Jinshen Zhe was jumping from boulder to boulder sneaking past people and beasts, He was a wanderer that was now in the Serpent Canyons. A graveyard for the foolish. A haven for bandits and beasts.
But Jinshen wasn't here for riches or anything else, he was here for a martial arts scroll, one that was rumored to have been lost by the Saint Of Iron millennia ago. It was said that once a person read this scroll, their strength and talent, both would double, both of these things that Jinshen thirsted for desperately.
For hours, he searched, every cave, every corner but he found nothing. Just when he was about to leave, he found a deep ravine. This ravine was different from the others, it was unnaturally deep and it had a strong, almost otherworldy Qi that was exuded from it.
Jinshen smirked as he jumped down the ravine, landing on top of the spikes with ease since he used a basic body-lightening technique to lower his weight to be nearly that of a feather.
This is it. This will be the rise of Jinshen Zhe.
He closed his eyes, trying desperately to sense that Qi, to find its source but it was beyond his capabilities, it felt as if the Qi was everywhere since it was so strong but it was also... Unnatural, it felt like it didn't belong there.
He jumped down from the spike as he cautiously held the handle of his sword, making sure he didn't step on any traps or any poisonous animals that Serpent Canyon harbored.
As he walked, he suddenly felt the metallic hardness of something else except rocks or sand, but Jinshen ignored it, walking past it, thinking of it as a buried sword or armor.
Suddenly, a faint beep sound came out of the same spot where he felt that strange metal.
That sound didn't belong to the Murim.
He immediately jumped and turned around, his eyes wide, his sword drawn and ready for combat, his eyes searched for any movement, any sound. But there was nothing.
He cautiously sheathed his sword once more, hope filling his pounding heart as he reached for the thing that had made strange sound.
Suddenly a large flash of light appeared, blinding Jinshen as he clutched at his eyes, the light was so bright it felt as if there was a second sun that had just risen.
A voice came out of the light one that was childish and belonged to a young boy that sounded no older then 10 or 11.
"Yo check this out! The Time Machine worked! I'm going to give Mister Ancestor a gift!"
This made Jinshen's eyes widen as he tried to open his eyes but again, the light prevented him
What's going on! What kind of technique makes a light this bright!!
Another voice, one that most likely belonged to the boys mother yelled at the boy.
"Don't you dare!"
Jinshen let go of his eyes, he was still dazed, he dared not to look at the bright light, he just looked down but there was just one singular question that continued echoing in his mind.
What? Who the hell is calling me ancestor-
Jinshen's train of thoughts was interrupted as he felt a piercing pain in his thigh as he let out a pained yell as he felt something enter his Qi pathway and blood vessels as the light fizzled out.
Jinshen felt his head becoming lighter, his vision become blurry as he stumbled around, managing to catch himself, preventing himself from falling by putting his hand on the stone wall. He slowly got onto his knee's, leaning against the wall.
Wha- Poison.. B-But... Wh-Who called me.. Ancestor? I'm just.. 20..
His thoughts slowly stopped as he closed his eyes completely, passing out right then and there.
While he slept, something spread across his body, cleaning it and purifying the little amount of Qi he had.
After the night passed, Jinshen woke up from his sleep, but now his vision was clearer and so were his senses, he felt if he could hear and see everything in the ravine.
He cautiously stood up as he looked around, checking his body in confusion and surprise in his eyes. He placed his hand on the spot where the needle had pierced him.
Why am I not dead? Did the strange child not poison me?
He sighed deeply, shaking his head in resignation before he climbed out of the ravine.
As he jumped up to a small crevice in the ravine, sitting down on it as he sighed deeply once more, running his hand through his hair.
Damn it.. I think the scroll was just a baseless rumor. I suppose that I should just go back to Baiyun and find work there.
He shook his head in annoyance before he jumped up but much to his surprise, he easily jumped out of the ravine, landing with ease.
He looked at his knees, his eyes wide in surprise as he gulped slightly, holding his knees as they felt like solid steel, one that was achieved from years and years of training using a body-strengthening technique.
But Jinshen had never even learned one.
Wh-What? The hell is this?
Suddenly he felt a voice in his head, the voice was stoic and distant, it didn't seem human at all.
Hello Master. I am you're personal Nanobot. I am machine N#45621. The latest model by Nanite.
Jinshen staggered back, heart hammering against his ribs. He grabbed his head, fingers digging into his scalp, he was trying to rip out the voice. But it was inside. It wasn't coming from the outside world—it was lodged in his mind.
W-Who are you? Nanobot? Machine? What is that!!
The Nanobot continued, its voice was still stoic, it seemed that it was indifferent to his confusion.
I am a personalized helper. I will help you in any tasks that I can help with. Whether that be learning martial arts or processing large amounts of information. Shall I install the instruction manual?
Jinshen froze, letting go of his scalp as his eyes widened further, it looked like they might pop out anytime.
Instruction? F-For what?! What's going on!