Chapter 42 – A Dream of a Different Life

  Jun De lay on the stone floor of the Second Level of the Tower of Tempered Will, absolutely certain he was dying.

  His robes were shredded, his limbs felt like they were filled with lead weights and every time he breathed, his ribs complained and told him to stop. Blood matted his hair and smeared down one side of his face, and Jun De was confident that at least one of his teeth was missing.

  “I’m dying.” Jun De whispered dramatically.

  “I’m too young to go like this. I haven’t even formed my Harem yet. Think of all the beauties of this world that will never have the chance to meet me!” Jun De raised one trembling hand toward the ceiling as if he were beseeching the heavens for another opportunity to live.

  “This Sect is cursed. Who shoves young Disciples into this hell Tower and tells them it's an ‘opportunity’ of great fortune!? I want to go back to my courtyard and my chair. I’ll never complain about being bored again!”

  There was a long pause, but the Tower didn’t reply. Jun De let his arm flop back to the ground.

  Despite his complaining, Jun De had won. His duplicate had fought with terrifying precision, using all of his own techniques against him in ways that demonstrated proficiency that Jun De hadn’t possessed.

  Worse, it had been smug about its abilities the entire time. It seemed to enjoy mocking him, even when Jun De tried his hardest to emulate it.

  It seemed to know that Jun De hated to fight and had taken great joy in forcing him to confront it. Jun De was convinced the only reason why he had won was that the Ninefold Refinement Array had improved his body’s constitution and toughness.

  That didn’t keep him from being beaten black and blue until his bones broke, and he was too sore to stand.

  Without warning, a gentle warmth spread through Jun De’s chest. The floor beneath him pulsed once, like a heartbeat, as a soft light surrounded him. His ribs stopped aching, and his bruises faded.

  Jun De’s Dantian filled as Qi surged into his Meridians like water flooding a dry riverbed. The cuts on his arms and face healed, and his exhaustion melted away.

  As the soothing energy of the Tower washed over him, mending his battered body and soothing his soul, Jun De climbed to his knees and took in a deep breath.

  “Oh, thank the Heavens.” Jun De muttered as his lungs filled with air, and his ribs didn’t scream at him in pain.

  He was about to stand when something seemed to shift inside him. The world slowed for a moment, and a low hum vibrated throughout his body. Jun De felt his meridians stretch and widen, becoming stronger and more refined.

  His Dantian shuddered, and his Qi swirled faster, smoother and clearer as it cycled through his body, following his meridians before depositing back into his Dantian. It flowed with strong purpose as it began to slam into the barrier that kept him from the 5th Level of Qi Condensation.

  Finally, after resisting several attempts by his Qi to shatter it, the barrier crumbled with a quiet snap, and Jun De was through.

  His Qi roared inside him, now a thick mist with golden droplets hanging in the emptiness of his Dantian. He was far stronger than he had been just a few moments before, as his expanded Dantian could hold more Qi.

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  “I suppose you want me to say it was worth it? Well, it wasn’t.” Jun De muttered to himself as he slowly stood and marvelled at the power that now hummed through his body.

  The bottleneck to the 5th Level of Qi Condensation was supposed to be something that could take months, if not years, for even the most talented Disciples to break. But Jun De had done it in less than a week inside the Tower.

  Entering really was a grand opportunity.

  “Hopefully, the 7th and 9th Level bottlenecks will break just as easily.” Jun De said as he was surrounded by a familiar white light and transported to a new location.

  He half expected fire and brimstone to greet him, possibly gigantic beasts or a horde of cultivators with sharp swords. Whatever it would be, he knew that it would bring pain.

  Instead, Jun De was surprised by how quiet and peaceful the next floor was.

  A breeze stirred the bottom of his robes as he blinked at the world around him. He was standing on the porch of a small house in the countryside, nestled amongst rolling green hills. The sun was shining overhead, birds chirped, and he could hear the sounds of wind chimes from nearby.

  “This doesn’t seem like much of a trial.” Jun De whispered in confusion as he looked around the beautiful landscape.

  When he looked down at his own body, he found that he wasn’t wearing his Sect robes anymore. Instead, he had simple clothing made of hemp, with comfortable and well-worn boots. Oddly, there was no spiritual energy in the air, and the Qi inside his body turned sluggish.

  “What’s going on?” Jun De wondered aloud. No sooner did the words leave his mouth that his memories began to fade. The Tranquil Mountain Sect, the cultivators there and the Tower of Tempered Will all began to slip away from his mind like they were a dream he was waking up from.

  Names blurred, and the faces of people he knew grew indistinct. He forgot why he had been fighting or how he had gotten here.

  It didn’t matter how or why; that had been a fake world, and this place was real.

  Oddly, his memories of Earth remained as clear and solid as they had been before he entered this floor. He recalled riding the bus to university, cell phones and computers. And, most importantly, loneliness and a life half-lived.

  “What a weird dream. I wish I could remember it! Oh well, this is my life now, and I need to make the most of it!” Jun De said.

  Time passed, and the sun climbed higher into the sky before slowly sinking down the horizon. He cooked meals with food he found in the cupboards, took walks around his land and tended a little garden.

  Jun De wished he could remember what had happened before he came here, but he found that he didn’t really care. This was his life, and although it was simple, it was carefree. He was happy.

  Occasionally, it felt like a voice would whisper inside his head that he’d earned this peace and quiet, that this life was one that he always wanted. That he didn’t have to leave.

  But something itched at the back of his skull, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. It worsened when he visited the village nearby.

  Jun De wandered through the market, glancing at the stall owners, who were mostly cheery old men and women. But something was off with them. One woman giggled behind her sleeve and offered him a peach from her basket, and Jun De ate it as he walked down the street.

  But he had that nagging feeling that he was missing out on something important.

  “She’s nothing compared to Elder Mu.” Jun De muttered before he stopped in his tracks. He was confused as to why he said that, and he shook his head in an attempt to shake the thought loose. But it stubbornly refused to resurface.

  “Who is Elder Mu?” Jun De whispered before he started walking once again.

  Jun De thought that maybe making something familiar from Earth would help, so he gathered some vegetables and rice and tried to make something decent for his dinner.

  But it was a disaster. The rice came out crunchy, and the vegetables were bitter and hard.

  “I bet Lin Yue can cook.” Jun De said longingly, then stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth as he tried to remember why he would say that.

  When Jun De tried gardening, he found that instead of finding it relaxing, it just reminded him of the gaps in his memory. He stared at the knife in his hand as it hovered over the stalk of a plant he was pruning and thought of a beautiful young woman with a long braid and a sword in her hand.

  Frustrated, he tossed the knife on the ground and never picked it back up.

  That evening, Jun De sat alone on his porch and stared at the stars above. Even the sky taunted him, and he could remember the view from somewhere else being much better. But he couldn’t recall exactly where he had been that revealed the sky differently.

  “It wasn’t Earth, that’s for sure.” Jun De whispered, remembering how he could barely ever see the stars from all the light pollution.

  “This world is nice and all, but it’s not the one I want to be in.” Jun De stated, and something around him began to stir.