Chapter #28

Zeno was rowing on the River of Reincarnation once more, he was quite relaxed as he was still reminiscing about his time in Prototype. 'It wasn't the vacation I needed but it was still nice.' He mentally nodded.

[Does that mean I am finally free from doing menial work inside a flesh puppet!?] System was excited as well. It could finally go back to being lazy and watch anime though its connection to the River. It worked like an multiverse internet connection. That ability was something it never told Zeno about because it knew it he wouldn't let him enjoy it

'No, you will be too busy managing the Hive Mind in the future, after all I don't have reservations when it comes to enslaving my enemies.'

[...] System deflated instantly.

{Sorry pal, it was nice knowing you.} Ouryuu consoled the poor Origin before going silent.

Zeno rowed what seemed to be for days, he was looking for world symbols but no matter how long he rowed he couldn't see a world with a symbol.

[It seems Merlin updated River's software. Symbols were removed, the change log just said 'Believe in yourself'.]

'...' Zeno sighed. He decided to close his eyes and keep rowing in random directions until he comes across a world.

_______

This time Zeno opened his eyes inside a dumpster, from what he could feel around he concluded that he is indeed a baby. It was rather obvious to Zeno that he was an unwanted child but why throw him into the trash.

'System?' Zeno had an idea and glared at his system.

[*Innocent Whistling*]

Zeno just sighed and decided to let this matter drop, he can torture his system when he is not deep inside a trash bin. So, he liquefied his body and seeped out of the bin before he reconstructed his body. This time he brought himself to the age of twenty-four.

'I don't want to deal with useless things like school, unless I have to go for a waifu. Still, I am going to need an ID if I have to stay here for twenty years.' He thought.

"Well, next step. Find out which god forsaken country I am in!" Zeno leaped on top of a building. It was midnight and there was no one nearby, Zeno didn't mind using his powers.

Looking over the city, Zeno didn't find any familiar sights, but he could see that he was in a modern setting. And he could conclude that he is in China of all places...

'The locations I find myself generally point out to a clue regarding which world I am in. Don't tell me I am in some Chinese novel!' Zeno thought.

He would rather not be in a cultivation story, especially with his bloodline. He probably wouldn't be able to hide anyway. Zeno tried sensing around himself, looking for some unperceivable energy but he came up with nothing.

'Set up a search engine for places we know.' Zeno quickly ordered the system.

[Sure.]

________

While the search was progressing Zeno decided to get himself an ID. China wasn't at the top of his list of places to live but he could manage. Zeno could always go back to his motherland but he found it tedious to travel such a distance.

Zeno went through the dark web trying to find someone that could forge him an ID. Zeno soon found himself before a man with white hair, his whole presence screamed danger to Zeno's senses.

Zeno tried to make sense of what's going on but no matter how he looked at it the man in front of him was normal. Zeno trusted his senses and quickly got his forged documents before leaving soon as he can.

"Good day fellow daoist." Man bid him farewell before his phone rang. He was even doing the sign the daoists do. Zeno replied the same, his awkwardness hidden behind his perfectly replicated moves.

Just when he was leaving he heard the man speak to his phone, the contents of his speech and how he was greeted allowed him to realize where he was.

"Senior Yellow Mountain? What? Senior White needs a driving license? I will handle it immediately." White haired man's face turned weird at the mention of Senior White. Meanwhile Zeno was frozen at where he was. His ming trying to comprehend how he ended up in Cultivation Chat Group.

[Merlin?] Zeno agreed with the system.

'Since I am here, it might be nice to see Shuhang, maybe I'll even get to shake hands with Senior White.' Zeno thought like a fanboy. He still remembered the chapter where Shuhang touched Senior White. That chapter impacted him greatly.

He never considered the possibility of Senior White subduing him to become his new pet. After all, Zeno is a rare specimen.

Zeno quickly made his way to Jiangnan University, he quickly hacked the school systems to locate Shuhang. He had all the information but, he just couldn't find him. Zeno literally searched the entire city but he couldn't find them.

He found the garage full of disposable cars, he found the spot where Senior White had fallen and filled it up with a spell. He even went to the village where Senior White was being worshipped. He went to the hospital looking for Sixteen, he found nothing at all.

'The fuck is going on!?' Zeno was frustrated.

Joseph can casually run into Shuhang but he can't find the guy when he is looking. Just then Zeno's eyes caught something, some shady looking individuals were chasing after what seemed to be an Foreign Monk.

'...' Zeno felt something in him broke.

[I believe we can take this as a sign to become an aesthetic monk.] System said seriously.

{Hmm, Buddhahood is a good path for one such as I.} Ouryuu agreed.

Sighing to himself Zeno quickly went after them. 'I can hopefully get the Ksitigarbha Soul Ferrying Technique and that Diary of an aesthetic monk from him.' Zeno reignited his hopes. Karmic Virtue was something utterly broken, it can protect, it increases luck. It can even help your relatives through their connection to you.

Zeno quickly caught up to them, the now obvious ghost cultivators were attacking the monk through invisible attacks. Zeno who had no cultivation had no way of seeing them. Furthermore it didn't seem like he was able to sense spiritual energy.

'I can worry about that later.' He thought as he backstabbed a ghost cultivator. The protection of their talismans held but only for a second before they crumbled under Zeno's blade.

The ghost cultivators were not even at the second stage. Zeno had no problems killing them. Zeno didn't consume them, just took samples of their blood. It wouldn't do him any good if he consumed them in front of the Monk.

Meanwhile the pressure Monk faced reduced significantly. He quickly handled the ghosts by bringing them salvation.

"Thank you fellow daoist." The monk greeted him. Foreign Monk noticed his savior's lack of cultivation but he could also sense the draconic presence inside him. 'He helped me even with his crippled state. How am I going to repay such kindness?' Foreign Monk was emotional.

To any cultivator out there, Zeno came off as a crippled dragon. Even Senior Snow Wolf gave him a discount by giving him the ID with mortal money. Naturally Zeno didn't know anything about this, he was certainly lucky that he didn't run into someone evil.

"Don't mention it, I was just passing by." Zeno waved him off.

"Is there anything I can do for you to repay this kindness fellow daoist?" Foreign Monk asked.

"Well, I noticed how you handled those ghosts..." Zeno chuckled wryly. Zeno was trying not to look creepy but to Foreign Monk he seemed sadder.

'He is probably trying to recover by accumulating Karmic Virtue. What an unrelenting will to cultivate.' Foreign Monk was emotional once again. He quickly took out the books he found, these were the books he learned the Ksitigarbha Soul Ferrying Technique from.

Zeno thanked the Monk before he read the books on the spot. He read the soul ferrying technique first then moved to the diary. This diary is actually imbued with a type of spell, those who don't know true compassion would suffer the contents of the book and eventually die.

Being a sociopath, Zeno naturally didn't qualify but he hoped he could pull it off like Shuhang had done. Unfortunately it didn't work, the moment he arrived at the end, Zeno died. Causing a paradox since he was immortal by his bloodline's power.

His soul too had become immortal once he progressed enough with his past life's memories. Having a supercomputer for a brain helped him speed things up. Now Zeno was stuck in between life and death with no way out since he didn't know compassion.

'...' Zeno.

[...] System.

{...} Ouryuu.

Right then Zeno blacked out, he seemed to hear Merlin laughing at the back of his mind. Once he opened his eyes again, Zeno was covered in golden light. The light itself gave him a type of warmth he had long forgotten.

'This was the feeling wasn't it.' Zeno thought bitterly as he reveled in the feeling of compassion. Soon Zeno understood Ksitigarbha Soul Ferrying Technique and found himself back at the River of Reincarnation.

He was feeling rather peaceful until his little boat was knocked off course by a violent wave.

[Shit, bitch is on us! Get your shit together Zeno!]