Chapter 2: A New Life as a Demon Child

When he came to, a blinding light filled his eyes. He couldn’t feel the ground beneath him—it was as if he were floating in the air. No, he was being held in someone’s arms. But hadn’t he died?

Before Wu could ponder further, he began to tremble uncontrollably.

It wasn’t a psychological tremor, but a physiological one. The cold wind lashed against his skin, stinging sharply. Worse, an overwhelming suffocation seized him. He struggled desperately, every cell and organ crying out for oxygen.

Finally, ignoring his conscious will, instinct took over and made the decision for his body.

He cried.

How bizarre. Why was he crying? It made no sense. But he couldn’t stop. When his vision finally cleared beyond the glaring light, he could see everything around him clearly—and his shock only deepened.

“Poor child… come, aaah—”

Standing before him was a gentle-faced woman in a nun’s habit. She looked eighty or ninety years old. What was she doing? She seemed to be holding something…

“No picky eating, okay? Come on, eat up, aaah—”

It was a spoon. On it was warm milk. How strange—why was he drinking this? Wait, hadn’t he died? Why was he here, cradled in a nun’s arms being fed milk? What was this? What was going on? This was insane! Stop pushing that spoon closer! He refused to drink milk!

“Be good, child. Hurry up and drink so you can grow up strong…”

Despite his inner resistance, Wu was eventually forced by the nun to finish a large bowl of milk.

****

Before he knew it, three years had passed. Only now did Wu fully understand the situation.

“…What is this? Rebirth? Reincarnation?”

Sitting beside the church’s holy statue, Wu murmured for what felt like the hundredth time. He should have met his end after savoring his final duel, turned to ashes. But instead, he had been reborn here—a place completely unlike the Human Alliance. This was an empire dominated by demons. And he himself…

…seemed to have become a demon. More precisely, an orphaned demon child.

His parents had long vanished. According to Sister, she had found him at the church door and raised him. But three years old could hardly count as “grown up,” right? No, he hadn’t grown at all! He was a centenarian, even if his appearance was three. His soul was still an experienced old man. You had to look at the inside, not the outside.

In any case, this reincarnation was a fact. He didn’t understand the exact mechanism, but there were a few silver linings.

First, thankfully, he had been granted a new life while retaining all his memories. This way, he could fulfill the wish he’d harbored at the moment of his previous death: enjoy life and strive to become stronger! By the way, he was now a demon—a long-lived race that could live a thousand years. Unlike before, he would have far more time, which he could use to live more fully!

Second, this new body had decent adaptability to magic—the most fortunate part. It meant that if he started training early, by around twelve years old, he could recover forty percent of his previous life’s magical power. Even forty percent was a considerable force.

As for the downsides of rebirth…

“Liya~! Time to eat! Where are you, Liya~!”

“…”

Yes, this was the downside. Unlike his previous life, he now seemed to have become a girl. It wasn’t impossible—fifty percent chance. An accident could be acceptable? How could that be! What a joke! He had hit that fifty percent? Why did he have to be female?!

“Aha, here you are, Liya. Dinner’s ready. Come eat with everyone.”

He was picked up! Damn it! He was being picked up! And lifted high! This was disgraceful! The greatest humiliation of his life! A supreme insult to a martial artist! How infuriating!

“You come to the statue every day. It seems Liya will be a devout believer when she grows up. That’s wonderful. God will bless you. Come, let’s eat.”

Misunderstood as a believer… He wanted to argue, but as a three-year-old, he theoretically couldn’t speak coherently. So he forcibly suppressed the urge to speak or even curse, letting the nun carry him away without resistance.

How many more days of this would he have to endure?

****

Another three years passed. Thank God, a six-year-old demon child could now talk. Fortunately, the world’s language and script were universal, saving him the time of learning to read. He devoted all spare time to reading books and training his magic. In his view, childhood was the most critical period; the foundation must be laid now.

Sitting by the holy statue—over the years, this had become his exclusive spot. When the nuns couldn’t find him, they mostly came here. Wu chose this place for a simple reason.

“…The concentration of magic here is unexpectedly high.”

Training in a place with high magic density would yield twice the results with half the effort. For six years, Wu had been training almost every day, continuously absorbing magic and refining it according to the Wudou Sect’s mental technique.

Unlike most other schools, Wudou Sect’s magic underwent nine rounds of refinement. After absorbing the raw magic, it was repeatedly polished and purified, like carving jade from stone. After nine refinements, the magic had no elemental attribute, most impurities were expelled, and it became almost pure life force—the purest magic.

It was precisely because of this refined magic, brimming with life force, combined with a special mental method, that Wu had achieved the miracle of rejuvenation at a hundred years old. Of course, that was no longer necessary now.

In short, before six, he absorbed magic; after six, he would purify it. Nine cycles of purification and compression, until a specialized magic seed formed in his body, then he could stop. Childhood was the perfect time for this polishing; wasting time on it as an adult would be counterproductive.

“Liya~, here again? Are you hungry?”

Opening his eyes, Wu looked at the nun standing beside him and smiled.

“Grandma, I’m fine.”

Sister Aria was now eight hundred years old. Unimaginable for a human, but for a demon, she had just entered her later years, still two hundred years away from the normal age limit. If she lived long, she might even get another hundred years…

It was she who had adopted the young Wu, so he always called her Grandma.

Wu had no psychological hang-ups about this. After all, even counting his previous life, he was only around a hundred—far less than Aria’s eight hundred. Plus, there was the debt of gratitude for raising him. Calling her Grandma was nothing.

“Ehh~ Liya is such a lovely child. Come on, let’s eat. Dinner is ready.”

“Mm, I know, Grandma.”

He stood up, ending his training, and followed Aria out of the church hall.

Speaking of which, the only good thing in these three years was that he wouldn’t be casually picked up and lifted high anymore. That was truly great news. However, there was one painful fact he had to face seriously.

“Liya will definitely be a beauty when she grows up. Blonde hair, blue eyes—so pretty.”

“…Thank you, Grandma.”

Yes, being female—no, being forced to be female—was an increasingly unavoidable fact.

But I will never accept it! Never! Wu roared in his heart.

I will definitely restore what I lost! My manhood!!!

In short, as a second life, Wu—no, now he should be called Liya—had a long road ahead.