THE SUPREME CULTIVATOR RETURNS

Thunder roared across the heavens.

Dark clouds covered Celestial Mountain, turning the sky almost completely black. Lightning flashed through the clouds, revealing hundreds of cultivators scattered across the mountain.

At the highest peak stood a lone man.

Julian.

His black robe was torn, and blood trickled from the corner of his lips. Long black hair fell across his forehead, but his expression remained strangely calm.

He looked at the people surrounding him.

They had come prepared to kill him.

An old man stepped forward, his golden robe fluttering in the cold wind.

"Julian, your journey ends today."

Julian's lips curved slightly.

"My journey?"

His voice was quiet, yet every person nearby heard him clearly.

"You gathered all these people just to stop me?"

The old man's face tightened.

"You have become too powerful. If we don't kill you now, no one will ever be able to stop you."

Julian glanced around.

Weapons were raised everywhere.

Some cultivators looked at him with hatred.

Others stared at him greedily, thinking about the treasures and techniques he would leave behind.

Julian only sighed.

He had fought too many battles to fear a crowd.

Then the heavens changed.

A deep rumble shook the mountain.

Everyone looked upward.

The clouds began rotating.

A massive black vortex slowly opened in the sky.

The smiles disappeared from the cultivators' faces.

"What is that?"

No one answered.

A terrifying pressure suddenly descended.

CRACK!

The ground beneath Julian's feet split.

His eyes narrowed.

He had lived for centuries and witnessed countless heavenly phenomena, but this was different.

He couldn't recognize the energy coming from the vortex.

Then the vortex pulled.

Julian's body jerked upward.

His expression finally changed.

He drove his feet into the ground and released his spiritual energy.

BOOM!

The mountain trembled beneath his power.

Yet the mysterious force continued dragging him upward.

Julian clenched his teeth.

"What are you?"

The vortex gave him no answer.

It pulled harder.

His feet left the ground.

For the first time in centuries, Julian felt something he had almost forgotten.

Powerlessness.

Then a strange voice echoed inside his mind.

Your journey has not ended.

Julian's eyes widened.

"Who are you?"

Silence.

The black vortex swallowed him.

Everything disappeared.

The mountain.

The cultivators.

The sky.

The world itself.

Then darkness consumed him.

---

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Julian slowly opened his eyes.

A white ceiling stared back at him.

He remained still for a moment, confused.

This wasn't Celestial Mountain.

He sat up.

Pain pulsed through his head.

The room was small and unfamiliar. An old wooden desk stood near the window, covered with books and papers. A strange rectangular device rested beside them.

Julian frowned.

"Where am I?"

Before he could think further, memories flooded into his mind.

Ethan Carter.

Twenty years old.

A university student.

Poor.

Weak.

His father had disappeared months ago, leaving the family with a huge debt.

His mother was sick.

His younger sister was still in school.

Ethan had been struggling to support them while attending university and working whenever he could.

Julian slowly lowered his hand from his head.

"So I've entered another person's body."

He looked at his hands.

Young.

Unscarred.

Weak.

He closed his eyes and tried to circulate his spiritual energy.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

His expression darkened.

"My cultivation is gone."

Hundreds of years of power had vanished.

Yet instead of despair, Julian smiled faintly.

"Then I'll cultivate again."

He had climbed from nothing once.

He could do it again.

Julian pushed himself off the bed.

His legs suddenly weakened.

He caught himself against the desk, his brows furrowing.

"This body..."

He looked down at himself.

"...is pathetic."

CRASH!

A loud noise came from downstairs.

Julian's head snapped toward the door.

A woman's frightened voice followed.

"Please, give us more time!"

A man's harsh voice answered.

"You've had enough time."

Another crash echoed through the house.

Julian's expression changed.

The memories of Ethan immediately told him who had come.

Debt collectors.

His eyes became cold.

He walked toward the bedroom door.

Downstairs, his mother was frightened.

His sister was probably terrified.

Three strangers had entered their home and were demanding money they didn't have.

Julian placed his hand on the doorknob.

A faint smile touched his lips.

Three days ago, he had been the Supreme Cultivator.

Now he was a powerless young man trapped in a stranger's body.

But powerlessness was temporary.

He opened the door.

And slowly walked downstairs.