CHAPTER FOUR

Welcome

​Back on Earth, there was an order to things. A certain pattern, or custom one would say. You started life as a wide-eyed babe, innocent and untouched by the harsh reality that awaited you, deceived by visions of a structured society, a place where everyone knew their place and followed the script. You are sold dreams of equality and justice, a world where everyone has a chance to be whatever they want, so long as they work hard enough and believe in themselves.

Alas, you poor gullible thing, it was all a lie.

You see, we are but players, yet the stage is rigged, the script written by the few who hold power. They tell you that you are free; that you can be anything you want. But the truth is there's a hierarchy that dictates your every move. From the moment you take your first breath, you're handed a role to play. You are born into a certain family, you go to a school that your parents can afford, and then you apply for a job that is deemed suitable to your skills. Long before you even came into existence, your future had been planned out. Set in stone. So no matter how hard you try to break free, the chains of inertia and societal expectations will always be there to keep you in check, tethered to your predetermined fate and powerless to change it.

It wasn't all so different here in the Myriad Realms. If you choose to remain mortal you aren't even worthy to be considered a statistic by the truly powerful; your existence or nonexistence, therefore irrelevant. Should you choose to elevate yourself from the sub-human status of being mortal and become a cultivator of the Great Dao, even then the power structure remains largely the same. If you are born into a lineage bearing a powerful legacy, you might achieve greatness and ascend into the heavens. If not, expect to be relegated to the role of cannon fodder where you will most likely spend the rest of your life struggling to even survive.

The Great Elder's heavenly tribulation slowly wound down. The winds stopped howling and lightning seized its rampage across the grey canvas above. On unsteady feet, I rose from my seat on the muddy ground—my enchanted garments unsullied by the muck—as I turned to return to my steed. Even with the weakness in my bones, I found my lips curled in a subconscious smile as I tracked the sliver of chakra swirling in my Dantian. It was a tiny, near-imperceptible smudge, yet still, in an odd, roundabout way it remained irrefutable proof of my newfound sagehood.

Li Yifeng, the fabled alchemist, rose from nothing only to fail at the brink of achieving sagehood, his immaculate Dao body tainted by Anutapa, the burning misery. Yet, here I am, a cultivator with less chi in my entire being compared to even his smallest toe, surpassing him. In my past life, I had always envied those born into affluence; those destined for greatness. It didn't matter how hard I struggled, how low I sunk, how many lines I crossed, or how much I schemed and plotted I could never truly compare to them. So great was my frustration that I soon developed a loathing for their kind. But now, feeling the chakra swirling in my guts, I suddenly found myself with the realisation that I had become the very thing I once loathed with every fibre of my being.

A Gāofùshuài

...Or as most are more familiar with, the tall-rich-handsome young master.

"...My prince?" one of my usually stoic warrior eunuchs intoned, his face set into hard lines as his eyes flickered about my weakened form. Just that tiny sliver of chakra I held within me had required nearly my entire Chi reserves to generate leaving me physically exhausted and somewhat demotivated to do anything else. I waved, dismissing the fellow's concern as I forced my lean bulk onto my steed's saddle and goaded the creature forward. About a minute later we returned to the rest of the entourage. Zhu Yun and the guards remained as I had left them. Ma Yili on the other hand sat stiffly in the palanquin now dressed in simple white Hanfu. She eyed me as I sluggishly climbed into the vehicle; one of my brows rose in response as I caught her gimlet gaze flickering to a jewellery box in the corner; the same one I gifted her to store her jade hairpins.

Luckily for the girl, she seemed to immediately dismiss whatever stupid thoughts she might find herself suddenly having. Ignoring the fact that I could still quite easily snap her neck despite how tired I was, the possibility that she might be able to hurt me with whatever she could find in the palanquin was next to none. My gaze remained on her lithe form for a moment longer before I shook my head as I sunk my will into one of the storage rings on my finger.

With a simple wave of my hand and a negligible expenditure of my Chi, two bowls appeared in between us, the small one filled with spring water and the larger one filled with spirit rice with a pair of chopsticks sticking out from it in an obviously rude gesture.

The girl glanced at the platter but made no moves to reach for it.

"Eat," I grunted as I shifted to make myself comfortable. She stared at the meal for a moment longer, pushing the envelope of how much defiance I would allow her before bowing her head in what I assumed to be mock veneration.

"Thank you, Most Benevolent Prince," she said as she reached for the chopsticks and started eating. I stared at her with a bemused expression, before exhaling a tired sigh as I let my eyelids shut for a quick nap.

When I next awoke Ma Yili's bowl was empty and the palanquin had stopped moving. Whether she ate the rice or discarded it while I slept I did not know nor was it my concern. The girl in question sat with her legs folded beneath her as she stared blankly at me. I pulled the palanquin's curtains aside to see we were no longer in the orchid forest, but rather in an exquisitely constructed courtyard

"We have arrived, My Prince," Zhu Yun informed me as I stepped out of the vehicle. A group of mortal maids standing to the side walked forward as I took my first step on the gravel, bowing deeply before they began to unload the palanquin of its contents.

"How long have I been asleep for?" I asked, my body still feeling somewhat weak from chi exhaustion.

"About half an hour," another voice replied, preempting Zhu Yun's reply. My gaze panned to regard the figure standing just outside the periphery of my vision in surprise. "This one greets the Eleventh Prince Wei, bearer of the Mandate of the Yellow the man said, bowing in respect as I turned my attention to him. "My name is Feng Yu, a Senior Disciple of the White Orchid Sect. I will be your liaison for the duration of your stay at our humble abode."