Chapter 7: The “Self-Abandoning” Goddess

After struggling to get his babbling brothers to the inn, Jiang Xincheng did not sleep. Instead, he left the inn and headed to a small grove near Shenzhuang Snack Street.

The energy in this grove was quite abundant, making it a great place for a breakthrough.

Indeed, while drinking, the energy inside Jiang Xincheng suddenly became restless. He knew this was the moment for his breakthrough.

Jiang Xincheng found a clean, hidden spot in the grove. He casually picked up a piece of earthen Yuan Stone from the ground and put it in his mouth. Then he began to circulate “Devouring the Cosmos”.

As “Devouring the Cosmos” circulated, strands of pure energy were refined from the Yuan Stone. The energy surged towards Jiang Xincheng’s Meridians and Dantian, with most of it merging into his body.

Feeling his body growing stronger, a smile appeared on Jiang Xincheng’s lips.

He didn’t know how long it had been, but Jiang Xincheng suddenly trembled all over. A faint, light sound came from within his body.

Late Muscle-Tempering Stage. Harmonious and powerful. Muscles fragrant with vitality.

His arms were strong. His thighs were powerful. He had a nearly perfect streamlined body. With just a little effort, eight distinct abdominal muscles appeared on his stomach.

If one sniffed carefully, they could detect a faint, refreshing scent drifting from Jiang Xincheng’s body. This was the sign that his Flesh-Tempering had reached its final step, and his physique was full and healthy.

In just a few days, Jiang Xincheng had surpassed a realm that had taken him years to reach in his previous life. He was getting closer and closer to the Tendon-Tempering realm.

Among the first-year students, the strongest were only at the Peak Late Muscle-Tempering Stage. Jiang Xincheng had now become one of the strongest in his freshman class.

If he factored in the Yellow Rank Lower Tier Combat Technique “Mountain-Shaking Fist”, Jiang Xincheng could already sweep through all the freshmen. He could even compete with some second and third-year seniors.

Slowly rising to his feet, Jiang Xincheng’s face was full of smiles, but soon those smiles were replaced by a cold glare.

If Li Haiying’s betrayal, and Liu Ping’s attacks and humiliation were just a heavy blow to him, then there was another matter that could be said to have ruined his entire life.

This event happened half a month later. In his previous life, Jiang Xincheng accidentally passed by the small river near the school’s south gate at night. He discovered a man and a woman doing things not suitable for children in the riverside grass.

Just as he was about to leave, the couple spotted him. The man flew into a rage, and the woman fanned the flames. Together, they broke one of Jiang Xincheng’s arms. That alone was bad enough; Jiang Xincheng thought he was just unlucky and decided to swallow the loss.

But they absolutely should not have stopped at just breaking his arm. They also wanted to cripple Jiang Xincheng’s martial arts. Although Jiang Xincheng managed to escape, his Meridians and Dantian were severely damaged. His cultivation talent dropped directly from upper-medium to lower-medium.

The cultivation talent of a Primordial Warrior was divided into seven levels: Low, Lower-Medium, Medium, Upper-Medium, High, Top, and Peerless. The gap between each level was quite significant.

If the cultivation speed of a Primordial Warrior with Low talent was like walking, then the speed for Lower-Medium talent was like running. Medium talent was like riding a bicycle. As for a Primordial Warrior with Peerless level cultivation talent, their cultivation speed was like flying on an airplane.

The difference was clear. In his previous life, Jiang Xincheng’s cultivation talent fell from Upper-Medium to Lower-Medium. His cultivation speed decreased severalfold, affecting his entire life. Otherwise, in his previous life, he could have at least reached the Rain Transformation Realm, or even stepped into the Stream Formation Realm.

Li Haiying’s betrayal left Jiang Xincheng deeply hurt and humiliated. The sharp drop in his talent caused him to lose all motivation. If it weren’t for his parents later being killed and his sister being forcibly taken away and dishonored, which ignited his desire for revenge, he probably would never have pulled himself together again in his previous life.

This event caused Jiang Xincheng’s already wounded personality to undergo a drastic change. He became extreme, quick-tempered, full of resentment, and acted impulsively and violently. This personality was the main reason for the tragedies in his life.

And the source of all this was Ma Jinyuan, the one who destroyed his cultivation talent. He was a fourth-year student and also an expert at the Late Tendon Training Stage.

Jiang Xincheng was currently only at the Late Muscle-Tempering Stage. He was a whole major realm behind Ma Jinyuan. Even though he had learned “Mountain-Shaking Fist”, Jiang Xincheng was still no match for Ma Jinyuan.

So, in the next half month, he had to raise his strength to the Tendon-Tempering realm. That meant advancing one major realm.

In his previous life, it took him a full five years to reach the Tendon-Tempering realm. Now he had to reach it within half a month. Time was extremely tight.

But if he wanted to get revenge and make up for the regrets of his previous life, how could he not be in a hurry? In this life, Jiang Xincheng could no longer afford to delay.

The wave of Mutated Yuan Crystals, the appearance of the Fruit of Life and Creation, the Ancient God King’s Treasure… all of these would happen one after another over the next ten-plus years. If Jiang Xincheng wanted to seize his own opportunities in these major historical events, he had to raise his strength as quickly as possible.

In his previous life, he was a down-and-out Primordial Warrior who followed behind the strong, eating their leftovers. Often, he couldn’t even get the leftovers. In this life, he wanted to be a leader at the forefront, enjoying the grand feast, leaving everyone else far behind.

Thinking about the path he would take in the future, a confident smile appeared on Jiang Xincheng’s lips.

With the memories of his past life, if he couldn’t stand out alone after being reborn, then he might as well die again.

“You men are all scoundrels. You’re all beasts who only think with your lower halves.”

Just then, Jiang Xincheng heard a somewhat familiar girl’s voice not far away.

He frowned slightly. Had he encountered this girl in his previous life? Why did her voice sound so familiar?

Jiang Xincheng stopped walking. Using the faint light from a distant streetlamp, he saw a small girl sitting by the riverside.

The girl was glaring at him fiercely with wide eyes. Her eyes were very bright, emitting a captivating light even in the darkness.

Jiang Xincheng jolted. He recognized this girl, especially those exceptionally bright eyes and her clear, pleasant voice.

In his previous life, after his family was destroyed and he returned to Tianhai City dejected, it was she who stood up for him when Liu Ping and his gang beat him up, sending Liu Ping running scared…

When he was muddling through college, depressed and unsuccessful, it was she who often encouraged him, took him out for drinks, and constantly guided him. This prevented his previous self from being completely buried by hatred; he at least retained some humanity…

After graduation, it was she who helped Jiang Xincheng join the Flourishing Tang Empire. Through the Flourishing Tang Empire, he obtained a large amount of Cultivation Resources, and his strength improved rapidly…

Finally, it was she who rushed alone into the Tianbao Gang’s lair to save the rash and impulsive Jiang Xincheng, only to end up buried in the tiger’s den herself.

Lin Anan. Big Sister Anan. Vice Envoy Lin. She was a straightforward, generous, frank, and sincere woman whom Jiang Xincheng could never forget in his previous life. She was also the woman for whom he felt lifelong guilt.

Even though more than fifty years had passed, Jiang Xincheng still remembered her deeply. When he dreamed of her in the middle of the night, he couldn’t hold back his tears, regretting his impulsiveness back then which dragged Lin Anan down to an early grave.

But now he had returned sixty years, to Year 5 of the New Era. Lin Anan didn’t know him, and he didn’t know Lin Anan. Most importantly, Lin Anan wasn’t dead yet. That meant he still had a chance to make up for everything.

Jiang Xincheng took a deep breath and looked at the small, pretty girl dozens of meters away.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you think I’m wrong to call you that?”

Lin Anan looked at him and said fiercely.

Jiang Xincheng smiled slightly. Sister Anan was still as domineering and straightforward as in his previous life. However, he had rarely seen this unreasonable side of Sister Anan before. It felt quite novel now.

But what exactly had happened to make the usually reasonable Sister Anan so unreasonable? She lumped all men together and, randomly encountering a guy by the river, called him a beast.

Jiang Xincheng’s face darkened slightly. Had Sister Anan been dumped by her boyfriend? Was that why she had become so extreme now?

In his previous life, he seemed to have heard about something like this. But it was so long ago, and what he knew back then was just hearsay. Jiang Xincheng couldn’t remember clearly. Most importantly, in his previous life, he had paid almost no attention to Lin Anan.

“Yes, men are all scoundrels, and they are all beasts. You are absolutely right.” Jiang Xincheng agreed with Lin Anan, not minding that she was cursing him.

As long as Lin Anan was alive, he wouldn’t mind if she called him a scoundrel or a beast. Even if she beat him to a pulp, he would be willing.

“Ah…” Hearing Jiang Xincheng say this, Lin Anan was taken aback. She didn’t expect Jiang Xincheng not to argue but to agree with her. What was going on?

“Why are you admitting you’re a scoundrel? Are you just saying that because you’re too embarrassed to contradict me? Are you actually disagreeing with what I said in your heart?” Lin Anan frowned. “If that’s the case, then let’s go get a room right now. After we’re done, you can tell me whether you men are scoundrels and beasts or not.”