As such, even though Xiao had not met many family members because most of the time he was with his aunt and sisters, whenever he did, all of them would treat him with kindness and pity as he had suffered from such crual fate.
But unfortunately for him, when he fell sick, even though no one questioned his status, as no one would dare because of his aunt, some rumors were still inevitable.
And because of his incredible genius, immense potential, but poor luck, many people in the royal family called him the Cursed Genius, spreading his reputation far and wide across the world even before he had stepped foot onto the path of cultivation.
"Dammit, so much drama and crap."
Xiao let out a curse as he thought.
'But the good thing is that, unlike a typical cultivation family, the royal family members all take care of each other and live in harmony while maintaining healthy competition between themselves. And with my aunt's support and power, I don't have to deal with any insults or young master face slapping crap.'
But then he shook his head.
'But still, it's a world ruled by the same old logic as Earth. The law of the jungle the strong prey on the weak. Without my own strength, everything else is nothing but an illusion. They might fear and respect me because of my aunt, but not because of me. So I should focus on my own strength. And I am sure that if I am not cured by the time of the Awakening Ceremony, then the family will choose someone else as the heir, as they haven't chosen one yet.'
He smiled.
'But I don't have to worry about that anyway. I don't feel any sickness or major weakness in my body right now. Other than being slightly weak, I am completely fine. Maybe this is because I was transmigrated and the Xiao of this world disappeared along with his illness?'
'And speaking of transmigration...'
He thought with a solemn expression.
'About this world's Xiao... was he actually a different version of me? Born in this world? At first, I didn't want to admit that this was true, as the whole idea sounded absurd. But his personality, the way he thought, his actions, his choices, and his ideas... all of them are just like mine. As though we are the same person, but one was born on Earth while the other was born in this world.'
Xiao continued to ponder.
'And that leads to the most important question. So who actually transmigrated into this world? Did I simply get reborn in this world and live my life here as "Xiao," only now recovering my memories from Earth? Or is it the exact opposite? Did I just transmigrate into the body of the Xiao from this world?'
'If so, then what happened to this world's Xiao? Is he dead? If so, then how did he die? And how can there exist two "Xiaos" one from Earth and one from this world? This doesn't make any sense! All of this just sounds ridiculous.'
Then he thought about something else.
'And why did I feel a sense of fulfillment at the beginning, as though I am now fully complete and perfect, but at a much deeper level?'
He was really confused. But the more he thought, the more questions he had, and the more questions he had, the more confused he became.
Eventually, he shook his head, deciding not to waste his time thinking about those things. No matter how much he thought about them now, he couldn't get answers to any of his questions.
'It doesn't matter though. One day, I'll get all the answers to my questions anyway.'
Xiao stood up and slowly walked toward the only window in the room. His footsteps were the only sounds silently echoing through the room.
Reaching the window, he leaned against it slightly as he looked at the scenery outside.
It was night. A huge silver moon hung high in the sky, causing the world to be illuminated by its soft radiance. The gentle moonlight also entered the room through the window.
It illuminated Xiao's face as well, making him look ethereal and otherworldly handsome. Looking at the view outside, Xiao let out a bitter sigh.
'It's really another world. I thought all of this was nothing but a dream and that I would wake up from it. But alas... this is my new reality now.'
Xiao thought as he gazed at the scenery outside with a mixture of curiosity and sadness.
He was happy because, from now on, he would embark on a journey and explore this unknown world. But he was also sad because he was no longer in his home Earth where his friends, girlfriend, and many other people he knew used to be.
'My home is no more... or rather, I cannot return there before I become an extremely powerful cultivator myself. Maybe after becoming a Great Emperor, I can return to my world. Even though a Void Shattering Exalted One can travel outside the Nine Emperor World into the Endless Haven at will, the Endless Haven is filled with countless dangers. Anyone below the Great Emperor Realm has a ninety percent chance of encountering a terrible danger and perishing.'
The cultivation system of the Nine Emperor World began with becoming an Awakened during the Awakening Ceremony by stepping into the first realm of cultivation, also known as the Qi Sea Realm.
The next step was creating a Mental Space and gaining access to one's Soul Essence, thereby reaching the second realm, also known as the Spiritual Realm.
After that came shedding one's mortal coil and reaching an even higher level known as the Transcending Mortality Realm. Because of their divine nature, cultivators at this realm were also known as Demigods, as they were more godlike than human and resembled natural disasters.
At the same time, they lived for hundreds of thousands of years.
After that came the Void Shattering Realm, where a cultivator could shatter the void and travel outside the Nine Emperor World into the endless space known as the Endless Haven. Those at this level were also known as Void Shattering Estimated Ones.