Zhou Jingxuan was the first to exit the class, but he moved slowly. Soon, the others caught up. Unlike him, many students formed groups as they made their way home, while some went to the library to study.
Jingxuan walked alone, and just as he was about to exit the school's main gate, a sweet voice called out from behind.
"Senior Brother, wait for me."
He knew whose voice it was—it was Wenjing. He turned around, smiling, but said nothing.
"Brother, why do you always go alone? Even at the awakening ceremony, you refused me, despite how I invited you and pestered you to join us," Wenjing said, her lips curling into a childish pout.
Jingxuan inwardly sneered. This bitch's acting was among the best among her age—even in his long life of three hundred years in his previous life, not many could rival her.
Still, he replied sincerely, hiding his hatred:
"Sorry, sister. You know I don't like crowds. And since you always hang out with so many friends, they would be bored by a loner like me."
Wenjing was an expert at handling people and had many friends. Her acting was top-notch, but Jingxuan was not someone to be trifled with. Even though her performance was excellent, she was still too young—she could only fool naïve people. Compared to this old demon, she had a long way to go.
Wenjing said in a sisterly tone, "Then let us go, just brothers and sisters."
As she spoke, she waved goodbye to her friends, and together with Wenbin, the three of them set out on the road home.
They chatted along the way in a seemingly close manner. Wenbin, however, was more of a foolish type and often rude to Jingxuan, unlike his sister. Each time Wenbin said something rude, Wenjing would intervene and smooth over the situation.
Jingxuan, meanwhile, began pondering his past life's suffering—all of it caused by this bitch.
Why was this bitch so nice to Jingxuan? It was certainly not because she was kind or anything.
It was because of his father's inheritance.
As mentioned before, his father had been a genius of his generation, possessing first-grade talent and heavily nurtured by the clan. He had once been a Rank 3 Mingji wielder and the head of his family.
After his death, although he had a younger sister, the inheritance naturally had to go to the children of the family head—Jingxuan. But since Jingxuan was still a child when his father died, it was temporarily transferred to his aunt, Jingyi.
But Jingxuan's father had never trusted his sister, so he had hidden a portion of the family's assets along with his lifetime's earnings and left behind a riddle for Jingxuan.
He couldn't tell him directly, fearing that a child would be unable to keep such a secret, so he entrusted the riddle instead.
It had a strong connection to both father and son, so only the two of them could understand it. However, it also required intelligence; only once Jingxuan reached a certain level of maturity would he be able to claim the assets.
His father had estimated that Jingxuan would solve it once he began cultivating.
And as his father had expected, he had begun solving the riddle in his previous life as soon as he started cultivating after awakening.
But he made a mistake—he trusted this bitch too much and revealed all the secrets to her. That was when he finally saw her true colors.
She not only annexed all the assets but also caused Jingxuan to suffer a fatal injury, destroying his three talent rings. Lacking talent, he was forced to struggle for more than half of his lifetime.
Talent rings were very important for Mingji cultivation. For example, if Jingxuan had awakened just one ring less—which would have been five rings—he could never have dreamed of becoming a Rank 3 Mingji wielder. Just one talent ring made the difference between heaven and earth.
No matter how much a Mingji wielder cultivates without talent, they cannot surpass the huge wall in front of them on the path of cultivation.
This was one of the reasons, aside from his naivety, that led him to live a hellish life for more than one hundred years.
Because of all these reasons, he truly hated her. But he was not the type of man who would let hatred outweigh everything and lose sight of his main goal.
Still, he was also not the kind to ignore vengeance. As long as the price of hatred was not too great, or it did not hinder his goal of eternal life, he would gladly take revenge. He greatly enjoyed the taste of hatred and vengeance.
He inwardly muttered to himself as he coldly glanced at Wenjing, killing intent surging in his heart: "What is the world without the sweet taste of vengeance?"
To Jingxuan, hatred, vengeance, anger, love, pity, and all other emotions were part of the beauty of creation. One should revel in this beauty—appreciating the world while pursuing eternal life was the very meaning of his existence.
A week had passed since the start of the academy.
Jingxuan once again listened to the classes attentively. He was already inwardly bored to death; he had plenty of this knowledge already, but due to the passionate teaching of the main instructor, he could not simply ignore him.
He would act as if he were listening while being dazed, planning for the future or thinking about other things.
Soon, it was time to end the class as the main instructor issued the assignment.
"As we have learned this week about cultivation, this week's assignment for all of you is to reach Rank One, Initial Stage."
"I advise you to cultivate in your assigned dorms rather than at home. Each dorm has been specially designed for cultivation, helping you maintain focus. Without focus and a quiet environment while cultivating, there is a high chance a newbie will make a terrible mistake and completely destroy their talent rings. Once talent rings are destroyed, they are gone for good. So be careful, especially as complete newbies."
"Here are some Genesis Stones which will help you with your assignment."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a wooden chest emerged from his sleeve. It had sharp teeth, opened its mouth, and spat out pouches to everyone. After distributing them, it shrank back and vanished into his sleeve. The students were captivated, their eyes shining not at the pouches but at the bizarre chest itself. For them, it was a true eye-opener.
Before dismissing the class, he said to the students in a mysterious tone, "There is a surprise for one of the top three students who achieve Rank One, Initial Stage first."
The students became more determined to cultivate. Although most could not hope to reach the top two due to first-grade talents, they could still aim for the third position to earn the reward.
Actually, every year the academy kept rewards for students, but it was always the one top student who received them. This year, because of the two first-grade students, Haoyu and Zhiwei, the main instructor spent from his own pocket to prepare an extra reward and motivate the others. It showed how passionate a teacher he was. The students didn't know this, but Jingxuan did—because of his previous life's memories.
As soon as class was dismissed, Jingxuan began heading home with the twins. Technically, he could now stay in the dorms, which would have been better than home, but he did not want to arouse his aunt's suspicion. He had always been filial to his aunt and uncle, both in his current life before rebirth and in his previous one. Even though they were rude and biased toward their own children, they had never crossed the line—that is, until he discovered the assets his father had left behind.
In his previous life, he was obviously not an idiotic child. So why had he been filial to them? It was because of the town's laws. This world was cruel, unlike Earth, and the inheritance laws favored adults like his uncle and aunt over a child like him. He had always believed they truly treated him as family, since they never crossed the line by trying to seize the assets.
Because of this, he had always believed they treated him as family. After all, it was common for them to be biased toward their own children and treat him poorly, as he knew his aunt harbored hatred toward his father. But the truth was, they were merely eyeing the assets his father had hidden. In his previous life, after he revealed the clues, he saw their true colors immediately.
But he had no intention of arousing his aunt's suspicion while searching for the inheritance. He planned to deceive her by making her believe he was cultivating in the dorms while he investigated. Acting as a filial nephew, he went home to inform her, seek permission, and subtly probe whether she suspected anything about him.
In the living room, five figures were seated, engaged in discussion. Wenjing was enthusiastically telling her parents about the assignments and what she had learned at the academy, while Wenbin remained silent, only answering when his parents spoke to him. Jingxuan was the same as Wenbin.
After they had talked for a while, Jingxuan interjected, "Uncle, Aunt, I'm thinking of staying in the dorms for a while to focus on cultivation."
His uncle replied, "Oh, it is truly a good idea to cultivate in the dorms. Every student should experience the academy fully."
Jingxuan's aunt added, speaking to Jingxuan, "Yes, back then even your father and I cultivated in the dorms." Then she turned toward her children, speaking in a strict tone: "You two should also join Jingxuan and cultivate in the dorms. Do not become complacent."
"Here are some Genesis Stones to aid your cultivation," she said, handing a pouch to each of them.
Jingxuan happily accepted them, bowing respectfully. "I'll take my leave now, as I need to pack my things."
Jingxuan packed a small bag with some clothes and a few books as he and the twins made their way to the dorms.
The dorms were near the academy. It was a simple wooden building, three stories high, quite large, with a shared courtyard where students could practice combat and other skills.
Each room was spacious enough for two double beds, though only one single bed occupied it, as every student had their own private space. Focus was paramount in cultivation, particularly for novices—any lapse could result in serious injury. Even the rooms were equipped with soundproof formations to ensure uninterrupted practice.
It was already night, and Jingxuan and the twins met many others who were coming to the dorms at this hour after taking permission from their respective homes.
Staying in the dorms was not compulsory, but it was noteworthy that both Zhiwei and Haoyu were also staying there.
Jingxuan wore an annoyed expression as he stepped into his room. Why was he annoyed? Obviously, it was because Wenjing had been pestering him so much along the way. She had been sent by her mother to keep an eye on him.
The wench only left him when he stepped into the dorm gate. Knowing the gate would close soon, she finally let him go.
Jingxuan, after arranging his things,he calmly meditated near the window, sitting on his bed. The glow of the moonlight and the small lamp in the room both fell on his youthful face.
After a few hours of meditating, he opened his eyes as a bright light flashed in them with joy "It's time."