Xiao Tianjue's closest thing to enlightenment was the smell of instant noodles.
In his small apartment, steam curled lazily around the room, mixing with the chemical smell of half a dozen empty energy drink cans and the stale smell of three-day-old socks. Anime posters covered the peeling wallpaper in his room, and game figurines stood guard over a plastic temple. Three monitors glowed like an altar, bathing everything in neon light.
And in the middle of this holy temple was Xiao Tianjue himself. His hair was a mess, his eyes were red, and he was holding chopsticks in one hand and hammering on his phone with the other.
"SSR! SSR! Come on, Papa needs that small pull!"
He yelled as if the heavens themselves were listening, and his pupils got smaller as the ten-roll animation played on his screen.
A golden circle lit up on the screen. Cards flipped over one at a time, glowing with promise.
"R... R... R..." He slurped up noodles between each bad result, and broth dripped down his chin. "SR... okay, we're halfway there. Come on, baby, give me that rainbow glow! "Give Papa the money!"
His heart raced. He was so excited that his whole body shook. This was the moment when the universe either blessed him or cursed him.
He got closer. Too close. One slurp too eager.
The noodle let him down.
It slid down the wrong way and got stuck in his throat.
"Ghhkkk...!"
He shook and coughed hard. Noodles flew across his screen like broken whips. He reached for water but hit an empty energy drink can instead, which fell onto his keyboard. His chair made a loud noise when it tipped back.
His phone slipped out of his hand and fell face-up on the floor just in time to show his last result.
[Result: 9x R... 1x SR… No SSR Pulled.]
His eyes got big. Tears came. His lungs were screaming for air, and his vision was getting darker as rage and despair filled his heart.
His last words were a rasp that showed both anger and sadness.
"God, you crook! At least... let me die with an SSR!" And then everything went black.
…
The smell of wet dirt and bitter medicine filled Xiao Tianjue's senses as soon as he opened his eyes. He blinked at a rough, old wooden beam that was cracked above him.
His head hurt. His body felt strange: smaller, weaker, and covered in bruises.
He heard mocking laughter before he could think about it.
"Trash Tianjue passed out again!"
"Second Stage of Qi Refining and already coughing up blood...what a shame!"
"Even outer disciples are stronger than him. Why does the clan waste money on this failure?"
Xiao Tianjue slowly sat up, holding his ribs. The morning sun shone down on a large training ground around him. A lot of teenagers in martial arts robes were sparring with wooden swords, but everyone was watching him. Their sneers were sharper than knives.
He stopped moving. He looked around at the people. Clothes from the past. Weapons that are strange. People are talking about "Qi Refining."
His heart skipped a beat.
"…Wait. This isn't my place. Where is my computer? My gacha roll? Don't tell me..."
He put his hand on his chest. Younger. Thinner. His reflection in a nearby water basin showed a handsome young man, but his face was dirty and bruised. He smiled with no shame on his lips.
"...I transmigrated. Ha! A classic. Of course, Heaven turned me into garbage. Couldn't even give me the bad guy part, huh?"
The teens started to laugh even louder.
An angry old man stepped forward, his beard shaking with anger. "Xiao Tianjue! Do you think our clan's honor is a joke? You're in the Second Stage of Qi Refining, and you pass out from a simple spar? You make the Xiao Clan look bad!"
The students laughed. A girl with bright eyes, who used to be Xiao Tianjue's best friend, snorted and turned away in disgust.
Xiao Tianjue blinked and then smiled.
"Ha! This is great. Young master trash reborn? Character for tutorial cannon fodder? Please, I've read this plot before!"
The elder's eyebrows furrowed. "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
Xiao Tianjue coughed up blood and then raised his chin in an arrogant way.
"Go ahead and laugh," he said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Keep this moment in mind. One day, all of you will line up to be my stepping stones."
Be quiet.
Then the courtyard was filled with loud laughter.
"Stepping stones? He can hardly stand up!
"He's gone crazy."
"Even if Heaven gave him ten lives, he'd still be garbage!"
But Xiao Tianjue's smile never changed.
…
The rumors were true.
He had once tried to force a breakthrough. His meridians didn't move forward; instead, they locked up, and he had to stay in bed for three days.
He had fought his younger cousin in a duel before. He was beaten bloody in less than ten moves in front of half the clan. His cousin walked away like a hero, and Xiao Tianjue got a new name: "Collapsed Tianjue."
After that, there was the alchemy disaster. He wanted to prove himself, so he tried to improve a simple pill. Instead, the furnace blew up, destroying rare herbs and burning servants. That day, the patriarch almost kicked him out.
The clan never forgot any of their mistakes. Every failure made them laugh at them more.
"Disaster on foot."
"Spirit stones are a waste."
"A burden to the Xiao Clan."
Xiao Tianjue wasn't just trash to them; he was cursed.
But his mind, which was born on Earth, only saw the irony.
"So, I died as a clown on Earth and was reborn as a bigger clown here. Great. Heaven is a scammer."
Xiao Tianjue sat under the dead clan tree that night, hurt and alone. Its twisted branches clawed at the moonlit sky, and its bark cracked like the years of his own failures.
He leaned against the trunk and smiled, even though he was hurt.
He said, "Let me guess. This is where the trashy young master either gets kicked out or finds some old treasure."
He laughed bitterly.
"On Earth, the main character always gets a break. But what about me? I die from choking on noodles. I'm still trash, even here. No golden finger, no system, no...
He came to a stop. Gazed up at the stars.
"Actually, forget that. If you're listening, Heaven, I take back half of what I said. This time, just give me an SSR. Please?
His voice echoed through the night.
Then...
His soul-sea shook.
A small crack broke through the dark. Golden light came through, and old runes crawled across his mind.
"…Hold on. Don't tell me...
The light got brighter. There was a jade altar with runes carved into its surface that hummed with power. Its light turned the sea of his soul into bright gold.
[Myriad Summoner System Initialized.]
Host recognized: Xiao Tianjue.
Xiao Tianjue's eyes got bigger, and then his smile got bigger.
"HAHA! Yes! Peak transmigrator starter pack unlocked!"