Chapter 1

I heard some chirping, I felt my hand touching something smooth yet rough. Is this grass?

Slowly I started to open my eyes and sat up.

I laid my hand on my forehead, feeling a little headache. Once my headache started to recede, I started standing up and checking my surroundings which was filled with nothing but grass, bushes and trees.

"I am in a forest?"

[That is correct, young master.]

"Who?!", I narrowed my eyes in alertness and turned my head to both sides, trying to find the source of the voice.

[Worry not, young master. I am the spirit sent to assist you.]

"Where are you?"

[I am up here, young master.]

I saw a bird with yellow feathers bordering gold. It looked very majestic. Opening its wings preparing to take off, I noticed that it was no ordinary bird as it had three pairs of wings. The bird flew from the branch it was on and landed in front of me.

"Who are you?"

[Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lei. From here onwards, I will be your contracted spirit guide in this world.]

"Then, nice to meet you, Lei. I….I'm Shen Yin."

[Now then, young master, I will be giving you your memories of this world as well as your techniques as an assassin.]

The bird flew up until it was directly in front of me, facing me eye to eye. It got closer and laid its forehead on mine. Flashing images began appearing in my mind, unsurprisingly I ended up receiving another headache.

After a while the images stopped flooding into my brain, I finally knew exactly where I was, or to be more specific which world I was in.

This was the world of a manhua in my past life, 'Douluo Dalu 2: Unrivaled Tang Sect'. The story of a boy named Huo Yuhao rising from rock bottom to become the top of the hierarchy through hardships, trials and life and death situations. He was truly the definition of Hard Work and Persistence. An inspiration for those who have low talent in cultivation.

"Am I in the same generation as him?"

[Yes, young master.]

"Then we'll probably end up meeting at Sherk academy's admission day. Wu Dong will also be there. What rank am I at?"

[Your cultivation rank is rank 10, innate full spirit power.]

"As expected, it was a good thing I wished for talent in cultivating. Strength is crucial in this world where the law Survival of Fittest applies everywhere. You get discriminated against by the people if you're weak, especially when you don't have a good background or backing."

[I wish to inform the young master that you are also given a storage ring. Please take a look at your right hand.]

I looked over to my right hand as instructed and saw a ring with a silver band and blue stone in the middle. The design wasn't complex, it was simple and could be passed off as a family heirloom.

[All necessities are stored inside that ring, including a significant amount of money, cultivation and educational books from this world as well as a water bag, blankets, towel and some cooking instruments.]

"How do I use it?"

[You just have to imagine what you want to take out and the ring will give you exactly what you want.]

"Such a convenient ring. Won't others try to steal it if they found out?"

[Worry not. This ring will only respond to the young master. For other security reasons, I suggest dripping some of your blood on the stone of the ring.]

I trusted Lei and bit my finger until it bled. I let it drip onto the ring that had absorbed the blood into itself.

[The ring is now officially connected to you. Even if you lose it somewhere, it is guaranteed that the ring will return to you immediately. Or if someone tries to snatch it, the ring will repel them as defense.]

"Alright. Lei, is there a river nearby?"

[Yes, there's one with clean drinkable water 25m west from here. In other words, just walk to your left.]

"Got it", I stood up and headed left while Lei rested himself on my shoulder. It was a few minutes later that I reached a small stream.

"Lei, are there any beasts nearby?"

[No, there are no dangerous elements 10 km radius around you. Even if there was, I take care of it promptly.]

"How strong are you?"

[If I were to assess myself according to this world's criteria, then I should be at least as capable as a 500,000 year old spirit beast. I am actually a being called thunderbird, just as the name suggests, I am capable of summ no thunderclouds and lightning.]

"How reliable."

I went over to the side of the stream and used the water to wash my face. I also used this opportunity to inspect my appearance through looking at my reflection.

I was certainly in the body that I had designed. All of it was precise and accurate down to the smallest detail. Now that I think of it, I was wearing a white shirt and grey jacket with medium length pants when I woke up. I was grateful for the clothing provided cause I would be butt naked if it weren't for that.

Using the ring, I took out the stored water bag and filled it with the water from the stream. I was fascinated at the water bag that magically appeared in my hand after I had imagined it.

After getting myself refreshed, I began planning on what I should be doing from now on. There's still about 6 more years until the entrance exam for Shrek Academy. If I remember correctly, the requirements are that the student must be below 12 years old and is ,at least, rank 15 spirit master.

Since I don't know much of this world, I should study and cultivate at the same time.

I took out a book about cultivation inside the storage ring and started reading them. Fortunately, I now have higher comprehension and learning ability so it didn't take long for me to grasp the contents.

Once I closed the book and placed it back into the ring, I sat cross legged and began to take in energy. To me, it felt like breathing. Lei will just be by my side protecting me just in case a spirit beast comes.

Time skip ~

I had no idea how long my cultivation had taken but by the time I had opened my eyes, it was already sun down. All of this was not without fruit though, my body was filled to the brim with energy and power. However without a spirit ring I can't go beyond this point.

"Lei, how do I summon my Martial Soul?"

[You should be able to bring it out instinctively as if it's a part of your body.]

I closed my eyes and felt around for a bit. There was indeed something within me, something strong yet gentle at the same time. I tried to bring it out.

Once I opened my eyes, I realized that I was grasping something akin to a handle in both my hands. There I saw two daggers, one was white with the yang symbol while the other was black with the yin symbol. Both had medium length blades that were extremely sharp.

"This is my Yin Yang twin daggers. I definitely feel the power surging through it but the me right now is unable to bring out its full potential. I need more power.

Due to all the cultivating and concentration, I was hungry. I caught some fishes from the stream and proceeded to roast them over a fire I made. I made enough for both Lei and me, although Lei insisted that providing him with spirit energy was already sufficient for him. The taste wasn't so bad but it was a little bland. I should learn some cooking too if I want to survive in this forest.

I should get ready for tomorrow as I will go and hunt for my first spirit ring. I didn't want to get one now because not only was I mentally exhausted, it is almost nighttime. I need to get some sleep. Lei ,then, guided me to a safe spot under a tree where there was a large hole I could crawl into. It surprised me that there were no bugs inside the hole. I didn't have to worry myself over sudden beasts attacking me due to Lei reassuring me that he will be standing guard. Just like that I went to sleep after spreading the blanket that I took out from the ring.