"Soon. So soon. Any day now, I'll finally get to cultivate!"
Lai Shang transmigrates, opens his eyes, and finds dirt roads, mud-brick houses, and a loudspeaker crackling with static at the edge of the village. No spiritual energy. No immortal sects.
This is the heartland of the Boundless Empire, the mightiest nation in the world. Yet the lights of its glittering eastern cities never reach this far. This dusty mortal land will never touch the path of immortality.
Just when all hope seems lost, he finds one thin chance: be reborn, and ascend in the next life.
His Physique, Luck, and Opportunity in that next life depend on two things: how much Merit he earns in this one, and how he dies.
So he pushes against the tide of fleeing crowds. He stands before forbidden things that burn human lives as fuel. He points his blade at the powers that rule from on high.
Every step he takes is a step toward his death.
No one knows what's going on in his head.
"A madman," some say, shaking their heads.
"A saint," others whisper through tears.
Lai Shang just smiles. They're all right, and they're all wrong.
To every man upon this earthDeath cometh soon or late.And how can man die betterThan facing fearful odds?
— Thomas Babington Macaulay, Horatius
