"There are those who were blessed with the gift to destroy mountains with just a single finger. I was not one of them, and I will never become one of them." -- Yun Hao, The Duplicator, the Year 2020

A few thousand years ago, people with special abilities called Cultivators roamed the earth freely; without consequence, without purpose, and without any barriers.

They hunted and hunted the creatures that the world once found abundant to almost extinction. They did it for pride, for power, but most importantly…

...for money.

Wars upon wars, they made. Graves upon graves, they built; dragging those of the normal population into their silly pursuit for immortality. But what could normal humans do? Even the weakest of the Cultivators, those of the Early-Stage of the Mortal realm, could beat the strongest champions of the normal population.

With this, the normal humans were treated as 2nd class citizens of the world; almost as a slave, even. It wasn't until year 142, exactly 142 years after the death of the oldest and strongest Cultivator that a World Government composed of the noblest of the Cultivators was born.

The World Government, now known globally as the Confederation, outlawed discrimination and any inhumane treatment towards the normal population. It did not stop there, however.

The Confederation also outlawed the hunting of Magical Beasts for Cores, as they were growing too few in numbers. The Cultivators were also required to register themselves at the Confederation. Those who fail to do so would be treated as a Rogue Cultivator and will instantly be thrown to jail or sometimes crippled if deemed dangerous.

But also because of this, the population of the Cultivators started to suffer. They dwindled in numbers, with most of the small clans completely disappearing on the surface of the earth.

The Confederation was found impartial… but not for long.

They figured out a way for the normal population to unlock their potential, allowing them to become Cultivators.

This paved way for a new age-- an age of opportunity, of progress, and most importantly, of peace.

And now, the present year, 2021, the world has become a much better place for the normal population to live in. Some Cultivators still treated them as 2nd class citizens, of course, but it was not like the past, where they could play with their lives as they pleased.

While Innate Cultivators, those who were born with already the power to harness their qi, were treated almost as celebrities and royalty.

In this day and age, every person in the world wanted and craved to be a Cultivator.

Yun Hao, a former star athlete and a student of Tsinghai Highschool, the most prestigious high school in the country of Qin, was not one of those people.

...at least not until he lost everything.

"Brother Yun, can you buy me milk tea at the cafeteria?"

"What? But class is--"

"Ah! Get me one as well!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Me three!"

In a certain classroom in Tsinghai High School, a tall student, whose left face was covered by his long black hair, was currently being bombarded by coins by the other students.

"Wait, guys…" The tall student, Yun Hao, could not help but utter a complaint as his hands could no longer fit the coins that were being handed to him. It all happened so fast that he was not even able to refuse them, and the class was already starting.

The students of Tsinghai High school housed some of the sons and daughters of some of the wealthiest families in the country of Xin, so why exactly were they giving him coins rather than a full bill?

Did they also not have credit at the cafeteria to buy their milk tea cravings!? And why were they ordering him around in the first place!?

Yun Hao could only let out a small sigh as he shook his head as he already knew the answer to that-- he was being bullied.

He was being bullied by the classmates he once called friends. But what can he do? He could barely afford to stay in high school ever since he lost his boxing scholarship, if he caused a scene now, he would surely be kicked out-- and that was the best-case scenario.

If he even looks at these people in the wrong way or somehow offends them, he might even lose his job, or worse, they might just erase him from the face of the earth. They had money, Cultivators… they can do that.

And so, with that thought, Yun Hao could only grit his teeth, carefully putting the coins in his pocket as he walked towards the hallway. But as he was about to step out of the classroom, one of the students slid his foot on his path, causing him to trip and the coins to drop on the ground.

With Yun Hao's face planted on the floor, the echoes of the coins repeatedly clanging on the floor drummed in his ears, accompanied by the waves of laughter of his classmates, as if a choir completing the orchestra of Yun Hao's shame.

Yun Hao's breaths started to get heavy as he lifted himself up, his hair, which previously covered half his face was now pushed to the side, revealing his handsome face which was blemished by a huge scar trailing from his eyebrow to his chin. It also revealed his left eye, completely gray and blind.

He quickly fixed his hairstyle, covering half of his face once more as he looked towards the student who tripped him. Yun Hao was angry, and it was made obvious by the expression on his face and his steps, which completely shut the mouths of the other students that were still laughing.

Yun Hao wasn't just tall. With his years of training as a boxer, he was built differently from the rest of the students. Even with his baggy uniform, the muscles that sculpted his body could be seen through it.

"W… what do you want!?" The boy who tripped him could not help but stutter as he saw Yun Hao walking towards him with his hands rolled into a fist, he wanted to back away, but alas, his butt was blocked by the desk behind him. "You… Do you dare hit me!?"

With Yun Hao only feet away from him, the student tried his best to stand his ground as he looked up straight towards Yun Hao's face. Beads of sweat started to form on the student's face as the thought of Yun Hao retaliating surfaced in his mind. He… wouldn't do it, right?

And he was right. Yun Hao didn't do anything as he only crouched down, picking up the coins that were around his classmate's feet. He tried his best to control his anger. One wrong move and it was all over for him.

Yun Hao could only swallow this humiliation as he proceeded to pick up the scattered coins one by one.

"Ha… haha!" Seeing as Yun Hao was not going to do anything to him, the student once again burst out in laughter, "That's right! Maybe you can work as a janitor next since you are so good at picking up trash!"

The student continued to laugh as he wiped the sweat that formed on his face. And his laughter also once again ignited the laughter of the others, satisfied at watching the scene of Yun Hao being a miserable prick.

Yun Hao was once the superstar of Tsinghai High School-- he stood on top of it. Scholarships, interviews, a magazine cover. He had it all. He was even invited by one of the top Cultivator clans to join them, offering to open up his meridians for him to become a full-fledged Cultivator.

But he refused-- a mistake he was paying for until now.

***

AUTHOR'S NOTE - Hello, this is my try at a cultivation in a modern world with, of course, my own twist on it. As well as my entry for the WSA, biggest contest in this Platform. I wanted to try something very different. So, If you like it, please do vote for it once you are able to so we can win something T_T. Thank you very much for reading, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this.