Prologue: A Mysterious Child

January 3, 2048, New York City

The sun was setting and it was already evening. 6:00 pm. Jack Whitney, all of 22 years old, a HR Alliance Monster Spoils Traders, was reading a rather thick book while sitting on a soft plush chair. He had gained this well paying job at the age of 18 years old because his late father was a fighter for the HR Alliance. His job was to purchase monster spoils from fighters, but not many fighters came by to sell. Hence, he was usually left alone in solitude.

“The Grand Nirvana Period, huh? With the arrival of the global disaster, the true strength of humanity was exposed to the world. With the arrival of the apocalypse, the evolution of humankind took place…” As Jack read the words, his face wrinkled as he thought of the millions that had died during the ‘Nirvana.’

Some praised it, believing it to be God offering mankind salvation.

Some cursed it, believing it to be the Devil destroying humanity.

But none could escape it.

Grand Nirvana, the apocalypse of 2013 that reduced the human population to less than 20% in a single year.

…

It was 7:00 pm. Jack was still leisurely reading the thick book. Just then, a small bell rang, the sound signifying the door being opened.

Jack looked at the person who had opened the door. It was not a rugged fighter who had come to trade spoils of battle. It was a young boy, who looked to be around 7 years old.

The young boy was wearing dirty clothes, and looked like he had never bathed once in his life. “A street urchin? What is he doing here?” Jack frowned for a moment. The door to the HR Alliance Trading Store was guarded by two fighters. How had this kid entered inside?

The kid stared at Jack for a moment. The stare unnerved Jack. Recovering his composure, he asked, “What are you here for, kid?”

The kid thought for a moment before answering. “My name is Yulian. I want to join the HR Alliance as a fighter.”

“Young enough to suck your mother’s tits and you want to a fighter? Go home, brat!” Without even thinking, he quickly answered. This kid wants to be a fighter? Was a fighter something a 7 year old brat could even dream of becoming?

The kid, newly identified as Yulian, frowned for a moment. Then, he thrust out his palm. A simple twirl of his fingers, and the book that Jack had been reading speedily flew onto his palm.

Jack’s pupils narrowed in surprise. “Y-you… are a Spirit Reader?”

Yulian smiled, a smug grin on his face. “Still believe I can’t be a fighter?”

…

‘Oh, this guy quickly changed his track.’ Yulian and Jack were eating in a restaurant. At the moment, Yulian was munching on some chicken cutlets while the Monster Spoils Trader was enjoying a sandwich. Both of them were waiting for the Spirit Reader who would verify Yulian’s Spirit Reading skill.

Yulian was now dressed in somewhat presentable clothes. He even had a nice hot bath to get the smell out of his body.

As Yulian chomped on the chicken cutlets, he idly thought about how he had suddenly woken up in this futuristic world. ‘It’s been only 3 days since I woke up in this body…’

Previously, Yulian was studying as a University student. While he was returning home, he was suddenly caught up in a gang shootout and was killed by a bullet.

Impossibly, he had woken up in the body of a 7 year old orphan with a telekinesis power! After some investigation, he realized that he had woken up in the xianxia novel, Swallowed Star!

He had fantasized about being summoned as a hero in another world, but he never thought about being reincarnated in a xianxia! Every xianxia took place in a horrible dog-eat-dog world where the people were all crazy killers! And he was now born into this world, and would train to be a crazy killer…

For a moment, he thought about getting himself registered in a orphanage, going to school and essentially living out his old life as a civilian… After all, Swallowed Star took place in 2050, hence this world was relatively modern! But then, he realized that in this crazy world, something like getting killed by the aura of an extremely powerful person was actually possible…

There were many ways of being killed, but the fact that he could die simply due to a person’s overwhelming aura, like a mosquito who flew near a flame and was killed by the heat… This type of death, would be the most horrible death!

Yulian decided that since he was summoned to this world, it must be his destiny to become a fighter… For what other reason would he end up being transported to this world?

Yulian finished off his plate of chicken cutlets. “Hey I want another plate!” Like a little brat, Yulian asked Jack to order another plate of chicken cutlets. The Monster Spoils Trader gave Yulian a bemused look, but still ordered another plate of chicken cutlets.

Like this, half an hour went past. Yulian made some small talk with Jack, but mostly concentrated on eating.

Suddenly, a black haired teenager wearing a trenchcoat came near their table. “Are you Jack Whitney, the HR Alliance Trader? I was called here to check whether some kid was a Spirit Reader.”

…

On hearing the cold voice of that teenager, a chill went through Yulian’s back. He realized that this teenager was one of the most powerful people in the current world! ‘This guy… can turn me into dead meat with a single thought!’

Evidently, Jack Whitney also understood that. He quickly greeted the teenager and narrated the entire story of his meeting with Yulian. After hearing everything out, the teenager’s lips curved into a half smile.

“My name is Catalan Paulinus… I am an Advanced-level Wargod Fighter and also a Spirit Reader. I don’t want to waste my time! Quickly show off your Spirit Force!” The teenager said that in a cold voice, sending chills through Yulian’s back. Meanwhile, the name ‘Paulinus’ also seemed familiar… Could it be the surname of some major character in Swallowed Star?

In front of Catalan Paulinus, Yulian decided to give his best impression. Using his Spirit Force, Yulian delicately levitated 4 knives and cut the roast chicken on his plate to evenly sized pieces.

“You have impressive control over your Spiritual Force for your age!” Catalan was shocked. He thought that some kid was trying to pull a scam, but it turned out that he actually was a Spirit Reader.

“Now, I am going to check your amount of Spiritual Force. Don’t move.” Saying this, the Catalan touched Yulian’s forehead. For a moment, Yulian felt a tremor in his body as some foreign force scanned it. Knowing this was the teenager’s Spiritual Force, Yulian allowed the force to scan his body without resistance.

After the scan was complete, Yulian looked at Catalan. The extremely powerful teenager… had an ugly look on his face!

“What a pity!” With his face like that, Yulian knew something was wrong. He braced himself for the bad news.

“Your Spiritual Force is strong! Too strong, perhaps. It’s a pity that your body is too weak. Due to the imbalance between your Spirit and Body…” Catalan’s words were suddenly cut off in between.

From the beginning, Yulian had been raptly listening to Catalan Paulinus’s words. After all, this was the first time he was privy to information about his mysterious Spiritual Force! “Um, what do you mean by ‘Imbalance between Spirit and Body’ and ‘Spirit Force’?” Yulian asked Catalan to elaborate.

Seeing Yulian’s expression, Catalan felt a wave of guilt roll through him. This kid was most likely an urchin who had accidentally discovered the ability to use Spiritual Force, and was optimistic about a new life, far from the streets! If he told the boy that he would most likely die in the next two years, the optimistic boy would certainly fall into the depths of despair!

Even though Catalan Paulinus was an extremely powerful Fighter who had killed many people, destroying an innocent kid’s dreams was still taboo for him!

“Kid, do you anything about the power you just used? It is called Spirit Force. Spirit Force is an extremely rare power, and nothing much is known about it. What is known, is that it awakens when a martial artist becomes extremely strong! Since you are a weak 7 year old kid, you can only use your Spirit Force for weak little tricks! That won’t help you when you become a Fighter!” Catalan’s words were watered down for a kid to understand, and the fact that Yulian would die if he failed to train himself was left unsaid!

“So what should I do? I live on the streets and can’t get any martial arts training! Also, I have heard that powerful martial artists have to eat an extremely large amount of food. Even if I use my Spirit Force to steal food, I won’t be able to get much!” Yulian was silently asking for food, shelter and training!

“Well, that isn’t any problem! Jack Whitney! I heard that you live alone in an HR Alliance mansion by yourself, right? Not only are you not married, you also live alone in your mansion… I think it won’t be too much trouble for you to adopt one little kid, right? Also, arrange for his training! As a young Spirit Reader, his talent as a fighter is limitless! When he becomes a Warrior-rank fighter for the HR Alliance, you will gain many benefits too!” Saying this, the teenager gave Jack a credit card.

Jack Whitney didn’t want to adopt Yulian, but how could he disobey the commands of the Wargod Spirit Reader surnamed Paulinus? It was likely that this guy was related to the Paulinus Family, which was one of the members of the HR Alliance! To not obey him would be the same as courting death!

“As you say, it would be my good fortune to adopt Yulian! I will certainly take care of him!” Quickly, he accepted the responsibility of adopting Yulian.

“Thank you mister! One day, I will certainly become a strong Fighter like you!”

“Let me give you some advice. From now on, do not use you Spirit Force until your strength reaches Fighter-level. When you become a strong Spirit Reader and join the HR Alliance, I will help you to quickly rise through the ranks!” Catalan Paulinus looked at the young kid and secretly sighed. Long ago, he too awakened as a Spirit Reader at the age of 18. Fortunately, he was the son of two powerful Wargods and thus, his genes were strong enough to withstand his awakening! Most would-be Spirit Readers weren’t so lucky! The Spirit Readers who awakened at a young age would generally die or turn into human vegetables during their awakening!

Catalan, being a veteran Spirit Reader, could sense that…

The kid before him hadn’t completely awakened his Spirit Force! To be able to use his Spirit Force before his awakening meant that he had limitless potential as a Fighter!

Unfortunately, this potential would never be realized!

Catalan looked at Yulian. This boy could use Spirit Force with a 7 year old untrained body. Even if he was the son of Hong himself, with the bloodline of the strongest existence above a Wargod, he would still die when he awakened!

But Catalan decided that he would allow the kid to enjoy his last 2 years of life to the fullest. After all, the thought of a Spirit Reader living on the streets and using the mighty power to steal food… was simply too distasteful!

…

The Wargod Spirit Reader left soon after that. He didn’t even bother ordering anything. Yulian and Jack also finished their meals and left the restaurant.

“So kid, looks like I am going to be your father now.” Jack Whitney didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he thought about how he had abruptly become a father.

“Don’t worry. I won’t call you ‘dad’ and you don’t have to call me ‘son’. I’ll say this, you just have to get me a martial arts trainer and let me live in your house and we’re done. No need for the whole father-son thing, and you don’t have to see my face if you don’t want to. After I become a Fighter, I’ll send you enough money that you don’t have to worry about taking a job for the next hundred years. How about it?” Looking at the 22 year old man standing beside him, Yulian was sure that this guy really didn’t need ‘child-raising’ on his task list.

“You don’t really sound like a child right now.” Jack was shocked at the kid’s tone. Hearing it, he felt that the childishness he had been showing before was just a façade.

“Well, I don’t really feeling like faking childishness in front of you. After all, we are going to be living together for quite a while.” In his previous life, Yulian lived in a gang-torn slum in Detroit with his mother. His father had left her long ago, and like this, Yulian didn’t really have a chance to have a childhood. When he was 13 years old, his mother died due to an illness and Yulian was left to survive all alone. He knew how to take care of himself.

“Well, you sound like you can take care of yourself. That’s good for me, I suppose.” Earlier, he had the thought of raising Yulian like his child, giving him the love his father failed to provide him, but on a second thought, this kid wouldn’t appreciate it at all.

Jack whipped out his cellphone and tapped the screen a few times. Two minutes later, a taxi with an HR Alliance sign on it stopped before the two! Amazingly, the car did not have a driver!

Yulian had difficulty keeping his face straight. This… was a driverless car! In 2014, Google’s HQ at Silicon Valley kept a few driverless cars running just to show that they could, but in 2048, it had actually been made commercial!

“Well, aren’t you going to get inside?” Jack motioned Yulian to enter the car.

Yulian quickly entered the car. After him, his new ‘father’ Jack followed. The driverless car began moving. To Yulian’s new home. To Yulian’s new destiny.