Chapter 2: Distant Echoes

In this universe exists verities — laws or principles that govern existence, creation and destruction.

Thousands of such verities exist.

Of all those principles were 5 supreme verities: Oblivion, Primordial Chaos, Space, Time and Duality.

These verities have existed before the creation of the universe, all holding a powerful truth. Spirit Masters pursue the true path. In this path, to be a powerful being, one has to understand these verities at a profound level.

Few people have even touched upon this understanding as it is something that transcends knowledge and the fabric of reality itself. To comprehend such a thing would require immense time and aptitude towards the true path, something only blessed to a small number of individuals of pure, unmatched talent.

In this world, Primal Star, countless individuals are born and countless individuals meet their end. This could also be seen as a verity — Duality.

Likewise, Heaven and Earth had been created through this law, birthed into this world to give life to this star.

With the passage of time, lifeforms had emerged, each being blessed by both Heaven and Earth. Earth was impartial, whereas Heaven was an eccentric miser and had favourites. Although Earth gives individuals random talent, some good and some bad, Earth has also provided ways in which one can improve. The countless natural treasures of the world can be seen as Earth being 'fair.'

In contrast, Heaven was ruthless and fickle. One day, you could be the most joyous person to exist, achieving everything you could possibly have ever wanted, then the next day, all would be lost and destroyed as you descend into despair and madness.

Such a harsh truth existed yet also made life truly worth experiencing. The unpredictable nature of such a world had been why Sorin pursued strength that none can resist. He was someone that did not want to be under anyone, controlled by anything, and have his ambitions blocked by even heaven itself.

'I have gone back to the past, losing all my progress. Truly a pity… In that that life, I had killed millions, plundered from thousands and garnered countless enemies in my pursuit of the true path. I had lived for 174 years, my final 100 hundred spent as a wandering tyrant pursued by countless… At the very end, I took my own life, preventing those virtuous dogs from taking my treasures. With my low talent, I had used my future knowledge of the world to rise and become an unfathomable figure with few to rival me.' Sorin sighed in his heart. Yet now… he was back as his pathetic, youthful self.

In that final war, he fought with everything he had, but the match up was simply impossible for Sorin to win. Geniuses, young warriors and old powers of different organisations had went after his head. If it weren't for that woman who severed one of his arms, weakening him greatly, the outcome may have been different. He had used most of his energy to kill that woman, leaving him practically defenceless.

But he knew he was simply making excuses.

When he first arrived in this world, he had been recently birthed, living as a baby for an average family. Not particularly fond of acting like an infant for a few years of his life, he had lived his childhood with a mask of indifference and detachment. His family had thought that something went wrong during the pregnancy, but as the doctors reassured them that he was healthy, they simply accepted Sorin as their own despite his 'uniqueness.'

He had two loving parents and an older sister. As the years went by, he suddenly learnt of how the world he was in was from a novel he had read when he was in high school, over 10 years ago before his transmigration.

This world was filled with dangers, and the weak were treated absolutely terribly. They had no rights. If a powerful being killed you on the sidewalk, no one would even bat an eye!

Being near a small city that was under ownership of Soaring Phoenix Academy, Sorin eventually had his talent tested, finding out that he barely met the requirements to pursue the true path. As a mortal family, something like this happening was was extremely rare and his family was ecstatic, including Sorin. Who wouldn't want to be a mysterious figure that can wield fire and lightning, flying in the sky?

But reality was cruel. In this Academy, only the strong lived well. For weaklings like Sorin, he had to constantly scrape by and be oppressed by others just for their own amusement.

When he was born, heaven had blessed him with an innate talent, also known as innate skill. Innate talents were rare as only 1 in 100 people possess it the moment they are born. The powers of these skills varied immensely.

Some merely gave you slightly better eyesight than ordinary while others gave one the ability to memorise everything instantly!

As for the protagonist of this novel, he also had an innate skill, a very powerful one at that. He had the innate talent: Selfless State. In this state, the main character enters his own sea of consciousness and completely forgets about his very own existence — completely assimilating to the world and flow of the universe.

In this state, he comprehends techniques and concepts much faster than even geniuses!

As for him, Sorin had the innate talent: Distant Echoes. At first, he thought that this talent was somewhat useful, but after he learnt its true effects and how to activate it, he truly wanted to destroy heaven right then and there. What was the point of such a skill?

Distant Echoes was a skill that only activated when he killed others. Once he killed them, if their soul met the requirements, he would absorb three fragments of their memories. It sounded good at first, but these memories aren't random. It only took memories of the individual's three most vulnerable moments in their life. It didn't give him any skills or knowledge, but the sad or tragic backstories of them.

He nearly coughed up blood when he found out. What was he here to do? Watch a movie?!

He couldn't care less for these people's vulnerable moments, they were already dead! Give him memories of their secret techniques, comprehensions! Anything other than their sad backstories!

But after dying and going back in time, it seems his his innate talent was actually much more special than he realised. Since he went back in time, why didn't he go all the way back to when he was just a new born?

He was currently in Soaring Phoenix Academy, a place he only arrived to when he was 15 years old. To go back in time to this specific age simply made no sense.

With the core of his innate talent being how he needed to kill others, he suddenly had an idea. With every person he killed, or absorbed a deceased being's soul fragments, correlated with how far he went back in time!

With how many people he killed, too many that he could remember, it would somewhat align with his current predicament.

As a demon that has lived for many years, Sorin quickly understood the principle behind his time travel. It was either two reasons.

When he self-destructed, for every person he killed, was an hour to the past. It was either this or: for every soul fragment he absorbed, was a day to the past!

'Perhaps this is the true meaning behind the name: Distant Echoes. I had thought it simply meant to look at one's past, but who could've guessed I would travel back to my teenage self, right at the start of my journey...' Sorin's eyes gleamed ominously.

Although he was back as his younger self, his heart remained the same. All his ambitions still remained from his previous life.

Although he had 'lost' everything, he didn't completely lose everything either. His 174 years of experiences had remained, his battle experience rich and his understanding of the world much greater than even the old sovereigns of this world.

To reset everything was to also be given a second chance to do everything more perfectly.

Although somewhat foggy, Sorin still had the memories of the novel he had read many years ago. Moreover, with his previous life, he understood this world even more deeply. He knew which shortcuts to take, future treasures that would appear, weaknesses of various formidable figures and how to become a being even more powerful than his previous life.

Sorin extended his right unblemished, smooth hand as he clenched it tightly.

'This second chance, I will not waste!'

At this moment, the female professor had an unhappy expression, furrowing her eyebrows. She was already at the Spiritual Condensation realm thus her senses were much more acute. She obviously heard all the young disciples talking in the background.

She even felt slightly embarrassed when a disciple had even been sleeping in her lecture. This was their very first lecture about Spirit Masters. The nerve of him!

If others were to learn of this, the majority would assume that the child was merely not the brightest, but some would also assume that it was because of her lack of teaching abilities!

As the whispers of the disciples kept resounding, the professor felt it was time to teach them a lesson!

Turning around, she immediately suppressed the entire hall with her aura. All of the students faces immediately went pale in fright as they found breathing difficult.

The professor sneered as her loud voice reverberated through the hall. "Do you think this academy is a joke? A place that people can freely do as they please? Let me warn you in advance, this academy doesn't welcome useless trash! You have all been carefully selected through thousands of others, but just this little achievement has made you all arrogant, hmph!" The professor exclaimed, looking down on all the disciples.

"You best use every second to try and become stronger in this place or you'd quickly find out what it feels like to live like a beggar!" She warned before suddenly retracting her aura.

Feeling the aura being lifted off of them, all the children immediately sucked in heavy breaths of air as they all vowed to themselves not to provoke this person in the slightest!

As for Sorin, her loud voice had caught his attention.

This person was quite the beautiful figure. She had a curvaceous body with an elegant temperament. Her eyes were like sapphire as her long black hair flowed to her waist.

This person's aura, with Sorin's experience, didn't have much of an affect on him. It was merely one's fighting intent infused with spiritual energy. Furthermore, she mainly used fighting intent as, if she used all of her spiritual energy, she would've made all these disciples unconscious.

After she retracted her aura, her eyes momentarily shot daggers at Sorin. It was a warning to him.

Sorin simply smiled in response as if clueless to her meaning, leaving her slightly ticked off.

"This presumptuous disciple..." The professor tried to hold it in. She would only lose face is she lashes out on this new disciple.

After taking a deep breath, she continued with her lecture.