A downpour raged, illuminated by intermittent flashes of lightning, rumbling thunder echoing in the still of the night. With only a few pedestrians sheltering from the rain, the otherwise deserted street buzzed with passing vehicles, whose drivers would cast a glance towards the sidewalk before steadily driving away.
What drew their attention was a young man, his head submerged in a puddle, utterly motionless as if he were a corpse.
Suddenly, the prone figure bolted upright, his heavy breathing sounding like a growling beast, terrifying in its intensity.
Water gushed from Zheng Yun’s mouth as though he were a human spring. His eyes, initially lighting up, slowly dimmed, leaving only a pair of deep, dark pupils.
“I won! I truly reversed time and returned to the past,” Zheng Yun uttered painstakingly, sitting in the puddle.
Detecting within his body, the once vast and mighty cultivation power almost as intense as the stars themselves had wholly disappeared, only leaving behind a trace of spiritual power as tiny as a broad bean.
Originally an average person, Zheng Yun died tragically on the streets due to a myriad of reasons. However, by a twist of fate, he found himself possessing the body of a practitioner by the name of Zheng Bufan in a cultivation world. Going through even more extraordinary circumstances, he acquired a top-tier technique from the Immortal World that could reverse time. Zheng Yun worked diligently to cultivate this technique. In just five hundred years, he attained the high status of an Immortal Venerate in the cultivation realm.
However, because of such rapid rise to power, his technique attracted the gaze of the Immortal World's great powers. In the end, a godlike figure who had already achieved divinity in the Immortal World, named Qingyuan Taoist, launched a sneak attack intending to seize his technique. Faced with such a formidable enemy, Zheng Yun chose to self-detonate his technique along with Qingyuan Taoist, expecting mutual destruction. Surprisingly, the power of the technique was so potent, it transported him back to Earth instead.
However, the consequence of evading death through temporal reversal was the loss of his colossal cultivation, leaving behind only a tiny iota of spiritual power.
In the infinite Star Sea, the names of the cultivators were diverse and complicated, such as Dou Huang, Fa Shen, and Hun Di. Still, the generally accepted terms for the different stages of cultivation were Qi refining, Spirit Forming, Foundation Building, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, God Transforming, Mahayana, and Tribulation Crossing, with each stage subdivided into three minor phases.
By these standards, Zheng Yun was now even weaker than the lowest stage of Qi refining.
But that did not matter. He retained all of his memories, and even the immortal record was thoroughly ingrained in his mind. As long as he returned to his peak cultivation, he could practice the precious technique that even the immortals of the Immortal World coveted!
"This Immortal Record's technique can actually reverse time. No wonder even godlike figures from the Immortal World come to seize it. Unfortunately, it is still mine, and no one can take it!"
"Since I've returned, I will settle all the regrets and resentments from my past life. Once I return to my peak, I will go back to the Star Sea, ascend to the Immortal World, and bring chaos to that damn Immortal World!" Zheng Yun forced himself to his feet. Despite his weakness, the charisma of his peak self was hard to hide.
However, just after declaring his aspirations, Zheng Yun felt a painful cramp surging through his body. Aching misery and cravings flooded his mind, causing his facial expression to alter. He remembered this feeling all too well. Even after five hundred years, he could not forget. It was what he loathed most when he was an ordinary person - drug addiction!
Zheng Yun, who lived on Earth, was originally a disciple of the Zheng family, an affluent clan based in the capital. He was a bona fide spoiled brat with no intention of engaging in power struggles or hustling for profits. Still, he was incessantly regarded as a thorn in the flesh by his cousins, and even viewed as a rampant beast by his arranged fiancée from the Zheng family. During a banquet, Chen Ruoxue, who was supposed to be Zheng Yun's future wife, handed him a cigarette. With no guard up, Zheng Yun since became a severe drug addict.
Upon being discovered by his family, Zheng Yun was immediately driven out of his home. He lost everything and got banished to a minor city on the border, left to fend for himself.
"Damn it!" Zheng Yun immediately suppressed this fatal addiction using the remnants of his magical strength.
He indeed subdued the addiction, but Zheng Yun wobbled uncontrollably. This stumbling led him into the middle of the street.
Out of the blue, a car emerged from the curtain of rain and came straight towards him. The driver quickly hit the brakes at the abrupt sighting of a person.
"Do you have a death wish?" The car door swung open, with a red-dressed, short-skirted lady stormed out in a huff.
Zheng Yun was about to speak, but the forced suppression of his addiction had taken its toll on him. His already weak body couldn't resist any more and he slumped onto the hood of the car.
"Hey! Are you okay?" The lady in red was instantly scared pale.
"Yun Yun, help him into the car." A steady voice sounded from the side.
Hearing this, the lady in red frantically helped Zheng Yun into the car.
"Grandpa, is this man okay?" she asked, wiping the rainwater from her body.
Helping Zheng Yun into the car was a white-bearded elderly man, who, after examining Zheng Yun, reassured, "He's all right, just very weak."
Leaning against the back of the seat, Zheng Yun finally regained a trace of energy. He turned his gaze to the bearded old man, gently rubbing a red jade piece. Seeing Zheng Yun raise his head, the old man smiled kindly and asked, "Young man, are you okay?"
Zheng Yun shook his head and said, "I'm fine, thank you."
"Hehe, that's good. Are you hungry? Have some food." The old man chuckled and pointed at some nearby cakes and pastries, then continued to fondle the jade piece in his hand. His affection for it was evident in his eyes.
Zheng Yun, who had been starving for three to four days and was weak all over, was on the verge of fainting when trying to suppress his drug cravings. Now seeing the snacks, his hunger drove him, not bothering to be courteous with the elderly man. He stuffed all the snacks into his stomach and finished all of them in less than half a minute. Feeling thirsty, he took hold of the milk tea next to him.
The snacks naturally belonged to the girl in red, but she didn't stop him. However, her curiosity turned into worry when she saw him reach for the milk tea, she suddenly said, “Wait!”
But it was too late, Zheng Yun downed the milk tea in one go, let out a satisfied burp, and looked at the girl somewhat confusedly.
“That was the milk tea I was drinking! You!” The girl in the red dress was incredibly embarrassed; that straw had just been in her mouth!
Zheng Yun paused slightly, then said a little shamefacedly, "Sorry."
“Forget it!” The girl in the red dress pursed her lips, her cheeks turned slightly red as she turned her head indignantly. Her mind was filled with random thoughts - could this be considered an indirect kiss? This was supposed to be her first kiss! How did it end up being taken by this inexplicable person?