REBIRTH

In a deserted part of certain grasslands, a man was sitting, bleeding heavily in a jade palace. His robes were torn all over. There were deep wounds all over his body, apparently from sword strikes. Beside him, laying on the floor, there was a stone sword of unknown grade, and ln his other side lay an enchanted steel sword, an ordinary spiritual artifact. Both weapons were covered in blood.

Upon closer inspection, it would seem that the man was sitting on a jade throne, overlooking the rest of the throne room. Even more startling, were the uncountable number of corpses and bloody weapons strewn all across the floor.

Is this the end for me, muttered a sleeping 7 years-old Jiang Ting, as a deep sense of calm overcame him. Suddenly he shuddered awake, in disbelief over how real the dream had seemed. He couldn't help but remember the end of the dream, when the dying man looked at the jade sword, only to see his own face reflected in it. The dream had broken off at that point, and he couldn't remember anything more.

Jiang Ting got off the bed, washing his face and making himself a hearty breakfast before going to the stream. On his 5th birthday, his grandpa had given him a set of exercises to train his body and sword techniques. He diligently trained every day since then so as to become a mighty warrior and make his grandpa proud. He was seven years old now and was already considered one of the strongest children in the village.

After his morning training, he went home to clean up and help his grandpa cook and look after their crops and livestock. he continued this routine for several days and continued to have that weird dream everyday as well.

This continued until one day, when Jiang Ting woke up from his dream drenched in sweat, panting hard as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

The day had been like any other, but his dream had changed. He didn't see himself dying as always. Instead, he saw memories. Memories of a future, a life he might have lived. It did not end that day either. Every night he would recover a portion of his memories, until eventually there came a dream where rest of his memories came all at once, piecing together the fragments he had received recently. allowing him to form a full consciousness of his future self. By some stroke of fate, Jiang Ting seemed to have undergone rebirth, able to go back in time to his childhood.

The young Jiang Ting, in his teenage years, had once had an argument with his grandfather, before leaving his home to cultivate at the age of 12. The argument stemmed from his grandfather's refusal to allow him to cultivate at that age since he already was stronger than all the village boys who were 14 and beginning their cultivation. Even the village chief had personally requested his grandfather to allow Jiang Ting to cultivate. The stubborn refusal had caused Jiang Ting to leave the house. His grandfather left the village, before asking Jiang Ting a single question.

"Are you sure?"

Jiang Ting built a new house in the village, attending the academy and training in the martial arts. Hailed as a legendary genius, he smashed all records, becoming the village's strongest swordsman at the age of 22. After that, he left the village to journey across the world in order to advance his training. Realizing that the world outside was much larger than his imagination, he trained hard, making many friends and enemies, before losing his life in a battle for a precious weapon.

Naturally, Jiang Ting's confusion over these events was slowly overtaken by happiness as these memories slowly integrated with his own and stopped being merely dreams to him. Now the young Jiang Ting possessed the mind of his 30 years-old self from the future, and was ecstatic at this opportunity to live again, making up for his regrets of which he had too many in his previous life.

Nonetheless, his rough life in the future had taught him prudence and rationality. As such, he also began to be very concerned about this whole situation. How did he come to take rebirth like this. Why him? Why did he return to such a seemingly random point of his past? Did it have anything to do with the stone sword he obtained and wielded in his final battle at the jade palace? Or was this the will of some incredible being beyond his comprehension?

Unresolved questions were too many, and answers were nowhere to be found. Thus, Jiang Ting put the matter to the back of his mind. For now, he must cultivate. At his point, he got up to practice his sword technique, only to realize his trusty sword was gone and his arms were unusually short. Remembering his current body, he sighed with impatience, before his eyes brightened up. Even though his prior cultivation was all gone, he was a child now. He could cultivate from the beginning, laying a strong foundation and not making the errors he did in his last life.

At this realization, Jiang Ting's mood improved considerably, and he headed out of his room to go about his daily training routine.

Of course, having stepped out of his house, he ran into his grandfather, who was cultivating in the yard. For a second, Jiang Ting stood there, stunned. "Grandpa?" he called out, not daring to believe his eyes. His eyes watered up. Seeing the kind old man open his eyes, not minding the distraction to his cultivation, giving him that same gentle, affectionate smile as always, Jiang Ting couldn't hold himself back from sobbing uncontrollably.

'??' Jiang Junjie was stunned, not sure what was going on. He went up to ruffle Jiang Ting's hair.

"How about I make you your favorite noodles for breakfast? Go sit at the table." He gently whispered, before heading to the kitchen.

"Hmm," nodded Jiang Ting as he sat down at the table, his heart filled with warmth. Determination filled his eyes, unwilling to go down the same path as before, to abandon his grandfather.

"I will make you proud, grandpa." He whispered, as he watched the old man cook.

After so many years, he was able to see his only family in the world.