Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

In the summer of 2013, during the vacation in Hui Province, Guyang County, a city bus was en route to Yuzhou City.

The heat of summer prevailed, and it was the afternoon, causing all the passengers on the bus to feel drowsy.

In the back row, a pale-skinned boy suddenly opened his eyes as if he had just awoken from a dream, his face initially clouded with confusion, then he looked around.

The handrails, seats, windows, and curtains were all brand new.

"This can't be the bus 311 from the summer vacation after my middle school exams in '13, when I was headed to Yuzhou City to start my first year of high school, can it?"

"I clearly remember that the 311 city bus service started this year, covering forty kilometers and costing ten yuan."

"At that time, I was riding to Yuzhou City with my cousin's sister."

Jiang Ning turned his head, his shoulders felt somewhat heavy, a girl was leaning on his shoulder, her hair partially covering her face, eyes shut, sleeping profoundly.

"Everything matches up."

"But didn't I fail in overcoming the tribulation, destroyed utterly by the thunder tribulation? Why am I here?"

"Could it be that I've been reborn?"

Jiang Ning's pupils dilated, his centuries of Cultivation had long since crafted him a heart as still as an ancient well, yet at this moment, his heart was brimming with hope.

"I'm back, I didn't perish in the heavenly tribulation but have returned to my youth."

…

Jiang Ning, one of the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Luoyun Sect, also known as 'Not Foolish True Monarch.'

In his previous life, at the age of twenty-seven, he passed through a spatial fissure to the Cultivation World.

He was gifted, born with a Heavenly Spirit Root, and upon entering the sect, was immediately taken as a direct disciple by an elder. In just three hundred years, he achieved Nascent Soul Perfection.

Though an ascetic, his ability in spell combat was exceedingly formidable, having once eradicated the Seven Nascent Soul Sects, he instilled fear across the entire Central State Cultivation World.

Regrettably, he ultimately perished under the Divinity Transformation Tribulation, struck to dust by the thunder tribulation.

Right until the moment of his tribulation, Jiang Ning finally grasped that although he was revered by countless as a True Monarach of the Nascent Soul, his Dao Heart had severe flaws.

Under the assault of his inner demons, the various Tribulation Crossing Magical Treasures he had meticulously prepared were of no use, as his soul was scattered instantaneously.

The reason was that in the year he turned twenty-seven, the death of his loved ones, the departure of his lover, and setbacks in his career had already deadened his heart, and thereafter, he merely existed apathetically.

When the sect offered him a technique that claimed to abandon all passions and desires, supplemented by his Heavenly Spirit Root, he unhesitatingly agreed.

From then on, he became an emotionless cultivation machine, advancing rapidly, surpassing all past ancestors of the Luoyun Sect.

However, during the Divinity Transformation Tribulation, he realized that true divinity meant transcending the mundane; having discarded all passions and desires, how could he achieve such transcendence?

Thus, he failed.

Jiang Ning felt through his body, only to discover that his profound mana, capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, had completely vanished.

Even his Divine Sense, that could perceive over ten thousand miles, had disappeared.

He pinched his thigh with force.

"It hurts, it hurts too much."

The physique capable of withstanding magical treasures was also no longer present.

"This isn't a dream, I've truly returned."

Mana, Divine Sense, a body tempered through arduous cultivation, Magic Treasure Divine Weapons, Elixir Pills, talismans, countless years of treasured collections, all were lost.

No matter how terrifying the Divinity Transformation Tribulation was, it would not be able to completely strip him of everything.

What further convinced Jiang Ning that all this was real was that, incredibly... he was able to smile again.

Ever since he practiced the technique that claimed to forsake all feelings, he hadn't smiled for three hundred years; he had lost the instinct to laugh.

Jiang Ning's heart was filled with joy, and despite losing years of arduous cultivation, there was not a trace of dejection.

Because only at this moment did he truly feel like he was not a piece of wood, but a real person.

Suddenly, there was a movement on his shoulder.

The girl woke up, her fair and delicate face slightly blurred with drowsy eyes, a few messy strands of hair falling on her forehead made her irresistibly charming. However, Jiang Ning quietly shifted away.

Jiang Ning was born in a small town under Guyang County, Yuzhou City.

His parents worked in the coastal region all year round, and he grew up with his grandparents in a very ordinary family.

Jiang Ning scored 650 points in his middle school exam, surpassing the admission score for Yuzhou City Fourth Middle School. For better education opportunities, his parents asked their relative who lived in Yuzhou City, Jiang Ning's uncle, if Jiang could stay at his home and attend Fourth Middle School.

His uncle gladly agreed. However, the three years of high school at his uncle's home were not happy ones.

His aunt was not easy to get along with, being mean-spirited and disdainful towards the poor, she often found reasons to discipline Jiang Ning. Adding to that, her son who was Jiang Ning's cousin and the same age as him.

Living under someone else's roof, Jiang Ning inevitably faced comparisons, and in every aspect he wasn't as good as his cousin, so he suffered all kinds of setbacks, not to mention countless unequal treatments.

Consequently, after graduating, Jiang Ning never went back to his uncle's house, and the once close family ties turned incredibly frosty.

Sitting next to Jiang Ning was Shen Qing'e, who came from the same town as him. She was the younger sister of Jiang Ning's cousin's wife, and would be living with them at the uncle's house in the future.

Shen Qing'e was beautiful, and a younger Jiang Ning, admiring her, fell for her.

Whenever he had tasty snacks or fun toys, he shared them with her, treating her incredibly well, completely doting on her like a ''fawning dog."

He thought that living together would make it easier for him to win her heart.

However, after Shen Qing'e arrived in Yuzhou and saw the bigger world, how could a small-town boy like Jiang Ning catch her eye?

Compared to the peers in Yuzhou City, Jiang Ning nearly had no advantages to speak of—average looks, not very tall, and also not good at sports.

The high grades from his town became just mediocre in the city, far behind the top students in his class.

With only one hundred yuan a month for pocket money, what could he use to gain the favor of Shen Qing'e?

Throughout the three years, Shen Qing'e kept Jiang Ning on the hook, being ambiguous with superior guys, occasionally paying him some attention, which often left him distressed. After the college entrance exam, Shen Qing'e and a tall, handsome classmate went to a prestigious university in a coastal city with bright futures ahead.

Jiang Ning only got into a second-tier college. By the time he graduated and started working, he had come to terms with Shen Qing'e's past behavior, silently deleted her contact information, and from then on, they had no further contact.

Seeing Shen Qing'e again, Jiang Ning almost felt as if worlds apart, vividly recalling many memories about her; indeed, the impression the girl had left on him was profound.

It all came down to Jiang Ning's hundreds of years of cultivation, spending 99% of his time immersing in harsh cultivation practices, becoming an ascetic cultivator.

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

Jiang Ning looked at the roadside sign outside; they were almost at the station.

Seeing that Jiang Ning did not respond, Shen Qing'e frowned slightly and raised her voice,

"Jiang Ning, where are we?"

"We're almost at the station," Jiang Ning replied.

Shen Qing'e seemed to realize something and fell silent.

The bus entered the station, and the conductor shouted. Jiang Ning, carrying his suitcase, got off the bus.

"Jiang Ning, the suitcase is so heavy!" Shen Qing'e struggled to lift it, blinking at Jiang Ning.

If it were the old Jiang Ning, seeing her like this, he would have rushed to carry it for her without being asked.

Now, looking down at his own slender frame, Jiang Ning thought it best to decline.

Shen Qing'e, speechless, dragged the suitcase away resentfully.

Jiang Ning followed the crowd towards the station exit.

At the exit, Shen Qing'e looked at a milk tea shop across the street, twisting a lock of hair from her forehead:

"I'm so thirsty, I don't know when they'll arrive."

...

[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. ~]