Rebirth!

(This story takes place in an alternate history, primarily based on the demon world of Inuyasha.)

On a summer night in June, a new life was born in a small courtyard in the northern peninsula.

The little boy was named Li Xia.

In his previous life, he had been a member of Huaxia's Communist Youth League, an exemplary young man.

In this life, he had crossed over with his memories intact and become a resident of the peninsula.

At first, Li Xia had thought his life would pass in quiet ordinariness.

That changed when he turned five. The family tested every child of the appropriate age for cultivation aptitude, and he witnessed bizarre supernatural powers with his own eyes. Only then did he suddenly realize that he had not been reborn into an ordinary world like his previous one, but into a wondrous world of Demon Wraiths, shrine maidens, and mages.

He had watched several family elders seal plainly visible ghosts inside a few talismans. He had witnessed imposing shikigami appear and seen the skies change with a wave of a hand.

Those were nothing short of divine feats!

In his previous life, there had been no encounters with ghosts or gods.

At least, he had never experienced any.

But in this world, he knew for certain that ghosts and gods existed!

He had seen them himself!

And so, ambition began to sprout within him.

His once laid-back heart grew restless.

What did the supernatural mean?

[Immortality], of course!

Supernatural power did not directly guarantee longevity or eternal life, but it had already opened a door for humanity into that realm.

Step through that door, and one would have the opportunity and the means to achieve immortality!

And immortality meant infinite possibilities!

For instance, doing whatever one pleased!

Besides, he had already died once. He did not want to die a second time.

There was just one problem: his father, Li Zhun, had rather let him down.

Those capable of cultivation had bloodlines that differed from ordinary people's. To preserve those bloodline traits, cultivating families generally adopted children who showed talent at an early age, raising them as future brides or live-in sons-in-law.

Such bloodline unions maintained their advantages.

Cultivators did sometimes marry ordinary people, but such cases were rare. After all, this was a matter of responsibility to oneself, one's descendants, and one's family. Few violated that taboo.

His father in this life, Li Zhun, was one of those exceptions.

Despite possessing cultivation talent, he had chosen not a mage with similar aptitude, but an ordinary human as his partner. As a result, a bloodline that had already been mediocre became even more unremarkable.

Admittedly, Li Xia felt a little resentful toward his unreliable father, but he was even more grateful to Li Zhun.

After all, if this man had not acted so recklessly, how would Li Xia have gained another life with his past memories intact?! However poor his aptitude was, surely this was still a better start than having no cultivation potential at all!

Besides, his parents treated him quite well.

He would have to find his own way to make up for his innate shortcomings.

At this point, the Li Family of the northern peninsula deserved some explanation.

The Li Family was known as one of the peninsula's three great mage families, responsible for exorcising ghosts and vanquishing evil.

Mages were those who wielded supernatural powers. By following the procedures laid out in cultivation methods, they could absorb special energy particles from the world through regulated breathing, then carefully refine them into magical power and true essence stored within their bodies. These reserves enabled them to cast spells and perform other wondrous feats.

The Li Family had mastered one minor offshoot of the talisman arts.

The principle behind talismans was this: special materials were used to make brushes, paper, and spiritual ink capable of holding magical power. Using the brushes and ink as mediums, practitioners then inscribed spells they knew onto the paper by tracing spiritual patterns.

When needed, they simply activated the talismans.

In effect, spells were sealed inside specific talismans ahead of time.

Mages who specialized in talismans could compensate considerably for cultivators' limited magical reserves and slow spellcasting.

This inheritance had originated on the Huaxia mainland.

It had spread from the great celestial empire long ago.

Back then, demons and evil spirits had roamed the land, and humans had been nothing but their fodder! Fortunately, the celestial empire had taken pity on humanity's suffering and passed its teachings to the peninsula!

Sadly, that inheritance was incomplete. It had been only a small gift from a father to his adopted son, back when the peninsula was a vassal of the mainland.

And the Li Family's Talisman Way was, after all, merely a minor offshoot.

Even so, the peninsula's cultivating Li Family had benefited from them for generations.

Li Xia, as a junior member of the Li Family's Talisman Way, should have had the opportunity to study a more advanced cultivation system. But his bloodline aptitude held him back, and the family's "highly respected" elders thought little of him. Many even looked down on him.

And so it went.

Ten years passed in a flash.

Li Xia had trained diligently for ten years, through summer heat and winter cold. Yet without the sound, systematic education the family should have provided, he remained a novice mage with only a few paltry tricks.

At one point, this had left him dejected, even despairing.

"Xia, when are you leaving for Tokyo?"

At a meal with his immediate family, a refined, bespectacled middle-aged man asked the question.

He was Li Xia's father, Li Zhun.

His Taoist robes paired with his scholarly glasses made for a somewhat incongruous look.

Their family of four consisted of their father, Li Zhun, the eldest sister, Li Qin, the second brother, Li Yang, and the youngest, Li Xia.

As for Li Xia's mother?

She had tragically died in an incident involving a Demon Wraith.

It had happened when Li Xia was just over six.

He had been powerless to help.

This was also a potential danger ordinary people inevitably faced when they married a low-level cultivator.

It was yet another reason Li Xia craved power.

"Father, can't we wait a little longer?"

The boy, whose face still held traces of childhood, frowned slightly.

The middle-aged man answered softly:

"School in the Island Nation started over half a month ago. If you delay another few days, settling in afterward will be even harder."

At that, the man paused.

After a moment's thought, he sighed again:

"Xia, let it go! I know you aren't willing to give up. You want the main lineage to acknowledge you, and you want to master advanced spells and rise above the rest. I still remember you telling me about your ambitions when you were little. But we need to understand our own circumstances..."

"Our family has ordinary aptitude. We aren't suited to the main family's path of slaying demons, defending the righteous way, exorcising ghosts, and vanquishing evil. We should just manage a few family businesses, keep out of trouble, and enjoy a lifetime of wealth and comfort. There's really no need to obsess over supernatural power."

"Look, so many ordinary people live happy lives without any supernatural power. We can do the same!"

Members of cultivating families naturally felt a sense of superiority.

Li Zhun, his father in this life, was no exception.

Cultivating families generally consisted of several lineages.

Those with outstanding natural gifts and exceptional cultivation aptitude were selected for the main lineage. The rest, whose mediocre aptitude limited their future prospects, were assigned to collateral branches.

The purpose of those branches was to serve the main lineage.

No matter how hard they cultivated, their natural talent set the ceiling on their achievements. Thus, the family assigned them to manage its worldly businesses, supporting the main lineage with cultivation supplies, channels for procuring resources, and various services. In return, the main lineage, which held strength and authority, offered the numerous branches a degree of protection.

For a thousand years, the peninsula's Li Family's Talisman Way had carried on this way.

The other families had passed down their legacies in the same fashion.

Naturally, Li Xia had initially hoped to join the main lineage and enjoy both strength and authority.

Who would not want to bask in that glory?

Unfortunately, his talent was limited.

Of the four people in his household, his eldest sister and second brother, whose aptitude was equally ordinary, had already received some resources and would take on tasks assigned by the family. He, meanwhile, was still young, so the family had not yet assigned him any businesses to manage. Nor had they given him any other tasks.

His father intended to send him to study in Tokyo and familiarize himself with every aspect of the Island Nation, so he could eventually take over some of the family's businesses there.

"Father, you arranged for both my sister and my brother to go to the mainland. Can't you send me there too?"

The boy muttered his complaint.

Although the family had arranged for him to learn some of the Island Nation's language in recent years, it clearly felt nowhere near as familiar as the mainland's language.

The family's education differed from the exam-oriented school system.

Everything they learned served a clear purpose.

What they should learn, what they should focus on, and what they should study on the side were all clearly defined.

They learned those things to communicate more easily with others, not for an exam or a score. Thus, his childhood had been fairly relaxed. At least, it had been far easier than the fierce competition to squeeze across the narrow bridge in his previous life.

"You want to go to the mainland too?"

The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows.

"Of course. The mainland has abundant resources, countless opportunities, and all sorts of ancient traditions. Moon Island falls far short."

At least, that was how things stood in the world where he had been reborn.

"No. Your sister and brother are studying on the mainland to meet the celestial empire's outstanding young people and make connections with the best of their generation, to see whether they can improve our branch's bloodline. Neither of them will have an easy time.

"You won't have any tasks to complete in Tokyo on Moon Island.

"Don't get a bargain and still complain."

Since the mainland was the great celestial empire, they naturally had to send older, more capable family members there.

Otherwise, would the superior nation's outstanding young talents not look down on them?

"Xia, your aptitude is the poorest, so listen to your father and attend an ordinary junior high on Moon Island. Once you graduate in a few years, you can try taking over the businesses there. A lifetime of wealth and comfort sounds pretty good, doesn't it?!"

His father earnestly tried to persuade him.

He refused his youngest son's request to go to the mainland.

After the great upheaval in the world's environment several centuries earlier, cultivation had grown increasingly difficult. Only now was it beginning to show signs of recovery. The End of Dharma Age had lasted four or five hundred years, and many shrines and temples in the Island Nation had long since fallen into decline. Under such circumstances, as the boy's father, he hardly expected his son to bring home an exceptionally talented daughter-in-law.

At the other end of the dining table carved from blue-green jade.

Upon hearing their father's arrangements, the pretty girl of eighteen or nineteen and the boy of roughly the same age smiled even more brightly. Both were thoroughly satisfied with his decision. After all, they could go to the great celestial empire, a land of gifted people and blessed places, rather than some little overseas nation like their youngest brother. What did they have to complain about?

"Little brother, the Divine Land is wonderful, but Moon Island isn't bad either..."

The two spoke with cheerful grins.

Their eyes were full of longing for the celestial empire.

"Tch..."

The corners of Li Xia's mouth lifted.

He truly had not expected the peninsula in this world to hold its Divine Land in such immense esteem.

It was hard to imagine just how prosperous this alternate world had become, without the First and Second World Wars and the other wars of his previous life!

At the same time.

He thought of many things from his previous life.

In my previous life, people from the southern peninsula were always laying claim to Huaxia's historical figures and traditional festivals. What exactly were they after?

"All right, you'll leave tomorrow. We can't delay any longer. Otherwise, those old fellows will start picking on me again."

After the meal, the middle-aged man took a small sip of liquor.

"Which school in Tokyo?"

[Ambitious people] and [those content with the status quo] defined happiness differently.

Having gained a second life, Li Xia did not want to settle for things as they were, but he still had to face reality.

"Water Cedar Junior High!"

P.S. To emphasize, the protagonist was reborn in the northern peninsula. Thank you.

I don't need to spell out where the northern peninsula is, do I?

Also, just like the demon world where Inuyasha lives, the heroine's modern world has demons too! Contrary to a common misconception, the modern world is not devoid of demons.

Demons that appeared in the original work's modern world included the Demon-Worshipping Child Spirit and the Flesh-Bodied Human Face, along with Mayu, a little ghost girl ordinary humans could not see...

There was even a Shikon Shard that had remained undiscovered for hundreds of years.