The young man's consciousness faded away as he felt the warm blood pouring out of his back. He wondered how his big brother could do this to him.
He thought of all the times they had trained together, fought side by side, and shared their dreams of becoming the strongest cultivators in the world.
But all of that meant nothing now. In this world, strength was everything, and people would do anything to get ahead, even betray their closest friends and family.
The young man had learned that the hard way.
As he drifted into darkness, he felt a strange sensation. It was as if he was being pulled towards something, and he couldn't resist it.
The sensation grew stronger and stronger until he was enveloped by a blinding light.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a strange world.
The sky was a deep shade of purple, and the ground beneath him was made of a shimmering silver substance. He stood up and looked around, wondering where he was.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him. It was an old man, dressed in robes of the purest white. The man had a kind face and a gentle smile.
Suddenly the man said"I am the keeper of this heavenly treasure, I sensed your desire for power and I am offering you a deal, I will give you a second chance in life but you have to promise me that you will climb to the peak of the world with this treasure and make it shine once again"
The young man was startled, but he instantly regained his composure and said"don't worry if what you have said is true and there really is a second chance in life I would have climbed to the peak anyway without you telling me"
The old man smiled faintly and said"well good luck with that"
The young man was about to say something when suddenly his mind turned dizzy, and he then found himself in a world full of darkness.
After a moment of total darkness, he regained his sight but all he saw was a kick to his face.
Thwack!
A big bulky leg landed on his body that looked like he was just a bag of skin and bones.
"Did I or did I not ask you to bring more lunch money today? Do you expect me to starve, bitch?" A short but fat youngster wearing a school uniform spat out and cursed as he landed another kick on the skinny figure.
This made him buckle down and collapse, coughing up more blood on the ground.
"Aish… Be careful, dude. Don't kill him or something." Another student standing near chimed in.
"Nah… this bitch might be spineless but he is pretty durable. Isn't that right, Sam? Aren't you the best punching bag in the entire school?"
As soon as the big bulky student raised his leg to give the skinny guy another kick, luckily for him the bell rang the next second.
"Alright. Let's go. It's that nasty old woman's class. I don't want to spend my evening in detention staring at that ugly ass face again."
The group of tall and sturdy high school students chatted amongst themselves and casually strolled out of the small alleyway, where the so-called punching bag was left behind without any care or concern.
Sam lay still on the ground, his expression completely silent, serious, and afraid to even breathe, but he wasn't afraid of the students that were just beating the shit out of him just now, he was afraid that all he is seeing right now is fake and not just his wishful dream.
As seconds slowly went by, making him realize that this is all real.
There was no doubt about it, he had somehow miraculously returned to the time he was young and carefree, to the days before he met his big brother, to 10 years before his death.
And most importantly to the days before everything happened.
It was as real as his loudly pounding heart and as real as his burning injuries, giving him stabs of pain everywhere on his body.
Sam was not someone who was new to this sort of pain. In fact, he was quite used to this feeling as he experienced all sorts of hardships in his past life. The thing that he was not used to was… luck!
That's right! Somehow he ended up lucky enough to get such an unbelievable second chance!
Liam's lips curled upwards as he slowly picked himself up from the ground, his body unsteadily wobbling as if he would fall down again any second now.
However, contrary to his trembling body, his eyes were sharp and cold. There was unfathomable darkness that swirled within them which would probably scare the kids who were just seconds ago pummeling him down.
Sam clenched his fists, his eyes filled with a burning fire of determination. He would not let his so-called big brother's betrayal go unpunished. He would make him pay for what he had done.
But revenge was not his only goal. He wanted to rise to the top of the world, become the most powerful cultivator of all time, and leave behind a legacy that would be remembered for years to come.
He knew that he could not do it alone. He would need to forge alliances with other cultivators, but he would be cautious this time. He would use his past life memories to identify those who could be trusted and those who could not.