Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 1 1: Back to Youth

During the summer break of 2013 in Guyang County, Hui Province, a city bus traveled toward Yuzhou City.

The intense summer heat lingered, and as afternoon arrived, every passenger on the bus grew increasingly lethargic.

In the rear seats, a boy with pallid skin abruptly widened his eyes, as though emerging from a deep slumber, his expression first marked by bewilderment before he scanned his surroundings.

The handholds, chairs, windows, and drapes appeared entirely fresh and modern.

"This isn't the 311 city bus from that summer holiday right after my junior high finals in '13, on my way to Yuzhou City for the start of high school freshman year, is it?"

"I distinctly recall that the 311 route began operating this year, spanning forty kilometers for a fare of ten yuan."

"Back then, I was journeying to Yuzhou City alongside my cousin's sister."

Jiang Ning glanced over his shoulder, sensing a weight pressing down, where a girl rested against him, her hair veiling part of her face, eyes closed in deep sleep.

"It all lines up perfectly."

"But wasn't I utterly defeated in my tribulation crossing, obliterated by the thunderous ordeal? How did I end up here?"

"Is it possible that I've achieved rebirth?"

Jiang Ning's eyes widened in shock, his centuries-long Cultivation having forged a mind serene like a timeless pond, yet now it surged with vibrant anticipation.

"I've returned; I didn't vanish in the heavenly tribulation but have come back to my younger days."

…

Jiang Ning stood as one of the dual Nascent Soul True Monarchs in the Luoyun Sect, famously titled 'Not Foolish True Monarch.'

In his prior existence, at twenty-seven years old, he traversed a spatial rift into the Cultivation World.

Blessed with talent and possessing a Heavenly Spirit Root from birth, he was promptly accepted as a personal disciple by an elder upon joining the sect. Within a mere three centuries, he reached the pinnacle of Nascent Soul.

Though he led an austere life, his prowess in magical battles proved immensely powerful; he had once wiped out the Seven Nascent Soul Sects, striking terror throughout the Central State Cultivation World.

Unfortunately, he met his end during the Divinity Transformation Tribulation, reduced to ashes by the relentless thunder.

Even up to the instant of his tribulation, Jiang Ning came to understand that despite being hailed by myriad as a Nascent Soul True Monarch, his Dao Heart bore critical weaknesses.

Bombarded by inner demons, the array of Tribulation Crossing Magical Treasures he had carefully assembled proved useless, his soul shattering in an instant.

The root cause lay in the events of his twenty-seventh year: the loss of his family, the abandonment by his beloved, and career misfortunes had already numbed his spirit, leaving him to drift through life without passion.

When the sect presented him with a method promising to sever all emotions and desires, bolstered by his Heavenly Spirit Root, he accepted without hesitation.

From that point, he transformed into a relentless cultivation automaton, progressing swiftly and outstripping every ancestor in Luoyun Sect's history.

Yet, amid the Divinity Transformation Tribulation, he discerned that genuine divinity required rising above the ordinary; by casting away all emotions and desires, how could one attain such elevation?

And so, he faltered.

Jiang Ning probed his form, only to find his vast mana—potent enough to shift mountains and churn oceans—entirely gone.

His Divine Sense, extending across over ten thousand miles, had vanished as well.

He gripped his thigh tightly.

"It hurts, it hurts so intensely."

The robust physique that could endure strikes from magical treasures was absent too.

"This isn't some illusion; I've genuinely come back."

Mana, Divine Sense, a frame honed by grueling cultivation, Magic Treasure Divine Weapons, Elixir Pills, talismans, and treasures amassed over endless years—all had been stripped away.

No matter the ferocity of the Divinity Transformation Tribulation, it couldn't have erased everything so thoroughly.

What truly affirmed for Jiang Ning the reality of this situation was that, astonishingly... he could smile once more.

Since adopting the technique that renounced all sentiments, he hadn't smiled in three hundred years; the very ability to laugh had deserted him.

Jiang Ning's spirit overflowed with elation, and despite forfeiting centuries of tireless Cultivation, not a hint of despair clouded him.

For it was only now that he sensed himself not as lifeless timber, but as a living, breathing individual.

Abruptly, his shoulder stirred.

The girl roused, her porcelain-smooth face softened by sleepy haze, stray locks draping her brow lending her an enchanting allure. Yet Jiang Ning subtly pulled back.

Jiang Ning hailed from a modest town beneath Guyang County in Yuzhou City.

His parents toiled year-round in coastal areas, leaving him raised by grandparents in a thoroughly average household.

With a middle school exam score of 650, exceeding the cutoff for Yuzhou City's Fourth Middle School, his parents sought improved schooling by inquiring with a relative in Yuzhou—his uncle—about lodging with them to attend the school.

His uncle consented eagerly. Still, the three high school years in his uncle's home proved far from joyful.

His aunt proved difficult, harboring pettiness and scorn for the impoverished, frequently inventing faults to scold Jiang Ning. Compounding this was her son, Jiang Ning's cousin, who matched his age.

Residing under others' roof, Jiang Ning endured constant comparisons, falling short in every way against his cousin, enduring myriad humiliations and blatant inequities.

As a result, post-graduation, Jiang Ning never revisited his uncle's home, and their formerly warm familial bonds chilled to near estrangement.

Beside Jiang Ning sat Shen Qing'e, originating from his same hometown. As the younger sister of his cousin's wife, she too would dwell with the uncle's family moving forward.

Shen Qing'e possessed striking beauty, and a youthful Jiang Ning, smitten with admiration, developed feelings for her.

Whenever he acquired delightful treats or amusing playthings, he offered them to her, pampering her excessively, behaving like a devoted "fawning dog."

He believed cohabitation would simplify capturing her affection.

Yet, once Shen Qing'e reached Yuzhou and encountered its vast opportunities, how could a boy from a backwater town like Jiang Ning hold her interest?

Against the city's youths, Jiang Ning offered scant merits—plain features, modest height, and lacking athletic skill.

His strong town grades dwindled to average in the urban setting, trailing far behind the class elites.

Limited to a monthly allowance of one hundred yuan, how might he woo Shen Qing'e's favor?

Over those three years, Shen Qing'e strung Jiang Ning along, flirting with more impressive boys, sporadically acknowledging him, which repeatedly plunged him into anguish. Following the college entrance exam, Shen Qing'e departed for a top coastal university with a tall, attractive classmate, their prospects gleaming.

Jiang Ning entered a mid-level college instead. By graduation and entering the workforce, he had reconciled with Shen Qing'e's actions, quietly erasing her details, severing all ties thereafter.

Encountering Shen Qing'e anew, Jiang Ning felt a vast chasm between them, sharp memories of her flooding back; truly, the mark she left on him ran deep.

This stemmed from Jiang Ning's hundreds of years in cultivation, devoting 99% to rigorous training, evolving into a solitary ascetic cultivator.

"How much longer before we hit the station?" Shen Qing'e rubbed her eyes.

Jiang Ning eyed the roadside marker beyond the window; the station neared.

Noting Jiang Ning's silence, Shen Qing'e's brows furrowed faintly, her tone sharpening,

"Jiang Ning, where exactly are we?"

"We're nearly at the station," Jiang Ning answered.

Shen Qing'e appeared to catch on and quieted.

The bus pulled into the station as the conductor called out. Jiang Ning, lugging his bag, disembarked.

"Jiang Ning, this bag is really heavy!" Shen Qing'e strained to hoist it, batting her eyes at him.

The former Jiang Ning would have dashed to take it without prompting upon seeing her struggle.

Now, eyeing his own slight build, Jiang Ning opted to refuse.

Speechless, Shen Qing'e hauled the bag off sulkily.

Jiang Ning trailed the exiting crowd toward the station's gateway.

At the exit, Shen Qing'e gazed across at a milk tea stand, twirling a forelock:

"I'm parched; no idea when they'll show up."

...

[Hello everyone, I am the author. This note is for the new readers starting from the 700,000th word. The beginning is about urban cultivation, but actually, it goes into daily life scenes later, not about a mighty emperor coming back to relentlessly show off and slap faces, just keep reading and you'll see. ~]