak Nascent Soul cultivator. Ranked ninth on the Heavenly Genius List of Laniakea."
Grandfather nodded.
"Yes. All correct."
He took a calm sip of tea.
"But you forgot one thing."
I frowned slightly. "No, Grandfather. I've memorized the profiles of everyone ranked second through tenth."
He looked at me.
"She is your fiancée."
Pffft!
Tea sprayed across the table.
"She's my what?!"
Grandfather did not even blink.
"Ryuu. You know I dislike repeating myself."
His voice was calm. Final.
"You also know my decisions are not open for negotiation."
"But, Grandfather—" I stood abruptly. "I don't want to marry someone I've never even met."
"You will."
His tone did not rise. It did not need to.
"It is our family tradition. We form alliances with talented individuals from powerful sects and clans. Political marriages strengthen bloodlines. Strength strengthens the Fang Clan."
He set the teacup down with a soft click.
"You were born into this family knowing your duty."
Sweesh!
The world shifted once more.
Now I stood by the edge of a quiet lake.
The water reflected a pale sky, rippling gently beneath a drifting breeze.
Beside me stood a woman in flowing crimson robes.
Her long black hair cascaded down her back like silk. Her eyes—deep red, calm and unreadable—rested upon the lake's surface. A delicate veil covered her face, but even through it, her presence felt… refined.
"Miss Mei," I said after a moment, breaking the silence. "May I ask what your thoughts are regarding this marriage?"
She did not answer immediately.
Instead, she looked toward the horizon before speaking.
"Mister Fang… I cannot say I have strong feelings about it."
Her voice was gentle, composed.
"But I respect my clan. And I respect the will of my ancestors."
A political answer.
Measured. Safe.
I studied her carefully.
"Miss Mei," I continued, "if you do not object to this union… would you lift your veil? I would like to see what my future wife looks like."
She stilled.
For a brief second, the wind seemed to pause.
"This…" She hesitated.
Then, softly—
"How about you remove it yourself after the wedding, Mister Fang?"
Her gaze shifted toward me.
"I would prefer my future husband to value me for who I am… not merely for how I look."
Her words were calm—but there was something beneath them.
Pride?
Insecurity?
Resolve?
I couldn't tell.
We remained there for hours, speaking of trivial matters—sects, cultivation, philosophy, even childhood stories.
It was not passionate.
It was not romantic.
But it was… peaceful.
And for the first time, I did not entirely resent the arrangement.
~Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh…~
The scenes kept shifting.
Memories unfolded one after another.
I watched Fang Ryuu speak gently to Mei Lei by the lake.
I watched him hand her priceless treasures, rare cultivation manuals, celestial artifacts.
I watched him wait outside her sect for days just to catch a glimpse of her.
Five hundred years.
Five hundred years of devotion.
Everything he did—
Every breakthrough.
Every risk.
Every treasure obtained—
Was for her.
His world had only two pillars:
That old tyrant of a grandfather…
And Mei Lei.
He cultivated under relentless supervision.
He chased after her like a loyal hound, wagging his tail at the smallest acknowledgment.
Until—
His soul was extinguished.
And absorbed by me.
...
"Gah!"
I gasped and opened my eyes.
Cold ground beneath me.
Above me, the night sky stretched endlessly.
A massive moon hung high, reflecting the seven lights of the Seven Suns of Planet Laniakea. The sky shimmered with cascading auroras, colors dancing like divine silk across the heavens.
It was breathtaking.
For the first time since arriving in this world—
I felt alive.
"I will live this life as I want to."
My voice echoed softly into the night.
"I will live every second to the fullest."
I clenched my fists.
"Planet Laniakea. Laniakea Galaxy. Be ready."
A grin spread across my face.
"Here I come."
"Awooooooooo—!"
Beside me, the three-headed dog Bai Bai howled toward the moon.
I laughed and wrapped my arms around the massive beast's neck.
"I will live with no regrets."
I laughed and wrapped my arms around the massive beast's neck.
"I will live with no regrets."
The words left my mouth softly—but something inside me shifted.
The memories no longer felt foreign. They no longer felt like borrowed fragments pressing against my mind.
They settled.
Like the final piece of a puzzle sliding into place.
The techniques.
The habits.
The reflexes.
I drew a flying sword from my spatial ring.
With a pulse of qi, the blade lifted me into the sky.
The wind rushed past my face as I soared forward.
I could have torn open a spatial rift.
But I didn't.
I wanted to feel it.
The sky.
The wind.
The strangeness of it all.
"Wow…"
Flying swords.
Qi.
Storage rings.
Immortality.
A world like the light novels I devoured as a kid.
And now—
It was real.
"I'm Fang Ryuu."
I smiled faintly.
"The young master of the Fang Clan."