When I regain consciousness, my field of vision has been reduced to the front of me: a face of a thousand battles, too seasoned for even death to pay them a visit. Wrinkles cover their face, and scars cover its crevices to ensure no part goes unmarked. Four giant rings, of different colors and materials, puncture each ear, starting from the ear lobe up, leaving the top of the ear empty.

It takes whatever self-control for me not to scream – spiritually. My body already screams double-duty. Feels funny and uncomfortable that I am aware of what my body is doing, even if it acts without my input. Almost like an autonomous mini-me. Now that’s a scary thought. Then again, I doubt I would pass off as a newborn baby without raising a multitude of flags. Probably for my benefit than anything else that this does happen.

I take a deep breath. I pause for another moment when I realize that I am actually breathing in air this time, not just pretending I am. Of course, my body takes the pause as interference, all too happy to resume screaming.

It feels weird to be back into the body. The spiritual mini-me has disappeared. I don’t think it’s a coincidence it disappears the moment I have some control over my body. Actually, come to think of it, I was so dimly aware of my physical situation in the womb I thought its absence was normal, given I had yet to be born.

Did the situation change from my breakthrough or birth? Impossible to tell, so I quell the thoughts. I check my soul strength: ‘120’. Odd, given I’m at best in the second soul realm and most adults can reach the third realm without issue. Is it because most adults only focus on their physical aspect? Or because the average is skewed with Divinities have a soul strength exceeding 50,000?

I have grown too comfortable ruminating. Redirecting my attention to the physical world, I feel like as though I step into another body as I begin to process the sensations – the cold bite of metal wire running up and down my torso; indecipherable chatter in the background; a sweet smelling incense is burning in the background; water droplets sliding down my body. The chatter sounds like gibberish, but given how people around me seem to be communicating, I can only accept it’s a language I don’t know – which is a big problem: I cannot talk to anyone effectively.

I look back at the person holding me – a doctor, or midwife at least. I did not notice before, but four metal earrings, fit for one’s thumbs, stab into each of their ears. An ascetic, I realize, if my knowledge about the Overthrowing the Heavens still holds any merits.

I frown at that thought. Why haven’t I thought about Xin Feng, Overthrowing the Heavens or anything about my past life over the last nine months?

I try to recall the earliest memory that I had – my first visit to the liberal arts college. I had been going to a community college before – cheaper and got my prerequisites out of the way so I could focus on more productive classes and things at a better school. I visited in the summer and that was a bad mistake – made me think the weather there would always be that good. Could not be further than the truth. Winter unveiled a world of ice and snow, where the wind chill made otherwise tolerable weather miserable. The experience would have been improved overall but things were finally getting better. Our guide did not tell us this, selling us on the education based on college ranking. A pleasant tour but could have been more informative or accurate. Especially the dorms – the dorm room that they show ever year on tour is the one good room in that entire dorm, for good reason.

My memories after that are fragmented at best, and anything before community college gone completely. That made very little sense – there would be very little point about hiding this fact, I was bound to notice this eventually, unless they removed all my memories. Perhaps to make me single-minded in cultivation? Helpful but a violation of my very soul.

The ascetic passes me off to someone else – a man, and given how much I am lowered to him, a rather short one. Long black hair flowing over his shoulders, on a thin red robe. He had a generous belly and size, but upon touching his belly, it felt like solid muscle. He has a giant smile plastered on his face, waving me around on one hand, animated as he tries telling me something I cannot understand.

His hold upon me lasts but a few moments before someone takes me away. A woman, who could not be much older than me before reincarnation, grabbed me. Her wavy blond hair stretched past her shoulders, stopping just short of her robes. Distinctly Asian, like Korean model, despite her blond hair. Though given her golden eyes, perhaps her hair wasn’t died. Hair and eye color in Overthrowing the Heavens seemed to follow a more Japanese anime pattern than everyone having brown or black, making differentiating the characters easier. Kinda.

I would be nervous, but turning into a newborn baby killed any sex drive I could possibly have – speaking of which, I am glad that I am still male. She chastised the man for a moment before turning me, laughing and smiling. She spent a few minutes holding me, bringing me close to the last person in the room, a woman lying on the bed, presumably my new mother. Or is it just mother? Reincarnated parents hierarchy is hard.

I settle for mother, until I am corrected, mainly because it is easy and everyone else seems to defer to her in interaction time with me. Her prim, proper black hair is wrapped in a bun with no makeup. Her green eyes glistened, recording all of me, despite giant bags under her eyes and the weary smile she had. Perhaps my qi absorption did not go as unnoticed and inconsequential as I once believed. She cried as soon as she held me in her arms, pulling me close.

Mother eventually calms down and two more people join the bed: the man and woman from before. The ascetic stood near the door, or at least the blurs of things similar height did. And the bonding continued, each moment getting more uncomfortable for me as the three grew more comfortable talking with each and interacting with me like some kind of doll. Not sure what would happen if I began deep meditation in my new state, I try the leisure meditation mentioned within the third scroll.

The technique in question appears readily in my mind, almost like I can visualize the words themselves. Not exactly needed though, since I read enough about it while grinding against my own soul. Interesting that I can navigate the scrolls without the help of a mini-me. Leisure meditation relies solely on my breath and the qi that I can collect within. While limited by my body cultivation, I can meditate a bit while paying attention to the world around me. And with some practice, I can even talk and play with others or even read.

I learn the technique within minutes, though not enough to do anything besides stare at anything in front of me. I thought it would take longer but apparently that leisure meditation is the first step to meditation, so it’s a cakewalk.

What I don’t account for is just how small my lungs are. So, each breath holds a pitiful amount of qi, which ironically makes it that much easier to collect. Compared to when I was in the womb, the amount of qi I collect is almost insignificant. Really frustrating. I even check to see my qi reservoir and find them three-quarters full. More than expected, especially since the rank-up should have emptied my reservoir, but I take it.

҉҉҉

Once I finally get the basics down properly to face reality, I find myself breastfeeding. Somehow surprising despite my newborn status. And since I can apparently activate my two baby skills passively – crying and feeding – I delve to deep meditation. Wise and experienced at twenty-one, I have more than enough breastfeeding experience for a lifetime already.

When I open my eyes once more, I lay within a medicinal bath – the smell of ginger still remains despite the floral scents aimed to soften it. The amount of qi I absorb does not seem to change – perhaps because the amount within the medicinal bath exceeds my absorption rate, but qi does enter my body out of my control anyway. Strengthening probably, though I never heard of it being used for newborns. I don’t feel weak. Perhaps some growth kick start to ensure I can cultivate young? Nobles did seem cultivate much faster than commoners.

Unfortunately, my eyes close, and my body weary, even despite I’m perfectly fine spiritually. So I enter deep meditation once more – there is nothing else I can do. There seems very little I can do besides weave better qi threads through my spirit to strength it. The second rank now requires stronger spiritual boundaries.

҉҉҉

The days pass quickly – as much of a relief seeing humans for the first time in over a year, the pandering gets rather grating outside of short bursts. Finding the quirks in cultivation seems much more interesting. Now that I have been born, daybreak and nightfall should be the two double-hours of the day most important for deep meditation. However, I have yet to find a difference cultivating during those double-hours and any time else. I have even cultivated before and after the actual daybreak and nightfall, in case I am off by an hour or so, but no changes. Perhaps I am unable to absorb the necessary amount of qi for the difference to matter or some other confounding variable, but finding such inaccuracies has almost become a game. The medicinal baths are the reason, but I spend multiple hours a day out of it and the amount of qi I absorb through deep meditation does not change.

Another difference is between deep and leisure meditations – if I do the former, I don’t need to sleep (my body still does, but my spiritual self does not). If I do the latter all day, I exhaust myself easily, though I do not know how long I ended up sleeping. Definitely more than necessary, but it’s not like the second realm is going anywhere fast. How does one turn gaseous qi to liquid. Some type of condensation, but the notes about only say what amounts to “get gud” in a couple thousand words and nothing more. Not sure how to respond to that. I consulted the now opened part of the scroll given my new rank increase, but nothing has become of that either – only telling me to “get gud” when I eventually have to condense my spiritual qi into solid at the third realm. Riveting.

I can figure it out eventually, but I trying to do so the past few days have been exhausting and unfulfilling. I’m missing some critical piece of info. But for now, there’s enough cultivation wise for me to do without delving into that rabbit hole.

A letter appears within my soul, unrolling itself immediately:

“Dear champion,

I am glad that the journey to the second realm has been swift and successful. I had been wondering if there would be any roadblocks in that particular path given your lack of cultivation background, but I am pleased to find my worries unfounded.

The second and third stages of Accumulation – the soul cultivation art – as you may have already realized considers the topic of qi compression, which can basically be done by forcibly confining a large amount of gaseous/liquid qi into a smaller area until it condenses to the next form. Naturally, qi is usually not like a rock even in solid form – the solid quality refers to having a stable boundary even without something else forcing it to remain in a particular shape. But that’s a consideration for the third realm.

However, Spirit Like Water has a mind component as well, not of cultivation – since the mind does not cultivate directly – but martial techniques that increase the strength of the mind, called Awareness. It may seem fine to put it off for a while, but let me correct that misunderstanding. It does not only concern physical sensation increases, but also helps you detect qi outside of your body and will be required to properly strengthen your soul’s boundaries in preparation for the third realm. Do not leave it unattended.

Besides that, I bring a technique to help you open your meridians – which later will help you change your bodies for disguises. Although the third realm is far off, I find it bad taste to delay physical cultivation so long when the meridians are easiest to open young. Once you open your meridians, you can strength the paths with qi, just like you do with your soul. Good luck.

Your greatest supporter,

Ascetic Li.”

I find a new scroll resting on the shelf, as well as the fifth scroll, the one I have yet to open, shining brightly. I open the fifth one and find it concerns Awareness, which seems to consider more than increasing sensory, physical and qi, but also helping me detect spiritual manipulation through qi once I get good enough. Interesting, I will have to try that once I get more familiar with leisure meditation – I can move while absorbing qi through leisure meditation now, though only a trickle compared to if I remain still. I’ll have it down pat in a couple more days.

As for the meridians and the new scroll, I’ll wait a bit on that. Xin Feng needed to use a Divine Item to open his up, so I doubt it will be as easy as Ascetic Li suggests – perhaps I can divert some deep meditation time to it. Only need about four hours a day to remain awake anyway – a couple more double-hours to ensure that Accumulation does not deplete my qi reserves completely.

҉҉҉

Awareness is officially some crap. It cannot improve any of my physical senses much, besides inducing displeasure. Not that there’s much to physically sense around anyway, but it seems that Awareness cannot compensate for physical limitations. It took me days to figure out, especially since my opportunities were limited - given I spent at least half of every day in medicinal bath. Not a shriveled prune yet, so that’s a win.

Qi Awareness saw much better progress – I can now see minute imperfections within the soul’s boundaries already and will be able to see much more pertinent and invasive flaws as I grow accustomed to the technique.

Opening meridians is bullshit, plain and simple. The idea behind it – removing the “impurities” of the meridians are old qi of the mother, an unfortunate inheritance, so my qi can follow through them – is a simple concept. The problem is that actually dredging that old qi takes my entire reserves to clear about an inch of meridians. I hestiate to even comprehend my journey - if blood vessels are any good indicator, that's easily tens of thousands of miles within my body. I’ll figure that out later – having storage space outside one’s dantian is really a boon but it takes too much time, effort and qi to even be considered right now.