Chapter 6- Cultivators

Rion leaned against the bedpost, lost in thought. His former world was a strange contradiction—a place where technology had solved almost everything. They could reshape planets, talk to AI friends, and cure once-fatal diseases. Yet despite all this progress, people still yearned for something more magical: superpowers.

This fascination ran deep in their culture. Blockbuster films showcased dazzling feats of strength while TV series explored the moral weight of extraordinary gifts. Even books told tales of telepaths and time travelers. Chuzkah children fell asleep to stories of heroes flying without antigravity suits or stopping Maglev-trains with bare hands, dreaming of similar abilities.

Adults weren't much different. They'd critique plot holes and debate which hero would win in a fight, but underneath lurked the same desire—to possess something truly extraordinary.

The irony wasn't lost on Rion. In a society where the wealthy could buy neural implants for enhanced intelligence or exosuits for incredible strength, the allure of natural, unexplainable abilities remained strongest. Tech marvels were impressive but came with visible limitations—wires, schematics, user manuals. Superpowers belonged to the realm of mystery and magic, beyond what even their advanced science could explain.

And yet, for all the cultural obsession with superpowers, if someone had wandered into the polished avenues of the upper districts—and asked a kid, "Do you think superpowers are real?" they'd have gotten a look that screamed, "What rock did you crawl out from?"

If the person somehow made it to the dingy alleys of a slum like Moon Shadow Village, the response would have been immediate and scornful, likely something along the lines of, "Do you think the space fairies are real too?" No matter how captivating the stories were or how meticulously crafted the special effects in those blockbuster movies, belief in actual superpowers was as far-fetched as believing the stars whispered secrets.

It wasn't just skepticism—it was a certainty. As amazing as they were in theory, superpowers were ultimately fantasy, and reality had no patience for the whimsical or the magical. Chuzkah believed in tech, in science, in the things they could measure, predict, and build. Anything outside that realm was just fiction. To think otherwise was to risk being labeled delusional.

So, imagine his surprise when, sifting through the inherited memories of this body's former host, he stumbled upon the notion of origin energy. If those memories were to be trusted—and he hoped the previous Rion wasn't just another flavor of crazy—it meant this world harbored people capable of manipulating origin energy to perform feats straight out of a digital comic.

This world has..... SUPERPOWERS???

Rion was surprised at this. Although both his old and new memories were currently jumbled and in the process of fusing, he was sure that this origin energy as the natives called it wasn't part of the fundamental forces of nature found in his previous world.

It seemed to be some kind of super natural force, layered on top of normal physics and could interact with it without breaking the known reality. And then there was stuff like future prediction or telekinesis, each one more unbelievable than the other.

To maintain societal order, governments implemented laws and procedures requiring individuals to refrain from publicly showcasing their origin abilities without proper permissions and licensing. Additionally, utilizing origin abilities to inflict harm on others became illegal, except in instances of self-defense.

In addition, special collectives known as Guilds were established to manage these extraordinary characters. These special institutions were designed to nurture and educate the gifted few, providing an environment for them to explore their abilities.

As a person who had embraced a sense of normalcy and a desire for an ordinary existence, the original Rion hadn't joined any guild. The prospect of leading a life free from the responsibilities and challenges that came with being a cultivator had been appealing to him.

As he delved deeper into these memories, Rion became increasingly convinced that there was perhaps more to his situation than he initially thought. Could it be possible that the cultivators and their extraordinary powers were somehow connected to his inexplicable transmigration?

And if it truly was the work of some ultra powerful entity, he pondered whether this powerful entity orchestrated his transmigration as part of a grand experiment or merely on a whim. Was there a profound purpose underlying his journey between realities, or was it an arbitrary act guided by capricious forces?

No use thinking about that now. I guess I'll just have to make the best of the situation and take it one step at a time. After all, who needs a user manual for reality-hopping?

Also, the decision not to join a guild might have seemed like a terrible idea at the time, but in hindsight, it was a very good idea. After all, what if one of those enigmatic cultivators at the guild had an ability that allowed them to discover the peculiarity of his situation?

Subconsciously, Rion did not want anyone to know about his predicament. Even if he were to tell people about it, no one would believe him. Most importantly, it would be worse if someone were to believe him, as that would most likely only invite disaster to himself. He could practically picture the headline: "Man claims to be from another dimension, promptly dissected in the name of science."

Yeah, no thanks. Hard pass.....

Thankfully, the previous inhabitant of this body had few, if any, close family ties and had a reputation for being reclusive, making the chances of someone detecting that he wasn't the real Rion exceedingly slim. After all, he had no desire to draw any attention at this stage.

«BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!»

Looking to the small drawer beside the bed, he saw that the thing making the loud beeping sound was an alarm clock. The previous Rion had utilitized the inheritance left by his parents and used the money to enroll in a Mechanic college, making the alarm sound as a reminder that he was getting late for classes.

"Ah, the joys of early morning alarms," he remarked dryly, silencing the clock with a sense of satisfaction as he continued digesting the memories he had haphazardly gained.

One of the most prominent memories in his mind was the battle between a powerful military cultivator and a mutated beast that had been televised when he was a bit younger. Major Payne, a towering figure clad in light combat armor, stood amidst the wreckage of desolate industrial zone with a crimson aura of qi flickering around him.

The memory was vivid, as if the previous Rion had watched the footage countless times, committing every detail to memory. Perhaps he had—such displays of power were rare and often restricted from public viewing. This particular battle must have been deemed safe for broadcast, possibly as a demonstration of the military's capability to handle mutated beast threats.

Opposite Major Payne loomed a hulking, wolf-like creature bristling with muscle and bone spikes that glimmered faintly. Its glowing amber eyes burned with primal fury, its every movement radiating a lethal combination of power and agility.

The beast had struck first, lunging with a speed that belied its massive size. Its claws carved deep furrows into the ground, slashing at Payne with ferocious precision.

Payne sidestepped the attack, his movements fluid and effortless, before retaliating with a thunderous punch to the beast's flank. The impact sent the creature sprawling into a crumbling wall, the force of the blow reverberating through the battlefield.

The creature recovered quickly, its wounds knitting themselves together as its massive life force sped up its natural healing process. It launched itself high into the air, descending with a crushing swipe that shattered the ground upon impact. Payne countered with a powerful kick, sending the beast skidding across the battlefield.

The fight was relentless, each exchange more ferocious than the last, Payne's fists glowed with qi-infused energy as he traded blows with the beast, their clashes shaking the earth and reducing the surrounding ruins to rubble. The creature's spikes elongated, glinting dangerously as it adapted mid-battle, its strikes growing more unpredictable and savage.

Finally, after an exhausting exchange, Payne unleashed his finishing move. Drawing on a large amount of qi, he launched himself forward in a blur of motion, delivering a devastating barrage of punches. Each strike landed with bone-shattering force, culminating in a final blow that crushed the beast's skull with an earth-shaking crack.

The lifeless body of the creature slumped to the ground, its glowing eyes fading as the massive life force within it finally ran out and dissipated. Payne stood victorious amid the carnage, his battered armor and heaving chest the only signs of the battle's toll.

When he had watched this battle, he had been glued to the screen, his eyes wide and his heart pounding in sync with the thunderous impacts of every blow. It felt like he was witnessing a god clash with a titan.

The sheer scale of the destruction was overwhelming calamitous as it was strangely awe-inspiring. Craters were left in the ground while towering structures turned into heaps of twisted metal and pulverized stone.

Hmm, Not bad.....

But this level of power didn't astound the current Rion as much as it had overwhelmed his predecessor. In his previous world, a twelve-year-old child in a military-grade exosuit could level an entire building with a single punch. Teams of engineers equipped with graviton disruptors could reshape terrain with the press of a button.

What impressed him was not the destruction itself, but the source. Major Payne had achieved these feats using only his body, enhanced and empowered by origin energy. No external technology, no power armor, no artificial augmentation beyond what his own qi could provide. That was the true wonder—the human body, pushed beyond its natural limitations by this mysterious force called origin energy.

In fact, he was more surprised by the strength projected by the so-called mutated beast. In his former world, animals remained just that—animals. Even with genetic modification and cybernetic enhancement, they were still bound by biological constraints. A wolf, no matter how enhanced, would never have been able to go toe-to-toe with a soldier in power armor.

But in this world, it seemed, nature had found its own way to adapt and evolve, creating creatures that could challenge even the most powerful humans.

After all, the present global landscape was a consequence of the Uprising, an unprecedented event where countless mutated beasts besieged every country, leaving nations in disarray and societal structures shattered. The aftermath of the Uprising had transformed once-thriving cities into desolate landscapes, marked by the remnants of fierce battles between humanity and the relentless onslaught of mutated beasts.

Mutated beasts, commonly dubbed as such, were animals that like cultivators, had mystical abilities. These mutated beasts, driven by whatever base instinct directed thier actions, continuously evolved, adapting and fortifying their fundamental bodily attributes like strength, speed, agility, endurance and much more.

Moreover, as they advanced, these creatures developed unique adaptations that went beyond mere physical enhancements. These high-tier mutated beasts displayed signs of heightened awareness and strategic thinking, paralleling the traits of humans, rendering them more formidable adversaries.

Some theories suggested that the beasts were responding to cultivation itself—that as humans grew stronger through origin energy, the beasts evolved to match them, creating a dangerous arms race of escalating power. Others believed that the beasts were the result of an ecological change, a shift in the world's energy balance that affected certain species more dramatically than others.

Whatever the cause, the result was a new world order, one where humans and beasts existed in a state of perpetual conflict. Although the age of the Uprising had ended and humanity had won the battle for survival, the war against mutated beasts had never ceased, and the world still bore the scars of this never-ending conflict.

Darn....

In this volatile post-Uprising world, Rion realized that navigating this world without adequate strength was going to be dangerous. The safety of urban areas was relative, maintained through constant vigilance and the presence of powerful cultivators. But even within city limits, incidents occurred—rogue beasts breaking through defenses, criminal cultivators exploiting their powers for personal gain, accidents resulting from poorly controlled abilities.

And beyond the cities? The territories classified as "anomalous zones" were death traps for the unprepared. Only people who could take care of themselves dared venture into these areas, and even they did so with caution and backup.

Like this, he realized that this place was really no different from Moon Shadow Village. There would always be challenges and dangers to face, no matter where he found himself.

"In every land, the strong are respected, because apparently, 'might makes right' is still the only motto anyone cares about. Whoever has the hardest fist gets to dictate justice... because nothing says 'fair and impartial' like a good old-fashioned punch to the face," he lamented.

Even though the body he was currently residing in was luckily part of the fortunate minority that had the capability to harness origin energy and become a cultivator, threats existed in this world that even formidable cultivators could not handle alone.

Sure, these superpowers seem cool and all, but let's face it, they're no match for the sheer force of technology. Seriously, why am I the only reality hopper that doesn't get a transmigration cheat code?

Back in his previous world, the old drama series he watched sometimes depicted people who traveled to alternate realities and received some kind of golden finger.

With a wistful sigh, he delved into his memories, searching deep within himself to discover what adept ability this body had managed to awaken.

"HUH??????!!!!!!"