1 Li Chen

An old man born and raised in England sat in his hospital bed, all alone as his life was drawing to a close. He began to reminisce about his younger days. Ah, he was full of vigour and life back then. His dull eyes were brighter, too. They had witnessed the eventual deaths of everyone he held dear, most of which were family. He was not one to find love or even make many friends, after all.

A few tears fell down his withered cheek.

He knew that the end of his life was drawing near.

'The afterlife... does such a thing exist? If so, where would I go? Heaven is too kind and Hell is far too cruel for someone like me. I was not a good person in life and neither was I particularly evil. Somewhere in the middle... is there such a place for a person like myself and what would that be?'

'Well, I'm off to my next great adventure.'

The old man managed a smile before closing his eyes for the final time.

Slowly and in a rather lazy manner, a young man entered the room. His outer appearance did not stand out much as he was wearing ordinary clothing. A hoodie, casual trousers and a pair of trainers.

He looked at the old man before slightly nodding. the way he looked at him was as if he saw through him, past, present and even... possible futures.

"Possible futures... hmm. You will do just fine." He smiled.

~Later

'When I thought about the next great adventure, I did not expect to be reborn in a place I believe to be ancient China. Rebirth itself sounds great. I have many regrets, among those regrets is my lack of ambition. I did not strive for anything more than I already had, I was content, which isn't a bad thing by any means. However, I felt like I was restricting myself from reaching something greater. In essence, I did not fulfil my full potential. At least, that's how I see it.'

'This world seems to be ancient China, yet some things are clearly different. Trees, mountains and even animals are massive compared to those on Earth. Yet humans are not any taller.'

'More importantly, this world has something called the Profound Way.'

'Everyone has a set of profound veins which allow them to gather profound strength. No one in this world is ordinary by any means, as the breakthrough to the Elementary Profound Realm is not difficult and grants the strength very few people could attain on Earth. Extraordinary has become ordinary as only the things accomplished by the few could be titled as extraordinary.'

Li Chen sighed.

'And I manage to be among the ordinary, as usual.'

'My next great adventure turned out to be that of a farmer's son in this unique and wonderful world. Anyone in my position would be greatly disappointed by this truth... as I am currently. After all these years, I've realised that nothing will change without action.'

'I must strive for something greater.'

Li Chen finally decided.

Li Chen's eldest and only brother would inherit the farm one day which meant that he played a larger role than Li Chen when it came to taking care of it. This gave him more time to do other things such as training his body.

Upon reaching the age of twelve, Li Chen started meditating. His talent was not anything special. He could only be considered average in his village, if not below-average. It did not take him long to realise this but he remained diligent nonetheless.

About two years later, Li Chen broke through into the Elementary Profound Realm. He could finally utilise profound energy, although a limited amount due to his low cultivation. He started to experiment with profound energy and some of the more common herbs his father grew during his free time. Li Chen did manage to keep it a secret as he did his experimenting in private, out of the sight of everyone else.

Although he did not have any proper training in the way of alchemy, he had common sense which led to him going in the right direction. However, this was not enough to accomplish anything significant. Making medicine required a recipe, control of profound energy and knowing the process of making medicine in the first place. All of these aspects were nearly impossible to attain in Li Chen's village.

Li Chen was simply using common knowledge and seeing what worked and what did not. As the days passed, Li Chen drew closer towards making something useful. Useful was an understatement but still, he was reaching something without any proper training which was commendable.

'Just a few more tries and I should get it right.'

Li Chen wiped the sweat away from his forehead using his right arm. His black eyes narrowed in on the cauldron as he tried creating something relative to a medical pill once more.

Upon failing again, he decided to meditate for a short while in order to absorb profound energy.

"Hmm, that is not how you make medicine."

Li Chen turned around to see an old man who stood near the door of his room. This old man came closer and inspected the cauldron, stroking his white beard.

"Not the best in terms of quality, haha." The old man laughed as he glanced in Li Chen's direction. "But it'll do. Try making the medical pill once more."

Li Chen nodded, deciding not to make a scene out of the sudden intrusion. When he was crushing the herbs, the old man did not speak. However, when it came to the next stage, he intervened.

"This is where one of your larger issues lay, your way of processing the herbs is inefficient."

"Do you know how to do it the right way?" Li Chen replied.

"Yes, I do. Allow me to show you."

...

Li Chen smiled as he looked at the product of his efforts and the old man's assistance. "Finally, something useful."

He looked at the old man. "It is thanks to your assistance that I was able to see the rest of my faults and improve on them. But, I'd like to know something. Who are you and how did you find me, senior?"

"I am a man who knows a few things when it comes to medical plants and producing pills. And how did I find you? Ah, I simply followed the scent of terribly made pills."

"But, it is rare to even see someone trying to make pills in a village like this. Never mind a young person such as yourself. Not only are you trying, but you're making progress despite the lack of any formal training. It is admirable, to say the least."

"Thank you for the praise." Li Chen replied.

The old man smiled before placing a book in Li Chen's hands.

"This is a book which contains the basic knowledge required. I will return in around three years to see if you have made any noticeable progress. If you manage to impress me, I'll consider taking you in as a disciple. Do we have a deal?"

This was exactly what Li Chen needed, an opportunity to reach something greater. Naturally, he agreed.

~

In 3 years, Li Chen had made it his mission to learn the book inside out and put its information to practice. It did not take long for his parents to notice... he could only hide his little secret for so long, after all. When he told them everything, they looked at him with pride and motivated him to keep practising. Also, it turned out that the person who provided him the book was, in fact, a medical saint.

Once the 3 years passed, Li Chen had reached the later stages of the Elementary Profound Realm and become a decent alchemist. Decent was an overstatement but compared to his fellow villagers, he was very much a developing expert.

Then... one sunny afternoon, the medical saint returned.

"You have certainly improved." He remarked, clearly impressed. "I take it that you still wish to be my disciple?"

"Well, of course."

"This would mean moving away from your home for long periods at a time. Are you prepared to do so?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm, I'll have to speak with your parents first."

Although it was difficult for them to let him go, Li Chen's parents decided to leave him in the hands of the medical saint.

And so, the prospect's first cultivation journey truly began.

~

Li Chen traversed many different lands under the medical saint, improving his skills with every new opportunity. Towards the end of his term as a disciple, he had learned almost everything from his master and grown into a capable alchemist. Still, despite travelling alongside him for over twenty years, there was still a mist of mystery surrounding the medical saint. He never told him his cultivation level or his name... ever.

"There is one last thing I'd like to teach you, Li Chen. It's a highly prized technique and one that requires perfect precision." The medical saint stroked his beard. "Remember when you first became my disciple?"

"You opened several of my profound entrances with a single finger... the famed One Finger Profound Opening!?"

"Correct." The medical saint nodded. "All this time I've been teaching you all that's required to learn the technique. Now, I believe that you're ready."

"That's great." Li Chen smiled.

"Don't get too excited, the One Finger Profound Opening is still a very complicated technique."

"I'm ready to do whatever it takes." Li Chen bowed in earnest.

"Then let us begin."

It took five years of endless hard work, restless nights and frightening dedication for Li Chen to finally learn the One Finger Profound Opening. Despite all odds, a mere farm boy had learned a technique that was known by a very select few. Of course, he had a great master to help him in doing so.

"Master, who really are you to know the One Finger Profound Opening and why did you choose me to be your disciple? I'm sure you had countless better options to choose from..."

"Ahaha." The medical saint laughed. "I've already taught countless aspiring medical experts in my time, all of whom came from rich families and the like. I wanted a change of pace, seeking more humble disciples... and I don't regret my decision. Out of every impoverished potential disciple, you made the most progress by far. Your work ethic... it's truly admirable."

"Master, you still haven't told me who you are."

"Well, there are three experts in the Profound Sky Continent that know this technique... four with you included."

"The guy from the Grand Asura Kingdom?"

"Gua Hong?" The medical saint laughed. "Comparing me to him is a bit insulting... here's a hint; I'm over a thousand and seven hundred years old."

"Xuanyuan Xiang!?"

"Mhm." He nodded. "Though, I no longer associate myself with the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. The competition for Sword Master... it was too much drama for a peaceful man like myself hence why I 'disappeared'."

"Why did you choose to learn medicine?"

"If you're talented enough, alchemy and cultivation levels come hand in hand. I've made several pills that would make my fellow family members drool. That being said... you probably want me to teach you our sword style, don't you?"

"... Maybe?" Li Chen admitted. "It's fine if you don't want to, Master. I'm more than honoured to learn alchemy from the great Xuanyuan Xiang."

"You're too modest, Li Chen." Xuanyuan Xiang tapped Li Chen's forehead with his index finger, imprinting the Mighty Heavenly Sword Arts into him. "Once you learn it, only ever use it in self-defence and to protect those who are close to you. Never use it to cause unnecessary violence... am I understood?"

"Yes, master."

A few days later, Li Chen's Master finally released him from his disciple status. He was given an expensive spatial ring that contained plenty of resources along with a top of the line cauldron.

"Use what I taught you for the greater good."

Those were the last words Li Chen heard from his Master.

Now, at the age of fourty-two, Li Chen was free to do as he wished. The very first thing he did was return home. When he had done so, he could only stare with hollow eyes.

Only ashes remained.

He clenched his palms into tight fists.

'Who the hell did this?'

Li Chen investigated thoroughly, visiting the local villages and towns for any kind of information. There were rumours that it was a group of bandits who burned down his village after its inhabitants did not comply with their demands. Despite the tragedy that had happened, none of the local cultivators cared. Their nonchalant attitude only enraged him further as he searched for the band of bandits.

Eventually, he did find them attempting to attack a local village. He swiftly beat them all to a pulp due to his vastly superior cultivation strength.

"Wait till our boss hears about this..."

"Why do you insist on being outlaws?" Li Chen questioned. "It will just get you killed, in the end. Abandon this way of life now before it's too late... I may be kind but the next expert who happens upon your misdoings won't be quite so gentle."

After a long lecture, he left them in the hands of the authorities while also gaining information on where their 'boss' was located.

'An Earth Profound expert just like me... this won't be easy.'

Xuanyuan Xiang had taught him medicine... but fighting other profound practitioners? The closest thing to that was the sword style he had yet to even learn. Instead of rushing into a battle that very well could've cost his life, Li Chen retreated and looked for someone more capable.

After doing a favour for a powerful sect, they sent a peak Earth Profound expert to clear the whole bandit hideout for him. Justice was served, in the end... though it was not done out of the sect's good heart. They had only bothered with the bandits because he developed several effective pills for them.

'This world... it's so twisted.'

He looked at the remains of the bandits. Although he had asked for the expert to spare the bandits if he could, he completely ignored their pleas as he cut them down one by one. Maybe it was for the greater good... after all, a dead man can't hurt anyone.

After that incident, Li Chen carried on his Master's teachings and became a renowned Medical Saint himself. Towards the end of his life, he was revered as the very best at his craft, having improved the lives of millions and saved just as many. Old age eventually caught up to him as he lacked the talent to break through to the Tyrant Profound Realm...

At the age of five hundred, Li Chen was satisfied with all that he had accomplished as he said farewell to the living world once more.