Right after Xu Ping'an fell into a deep slumber, there was endless darkness everywhere.
It was so dark… he couldn't even tell if his eyes were closed or open.
He felt light… as if he had no body.
Perhaps he was floating in this dark space… though he wasn't even sure if "floating" was the right word.
There was no sound, no light, no smell… no sensation at all.
There was nothing.
He couldn't move. Not even a finger.
He couldn't even tell if he still existed… or if this was what came after death.
Time didn't exist here.
Seconds, minutes, years… everything felt the same.
He might have been like this for years…
Or maybe… only a moment had passed.
He couldn't tell.
A faint thought surfaced in his mind…
'…Is this hell?'
If that was the case… how long would he stay like this?
The question lingered.
Then, the silence broke and a faint sound reached him.
The sound of birds chirping…
His senses slowly returned, one by one.
Sometime later, something crept into his awareness.
A strange smell… sharp and metallic.
It slipped into his nose and settled at the back of his throat, heavy and suffocating.
Xu Ping'an's awareness slowly came back, like he was being pulled out from deep water.
The first thing he felt was a surface beneath his chest.
For a while, he couldn't move.
He just breathed… slowly.
Then, the smell grew stronger.
His fingers twitched as the sense of touch returned, spreading across his body.
He noticed his cheek was pressed against something rough… mixed with something wet and sticky.
His brows tightened.
"…What… is this…?"
His voice was weak, barely a whisper.
He forced his eyes open.
At first, everything was blurry.
Then, a dark red liquid filled his vision.
It took a moment… but he understood.
It was blood…
His eyes widened.
His body reacted instantly.
He pushed himself up and almost slipped.
His hands were soaked.
The stone ground was covered in blood, spread unevenly like something had been dragged… or had tried to crawl.
His breathing stopped for a second.
"…Is this my blood…?"
The words slipped out without thinking.
Panic followed.
He quickly touched his body… first chest, stomach, shoulders, his legs and then his face.
There were no wounds, no injuries or scars…
Nothing….
He felt no pain.
His hands slowed down.
"Oh, thank goodness!"
His breathing became a little steady.
Then, something felt off.
His hands….
They were small and tiny.
He was a 32-year-old salaryman.
How could his hands look like this?
As for his clothing… it was not his usual wear.
He was wearing a rough greyish robe.
The fabric felt rough and uncomfortable. It looked old and faded, with a few crude stitches near the sleeve.
The robe was loose on his body, tied with a simple sash. It didn't fit properly. When he moved, it felt thin, like it wouldn't last long.
He touched the fabric again, then paused.
This wasn't his.
This kind of clothing…
Only poor villagers would wear something like this… and that too in ancient times.
Xu Ping'an froze.
His fingers trembled as he stared at them.
"…What is happening…?"
His voice carried confusion.
"…Didn't I die in that accident…?"
A strange unease grew in his chest.
He looked down.
His body was too small to be considered as that of an adult one.
Even his voice…
"What happened to my voice?" He pressed his throat, his expression tense.
Then it hit him.
"This isn't my body…"
Before he could think further, a strong wind swept past him.
A cold breeze brushed his skin.
He slowly lifted his head… and turned slightly towards the right side.
He froze.
A vast blue sky stretched before him.
Far below, rivers shimmered like thin silver lines.
Forests spread endlessly, dense and alive.
The ground felt unreal… like a painting.
Mountains rose all around him, layer after layer, fading into the distance.
They were massive and majestic.
He stood high in a mountainous region…so high that everything below looked distant and unreal.
"…Where… am I…?"
His voice felt hollow.
Because deep down… he knew.
Something was wrong.
He wasn't supposed to be here.
He was supposed to be dead.
The thought struck him hard.
His breathing became uneven.
His heart raced…
But before he could think further, a sound of a notification bell rang in his ears.
A holographic translucent blue screen appeared before him, floating in the air.
Ding!
[Soul Transfer Completed]
[Welcome to the Immortal Galaxy, Dear Host]
"…What… is this!?"
His mind went blank.
It didn't feel real.
But at the same time, it made sense.
After all, he was a die-hard anime fan.
He had seen things like this on the TV screen before.
A protagonist waking up in a new world after dying and getting a second chance in life…
His eyes widened. His mouth hung open.
Before he could react further, another message appeared.
Ding!
[System Optimization Started]
[Initializing Memory Transfer…]
As soon as the message ended, an excruciating pain hit him instantly.
It was sharp, sudden and unbearable.
"Argh—!"
He clutched his head, crying out.
Images rushed into his mind like broken scenes with unfamiliar faces and memories that did not belong to him.
Like a film being played at an impossible speed.
He couldn't process anything.
The pain intensified over time and his vision shook.
His thoughts broke apart.
Then, he collapsed, his body hitting the blood-covered ground again.
And everything went dark…
After some time, he slowly woke up again.
"…Ugh…"
A weak sound escaped his mouth.
His head throbbed…with a lingering pain.
He pressed his forehead and massage it a little.
Then, another message appeared.
Ding!
[Memory Transfer Completed]
Xu Ping'an blinked slowly.
"...What was that about!?"
His voice was low and tired.
"…Those memories… they aren't mine."
He paused and then spoke again, more quietly.
"…Do they belong to the one who had this body before me…?"
As if answering him, another system message appeared before him.
Ding!
[Memory Synchronisation Has Begun…]
[Memory Synchronisation In Process… 10%… 12%… 15%…]
The messy memories started becoming clear.
The once broken puzzle now came together… forming a clear picture…in his mind.
It was like watching a fast movie in slow motion …
Bit by bit, he began to gather the new information he received.
Time passed.
He didn't know how long.
Ding!
[Memory Synchronisation Completed]
But when it ended, he finally understood everything.
With the memories Xu Ping'an inherited, he slowly began to understand this world.
It was a world where mortals and immortals lived together.
Mortals were ordinary humans. They could cultivate qi and become martial artists, and their status depended on their strength.
Immortals were different. They cultivated spiritual qi and walked a path beyond human limits. Every breakthrough made them stronger and extended their lifespan. Even the weakest immortal was far above the strongest mortal.
Given enough time, they could get closer to true immortality.
Xu Ping'an lay still, trying to process everything.
"…So…"
His voice was slow and uncertain.
"Technically… I didn't die…"
He paused, his thoughts a little messy.
"…I just woke up in a world where mortals and immortals exist…"
He swallowed.
This was something he had never imagined, not even in his wildest dreams.
Being transmigrated into a magical world… it felt unreal.
At first, he felt a small spark of excitement.
But that feeling didn't last long.
He quickly realized what kind of world this was.
A world where strength decided everything.
Its rule was simple - the strong survived, and the weak struggled to live.
For someone like Xu Ping'an, who preferred peace and avoided trouble, this was the worst kind of place.
His expression slowly turned grim.
"This is bad…"
In a world where everyone chased power, and the weak lived in constant fear…
Xu Ping'an reached a simple conclusion.
"…I'm completely screwed."
He stared blankly ahead, his mind already imagining all the possible dangers.
"…Maybe I should just stay low… and not stand out."
But deep down, even he knew.
In a world like this, staying out of trouble was never that easy.