Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 3

The cultivation method on the jade slip was a bit obscure. However, because Jiang Rui had successfully resonated with the slip beforehand, he could understand the techniques. How much he could comprehend depended on his enlightenment.

Following Myriad Profound’s instructions, Jiang Rui went to the hillside and sat by a flowing stream to begin his meditation.

After sitting for about a couple of hours, Jiang Rui, whose body had been sore from the stream’s impact, suddenly felt his mind become empty. He felt as if he had merged with heaven and earth. Every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, and every leaf seemed to be within his senses.

Jiang Rui felt as though his body was a water tank that could never be filled, or a thirsty traveler in the desert. He frantically absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy. A dense spiritual energy gathered above his head, forming a huge vortex that poured into his body from above.

After an unknown period of cultivation, Jiang Rui opened his eyes. He couldn’t describe the feeling in that instant. It was as if everything was under his control. He felt that the Secret Realm was the same as before, but the sense of being connected to it had become more apparent. His body also felt completely transformed. His sight, hearing, and other senses had reached an unbelievable level.

According to the cultivation method, he should now be at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Without a comparison, he didn’t know if this speed was fast or slow.

After washing away the impurities from his body in the mountain stream, Jiang Rui felt refreshed and his heart was filled with joy. He also felt a lot closer to Myriad Profound.

Myriad Profound, for its part, was shocked by his cultivation speed. It kept saying how he was truly born with spiritual bones and how he broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining in one sitting during his first meditation. It also said that his dual wood and fire spirit roots allowed him to cultivate even faster than someone with a single spirit root.

Jiang Rui just listened to what Myriad Profound said. Having stepped onto the path of cultivation, he was no longer as naive as he used to be. There were realms beyond realms and heavens beyond heavens. Countless people were more powerful than him. The world of cultivation was ruled by the law of the jungle, where only the strong survived.

Time in the Secret Realm was not the same as in the outside world. Ten days in the Secret Realm was only one day outside. Jiang Rui’s meditation took about two days in the Secret Realm, which was less than five hours in the outside world. The sun hadn’t even risen yet.

After leaving the Secret Realm, Jiang Rui lay in bed and began to circulate the cultivation method he had already memorized. The spiritual energy in the outside world was not as dense as in the Secret Realm, but it would accumulate over time and should not be underestimated. Furthermore, cultivation was much more effective at restoring his energy than sleeping, and it was more relaxing.

After breakfast, his aunt and her husband, who had stayed for more than a day, were about to leave. His aunt seemed to have something to say, but after a moment of hesitation, she didn’t say it. Before leaving, she hugged Jiang Rui for a long time, reluctant to part, and then got into the car with her husband.

After resting for two days at home, Jiang Rui insisted on returning to school. His mother, seeing that Jiang Rui’s health and spirit had indeed improved, also worried that her son would fall too far behind, so she reluctantly agreed.

Jiang Rui had almost completely forgotten the curriculum for his second year of middle school. He was essentially a beginner again and felt a little worried. But after opening his textbook, he found that, whether it was because his brain hadn’t been damaged by the fever this time or because of his cultivation, the knowledge in the books was incredibly easy for him to understand. He could grasp everything instantly. What’s more, anything he read once seemed to be etched in his mind; he couldn’t forget it even if he wanted to.

Jiang Rui himself felt that it was a bit too incredible.

After taking three days off, he returned to school and found that his old classmates were a bit too enthusiastic.

Before, after he graduated from middle school with poor grades, he hadn’t kept in touch with these classmates. After high school, they all went their separate ways and he never saw them again. He couldn’t even recall most of their names, only finding their faces familiar. Some he had no memory of at all.

At that time, everyone’s seats were arranged personally by the homeroom teacher, Zhao Chenghai. Boys and girls sat in pairs, with two columns on the sides and three in the middle.

Because of his good grades, Jiang Rui’s seat was near the front, in the first seat of the second row on the left side. His deskmate was a girl named Wang Xiaorui, who was also an excellent student but a person of very few words. Her looks were ordinary, but her clear, cool eyes held a unique charm.

Jiang Rui had a very strong impression of Wang Xiaorui. Even he, who didn’t pay much attention to his old classmates, had heard of her impressive achievements. It was said that this quiet girl was accepted into the law school at Z University and became a lawyer after graduation, one of the best in the industry. Later, she somehow heard that Jiang Rui was going to prison and personally helped him with his lawsuit, managing to get his death sentence reduced to twenty years in prison.

Jiang Rui was stunned at the time. He had absolutely no memory of this middle school classmate who had suddenly appeared.

But even with Wang Xiaorui’s full assistance, Ye Wenbin still found a way to have him killed in prison.

After he was imprisoned, Jiang Rui had even speculated that Wang Xiaorui was a person Ye Wenbin had sent to make him lower his guard. Now, he realized he had been overthinking things. At that time, Wang Xiaorui’s connections in the judicial world were not simple, and her preferences were unpredictable, making her difficult to bribe. Using her as a pawn might have led to Ye Wenbin’s efforts being in vain. Ye Wenbin wasn’t the kind of person to take such risks.

Back then, Wang Xiaorui had told him that he had helped her out a lot in middle school. Jiang Rui didn’t remember a single thing, but it was very likely that someone with Wang Xiaorui’s personality would remember something for so many years. She was probably truly trying to repay a favor. At that time, he had been so fooled by Ye Wenbin that he didn’t know what was what, even throwing away his life, which had dragged her down. In prison, he often thought of Wang Xiaorui’s furious face, staring at him with those cool eyes.

Jiang Rui didn’t stare at Wang Xiaorui for too long. He quickly buried his head in his textbook just like her. The next class was Chinese literature, and the teacher might ask questions about translating poetry.

After a full day of classes, Jiang Rui had a better understanding of his classmates. Besides Wang Xiaorui, another notable classmate was a chubby boy, Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang was the class monitor. His grades were above average, but the teacher still chose him over a bunch of top students to be the class monitor. It turned out that Zhou Yang handled all class matters with great care and got along well with his classmates. He always had a cheerful smile on his face, as if anything that came his way was incredibly simple.

Jiang Rui had a good impression of this likable chubby boy. When he asked to borrow his notes, he took the opportunity to treat him to a meal, and their relationship gradually grew closer.

After the evening study session, the bike ride home from school took more than twenty minutes. When he got home, Jiang Rui saw his mother, He Fulan, clutching a bulging cloth bag as she was about to leave.

Jiang Rui smiled and walked up to her. “Mom, it’s so late. Where are you going?”

He Fulan’s smile looked a bit unnatural. She said, “I’m going to your uncle’s house. There’s an emergency over there.”

Jiang Rui obediently nodded. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he said, “Oh, right, Mom. I heard from a teacher that Qing City High School will have more enrollment slots in our town next year, and the teacher said I have a great chance of getting in. But with my grades, I’ll just barely meet the score line, so if I get in, we might need to use money to pull some strings…” Saying this, Jiang Rui lowered his head as if he felt guilty. His thin, pale face was filled with an unspeakable sadness.

He Fulan didn’t get angry at all. Instead, she was incredibly happy. Everyone knew that Qing City High School was notoriously difficult to get into. For her son to even meet the score line was a great achievement in their eyes. If he could really get in, even if it cost them some money to pull strings, it would be absolutely worth it. This was about their son’s future. It was a matter that would affect the rest of his life.

He Fulan excitedly praised Jiang Rui and forgot all about going out. She quickly went back into the house to discuss her son’s high school plans with her husband.

It wasn’t until his mother was out of sight that Jiang Rui revealed a faint smile. His gentle and soft eyes were still very immature, but they had an aura that made people feel a sense of awe.