Marcus ran for hours, he couldn't stop to rest for a second or take the time to look behind, young master Dio was chasing him and wouldn't let him get away unscathed.
Actually, he knew that Dio wasn't doing his best on the chase, no he was certain the hours running for his life, the small wounds adding up, the exhaustion and constant fear were a form of torturing him. That damn sadist was enjoying every single moment of it!
Marcus was never one of getting into fights, he never provoked anyone else and much less incite violence, it was the opposite of that, since Marcus didn't have any talent for cultivation he was always the weaker part, he couldn't afford to offend anyone, always trying to be a people pleaser and obtain the favor of others.
He was born the son of a low ranking alchemist of the Heavenly Pill sect, learning the craft since early age he had really good talent for making pills and elixirs, sadly the world was governed by the strong, in the cultivation world where the weak fall pray to the powerful just having an innate talent for alchemy wasn't good enough, Marcus' body was frail since childhood, and his meridians were thin and partially blocked, no matter how much he focused on cultivating there was no way to surpass the barrier of Foundation Establishment.
And that's when Marcus started focusing solely on alchemy and became a quiet young man without many dreams, he was satisfied with his art, possessed by the allure of alchemy, even if he couldn't be immortal or gain a high status on the sect, as long as he did his job well and didn't get the wrong people angry he could have led a blissful life until the end, but his skills attracted the attention he never sought and that's how he ended up in such a situation.
Roughly two months ago he concocted a whole batch of perfect Foundation Pills, they had twice the effectiveness of normal pills, with those the sect could create a bunch of powerful cultivators, Master Goro, the best alchemist on the sect and also elder of the alchemy department was delighted at the sight and decided to take him under his belt, Master Goro would go out to procure the ingredients and personally develop a pill to strengthen his body and meridians, and when he finally achieved Foundation Establishment he would be accepted as his personal disciple.
That would be an amazing news of course, but once the news spread the Master Goro left the sect the other disciples who always tormented him stepped up a notch, they wouldn't let him live in peace for a single day, the worst one was the personal disciple of Master Goro, a powerful Qi Condensing cultivator everyone called Young Master Dio.
Dio didn't have any skills in alchemy, he was a failure on everything related to the art, but he had things Marcus didn't have, a powerful body, perfect meridians, a pure spiritual root and the most important thing, he was the only son of the Grand Elder.
With such status even if if he had zero skills in terms of alchemy his father secured him the position of personal disciple of master Goro, and with his talent he quickly rose to be the most dazzling member of the younger generation, but the approval of his master was the only thing he lacked, the only thing he yearned for. Once Goro decided to take Marcus as his second disciple he wouldn't stop praising how good his alchemy was or how Dio should learn more and focus on his studies, thus Dio's hatred blossomed, he never hated someone as much as that insect who tarnished his image and took the favor of his master.
He ordered others to harass Marcus and make his life hell, and after a few weeks he devised a devilish plan, bribing the elder responsible for the missions he forced Marcus on a mission to gather herbs far away from the sect, naturally nobody would attribute such a mission for a cultivator who couldn't defend himself and was valuable as an alchemist but of course with a a good bribe and a bit of influence the matter was easily settled.
Marcus went out to gather the herbs, he went through numerous hardships and almost died at least ten times but he was finally back at the sect, to his dismay however, when he was just a few hours away from the sect Dio stopped him in his tracks.
"Hahaha, you bastard! I was certain the beasts would kill you, but decided to wait just in case, it truly pains me to kill a fellow sect member, but you had to come and steal all of master's attention, all of his good will, and insect like you, whom i could kill with a flick of my fingers, unforgivable!" Dio laughed maniacally as his face became more and more distorted, he unleashed all his cultivation base, two whole realms above Marcus and crushed him from the sheer pressure, Marcus could barely stand up and run for his life, the truth was he actually couldn't, Dio with his eccentric personality let him run to enjoy himself during the hunt.
For hours and hours Marcus ran non-stop using every single strand of Qi inside his body, he exerted his muscles and bones to the limit but he just couldn't lose his pursuer, and then he finally succumbed to extreme exhaustion and fell limp on the ground.
"Dammit, why do you need to do this? I never wronged you! Can't we just talk? Master is definitely going to punish you if you go this far!" With no energy left, Marcus tried to talk some sense into Dio, even if he knew it was impossible.
"Never wronged me? Your existence is already wrong! How can you steal the spotlight from me you miserable vermin? Today I will kill you!" Dio leapt forward and struck Marcus with his lance, destroying his arms and legs and impaling him.
"I will never forgive you, even if I have to become a wretched spirit I will have my vengeance, I won't let you live happily, you psychopath, I promise you!" Marcus stared intently at Dio's eyes as he died, blood leaving his body and his consciousness quickly fading.
He didn't know what death would be like, but after his soul completely left his body it was like he was waking up again, his senses were still dulled and he was just faintly awake but he could feel some kind of tunnel around him, taking him somewhere faster than the speed of life, soon Marcus' soul was drifting on a bright red colored river, it looked a lot like lava but it didn't hurt him, he also saw others souls drifting about, but none of them had any signs of consciousness.
'That must be the cycle of reincarnation huh? It's weird that I still have all my memories and remain awake. I always heard people saying souls couldn't see anything in the afterlife, well it's not like I have died before.' As he was having those thoughts, a giant wolf made of this lava-like liquid jumped on the river and caught his soul. What the hell was happening?
He was taken away from the river and into a large palace made from a lava-colored stone, everything was so beautiful and luxurious, there were art pieces everywhere, paints and sculptures that would leave the most accomplished masters amazed, and a faint melody permeated the surroundings, delivering the most divine music to his ears.
The wolf took him to a bathroom and bathed him in clean water, the remnants of the river's liquid in his body were quickly washed away, and surprisingly his body started reforming, he wasn't just a soul anymore but a person just like in his past life, the only difference was his pure white hair, and a bright red wolf tattoo on his back.
The wolf then kneeled down with his head touching Marcus' feet.
"Milord, how much have i been longing for this day? The day you would finally return, now as an adult, your servant is here to fulfil all your wishes, and help you become stronger and enact vengeance upon your enemies!" Marcus was flabbergasted at the scene, that wolf who suddenly grabbed him from the river of souls was not only speaking to him, but also demonstrating the utmost reverence.
"Eh? What?!"