Awakening
Translator: TipToe
At Some Pedestrian Street, Gui City, Guowanshan Province, Central China
Suddenly, dark clouds appeared in an already gloomy sky. After the clouds, lightning and thunder came, frightening people on the street and causing them to start shrieking and dashing around.
Under a fountain, a young man in his twenties with slightly smoking fluffy hair sat, his body seemingly burnt. The lightning just now had evidently struck him.
The young man sat and slowly begun to open his eyes. A bright light flashed in his eyes as he shook his head, his face seeming blank. But soon enough, he seemed to have regained his consciousness and recalled his identity.
In his previous life, he was merely an ordinary teenager named Zhao Xingchen, born into an ordinary family in Gui City, Guowanshan Province, Central China. As he was about to be murdered, he had unexpectedly stumbled upon the world of immortals, eventually becoming the disciple of an expert.
In the millennium in which he cultivated, he slowly transformed from a mortal to an immortal. Unexpectedly, during his attempt at ascension, he fell as he met his beloved, Immortal Hongluan.
Towards this woman, Zhao Xingchen always felt troubled. He once missed her birthday, and because of it, they broke up. Although he tried to make up for it later, he never got the opportunity.
Fortunately, everything can be restored to what it once was with this reincarnation. However, many things won’t be happening again, after all, as per the butterfly effect, his reincarnation would certainly result in some changes in history. Nevertheless, he would not miss the opportunity to make up for his previous regrets.
When one is able to contemplate on their own identity, it means that their spirit and body have been preliminarily integrated. With a cold look in his eyes, he thought: “Now that I have been reborn, I shall cherish this opportunity. I shall tread the path of cultivation once again, and return to my rightful place!”
“Infinite Palace, Sunshine Temple, Supreme Palace, Devil Hall…”
“To all the forces that took part in that scheme, I shall let you enjoy this period of leisure. However, in the near future, I shall return to the world of immortals, and settle everything once and for all!”
In this era of this world which was so new to him, the world no longer seemed to be ending. Yet, the world seemed far more demanding than before, with it having exhausted nearly all its spiritual qi.
Now, although Zhao Xingchen no longer had his body which he cultivated for a thousand years, the knowledge and wisdom from then still remained. He could perceive the spiritual qi that remained in the world. In due time, he shall gather the remaining qi and use it as a driving force to break the seal which limits his power.
“These homeless bums are everywhere nowadays, sitting and occupying wherever they please!” Two well-dressed girls were walking and saw Zhao Xingchen sitting under the fountain, quickly turning away in disgust.
Zhao Xingchen stood up and took a look at himself. He felt embarrassed. Well, anybody who would’ve been struck by lightning like that wouldn’t look good. And, if an ordinary person were to be the one struck by lightning, even if they didn’t die right then and there, they would at least be seriously injured.
Feeling his pocket, he was relieved to feel that his wallet was still there. He brushed his hair with his hands as he wet his hands with the water in the fountain right next to him. Zhao Xingchen began to move forward. The street he was on being one of the busiest places in Gui City, it being a place that many go to, as it was a great place to purchase birthday presents for others.
After taking a few steps, his spirit jolted, Zhao Xingchen’s eyes suddenly widened. He thought to himself, “Seriously? Is my luck actually this great? Right after waking up and taking a few steps, I actually sensed a wave of spiritual qi near me?”
Following the guidance of his spirit, Zhao Xingchen arrived in front of a jade shop known as the Jade Emporium. Zhao Xingchen seems to have recalled having been at this place before, together with his girlfriend. The jade products being sold here are all exquisite with frighteningly high prices. A single jade could easily cost hundreds of thousands, even millions of yuan, an amount he wouldn’t be able to afford with the little money he currently had.
Anyway, Zhao Xingchen didn’t come to this place to purchase jade, he was brought here due to the spiritual qi which he sensed was here. As he entered the establishment, a shop clerk in work attire shouted, “Welcome…” However, right before she finished, as she saw Zhao Xingchen, dressed like a beggar, she looked at him with disdain and absent-mindedly said, “Please take a look!” Turning around, she went to greet other guests.
The spiritual qi seemed to be coming from a jade token which was in the hands of an old man. The old man was in traditional Chinese attire, and by him was a young woman who looked to be his secretary, a sales clerk, and another old man in a green shirt with a goatee.
The sales clerk laughed and said to the old man in traditional Chinese attire, “Just now, Master Zhang had said that this jade token truly suits a man of your disposition. Also, Master Zhang stated that, if you so please, the token can be made into and worn as an amulet. Although the price of 1.08 million yuan is indeed not cheap, one should know that Master Zhang had once appraised a jade that went for 3 million yuan at the provincial capital.”
The old man with the goatee touched his beard and said while smiling: “Old Xu and I are old friends. For the sake of his health, I feel like he should wear this jade token. I dare not say that it will necessarily help in his happiness and longevity, but nevertheless, it can at least protect him from disasters. The reason being that phrase ‘A person maintains jade, while the jade protects the person’!”
The old man in the traditional Chinese attire laughed and said: “I’ll take it if it’s truly Master Zhang’s recommendation. The cost isn’t a problem, I trust that Master Zhang won’t scam me! Who doesn’t know that Master Zhang is a renowned expert when it comes to treasures. If it were truly Master Zhang who appraised this jade token, let alone 1 million yuan, even if it were 2 million, I would still have made a profit!”
The secretary on the side also said: “I’ve also heard that Master Zhang is now the director of the National Antique Collection and Appreciation Council, making him the pride of us here in Gui City!”
“Where is it?! For Old Xu and Secretary Shen speak so highly of it, it should truly be pretty good.”
Although Master Zhang seemingly remained calm, he couldn’t conceal his satisfaction as he stroked his goatee.
Old Xu smiled and nodded, everyone was happy. However, at this time, everyone suddenly heard a sneer, “Keuk!”
Everyone turned their heads to see a young man in ragged clothing standing not too far away. The young man was looking at the jade in Old Xu’s hand, his face showing clear disdain.
Secretary Shen frowned and said to the young man: “What are you doing here? Why are you showing such an expression?”
The young man yawned, and with slight mockery evident on his lips, he lazily said, “If you don’t plan on dying, you’d better not wear that jade!”
“What did you say?” Right after the young man said such words, everyone’s face changed color, especially so for the sales clerk. The sales clerk was just about to complete a big order and get a considerable amount of commission, yet somebody just suddenly came and started to make a mess of things. The sales clerk pointed at the young man and said, “Where did this homeless bum come from? Do you not know what this place is? You better scram or else I’ll call for security to kick you out!”
With Zhao Xingchen’s wide array of knowledge, he could easily see the essence of the jade token. The jade token was actually a life jade, containing the spiritual energy of its wearer who wore it all the time as they cultivated.
From what he could recall, such a jade was part of a practice done by cultivation families. When a baby is born, a trace of spiritual qi would be injected into the jade token, the token would then be worn by the baby all day long from an early age. After the bearer of the jade token dies, the token would then be consecrated by the family members of the bearer. The token would be unique to its owner, thereby also making it a sign of identity.
However, Zhang Xingchen couldn’t understand why such a spiritual jade would appear on earth, for it to even be sold in this jade store.
