Alex slowly looked around the room, taking in every small detail now that he finally had enough time to examine his surroundings properly.
It was slightly larger than a normal chamber, but it was still fairly simple and practical. A neatly arranged bed stood against one wall, while a wooden table with two chairs rested near the window. A small mat had been placed on the floor for cultivation, and an attached bathroom was separated from the main room by a sliding door. Nothing about the room was extravagant, but everything had been arranged with enough care to make it comfortable.
Then Alex's gaze suddenly shifted toward the wall.
A mirror was hanging there quietly, reflecting the entire room from a slightly different angle. He stared at it for a moment before curiosity finally took over his mind.
"I wonder how I look now?" Alex muttered as he slowly walked toward the mirror, wondering what kind of changes the strange reincarnation process might have caused.
Standing directly in front of the mirror, Alex carefully studied his reflection from head to toe. He expected something completely different, perhaps an appearance that would make him barely recognizable compared to his former self.
To his surprise, however, he looked almost identical to how he had appeared on Earth. There were no strange features, unusual skin colors, or other obvious changes that would immediately reveal that he was no longer completely human.
The most noticeable difference was his age, because his reflection looked considerably younger than the body he remembered having on Earth. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.
His short black hair rested naturally around his head, while his black eyes looked almost exactly the same as he remembered. His body was also tall and well-proportioned, though Alex did not spend much time examining his appearance beyond that.
After staring at his reflection for several more seconds, Alex finally looked away. He had already spent hours walking through the forest and then navigating the unfamiliar city, so exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him.
He walked over to the bed, sat down, and released a slow breath as his body finally relaxed against the soft surface. For the first time since entering the city, he felt like he could simply stop and rest without worrying about what might happen next.
Then a sudden thought crossed his mind.
"What's the name of this city?" Alex wondered aloud, realizing that he had entered the city without ever actually learning its name.
He tried to remember whether he had heard anyone mention it while walking through the streets, but nothing useful came to mind. He had been too distracted by everything around him to pay attention to such a simple detail.
After thinking about it for a moment, Alex decided there was no point forcing himself to remember something he had never properly learned. He could simply ask someone tomorrow and learn the answer then.
With that thought, Alex lay back on the bed and stared quietly toward the ceiling. The moment his body relaxed completely, a strange sense of calm slowly spread through his mind.
The tension he had been carrying since arriving in this unfamiliar world began to loosen, allowing thoughts he had pushed aside for a long time to return naturally.
His mother's gentle voice calling his name suddenly appeared in his memories, followed by the familiar image of his father sitting beside him at the dinner table.
Then he remembered his sister's bright smile and the way she would laugh at even the smallest and most meaningless things. Those memories were simple, but they were enough to make his chest tighten with emotion.
Alex's eyelids trembled slightly as tears slowly gathered in the corners of his eyes. A moment later, several tears quietly rolled down the sides of his face and disappeared into the pillow beneath him.
However, these were not tears of despair.
Alex understood that the universe was far larger than Earth, and the existence of Predora itself had already proven that countless possibilities existed beyond what he once believed.
If another world existed, then perhaps other worlds existed as well. And if there were other worlds, then there had to be some way to travel between them, even if that method was currently beyond his understanding.
There had to be a way back.
There had to be a way for him to reunite with his family.
'I just need strength.' Alex thought silently as he wiped the tears from his eyes and slowly clenched one hand into a fist.
He did not know how long it would take, nor did he know what kind of dangers waited for him on the path ahead. Even so, he refused to give up on the possibility of returning home.
No matter how long it took.
No matter how difficult the path became.
He would find them.
With that determination firmly settled inside his heart, Alex eventually allowed himself to relax completely. His thoughts gradually became quieter, and before long, he drifted into a deep and peaceful sleep.
The next morning, sunlight entered through the window and slowly illuminated the room, eventually reaching Alex's face and pulling him from his sleep.
Alex opened his eyes, stretched his body slightly, and sat up from the bed. After waking himself properly, he went to the bathroom and freshened up before brushing his teeth and taking a bath.
Once he finished, Alex changed into one of the traditional robes he had purchased from the clothing shop the previous day. He adjusted the clothing until it sat comfortably on his body before returning to the mirror.
He looked at his reflection for a few seconds and gave a small nod of approval. "Looks good," he muttered to himself, feeling slightly more natural in clothing that actually matched the people around him.
Then something suddenly clicked in his mind.
"Status," Alex said clearly, remembering the command he had used several times before.
A familiar blue screen immediately materialized in front of him, displaying his current information in an organized manner.
Alex's eyes immediately moved through the screen until they stopped at one particular number.
[Qi Energy: 495]
Alex froze for a moment as he stared at the number, almost wondering whether he had somehow read it incorrectly.
Four hundred ninety-five?
That was far more Qi than he had expected to gather in such a short amount of time. He had already been surprised by how quickly his energy had increased after obtaining his human body, but this amount still caught him off guard.
'Fast…' was the only thought that appeared in his mind as he continued staring at the number.
However, after thinking about it logically, Alex realized the increase actually made sense. When he had first arrived in this world, he had possessed only twenty Qi Energy.
Within several hours, he had gathered roughly one hundred and twenty additional Qi Energy before using one hundred of it to break through into the Foundation Realm.
Since then, nearly twelve more hours had passed, giving his body plenty of time to continue absorbing the surrounding Qi while he slept.
Considering how quickly his Primal Origin Physique allowed him to gather energy, reaching nearly five hundred Qi Energy was not completely unreasonable.
Still, Alex found the speed impressive enough to make him curious about how quickly his strength would continue increasing in the future.
"System, breakthrough to the next stage," Alex said firmly, deciding there was no reason to waste the energy he had already gathered.
The moment the system responded, an enormous amount of Qi suddenly surged through Alex's body. The energy rushed through his meridians like a powerful current, moving faster and stronger than anything he had experienced during his previous breakthrough.
His dantian rapidly filled with dense Qi, and the pressure inside it continued increasing as more energy poured into the already concentrated mass.
Alex gritted his teeth and remained still as the dantian slowly expanded under the immense pressure. The process continued for several moments before the energy finally stabilized inside his body.
A wave of clarity suddenly spread through Alex's mind, making his thoughts feel sharper and more focused than before.
Alex slowly opened his eyes after hearing the system's announcement, immediately noticing that something about his body felt different.
The change was not dramatic, but it was clear enough for him to notice. The Qi inside his body flowed more smoothly, while his meridians felt slightly wider and more stable than before.
His dantian also felt considerably steadier, allowing him to sense the Qi stored within it with greater clarity. Even his physical senses seemed somewhat sharper after the breakthrough.
Alex slowly clenched his fist, feeling the increased strength flowing through his body. He could not accurately measure how much stronger he had become, but the improvement was definitely noticeable.
Without wasting any more time, Alex stood up and walked toward the door. He had already decided that today would be spent exploring the city and learning more about the place where he would be living for at least some time.
He reached the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled it open.
~Grrrnnnngh~
The sudden sound made Alex freeze completely for a moment.
His stomach had just growled loudly.
Alex slowly looked down at his stomach before realizing something he had completely forgotten since arriving in the city.
He had not eaten anything since the previous day.
After spending hours wandering through the forest, entering the city, selling the herbs, buying clothes, finding Heaven Palace, and finally getting his room, he had completely forgotten about food.
Exhaustion had taken over his body, and he had simply fallen asleep without giving his hunger any attention.
"Right…" Alex muttered quietly as he slowly closed the door again, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed by how easily he had forgotten such an important thing.
Turning back toward the room, Alex remembered the talisman Mei Lin had given him. She had explained that he could use it to contact the staff if he needed help.
Naturally, the first thing Alex wanted to ask was where he could get something to eat.
However, there was one small problem.
He did not know how to use the talisman.
Alex picked it up and stared at the strange object in his hand, remembering Mei Lin's explanation about using Qi to activate such items.
"How do I do this?" Alex muttered as he turned the talisman around several times, hoping that its markings might somehow reveal what he was supposed to do.
He tried focusing inward and attempted to sense the Qi inside his body, but nothing happened. He could feel that the energy existed somewhere within him, yet he had absolutely no idea how to control or circulate it.
After several awkward attempts that accomplished nothing, Alex finally gave up and released a tired sigh.
"System… how do I circulate Qi?" he asked, hoping the system would provide him with a simple explanation or perhaps teach him the basic method directly.
The response came almost immediately.
Alex's expression froze for several seconds.
~Sigh~
He let out a heavy sigh, having genuinely expected the system to provide an answer. After everything it had already explained to him, he had assumed this would be another simple question with an equally simple response.
"So, I am doing it on my own," Alex muttered, accepting that the system clearly had no intention of helping him with this particular problem.
He placed the talisman aside for the moment before walking over to the cultivation mat. Sitting down cross-legged, Alex straightened his back and closed his eyes.
He slowly calmed his breathing and focused his attention inward, searching for the energy within his body that he had previously only sensed during his breakthroughs.
If he wanted to become stronger, then he could not depend on the system to explain everything for him.
For the first time, Alex decided that he would try to understand cultivation through his own efforts, even if the process took much longer than expected.
He focused deeper into his body, searching for the Qi that filled his dantian while carefully trying to understand how the energy moved through his meridians.
'If I can sense it, then there must be a way to control it.' Alex thought as he remained completely still, beginning his first genuine attempt at circulating Qi on his own.