I lay on my bed as I stared at the ceiling, bored out of my mind. It had only been a day or two since I recovered consciousness. The old man had paid me an unexpected visit on the very next day, but other than that I received no other visitors except my family.

"Did the school give me any homework or a.s.signments to do? I"ll do them in the hospital and try my best not to fall behind."

"No, not really." Dad stared at me for a moment before breaking into a grin. "I"ve never seen you so excited to go to school."

Why wouldn"t I be? The only thing I was good at was studying. In fact, I was so useless at everything else that I ended up applying for graduate school and entering a career of lifetime studying. I was probably among the worst scholars in academia, but at least I wouldn"t be causing deaths with my incompetence if I somehow ended up working as a bus driver or in a factory. h.e.l.l, I would probably kill more patients than save them if I somehow ended up as a doctor despite my meager intelligence.

Simply put, I was a lot better at handling books and writing stupid essays (basically making stuff up as I went along) than dealing with people.

"But that explains your act of valor," Dad continued with a nod of his head. I gaped at him, not sure I heard him right.

"Huh? Act of valor?"

"Yeah. You wanted to impress the teachers at Wu Ling Academy with a show of bravery, so you risked your life to save that old man." He glanced around suddenly, looking a little guilty. "Don"t worry, I won"t tell your mother."

"Wu Ling Academy?"

"You don"t remember?" Ji asked with a tilt of his head. "You"re supposed to enroll in Wu Ling Academy this week, but you got caught in that accident…"

Now this was news to me. I was pretty sure I never applied for any Wu Ling Academy when I was thirteen. If I recalled correctly, I attended Gong Jiao Middle School when I was thirteen, which emphasized on a bilingual education. That helped me a lot when I applied for graduate school, being able to speak two languages.

But I had never heard of Wu Ling Academy before.

"You were so eager to learn martial arts that you were so excited when you were accepted into Wu Ling," Dad spoke up proudly. I could only stare at him, baffled.

"I…did…?" I mumbled dumbly. Ji gave me a strange stare.

"You don"t remember, Big Brother?"

"No, I don"t." pushing my gla.s.ses up with my uninjured hand, I glanced from Dad to Ji, but they didn"t elaborate. I sighed. "So what"s this Wu Ling Academy? You mentioned something about martial arts earlier, right, Dad?"

"You really don"t remember?" Dad looked a little disappointed. I did remember Dad being a fan of martial arts, having learned a few when he was young and enjoying Hong Kong Kung Fu movies with him all the time, so that probably explained why he was so enthusiastic about me going to a martial arts academy. I nodded.

"Wu Ling Academy is one of the most prestigious martial arts academy in Martial City (Wu Cheng)," Ji explained helpfully. Dad nodded and continued.

"You took the theory exam last month and pa.s.sed with flying colors, making us proud! To be accepted into the top martial arts academy in Wu Cheng…"

"Wait, Martial City?"

I had to stop them while I attempted to wrap my head around what I was hearing. Weren"t we from a small village called Jia Xiang? And I remembered I attended schools in Cheng Shi City. I had never heard of Wu Cheng City (Martial City) before, not once in my entire thirty years in my previous lifetime.

Even though my family and ident.i.ty were all the same, it seemed that I was no longer in the same world.

"Yeah," Dad affirmed. "You"ll be heading to Martial City after you recover and learn martial arts in Wu Ling Academy."

I snorted and gestured toward my bandaged arm and legs.

"Do I look like I"m in any condition to learn martial arts in this condition?"

"About that, Mom has gone to fetch Doctor Gui Yi. He"ll heal you up in no time."

Ji said something unbelievable as if it was an everyday thing.

"Doctor Gui Yi?"

"The Ghost Hands Doctor, master of the Twelve Mystical Earthly Branches," Dad explained. "One of the top twelve Saints in the Jianghu (martial arts world)."

This was getting more and more bizarre. Okay, so I did get transported to another world after all. A modern martial arts world at that. While somehow retaining my past ident.i.ty. It was as if my life was transplanted into another world.

"Wu"er!"

Mom burst into the room, a big smile across her face. Behind her, an old man who looked as if he was almost a hundred years old, swaddled in. unlike normal doctors, he was dressed in traditional Chinese robes, and even had a hat perched atop his wrinkled face. He had a perpetual scowl, his beady eyes hidden behind small gla.s.ses, and a small wisp of a white beard hung down from his gnarled chin. Beaming, Mom stepped forward.

"Doctor Gui Yi is here!"

Gui Yi glared at me and snorted.

"So this is the brat who tried to play hero and almost got himself killed?"

What the heck? There was something about his tone that ticked me off, but I held my tongue. In addition to his traditional appearance, he had this menacing air about him that intimidated me into silence. This man possessed power enough to allow him his arrogance and condescending att.i.tude toward mere mortals such as me.

"Um…Doctor, so do you think you can help my son?" Mom asked somewhat timidly. Gui Yi"s lips curled into a sneer.

"Of course I can! Who do you think I am?"

He rolled up his sleeves and stuck his hand out. Behind, a pair of doctors in long flowing white coats hurried to his side and produced a case of needles.

…needles? What?

"I guarantee that this brat will be up and running about tomorrow."

"Is that even possible?" I blurted out, unable to help me.

Bad mistake.

As Gui Yi glared at me, I suddenly felt extremely tiny. Shrinking back into bed as much as I could, I shuddered involuntarily. This was not a man I could afford to p.i.s.s off. There was something divine about him, something that told me that he transcended humans.

Was he a xian just like the old man who I saved from the accident?

"Are you questioning my skills, brat?"

"No, I"m just…a little light-headed. Sorry."

"Hmph." Gui Yi raised a few needles. "Looks like I need to fix your head as well."

No, you did not. Nonetheless, I did not argue. Learning from my mistakes, I kept my mouth shut. That said, I couldn"t help but tremble at the sight of the needles.

"What, you"re afraid of needles?"

Gui Yi finally pulled his mouth into some semblance of a mocking smile as he waved the needles in his hands. I sighed.

"Well, let"s get the injections done and over with."

"Who said they"re injection needles? Do they look like syringes to you?"

Now that I had a closer look, I suddenly realized how the needles weren"t injections syringes but just ordinary stainless steel needles. In fact, they resembled sewing needles more than medical devices. Then I understood what they were.

"I"m going to perform acupuncture, not injections." Gui Yi"s unkind smile spread wider across his face as he advanced closer. "Don"t worry, it won"t hurt."

Somehow, that expression on his face didn"t convince me.

*

Unexpectedly, the acupuncture session didn"t hurt at all. And Gui Yi also infused my body with qi. While I lay on the bed, I could feel a strange warmth circulate through my body.

"Hmph. I heard you"re going to Wu Ling Academy tomorrow."

Huh? Tomorrow? That was fast!

However, to avoid suspicion, I nodded. I had no idea what was going to happen to me the next day, or how the martial arts academy worked. I guess I would figure everything out tomorrow. For now, I just had to survive…

…well, considering that I was still making snarky remarks in my mind while having a hundred needles sticking out of my body, I probably didn"t have to worry about preserving my life. Actually, I was feeling a lot better than I was over the last two days. The pain was slowly fading away and the qi Gui Yi infused into me was flowing throughout my body, carrying with it a nourishing warmth that breathed new life into my veins.

This felt so comfortable that I could just doze off there.

"Well, good luck."

That was unexpected. I almost thought Gui Yi would ridicule me for not knowing my place and attempting to learn martial arts despite my obvious lack of talent. But here he was grunting, in his usual gruff manner, his own form of an encouragement. I supposed I should be grateful for that. I didn"t know it then, but later I found out that Gui Yi held everyone in contempt.

"And be careful." Gui Yi twisted a needle that almost felt painful in my arm. "While I am somewhat impressed with your courage and selflessness, have a bit more consideration for your parents before you do something so reckless." He then relaxed and the pressure fell away. "That said, I"m heartened to know that the younger generation still has brats like you. I was almost disillusioned with how self-centered and arrogant the current generation of martial artists are."

"…eh?"

That did not sound good at all. I couldn"t help but gulp.

"Okay, done!"

Before I knew it, Gui Yi was already pulling out all the needles from my body and placing them back into the case that his a.s.sistants bore. He placed both palms on my back and transfused more qi into me.

"This should be enough. Rest for today, and tomorrow you"ll be back up and running on your own two feet."

"Amazing," I muttered. Though I was skeptical at first, presently I felt no pain in my limbs. In fact, I could move them slightly, and as long as I didn"t overexert them, I was able to even lift them normally. I didn"t try to stand on my legs, though.

Still, to be free of excruciating agony and the hard cast and bandages was a tremendous improvement over my earlier condition.

"Thank you very much!"

I bowed deeply. Gui Yi merely snorted and waved my thanks away.

"You should be grateful to your parents, not me. They were the ones who convinced me to treat you." He then stopped and pondered for a moment. "Well, to be honest, your actions were what persuaded me the most." He turned and for the first time I saw a genuine smile on his face. "Make sure you use the martial arts you learn to continue protecting people."

"Will do!"

I saluted awkwardly with my not-injured hand. Gui Yi waved his hand one final time before strolling out of the room. I watched him leave, and then slightly bowed my head in reverence and grat.i.tude.

It was only a few minutes later that I realized that the qi that Gui Yi imparted to me was still circulating in my body.

*

"Are you feeling better today?"

"Yeah!"

I perked up at Dad"s question and hopped to both feet. As Gui Yi promised, it only took me a day of rest before I fully recovered. I could finally stand on both my feet without needing to rely on crutches or a wheelchair.

My regaining mobility felt liberating. I had to restrain myself from running and jumping around the room to ensure that this wasn"t a dream, and that I was really fully healed.

"Doctor Gui Yi says that you shouldn"t force yourself so soon after you recover," Mom warned. "Don"t overexert your right arm and both your legs. If you put too much pressure on them, you"ll injure them again."

"Give them more time to heal," Dad agreed.

"I understand." Not wanting to worry my parents, I consented. Besides, I wasn"t stupid or reckless enough to throw myself into vigorous activity so soon after my recovery. I didn"t want to go back to the hospital so soon after I was discharged.

"But you made it in time, didn"t you, big brother?"

"Eh?" I turned to Ji, bewildered. "Made it in time for what?"

"Have you forgotten?" Ji frowned in disapproval. "The opening ceremony for Wu Ling Academy is tomorrow!"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Sorry." I laughed sheepishly. Truthfully, I didn"t even know about that, since my memories from my previous lifetime clearly differed from those of this timeline. But when I thought about it, the dates did correspond somewhat, so there were large similarities between the two parallel worlds.

"They shouldn"t expect you to do strenuous training on the very first day," Dad murmured with a thoughtful expression. "And in any case, I"ve already sent them a letter, so the teachers should know about your condition."

Uwah, that was going to be embarra.s.sing. I so did not want to be at the center of attention. I honestly would prefer if n.o.body knew what I did. It was a better idea to remain nondescript and not stand out at all, especially in a brand new world where the knowledge of my previous lifetime did not apply. I didn"t want to attract any attention from the teachers and other students if I could help it. But maybe my actions were pretty common in this world as well.

"Well, let"s go!"

Following my family out of the hospital room that had been my home for the last three days, I was somewhat treated to a little shock when I stepped into the outside world.

It was really a completely different world from the one I lived my first life in.

"That"s…"

There were floating islands in the sky. Yeah…literally floating islands in the sky, complete with waterfalls streaming off their edges and turning into a sapphire curtain that stretched to the earth. There were many shapes that soared through the heavens as well. Initially I mistook them for dragons or magical beasts, but when I looked more closely, I saw that they were in fact modern vehicles. Flying cars or motorbikes, if you will, but without wheels.

The technology in this world had developed to the point where vehicles could defy gravity and hover in the air. Or perhaps it wasn"t entirely technology. Even this far down on the ground, I could actually detect the mystical qi flowing from the relatively small vehicles. They weren"t powered by gas or petrol. No, they ran on…qi?

What amazed me more was the humans themselves. Craning my neck, I watched in awe as one of the salarymen in a business suit jumped off the ground and practically soared. Was that qigong or something?

He was not the only one. All over, ordinary citizens were engaged in various interesting abilities. While not all of them could use qigong to that extent, a few of them were essentially soaring in the air, either using qigong or creating gusts of wind. There was also a street stall just outside the hospital. My jaw dropped when I saw the chef raised his hand and create a spark of fire with his bare fingers, and using that to heat his stove.

The people of this world can actually do that?

Ji caught my stare and misunderstood my wonder. He raised a hand and slapped me in the shoulder.

"Big brother, you really can"t wait to find out what your element is, huh?"

"My…element?"

"Well, yeah. Your element."

"Everyone has different elemental affinity, depending on the nature of their qi," Dad explained. "I"m sure you"ll find out which elemental affinity you have tomorrow, when you attend Wu Ling Academy."

"…I see."

In other words, depending on the kind of qi I possessed, I could wield fire, ice, lightning, earth, wood or wind elements.

Oh, wow…this is just…

I still had trouble wrapping my head around what was going on, but this was just insane. I never would have thought that my saving an old man from an accident would land me in a modern martial arts world with elemental techniques that bordered on magic. It made suffering the excruciating pain almost worth it.

"Well, let"s go."

I followed Dad to his car, which like the vehicles above, did not have wheels. Crawling into the seats at the back, I belted up and watched as he started the car up. The vehicle levitated a few meters off the ground, hovering for a while before Dad shifted gears. With a roar, and a slight explosion of qi, the car soared into the air.

As we moved toward the direction of our home, I couldn"t help but allow my eyes to be drawn to the floating islands in the skies.

This really is a brand new world, isn"t it?

Leaning back in my seat, I tried to digest the magnificent and fantastic scenery that now permeated my view for as far as I could see.