Rebirth

By October, the northern lands had already been buried beneath heavy snow, leaving the world a vast expanse of white.

At the edge of the wilderness, a great city rose from the ground.

Its walls stood a hundred meters tall and dozens of meters thick, broad enough for two large trucks to race side by side atop them.

Built entirely of reinforced concrete, the area for several thousand meters around the walls was filled with countless sensor mines. Countless metal gun barrels, some visible and some concealed, densely protruded outward from the walls.

Even dozens of meters beneath the walls had been poured solid with concrete. Alloy gates weighing hundreds of tons sealed off the city, forming an almost impregnable fortress. Whether in the sky, on the ground, or underground, its defenses were armed to the teeth.

The city stretched for hundreds of li. It was the largest Base City in northern Huaxia. During the Anno Domini Era, this place had been called Harbin. After the God Transformation Calendar, it became known as Ice City. Following its recovery, it had been developed and built into a bridgehead for humanity's war against Mutated Beasts, as well as the northern homeland on which people depended for survival.

Sixth High School was located in Ice City's North District and had several thousand students. Today was the senior class's final day of lessons. Graduation examinations would follow.

The homeroom instructor of Class Three stood at the podium, teaching.

"Today is my final lesson with you. Three days from now will be the graduation exams. Cultural Class in the morning, then the Three Physical Tests in the afternoon. That day will determine your future. Results will be released immediately, and the military and major Martial Halls will recruit students on-site. Whether you can gain the favor of those Martial Halls, whether you will have a promising future, all depends on this test. As your instructor, I wish you all good luck."

After speaking, the instructor turned around, packed up his things, and left the classroom. School was over.

The students filed out, but many did not leave campus right away. They still felt deeply attached to the school and wanted to leave behind one final memory.

Students who knew one another gathered in small groups, saying their farewells, though even more of them discussed the future.

"I'm so nervous. The graduation exams are almost here. I don't want to go to college—I want to become a martial artist. I'm not worried about Cultural Class, but what am I supposed to do about the Three Physical Tests? My punching strength isn't even 150 kilograms. No Martial Hall will want me."

"My punching strength has reached the 200-kilogram passing line, so I'm at the entry level for a Level-Two Warrior. But my average punching speed is only 4.5 punches per second, so I still don't qualify. Am I supposed to become a regular soldier?"

"4.5 should still have room for improvement. As long as you pass Cultural Class and your Neural Reaction reaches the passing line of 0.1, you should still have a chance of entering a Martial Hall. Besides, the military might not be bad either. There are no fewer martial artists from the military than from Martial Halls, right?"

"That's only because the military has a larger base. Besides, aren't the truly powerful all from Martial Halls? Take Huaxia's strongest expert, Raging Wind. His Raging Wind Martial Hall is the First Martial Hall in the Huaxia Zone. I dream of becoming a Raging Wind Warrior."

"Don't even think about Raging Wind. Even Changfeng and Dragon Slayer aren't Martial Halls ordinary people are qualified to enter. I'd say only three people in our class have any hope: Ouyang Yu, Meng Dong, and Lin Zhen. They're the three aces of our class."

"Ouyang Yu and Meng Dong are fine, but Lin Zhen is probably a little Poor. I heard he offended Ouyang Yu because of our school beauty, An Ning. Ouyang Yu said he wouldn't let Lin Zhen enter any Martial Hall."

"No way. Would Martial Halls listen to Ouyang Yu?" A student did not believe it.

"Hard to say. Ouyang Yu's family is very influential. His father is even a Base City official. As long as Lin Zhen's results aren't Defying Heaven's Mandate, a word from him would make ordinary Martial Halls give him some face."

"Really? Then Lin Zhen is in danger. His results are only a little above the passing line anyway. Huh! Where's Lin Zhen? Why haven't I seen him? I remember he was here just now."

The chatting boys looked around, only to see a figure already walking far away. It was Lin Zhen.

Light gleamed in his dark eyes as Lin Zhen strode swiftly forward.

He had forgotten how long it had been since he had walked this fast. Although this body was still weak, his blood was boiling, and every inch of him brimmed with strength.

Heaven had favored him so greatly. Just as his lifespan had run out, the extraordinary sight of a Cosmic Black Hole had appeared. Space had collapsed, time had reversed, and his soul had somehow returned to Earth—to the eve of his high school graduation.

In his previous life, Lin Zhen had devoted himself wholeheartedly to martial arts, hoping that one day he could change his own fate and his family's fate. Yet fate had never truly favored him.

Though his aptitude had been fairly good, he could not be called a true genius. Born a commoner and lacking resources, his path of martial arts had been incomparably difficult, and every step had gone badly.

Either one should have no aptitude at all and honestly live as an ordinary person, or one should be a genius. For a bottom-tier martial artist like Lin Zhen, rising above the rest had been far too difficult. Countless geniuses had crushed him beneath their feet, and he had served as a stepping stone for countless others. Though he was intelligent enough, his achievements had always remained limited.

Even after the God Transformation Calendar ended, Lin Zhen had still been alive, but he had always lived in frustration. His hopes of proving his worth and caring for his family had been shattered. He had lived long only because he could endure. Even when some geniuses died, he remained alive—but that was not what he wanted.

After the God Transformation Calendar ended, Earth underwent its second great upheaval. Humanity began leaving Earth and migrating into the stars. Eventually, in the starry expanse, he had even broken through the Mortal Realm and successfully entered the Stellar Realm, barely managing to survive among the stars.

But that had merely been the beginning of another tragedy. Lin Zhen still lived at the bottom, oppressed by countless geniuses, with no day in sight when he could rise.

It was not until he failed another attempt to break through and his lifespan ran out, when death was close at hand, that he finally understood. Throughout his life, he had been overly cautious and put safety above all else. Though he had lived long enough, he had never been able to advance further. That was not the path of a martial artist. He had taken the wrong road from the very beginning.

If he had another chance, he would seize every opportunity, use every resource, and strive to forge a path to the heavens.

To become a martial artist was to Defy Heaven's Mandate. If one chose mediocrity, then one should not practice martial arts!

That was Lin Zhen's realization before death. He believed he had understood too late. Everything was over; there would be no chance to start again.

Before he closed his eyes, he saw the heavens split open, the heavenly tide surge back, a spacetime storm rage, and a Cosmic Black Hole appear!

He felt his soul about to be torn apart by the Black Hole's energy, but when he opened his eyes, he was somehow in his high school classroom.

He was still Lin Zhen. He was still alive. Carrying all his memories, he had returned to Earth—to the age he had wished most to return to.

When Lin Zhen walked out of the classroom, he still could not believe everything before him.

But everything around him told him that it was real. He had returned.

"My family, whom I haven't seen for so, so long—I'm back! The girl I like—I'm back!"

All the regrets of his previous life would not be allowed in this one!

This book draws on the world framework of Devouring the Stars, which was also the editor's suggestion. Many parts may therefore seem similar to Devouring the Stars, but this is absolutely not the same story. If you think it is readable, please continue. If you do not enjoy it, please click X. Some people also claim it is plagiarism. If anyone can find a passage that was simply copied with names changed, please provide comparative evidence. If you can prove it, I will delete the book. If you cannot, then do not make accusations of plagiarism.