A God Cultivator Reborn in the Modern Age

1.

Coldness, pain—and darkness suddenly flooded his mind without warning.

That was the first thing Alex felt before his entire world was violently shaken. Not a physical tremor, but a sensation of consciousness being dragged, crushed, and then forcibly stuffed into a narrow space of memories that did not belong to him.

Thousands of unfamiliar voices spun wildly, whispering, overlapping with the inner screams of a young man. Alex jolted as heavy breaths filled his new lungs.

Thump.

When his eyelids opened, a new world came into view—and the first place he saw was not a magnificent palace worthy of a God-level cultivator who had once shaken the heavens.

Instead, it was the back courtyard of a campus, with grimy walls covered in vulgar graffiti, overgrown weeds, and three human figures standing in a circle.

“He’s awake,” someone said in a rough, arrogant voice—one that, for some reason, instantly made Alex want to crush the speaker’s skull.

The young body he now occupied lay on the ground. Half his face felt swollen, his lips split open, and his chest ached from repeated kicks. Bruises, weak muscles, and poor balance.

This child’s physical condition was truly pitiful.

Alex slowly sat up, adjusting to the new body while observing the three burly youths standing over him. One of them was stepping on the owner’s shabby backpack, grinding it with his shoe to assert dominance.

“You think you could run from us, huh? Just a little tug on your collar and you already passed out. What a piece of campus trash,” mocked one of them—Abel, if the original owner’s memories were correct.

More memories surged in at that moment, pouring into Alex’s mind in fragments.

The original owner of this body shared the same name as him. The difference was that in his first life, Alex had been an unparalleled God cultivator, revered by hundreds of thousands of powerful cultivators across countless continents.

In contrast, this Alex—the one whose body he now inhabited—was nothing more than an ordinary college student, constantly cornered, ridiculed, and turned into a joke in the class group chats.

Worse still, he never fought back. He never retaliated. His life was utterly humiliating.

Alex let out a quiet sigh. So his soul had awakened inside the body of a loser?

There was a trace of amusement, mixed with pity. But not pity for the body’s original owner—rather, for the bullies who just happened to be the first people he encountered in this new world after dying in the Immortal Realm.

‘Fate really helped me be reborn… but unfortunately, this world is not a world of cultivators,’ Alex murmured inwardly.

Meanwhile, Abel stepped closer. “Hey, what’s with that look? You usually stare in fear like a scared chick.”

Alex looked back at him. His gaze was cold. Extremely cold. As if a demon had just found its prey.

“Drop that disgusting look… Alex, do you remember? Before we used to beat you up, you’d already wet your pants!” Yuwana sneered, his eyes filled with oppressive mockery.

“Hahahaha! That’s right. You always hid behind the campus beauty, Olivia! Looks like she’s busy today—so where are you going to hide now, huh?” Djanu said, yanking Alex’s collar until their faces were inches apart.

With a cold snort, Alex shoved Djanu away with force, tearing his collar.

Kreeeet!

“Hahaha! Look at that—he’s got the guts to fight back now?!”

Brushing off his clothes with one hand, Alex finally spoke. His voice was flat.

“Fight you? Little thugs like you aren’t even worth dirtying my hands… Get out of my sight, or—”

Before he could finish his warning, Abel lightly slapped Alex’s face, slowly but deliberately, leaving a faint mark on his pale cheek.

“You think you’ve got some powerful backing that lets you order us around? Alex, how about this instead… Kneel down, crawl through the space between our legs, and we’ll let you go.”

Abel and his two companions stepped back, standing with their legs spread wide as they burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha! Come on, obedient dog! Crawl and bark properly! Let us, your masters, feel satisfied!”

Alex’s expression grew even flatter.

In the world of cultivators, respecting others was a fundamental rule to avoid needless enmity. But in this new world, perhaps such etiquette was useless.

“Why are you just standing there? Just like I guessed earlier—are you waiting for Olivia to come save you? Even if she does, she’ll have to do the same thing as you!” Abel taunted.

Hearing that familiar name again from the original owner’s memories, Alex saw the image of a girl who had always stood up for him when he was bullied.

“To teach you a lesson… I alone am enough. Don’t bring Olivia’s name into this again,” Alex said, his voice turning colder.

“Hah, did you hear that? For three years we’ve bullied you, and what happened? Didn’t you always hide behind her protection? Don’t want to crawl? Looks like today’s the perfect day to send you to the hospital!” Abel and the others sneered as they slowly advanced toward Alex.

Alex was different now. Just as he was about to plant his foot on the ground, leap forward, and strike all three of them—

A soft yet firm voice rang out, making him stop instantly.

“Wait!”