"The gap between people really is vast."
Xin Yu looked at the report card in his hand, clicking his tongue in amazement. Someone skipping directly from age 9 to high school would likely be considered a genius in any world.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll begin school. Of course, I don't think you need me to tirelessly harp on about the importance of studying like other kids; you've already started exploring your own path. Tell me if you need anything. I bought you a phone too. If you run into any unexpected situations, call me immediately."
Xin Yu put down the report card and crouched in front of Mobius, reaching out to straighten her collar while rambling on about various school matters. He sounded quite fussy.
Mobius didn't react with the annoyance or boredom a normal child might show towards such a long-winded speech. She simply listened calmly to the man before her, then asked, "Will you come pick me up?"
"Of course. I wouldn't feel comfortable letting someone as young as you board at the school directly."
Xin Yu had enrolled Mobius in the most renowned private high school in the city. The annual tuition and fees were exorbitant, but the learning atmosphere, facilities, and environment were comprehensive and excellent. Moreover, the teachers didn't just focus solely on academic results; they paid attention to knowledge in all aspects. It really was quite good.
Xin Yu watched Mobius walk into the school. Only after her figure disappeared completely into the teaching building did he turn to leave.
Just as Xin Yu was preparing to wander around the city and familiarize himself with the place, he suddenly felt a strange stirring, or perhaps, a kind of premonition.
He was about to transmigrate again.
"Eh, I can actually sense it coming now? It's not like before, where I'd just transmigrate without knowing what happened. It seems that as my cultivation level increases, I'll gain a certain degree of control and development over this passive transmigration constitution or ability."
Xin Yu's resolve to continue cultivating grew firmer. Even though what he practiced had completely turned into something else, as long as it was useful, he didn't need to worry too much about the details.
With this thought, Xin Yu silently took a step forward. This step seemed to pass through some invisible barrier. Ripples spread through the surrounding space, and then the young man's figure evaporated into thin air, vanishing completely. The pedestrians walking nearby paid no attention whatsoever to this event, as if a living person disappearing was a perfectly normal phenomenon for them.
When Xin Yu came back to his senses after a moment of disorientation, he suddenly found himself plummeting from the sky.
Xin Yu愣了一下 (lèng le yí xià - froze for a second). Then, his rapid descent abruptly slowed, gradually turning into a drift as gentle as a feather floating down from the sky.
"Why is it directly in the air this time?"
Xin Yu slowly floated downwards. After passing through the clouds, he saw a vast expanse of snow and ice below. Even from high up, he couldn't see any signs of civilization, only a world blanketed in white.
Seeing this, Xin Yu's already slow descent slowed further, until he finally hovered motionlessly in mid-air.
"Where is this place now? Could it be the North Pole or South Pole? Or Siberia?"
Xin Yu decided to first look around for any traces of civilization. His figure then shot rapidly in one direction.
During the flight, Xin Yu somehow ended up flying horizontally, lying prone in the air with his arms stretched straight forward.
Although he didn't know why, he felt this flying posture seemed quite reasonable.
Just as Xin Yu was happily flying along, he suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation of power—a very strong power.
"Skyfire! Unsheathe!"
Suddenly, from directly below, came the hoarse, desperate roar of a middle-aged man. Then, a slash of flame that seemed to pierce heaven and earth erupted from below.
Xin Yu stared dumbfounded at the fiery slash coming straight at him. Before he could react in any way, he was hit squarely by the attack.
He crashed. Simultaneously, for some reason, gentle music suddenly played in his ears.
"It's been a long day without you my friend."
"MAN!!!"
After taking a direct hit from someone's ultimate move, Xin Yu yelled an incomprehensible line with his eyes shut tight, then completely lost consciousness and plummeted straight down from the sky.
Meanwhile, down on the snowy ground, a white-haired man, missing an arm and covered in wounds, looked at the white-haired girl lying before him and sighed deeply. Just then, he suddenly heard a sound tearing through the air from above. Looking up, he saw a figure, charred black all over, falling straight down. It landed with a dull thud not far from him, sending up a spray of snow that hit him full in the face.
"Ptooey, ptooey!"
The one-armed, middle-aged uncle spat out the snow that had landed in his mouth. He then walked over to the edge of the large crater that had been formed, looking at the charred figure lying in the center.
He carefully examined the obvious burn marks covering the person's body, then silently glanced at the greatsword stuck in the snow beside him, which still flickered with embers.
"Damn it!"
The one-armed, stubbled, white-haired uncle, covered in injuries, immediately scrambled down the crater's edge. He checked the charred figure's breathing under the nose. Finding that the person was still breathing, and after confirming the pulse in their neck was steady, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, using his remaining arm, he hoisted the figure onto his shoulder.
"Brother, what the hell were you doing flying up there for fun? Even if you had to fly, in such a huge place, why fly right over me? And right when I was unleashing my ultimate move, no less!"
"If I hadn't seen you take a direct hit from Skyfire, I'd have thought you were trying to scam me!"
The uncle grumbled as he first settled the girl onto his shoulder, then tucked the crashed, charred figure under his armpit and started walking into the distance.
...
The crackling sound of firewood reached Xin Yu's ears. He slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling above.
Then, memories of what happened before flooded back like a tide. He instantly realized he'd been inexplicably shot down while flying.
Xin Yu sat up in bed. Just then, an uncle's voice sounded beside him.
"Yo, you're pretty tough. Took a Skyfire Judgement, fell from that high up, and you're already awake after just a few days."
Hearing the voice, Xin Yu turned his head and saw a white-haired uncle missing his left arm, with stubble on his face, looking rather unkempt, his hair messy.
"Kid, do you remember who you are?"
"My brain is fine... Since you mentioned it just now, you should know who fired that attack, right?"
"Uh... Sorry about that. I didn't expect anyone to be up there at the time."
Watching the uncle awkwardly scratch his head with his remaining right hand, Xin Yu sighed. Who could he blame? Only damn fate and coincidence.
"Hello, I'm Xin Yu."
"Oh! Hello, my name is Siegfried..."
"Okay, Mr. Siegfried... huh?"
Xin Yu didn't react at first, but suddenly, he seemed to remember... That name sounded like Kiana's father's name.