"It’s so dark! Where am I? Why can’t I see anything?"

  Alex Turner was a quiet 17-year-old living in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. While other kids his age spent their weekends partying, gaming, or scrolling through social media, Alex preferred his own company. He watched anime, read novels, and built intricate models in his room, a space that felt more like a sanctuary than a teenager’s hangout. He didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, and didn’t have a girlfriend—not that he cared much about any of that.

  It was his senior year of high school, and Alex was busy preparing for college. He spent hours studying, aiming for good grades and dreaming about getting into a top engineering program. The pressure was on, but Alex liked the challenge. It gave him a sense of purpose.

  Alex’s family wasn’t wealthy, but they had a deep respect for their history. His father, a practical man with a sentimental streak, loved talking about their ancestors. In the living room, there was an old display cabinet filled with family heirlooms—faded photographs, worn books, and a single porcelain vase. The vase, his father always said, was over 300 years old, brought here by their ancestors when they first settled here. Alex had always rolled his eyes at the story. It sounded like one of those tall tales parents tell to make boring things sound important.

  But one morning, as Alex shuffled into the kitchen, still half-asleep, the vase caught his eye. The sunlight coming through the window made its delicate patterns seem almost alive. For the first time, Alex stopped to really look at it. Was it actually that old? He couldn’t say, but something about it felt... different, like it didn’t quite belong in their ordinary home.

  It was just a vase—or so Alex thought. But deep down, a small part of him wondered if his dad’s story might hold more truth than he had ever believed.

  But today, as Alex glanced at the vase, something felt… off. For a split second, he thought he saw it glowing faintly. He paused, blinking hard and rubbing his sleepy eyes.

  “What the heck is going on? Am I seeing things? Ghosts? A magical artifact?” His thoughts spiraled, a mix of fear and curiosity. Then, with a groggy chuckle, he muttered to himself, “Ha… I must’ve been studying too much. I’m officially losing it.”

  Still, he couldn’t help but steal another glance. The vase sat there, as ordinary as ever, its intricate designs catching the soft morning light. Nothing glowed, shimmered, or moved. He sighed and shook his head.

  “Yeah, just a normal vase,” he said with a dry laugh. But the thought lingered in the back of his mind, fueled by his love for cultivation novels. “If this really were some kind of magical artifact, it could at least do something cool—like grant me a transmigration! Now that would be interesting.”

  The idea made him grin. Turning toward the display cabinet, Alex decided to play along with his own ridiculous fantasy.

  Laughing, he turned toward the ancestral altar and said,

  “Honored ancestors, if you’re really watching over me, just let me transmigrate for once!”

  He stared wide-eyed at the vase for a moment, but nothing happened. Disappointed, Alex shrugged it off and headed toward the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for another day of studying.

  As he walked past the altar, something strange happened. The vase, which he had dismissed as unremarkable, began to move in an eerie and inexplicable way.

  CRASH!

  The vase fell and hit Alex square on the head just as he turned to walk away from the altar, almost as if to prove that his ancestors were indeed watching—and with a mischievous sense of humor at that.

  Pain radiated through his skull as darkness clouded his vision. His head spun, and he couldn’t hold himself up any longer, collapsing onto the floor.

  “I hope this means I can transmigrate…”

  That was his final thought before losing consciousness.

  Alex didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally regained consciousness. As he came to, he realized he was in an extremely tight and dark space. He tried to move, but his body felt weak, and struggling seemed completely useless.

  “@$#.........#%%!”

  Suddenly, Alex heard the voice of a woman—an older woman, judging by the sound. While the age of the speaker didn’t matter, what did was the fact that he couldn’t understand a single word she said.

  Focusing his hearing, Alex caught the sound of hurried, chaotic footsteps around him. “There must be a lot of people nearby,” he thought.

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  The same older woman’s voice spoke again, this time sounding more urgent, as if she was rushing someone or something. Before Alex could piece things together, a strange force squeezed him, followed by another force that pushed him forward, shoving him into an even narrower space.

  “What the heck is going on?! What kind of situation have I gotten myself into?”

  The bizarre and claustrophobic environment overwhelmed Alex, and he couldn’t keep his cool any longer. Panic set in as he began trembling with fear. “Oh come on. I don’t want to die!”

  But before he could process his predicament, the squeezing and pushing began again, sending him further along. This time, fear tightened its grip on Alex as he braced himself for whatever was coming next. Terrified and overwhelmed by the bizarre situation, Alex couldn’t keep his composure any longer. Panic and fear coursed through him as he trembled uncontrollably.

  “I don’t want to die!”

  Before he could process anything, the strange forces returned once more, shoving and squeezing him forward. This time, however, he was greeted by light.

  As his vision adjusted, Alex found himself face-to-face with a massive older woman, her face covered in sweat but radiating joy. Above her was a wooden ceiling with an unmistakable ancient Chinese architectural style.

  Fear crept into Alex’s thoughts. “What the heck?! Did I transmigrate into the world of giants? Wait… no, this isn’t Alice in Wonderland—that’s a Western setting. This is… ancient China? Oh no, oh no, where have I ended up?!”

  Desperate for answers, Alex tried to observe his surroundings for clues. But his neck was being firmly supported by the giant woman, making it impossible to turn his head.

  Then, without warning, the giant woman smacked him on the butt.

  “What the—?! Wait! Wait sister! Why are you hitting me?!” Alex thought frantically, utterly confused and powerless to do anything about it.

  "Big sister, can we talk this through calmly? Can you please stop hitting me? And at least explain why you're doing this!" Alex couldn’t hold back his sarcastic internal monologue as he mentally screamed at the giant woman.

  But then, he noticed something strange. “Wait a second... why am I so small? My arms and legs are short and weak? And why is my skin so red?!”

  Before he could wrap his head around the situation, the giant woman’s hand came down again, smacking him. This time, Alex couldn’t hold back the wave of emotions that surged through him.

  He cried.

  He cried loudly, uncontrollably, and with a desperation he had never felt before—like a baby who had just been born into a confusing and terrifying world.

  “Why is this happening to me?!” Alex thought in between his wailing sobs.

  "Elder Jin ! Elder Jin ! Madam has given birth—a healthy baby boy!"

  "Really? Hahaha! Where is he? Let me see, let me see!"

  As the door to the room opened, a man stepped inside. He wasn’t too old, nor too young, but his appearance was strikingly handsome, exuding an aura of authority and righteousness. Clearly a man of great stature, he appeared both anxious and overjoyed. Laughing heartily, he exclaimed,

  "My son! Hahaha, you’ve finally arrived! You had me worried sick!"

  "Only your son, is it?" a soft, delicate voice chimed in, though it sounded weak and fatigued. Anyone listening could tell the speaker must be exceptionally beautiful.

  "Haha, Serene, of course, he’s the son of both of us," the man replied with a bright smile.

  "Thank you! Thank you so much! You and our little treasure are my everything! How are you feeling now?"

  "Jin, there’s no need for thanks between us!" Serene replied warmly.

  "Quick, test the baby’s potential. And have you thought of a name for him yet?"

  "Ah, yes, let’s test his aptitude right away!" Jin said eagerly, his excitement making him a little flustered. He quickly regained his composure and began preparing to assess their child.

  The man seemed a bit flustered, but quickly composed himself. With a wave of his hand, a ruler materialized out of thin air. The ruler had nine markings, and he placed it gently into Alex’s tiny hands.

  The ruler began to glow, the light climbing steadily—past the first mark, the second, the third—before stopping at the fourth mark.

  The room fell silent.

  Both parents, who were key figures of the prestigious Skyshade Sanctum and hailed as geniuses with spiritual alignment scores of eight marks, were momentarily taken aback. Their son’s potential, measured at only four marks, placed him in the mid-to-lower range.

  The realization hit them like a small blow, but the father quickly broke the silence with a hearty laugh.

  “Jin Eryndor! I’ve decided—his name will be Jin Eryndor! It means ‘Limitless,’ because he will not let small obstacles stop him from moving forward!”

  “That’s a wonderful name!” Serene agreed, her face lighting up with a warm and maternal smile.

  “Bring our Dori to me,” she said, her arms reaching out lovingly.

  Jin carefully handed the baby over, his earlier disappointment fading as he watched his wife cradle their son with pride and affection.

  The man dared not handle the baby himself, afraid of making a mistake. Understanding his hesitation, the midwife carefully placed Alex—now Jin Eryndor—beside his new mother, Serene.

  Alex couldn’t understand anything they were saying, as the language was unfamiliar to him. However, when the man earlier placed the glowing ruler into his tiny hands, Alex instantly understood it was meant to measure his innate talent. Seeing the ruler stop at four marks, he felt a slight pang of disappointment, but he quickly comforted himself with a thought:

  "Nothing in life is perfect! I’ve already been reborn into a cultivation world, and I’m not a complete failure. That alone is a blessing! They say cultivation depends on your own effort. How far I go from here will depend on how hard I work. A small setback like this won’t dampen my resolve!"

  At that moment, Alex wanted to laugh out loud. "Haha! A cultivation world! I’m here at last!"

  As he was placed on the bed, something caught his eye—something he had longed for throughout his past life. Milk.

  Yes, he was being fed. Without hesitation, Alex eagerly latched on, drinking with pure, unfiltered enthusiasm. It was the first satisfying moment of his new life. When his tiny belly was finally full, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. His eyelids drooped, and before he knew it, he fell into a deep, blissful sleep, the voices of his new parents softly chatting in the background.