inspire-indiana Chapter 5: A Background as Solid as Iron
Chapter 5: A Background as Solid as Iron
The cold, sticky sensation, mixed with the smell of rust and earth, first came through the skin.
What followed was pain—a pain that was everywhere and penetrated to the bone.
My chest felt like it had been repeatedly pounded by a heavy hammer, and every weak breath was accompanied by excruciating pain, as if my ribs were breaking; my arms felt as heavy as lead, and my muscle fibers felt like they were being torn apart inch by inch.
My throat was burning, parched like a desert traveler; deep in my head, the aftershocks of the soul fusion and system awakening still throbbed, like a dull knife slowly cutting my nerves.
But even clearer than physical pain is the sense of smell.
The pungent, nauseating smell of blood, the sweet, nauseating stench of a decaying corpse, the foul odor of excrement, and... the burnt smell left after flames had scorched flesh and hair.
All these smells, stirred together by the cool night wind of the wilderness, formed an aura called "death," which seeped into his nostrils and pressed heavily on his lungs.
The silence of chaos was no longer in my ears, nor was the grand and cold voice of the system.
It was the faint, suppressed sobbing, the painful groans, the heavy breathing of someone utterly exhausted, and the soft crackling of firewood popping in the fire.
Occasionally, there was the gentle clinking of metal plates against metal, and brief commands delivered in a deliberately soft tone, yet with an undeniable air of authority.
"Water... next..."
"Wound cleaning, strong liquor."
"Expand the perimeter to fifty paces, in groups of three, rotating shifts."
Xuan Tianyi did not open his eyes immediately.
He remained motionless in a coma-like state, concentrating all his remaining mental energy on his body, like the most sophisticated instrument scanning the "shell" that had just become his.
The situation is... absolutely terrible.
This body should be around sixteen or seventeen years old, the age when one's vital energy and blood are at their peak.
But at this moment, the condition inside his body can only be described as "riddled with holes".
The meridians are dry and atrophied, with many tiny cracks and blockages, like a riverbed cracked by a long drought.
The internal organs were dull and lifeless, as if covered by a thin, gray film. The heart, in particular, beat slowly and weakly, pumping out thin and lifeless blood.
Muscles are relaxed, tendons and bones are soft, and the faint "qi and blood" that should belong to a martial artist in the Body Tempering Realm is almost undetectable at this moment. The few remaining traces are scattered and weakly swimming in the dried-up meridians.
"His cultivation level... is probably not even as good as the first level of Body Tempering. No, it's almost completely ruined."
Xuan Tianyi's heart sank.
In the original owner's memories, he seemed to have the cultivation level of "fourth level of body tempering". He was not outstanding among his peers in this body, but he was by no means at the bottom.
But now, this cultivation level has obviously dissipated almost entirely due to the original owner's death and the drastic changes in his soul.
Adding to the exhaustion from the long escape and the burden of injuries, this body is now probably no better off than an ordinary sickly teenager who has never cultivated.
"Hell mode within a hellish start..."
He smiled bitterly to himself.
But beneath the bitter smile lay a cold composure.
Even if it's worse, it's still better than facing the fangs of the corpse hounds just now.
At least, he's still alive, and... he has a system.
After confirming the general condition of his body, he began to carefully, as if peeling away layers of scabs, sort through the fragments of memories in his mind that were still chaotic but no longer sharp and repulsive.
The memories of two souls—Xuan Tianyi, an ordinary office worker in his past life, and Xuan Tianyi, a small-town boy in his present life—are rapidly merging under the impact of the system binding and the catalysis of a strong will to survive, becoming intertwined and inseparable.
Each scene, imbued with vibrant emotion, gradually becomes clearer and more coherent...
This is a world called "Azure Star".
The earliest traces of civilization, before a certain distant point in time, seem to have some vague similarities with Earth, yet are also completely different.
Without those popular myths and epics, without those well-known literary and artistic works, it developed along a lonely trajectory.
Until... about three hundred years ago.
The scene that day, which later became known as the beginning of the "Blood Moon Era," is etched into the deepest part of the historical memory of every surviving human civilization, passed down from generation to generation, carrying an indelible fear.
The sky was silently torn apart.
A huge, eerie, dark red "moon" imbued with an aura of misfortune and destruction suddenly and forcefully embedded itself into the sky of Xuanlan Star!
It didn't rise slowly, but rather, like a malevolent eyeball, it was forcibly "pressed" into the sky by some unimaginable entity!
Its surface patterns resemble millions of dried and congealed blood scabs, or some kind of evil runes that desecrate the laws of life.
The blood moon in the sky is not a natural celestial phenomenon, but more like a cosmic "coordinate marker" or "space invasion".
As a signal, the relatively closed "cradle of life" on Xuanlan Star was forcibly dragged out and exposed to a vast, ancient, yet endlessly dangerous ocean of cosmic energy—the "Star Energy Tide".
The immense stellar energy, like a floodgate opened, poured wildly into every corner of the planet.
It changed the underlying rules of the world.
The impact on native creatures is the most direct and severe.
Stimulated by extremely high concentrations of stellar energy and induced by some unknown force, plants and animals underwent crazy, uncontrollable, and aggressive mutations and evolutions.
A docile herbivore can transform into a slaughtering machine overnight, and a fragile plant can grow tentacles that devour metal.
These mutants are collectively referred to as—monsters.
They come in all shapes and sizes and have all sorts of strange abilities, but they have in common a powerful strength, tenacious vitality, and... an almost instinctive, greedy predatory desire for "humans," the former overlords of the planet.
Human civilization, under the interference of stellar energy tides and the impact of alien beast hordes, is as fragile as a sandcastle.
Cities were reduced to ruins by the trampling of behemoths and the turbulent flow of energy, national systems collapsed, and the population was reduced by more than 90% in the initial catastrophe.
That was the darkest and bloodiest era in the history of civilization, the "Great Cataclysm," a time of wailing and destruction under the blood-red moonlight.
The survivors struggled and groped in despair.
Ultimately, a new path was opened up—the way of martial arts.
Some gifted individuals or those who have stumbled upon opportunities have discovered that they can guide, absorb, and refine the omnipresent stellar energy through specific methods, using it to temper their physical bodies, develop their potential, and master extraordinary power.
Martial artists emerged in response to this need and quickly became the cornerstone and pillar of human survival in the new era.
Under the protection of powerful warriors, the survivors relied on the ruins of old-era metropolises and used new-era materials and rudimentary energy technologies to build massive, heavily fortified, and self-contained mega-cities—the Shelter Cities.
Blood moon, star energy, alien beasts, sanctuary cities, warriors... this is the current landscape of Xuanlan Star.
A civilization, amidst the ashes of destruction, relies on the power of an individual to rekindle its flame, struggling to survive in a cruel world fraught with danger, utterly corrupted by stellar energy, and overrun by alien beasts.
The original owner of this body was born in a supply town called "Linhai," located on the edge of a relatively safe "buffer zone" under the jurisdiction of Tianxia City.
The "home" I remember was an ordinary brick and stone courtyard on the edge of a small town.
His father, Xuan Dashan, and mother, Lin Wan, were both members of the town's hunter team.
The father was burly and taciturn, and his mountain-splitting sword technique was considered quite good even in the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm; the mother was gentle and kind, but she was skilled with flying needles, and was meticulous, making her an excellent scout and support in the team.
This family of three was not wealthy. Every time the parents went out of town to hunt low-level beasts and collect herbs and ores on the edge of the wilderness, they risked their lives to earn a meager income to support the family and also to support the original owner's cultivation.
But the house was always clean and tidy. The coarse grain cakes made by my mother had a special aroma. My father would silently wipe his wood-chopping knife after meals. Occasionally, when he looked at the original body reviewing the "Basic Body Forging Techniques" under the oil lamp, a subtle sense of satisfaction and expectation would flash in his eyes.
Those evenings, the sound of his mother leaning against the door frame calling, "Yi'er, come back for dinner"; those late nights, the sense of security that came from his father's rough hands on his shoulders as he checked his progress in cultivation;
Heartwarming moments of families sitting around a dim oil lamp, sharing simple food and whispering about their plans for tomorrow...
These fragments of memory, like the sharpest ice picks, mixed with the intense, unyielding affection, dependence, and happiness left over from the original body, pierced Xuan Tianyi's soul.
It's so heartwarming it brings tears to my eyes.
Then came the sudden, unexpected destruction that ripped apart all warmth.
The images in my memory suddenly became chaotic, turbulent, filled with jarring noise and blinding red light.
That day seemed no different from any other.
The parents' "Rock" hunting team accepted a mission to explore a mountain forest thirty miles outside the town.
The original owner was waiting at home.
Then came a terrifying roar, like an earthquake, rolling in from the mountains outside the town, instantly drowning out the town's daily hustle and bustle!
Immediately following was a burst of thick smoke and flames, mixed with the short, desperate screams of dying humans and the excited roars of strange beasts!
"A beast tide! A small beast tide! It's coming from the direction of Black Wind Ridge! Run!!"
"The defenses have breached! We can't hold on any longer!"
"The Seven Saints Cult... those scumbags from the Seven Saints Cult!!"
"My child! My child!"
The desperate cries instantly ignited the entire coastal town.
The original owner rushed out of the house in a panic, only to find the street in complete chaos.
The crowd cried and screamed as they surged toward the other end of the town. At the edge of the town, the simple wooden and stone wall collapsed with a roar as it was rammed by several "armored bulls" that looked like heavy trucks.
More low-level beasts of various shapes surged in through the breach like a black tide, attacking anyone they saw and crashing into any house they encountered!
He frantically ran against the flow of fleeing people, trying to rush towards the west side where his parents' group often went.
However, he hadn't run far when he saw a scene at the entrance of an alley that almost froze his blood—
The parents' "Rock" squad is fighting and retreating, trying to shrink back into the town.
They were all wounded. The father, Xuan Dashan, had several deep claw marks on his bare upper body, which were stained with blood. Yet he still roared and swung his thick-backed woodcutter's knife with a worn edge, desperately blocking the attack of a "ghost-faced lynx".
Lin Wan, the mother, was deathly pale. Her left arm hung limply, clearly broken, but her right hand still swiftly flung out handfuls of poisoned needles, forcing back several "Venomous Hyenas" that attacked from the side.
They saw the original body rushing against the flow of people.
Instantly, unparalleled anxiety and rage erupted in the father's eyes. He forcefully pushed the lynx back with a single strike of his blade, and roared with all his might towards the direction of his original form:
"Yi'er! Don't come any closer! Go! Quickly head towards the east gate! Follow the crowd! Go—!!"
The mother's tears burst forth in that instant, but she didn't cry out. Instead, she looked deeply at the original owner with her tear-filled yet unusually clear and resolute eyes. Her lips moved, and despite the chaotic distance and noise, the original owner strangely "heard" those three words:
"Live on!"
The next second, the father suddenly turned around, no longer looking at his original form, and like a mad lion, pounced on the masked lynx that attacked again, using his body to buy time for the team and the refugees behind him.
The mother bit her lip, fired the last poisoned needle at the hyenas that were trying to surround them, then helped up a seriously injured team member who had fallen to the ground and staggered backward.
"Dad—! Mom—!!"
The original owner let out a heart-wrenching cry, trying to rush over.
But several townspeople, their faces covered in blood and their eyes filled with terror, suddenly grabbed him and dragged him desperately toward the fleeing crowd.
"Kid! Don't be stupid! Going there means death! What were your parents risking their lives for?! Run!"
He was swept along, unable to control himself, and rushed toward the east gate of the town.
Looking back one last time, through the billowing smoke and the throng of heads, he only saw his father's blood-soaked, broad back, like a mountain blocking the beast tide, slowly bowing down under the attack of several strange beasts...
And in the mother's last glance back, there was endless reluctance, entrustment, and... farewell.
"Boom!"
Behind him came the deafening crash of a building collapsing, and the smoke and dust completely engulfed the street corner, swallowing up the warmest scene in his memory.
What followed was a dark, fragmented memory, filled with hunger, cold, fear, and a deep-seated sorrow.
They followed the surviving townspeople in a fleeing procession, making their way eastward through the perilous wilderness.
Lacking food and clothing, suffering from injuries and illnesses, they also had to constantly guard against attacks from sporadic strange beasts and thugs taking advantage of the chaos.
The number of townspeople traveling with them dwindled; some died at the hands of strange beasts, others succumbed to their injuries, and still others vanished silently into the night.
The original owner was young and had low cultivation. She also suffered a great change, which damaged her mind and spirit. She was kept on by her determination to "survive" and the occasional help from a few kind people around her.
Injuries, grief, hunger, cold, and days of fright, like a persistent carbuncle, slowly eroded his young vitality.
Finally, upon arriving at the valley chosen as a temporary gathering place and seeing the flag of the Tianxia City Patrol Army, the tension in my heart suddenly snapped.
The last breath that sustained him dissipated, and extreme weakness and profound darkness completely engulfed him...
"So... I took over this body the instant he died completely and his consciousness dissipated, and assumed this karma..."
Xuan Tianyi quietly "watched" these memories flow through his mind, and a complex emotion, indescribable, welled up from the depths of his soul.
There was a subtle guilt of usurping someone else's place, and a deep sympathy for the original owner's tragic fate, but more than anything, there was something heavy, as cold and solid as black iron, slowly condensing and taking shape in his heart.
He inherited this body, the name "Xuan Tianyi," and inescapably inherited his blood feud, his longing for his parents, his determination to "live on," and... his bewilderment and fear of this world.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from her tightly closed eyes, mingling with the blood and dirt on her face, leaving a cold mark.
These tears are for the tragically sacrificed, deeply loving parents who were strangers to each other, and also for the boy who died in despair, never having seen the light of day. Perhaps...
There was also a trace of it for his own past, which ended abruptly and was forever separated by two lifetimes.
Loneliness and sorrow, at this moment, transcended the barriers of the world and resonated deeply.
"call……"
He let out a long, very slight breath, as if to expel all the pent-up frustration and bitterness in his chest.
Then, he opened his eyes.
The last trace of confusion and vulnerability in her eyes evaporated instantly, like dew scorched by flames.
Instead, there is a cold clarity, and a steely will that has just been forged, yet has not been sharpened, but already exudes a chilling aura.
Don't worry.
In his heart, facing the vanished original owner's consciousness and the phantom image of the couple in his memory, he silently made a vow.
"Now that I have become 'Xuan Tianyi,' your hatred is my hatred. The path you did not finish, I will walk. You want me to 'live on'... then I will not only live on, but I will live better than anyone else!"
Become stronger than anyone else! Strong enough to see the truth of this world, strong enough to reclaim everything from that damned beast tide, from this rotten fate!
"Linhai Town, Xuanda Mountain, Lin Wan... I've got it all."
The lingering regrets and obsessions of the two souls reached final harmony and unity in this silent vow.
The fusion of memories was completely completed, and the vague sense of alienation and rejection vanished.
This frail and exhausted body, at this moment, truly and completely became "Xuan Tianyi"—
A new being who combines memories of two lifetimes, carries the secrets of the system, and is burdened with blood feuds and obsessions.
He slightly turned his eyes to adjust to the dim, flickering firelight outside, and began to survey his surroundings.