original

Spirit Cultivation

Author: Piokilek

Chapter 1: Middle Heaven

"Xuefeng!!!"

Sand mixed with dust flew everywhere like formless clouds, blinding Liu Xuefeng's vision as he fell off the cliff. Adrenaline pumped into his system, rendering him unable to hear anything but a vacuum after that one last cry of horror at his imminent death. Despite his desperate situation, his face remained a serene mask—as tranquil as a lake.

He feared death like everyone else, but when faced with the possibility of losing someone dear to him, he was willing to sacrifice his life without hesitation. The person looking down at him from the top of the cliff was exactly that, someone dear to him whom he couldn't afford to lose.

'At least she can live on to fulfill her dreams…' Xuefeng thought as he smiled, feeling no regrets from his actions. 'Maybe it's for the better… If we ever dated, it would only cause her trouble…'

He was the only one in their school who knew the truth about the well-liked school president, Xiao Tianshi. As they bonded over studies in the quiet library, he found out about her rich family and their continuous attempts to marry her off to wealthy old men.

As someone born into a relatively poor family, he knew they lived in two different worlds and would never end up together. However, something that started off so casually evolved into something more. The connection was there: in the way they talked, in how they treated each other. The awareness they had for each other grew, and special feelings began to show—becoming more and more obvious that even the people around them started to notice.

"Why aren't you guys dating already?" Her female friend teased one day. "You look good together. Why not make it official?"

Being the prettiest girl in the school, the rumor soon spread about them dating and forced her to officially shut it down by announcing they were just friends. He didn't blame her actions, but it still stung knowing they could never become one despite their obvious feelings.

"Xuefeng… I'm so sorry. If my father heard about us, he would automatically start looking for my next fiance. Let's just focus on studies and get into the same university for now, okay?"

He still remembered her apology and his resolve to study even harder, with hope to change their fate. He wanted to become someone important so her father could look at him differently and give him a chance to marry her. But who would have thought that his plans would be ruined about a month later, during their year-end trip?

They were supposed to hike in the local mountains with the whole class. Everything went well from morning to afternoon until they finally had to descend from the hills. Tianshi wanted to have one last photo with him, so she dragged him towards the cliff, where the scenery was the most picturesque.

It took her some time to take a perfect photo, and when they were finally done, the ground disappeared from under their feet. The cliff cracked and split from the rest, giving them no time to run. Xuefeng didn't even know what went through his mind when he pushed Tianshi to safety just before he fell into certain death. He closed his eyes after one last look at her and braced himself for the impact. A grunt escaped his lips upon collision against the solid rocks, but he barely felt anything.

'Huh? Did I die?' he wondered as his mind checked his body, but there was really no pain. 'I probably died instantly…'

His eyelids fluttered as he tried to pry open his eyes but couldn't. It was as if they became heavy.

'So what now?' He was wondering about what to do when he realized something unbelievable.

'Wait… I can think!' The knowledge that he was indeed still able to reason stunned and excited him. Yet, he was also pretty confused. When he was finally able to lift his heavy lids and open his eyes, there was nothing but darkness. It was as if he was in a void—a dark abyss with no one but himself as his companion.

He had no idea how long he stayed like that, waiting for something, and yet, nothing at the same time. He couldn't even remember if he'd drifted off to sleep at some point. In this dark, hollow world, it was difficult to keep track of time.

Then, it came. It began with a tiny dot of white—a welcome contrast in the all-black world he was trapped in. It seemed to be moving. As it shifted, its size appeared to get bigger and bigger, its shape more and more irregular. It spiraled closer and closer at great speed, and he could only stare at it in caution, curving his body with his arms crossed in front of him, bracing for the impact as the light exploded in brilliance before swallowing him whole.

The scenery slowly materialized before him and he found himself suspended above a road that forked into two at the end. He wondered what it was when gray shadows began to appear all around him one after another. The human-like shapes were drifting alongside him as if all of them were being pulled by an invisible force.

'Are these… souls?' He was wondering if he truly had died, when one of the souls turned to him, causing him to flinch at its hollow face.

"What's going on?" he asked out loud as soon as he recovered from his fright. The soul that turned to him resumed its original position, falling in line silently with the rest of its kind, drifting without moving.

Dead.

Everywhere he looked were expressionless souls that behaved uniformly without any personality. Regardless of how many times he tried to search around, he couldn't find anyone else who was like him—the only one who seemed to act as if he was still alive.

Liu Xuefeng tried to stop and go against the flow for a moment, but the power pulling him was too strong to resist. It did not take long for him to finally see their destination. He had reached the end where the road was divided into two paths, each leading into a huge gate, one the color of ebony, the other ivory.

Black and white.

The gates to either heaven or hell couldn't have been more clichéd. Xuefeng craned his neck to see that almost all the souls were flying towards the black gate and only some flew towards the white one. Soon, it was almost his turn to step onto one of the paths. He was wondering where he'd end up when suddenly, a golden light flashed in front of him. Its radiance stunned him temporarily until he focused again, surprised to see a golden ball buzzing happily.

Xuefeng couldn't help but extend his hand to touch it and was surprised to see it willingly land on his hand, filling his soul with warmth.

"What are you?" As soon as the question escaped his lips, he heard an emotionless voice inside his head.

"Come here, boy," it commanded, and before he could even act, he was suddenly pulled by a strong force towards the white gates, passing through it in an instant. The scenery had changed again and he saw a small queue of souls in front of two white-robed men. One was old with a long white beard while the other middle-aged, his eyes scanning each soul with care.

Xuefeng noticed that all the souls at this place were much brighter than the gray ones flying towards the black gate earlier, but none of them had a golden light hovering next to them like him. He figured he would have to fall in line regardless, but he was pulled to the front without any wait.

"Interesting," the old man muttered almost to himself. "It's been a while since I have seen a Fate Spirit choose someone."

"He must have accumulated a lot of karma in his past life," the middle-aged man nodded in agreement as he looked at Xuefeng in approval.

"Fate Spirit?" Xuefeng repeated in confusion.

"Boy, as you were chosen by the Fate Spirit, we can agree to one of your wishes," the old man informed him without much explanation.

"Huh…" Xuefeng's eyes shifted from one man to another, hoping they would elaborate, which they thankfully did.

"You are currently in a place called Middle Heaven. This is a place where all the souls from our supervised Realms gather after their death. After they come here, we split them into two groups: people with good and negative karma."

The old man looked proud of his work as he explained.

"The people with positive karma will have a chance to reincarnate directly. Those with negative ones will have to be judged before we decide if they should reincarnate or perish."

"So I'm qualified to be reborn?" Xuefeng asked with hope.

"Of course," the old man answered while waving his hand to create a picture of beautiful scenery. "You will reincarnate into the Earth Realm, a world full of adventures and mysteries. As much as I wish you could return to your old realm, your life link to that world was severed. You can only reincarnate into a different realm."

Xuefeng took a deep breath, already expecting to never see her again. "Will I at least get to keep my memories after my rebirth?"

This made the men exchange looks before answering him. "Before everyone reincarnates, they have to drink a special soup that will make them forget all their memories. We can only make an exception if you were to use up your wish."

"Oh, then I will keep them," he instantly decided.

"So fast? Don't you want to think more? You can wish for anything you ever wanted, power, money, women. Anything your heart desires," the middle-aged man prompted, urging Xuefeng to consider longer.

Xuefeng only chuckled as Tianshi's face flashed in his mind. "What's the use of money if I can't share it with her? If I can't see her again, I want to at least cherish our memories for as long as I live."

The old man nodded in understanding.

"Okay," he agreed. "Your wish shall be granted. But because the amount of memories is too huge, we must reincarnate you as a teenager. Are you alright with that?"

A teenager? He had already lived for 18 years, so he didn't mind.

As he agreed, a white portal appeared in front of him and the old man smiled, "Make sure to take care of your Fate Spirit. It is a blessing and a curse, but it will help you along your journey."

"Alright…" Liu Xuefeng nodded as he glanced at the golden ball that was still lying in his palm.

Maybe it was a mistake to waste his wish on mere memories, but he didn't regret his decision in the slightest. He wanted to start his new life as the person she helped create, the one she knew best.

When he was about to step into the white portal, the golden ball buzzed again and sank into his soul, ready to follow him inside.

"Good luck, Master..."