The Samsara God King's rebirth

CHAPTER 3

“In three days?” Mei and Qing gasped.

             

Shen Wuyin ignored their stares and walked to the corner of the room. He grabbed a mat and spread it across the floor using the method he remembered from Yun Li's memories.

“You should get some sleep,” he said.

His family exchanged worried looks.

“Yun Li,” his mother called softly. “How do you plan to repay Shan Lian within three days?”

He turned to his mother, locking his gaze on her frail figure.

“I’ll find a way ma.” He said calmly.

“I don’t know how, but I’ll find a way.” He thought.

Mei’s lips parted as his words echoed in her head. “What way can you find in three days?” She interjected sharply.

A gentle knock disrupted the stifling tension.

Shen Wuyin crossed the room and opened the door.

A red-haired young woman stood outside.

“Yun Li!”

She wrapped her arms around him before he could react.

“Sister Ruoxi!” Mei exclaimed.

Ruoxi released him and softly pecked his cheek.

“Are you hurt?” she whispered.

The moment her lips touched his skin, a fragment of memory surfaced.

A woman stood beneath a silver moon.

Her long hair flowed like waves across her back, shining with an otherworldly glow.

But her face remained hidden.

The vision vanished.

Shen frowned. “Why are his memories incomplete?”

Ruoxi stepped back awkwardly.

“I'm sorry I couldn't attend the tournament. I was....”

“Ruoxi, dear, come in,” Yun Li's mother interrupted warmly.

Mei quickly pulled her inside.

Shen remained by the doorway for a moment.

Yun Li had suffered through poverty, humiliation, and debt. Yet somehow he had a beautiful lover.

“Ruoxi, please talk some sense into him,” Mei said. “He's trying to get himself killed.”

Ruoxi turned to Shen Wuyin. “Yun, what's wrong?”

Shen studied her clothing. Fine fabric. Expensive embroidery.

She was from a noble family.

“Why would someone like her be devoted to Yun Li?” The thought lingered in his mind as he skimmed through Yun Li's memories.

“I'll tell you what's wrong,” Mei cut in. “He killed Shan Lian's men and told the survivor he'd repay the debt in three days.”

Ruoxi's eyes widened.

After a moment, she spoke.

“Then let me help. I'll pay....”

“No.”

Shen's answer was immediate. “I'll handle it myself.”

Mei threw her hands into the air. “Mom, he wants to get killed.”

Ignoring her complaints, Shen stepped outside.

The woods behind the house were silent.

He sat cross-legged beneath a tree and considered his options.

Thirty thousand gold coins.

For a family like Yun Li's, it was an impossible amount. That was a month's pay for a hundred laborers put together.

Only a treasure could fetch that kind of money.

The thought triggered another memory.

Two thousand years ago, he had hidden a priceless gem.

Not in one place, but in five different locations.

He split it into five fragments and scattered them across the world.

The reason remained hidden from him.

Shen laughed bitterly. “My memories are like crumbs.”

Still, one fact remained.

A fragment of that gem would easily clear the debt.

He rose to his feet before immediately lowering himself again.

“And there's no way I can retrieve it with this weak body.”

He began doing push-ups.

“A thousand push-ups.”

★★★

As the sun rose, Shen Wuyin entered the main market.

A loud voice echoed ahead.

“Challenge me if you're tired of living!”

A crowd surrounded a contest ring.

Standing at its center was a muscular young man with a smug grin.

“No one dares challenge me!”

The crowd murmured among themselves.

Shen's lips curled upward. “Insolence.”

He stepped forward.

“I challenge you.”

The market fell silent, then laughter erupted.

“Look who wants to die.”

“That's Yun Li!”

“Has he lost his mind?”

Ignoring them, Shen approached the ring.

He needed to test his body's limits, and this arrogant fool would do nicely.

The young man grinned. “Get in here, then.”

Shen climbed into the ring.

“Kill him, Zhang Chi!”

The crowd roared.

Zhang Chi cracked his neck. “Another meal.”

He lunged.

Shen sidestepped. The attack smashed into the iron flooring with a loud clang.

It was fast, but not fast enough.

Zhang grinned. “You can run.”

“I'm not running,” Shen replied.

Zhang's grin deepened. He planted his feet and rotated his hands.

Red energy gathered between his palms, slowly forming into a sphere.

Shen narrowed his eyes.

Zhang spoke into the sphere. “Get him.”

The orb shot forward.

Shen immediately dodged.

The sphere curved and followed him.

“Interesting.” A smirk curled on Shen Wuyin's lips.

He sprinted toward the referee.

The referee's eyes widened.

“You bastard.....”

The sphere struck him before he could finish.

Instead of exploding, it spun violently.

Streams of light burst from the referee's body and flowed into the orb.

The sphere returned to Zhang Chi afterward.

He swallowed it whole.

A satisfied expression appeared on his face.

“Excellent.”

The crowd erupted with excitement.

Shen Wuyin, however, wasn't watching Zhang.

He was studying him, his movements, and his qi flow pattern.

The technique replayed itself inside his mind.

Five seconds passed.

That was all he needed.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips. “I see.”

Zhang frowned. “See what?”

Shen raised his hands. Qi gathered between his palms. A glowing red sphere formed.

The crowd froze.

Zhang's face turned pale. “That... that's impossible.”

“Oh?” Shen Wuyin smiled. “Is it?”

The sphere stabilized.

He spoke the same command. “Get him.”

The orb shot forward.

Zhang tried to retreat, but it was too late.

The sphere slammed into him with terrifying speed.

Streams of light burst from his body as his techniques were ripped away.

The orb returned to Shen Wuyin.

Zhang staggered backward.

His face turned white. “You....”

He collapsed before finishing.

Silence fell across the field. Everyone stared in disbelief.

Shen looked down at the sphere resting in his palm.

“A fascinating technique.”

Without hesitation, he swallowed it.

The orb dissolved inside him.

A warm surge spread through his body.

Red light flickered beneath his skin before fading away.

Instinctively, he raised a hand. Flames appeared above his palm.

The crowd gasped.

Shen smirked. “I got his flame technique too.”

The substitute referee finally regained his senses.

“The winner is Shen Wuyin!”

A pouch of gold was handed to him.

Three hundred gold coins.

He got to the main market and gave the coins as alms to the beggars.