"Return to the Modern World"

"Lǐ Píng, Lǐ Píng, wake up! You're running late, hurry up..."

Who is it? Is someone calling me?

It's been a long time since someone called me by that name. Lǐ Píng, it really is a name that brings back memories, Lǐ Píng thought to herself.

Hmm, wait, where am I? Who is calling me, and how do they know this name? Opening her eyes suddenly, Lǐ Píng looked at the blurry figures in front of her and everything around her. This familiar scene, seemingly déjà vu, shocked Lǐ Píng—she seemed to have returned to the modern world, but not just any modern world, it was the past version of the modern era.

Lǐ Píng couldn't help but question, albeit tentatively, "Zhou Xue, what day is it today?" "It's Wednesday. Why, are you still lingering? Hurry up, you're almost late," Zhou Xue said vaguely while brushing her teeth.

"Yeah, I got it," Lǐ Píng unconsciously replied.

Lǐ Píng, mentally aged, almost couldn't control the excitement in her heart and wanted to cheer. It took a while for her to calm down.

Upon entering the classroom, as she looked at the familiar faces, Lǐ Píng's fluctuating heart gradually settled.

Trying to recall everything from high school, she quickly walked to her remembered seat. During morning reading, the classroom echoed with the sound of students reading aloud. Holding the textbook, Lǐ Píng's thoughts had already flown elsewhere—into space.

This was something Lǐ Píng unconsciously discovered; she could consciously enter the space. Not only the space but also the spatial translocator had come along. It seemed that these two things were linked to the soul. Furthermore, everything inside the space remained intact. Looking at various precious herbs and valuable trees in the space, Lǐ Píng couldn't help but marvel at its power.

Even though initially, the space had nothing except a spiritual spring and an acre of black soil, due to the time ratio of 1:100 inside the space compared to the outside world and a 100% survival rate regardless of what was planted, there were now centuries-old Polygonum multiflorum, ginseng, red sandalwood, and agarwood everywhere.

After the space upgraded, Lǐ Píng discovered the legendary cultivation manual and a marrow-cleansing pill in the only room, called a house, in the thatched cottage. Upon careful examination, she found that this technique called "Yanshen Jue" specialized in cultivating divine consciousness and had thirteen levels.

As the host's divine consciousness continued to strengthen, the space also upgraded accordingly. At that time, Lǐ Píng, already with a head full of white hair, couldn't endure the torment of marrow-cleansing, so even though she had decent aptitude as Qingwen, her cultivation remained at the first level, focused on self-cultivation.

Holding the marrow-cleansing pill, Lǐ Píng couldn't help but sigh, "Fortune and misfortune depend on each other." Although Lǐ Píng wasn't a traditional cultivator, practicing the Yanshen Jue made her revisit memories of her past life.

Lǐ Píng remembered that she was currently in the second half of her sophomore year in high school. Due to unsatisfactory final exam results in the last semester, her already low self-esteem worsened, and she refrained from asking teachers or classmates about things she didn't understand. Consequently, she entered a vicious cycle, leading her to end up in a third-rate university, drifting through four years.

After going through countless hardships, she became a low-level employee in a company. She could barely sustain herself, unable even to afford money for her younger brother's education. Her aged parents were still toiling in the fields, enduring not only hard work but also the ridicule of the villagers. Reflecting on her useless past, Lǐ Píng sighed. 

After this sentimental reflection, Lǐ Píng silently swore to study hard in this lifetime, ensuring her parents could live a good life. She didn't seek great wealth and prosperity but at least wanted her parents to enjoy a modest and peaceful life.

Throughout the morning, Lǐ Píng reviewed the knowledge she had learned before and familiarized herself with everything in the modern world. Walking on the road, she remembered that it was only the year 2000, and the property prices had not skyrocketed absurdly yet.

Buying a house should be done early, but where would she get the money to buy a house now? Although there were many valuable antiques collected in the space, the items inside were too eye-catching.

For the cautious, timid, and slightly stingy Lǐ Píng, it was impossible, not to mention selling the green vegetables from the space or using the spirit spring for beauty. Therefore, the cautious (prudent) Lǐ Píng, armed with reborn memories, decided to continue the excellent tradition of her predecessors—plagiarism. Having read many time-travel and rebirth novels during boring times in the modern world, Lǐ Píng decided to write similar novels, thinking that this genre would become popular in the future with high remuneration. With her status as a semi-cultivator, she believed her typing speed would be quite fast.

"Lǐ Píng, why are you daydreaming again? Although you didn't do well last time, just work hard next time. Don't always take it to heart," Zhou Xue, noticing her silence, couldn't help but start consoling.

Zhou Xue, excellent in grades, sweet-looking, and Lǐ Píng's good friend, roommate, and desk mate during high school. Later, due to Lǐ Píng's self-esteem and her gradual separation, they drifted apart.