I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 372: Chapter 92: The Change of Mindset

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“Not the first life?” Zhou Heng was momentarily taken aback upon hearing this, then suddenly realized, nodding gently, “Yes, it’s extremely difficult to awaken after reincarnating from a catastrophe. That Senior He took several lifetimes to awaken is quite normal.

“Miss Xiu’er, do you mean that Senior He, in one of his past lives, might have been a contemporary of my senior brother, and that my senior brother knew that incarnation of Senior He?”

Reincarnating from a catastrophe is a situation in which a Celestial Man, or an even more powerful being, for various reasons, has to abandon the fruits of their current life’s cultivation and their physical and spiritual vessel, to be completely reborn in another.

It is from this that the supposed reincarnations of powerful beings come.

Those who have awakened memories of their past lives and have gained the means prepared by their former selves are undeniably powerful; they can accomplish many incredible feats beyond what their current realm would suggest.

Even someone like Zhou Heng, who is considered exceptional among players, would be thought of as a reincarnation of a powerful being, and the appearance of such means would seem natural to him.

It just might be that the “past life” had a higher cultivation realm, was more cautious in character, and prepared more fallbacks.

This is because reincarnations of past powerhouses have shown all sorts of outrageous performances in history.

Moreover, the cultivation progress of these reincarnated powerhouses is exceedingly fast.

It’s not impossible for someone to become proficient in martial arts in three years and ascend to immortality in five, and some even awaken memories of their past lives on the spot, projecting their Primordial Spirit into the void to achieve the status of a Celestial Man – an outrageous existence indeed.

In innumerable texts, legends, and stories, reincarnations of powerful beings are nearly always depicted as gloriously successful, shining brightly.

However, in reality, reincarnating from a catastrophe is a choice powerful beings make out of desperation, a choice that is almost a dead end.

Who would be willing to abandon the fruits of a lifetime’s cultivation, having reached a level that could be called powerful, after enduring countless hardships, pains, years, and difficulties, unless absolutely necessary, unless there were no other choice?

And, reincarnating from a catastrophe is different from ordinary reincarnation; it is a special method of avoiding calamities or beginning anew, and such rebirths don’t retain memories of the past life. Furthermore, they fall into a profound confusion while in the womb.

– Celestial Men and other higher beings are capable of preserving memories through reincarnation, but this method of rebirth retains extensive traces of the past life. Essentially, it is still a continuation of the past and is sufficient to escape the calamities or predicaments they face.

After reincarnating from a catastrophe, the difficulty in awakening memories from the past life is the same, whether one was of Heavenly Third Rank or Divine First Rank earlier.

The possibility is minimal.

Throughout the ages, numerous powerful beings have reincarnated from catastrophes for various reasons, but the ones who truly awaken and return are very few.

This path is extremely perilous; without leaving behind a sufficiently powerful fallback or arrangement – or if the arrangement from a past life is destroyed or becomes ineffective over time – one must rely on luck.

With good luck, one might gradually awaken memories of the past life; with bad luck, one might be doomed to eternal oblivion.

Moreover, as the cycles of reincarnation increase, the brilliance and essence of the past life gets gradually worn away until the possibility of awakening and returning is completely lost.

Therefore, it was quite normal for He Mengqiu to awaken to his past life’s memories after several lifetimes since the Middle Ancient times; in the meantime, he had many different lives.

“It’s just that I don’t know what their relationship was at that time,” Zhou Heng mused curiously to himself, but he didn’t say it outright. After all, He Mengqiu was Yun Xiu’s mentor. It was one thing to wonder, but it would be inappropriate to speak it aloud.

“Perhaps they truly were old acquaintances in a past life,” Yun Xiu mused while arranging her cards, but her movements seemed mechanical, aimlessly changing the order of the cards, her mind appearing to be elsewhere.

“What’s on your mind, Miss Xiu’er?” Zhou Heng noticed Yun Xiu’s distraction.

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“…” Yun Xiu fell into a slight silence, then sighed gently, “Zhou Heng, actually I’m feeling a bit conflicted right now. It should be a good thing that our master regained her past life memories and reclaimed her former cultivation realm and Daoist achievements.

“But, but I always feel somewhat uncomfortable. I’m not sure if the one who took me in as a disciple, cared for me, cherished me, taught me… if she is still the same person from this life or if she’s actually her from a past life?”

“Aren’t they the same person, whether in a past life or this life?” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

“No, they’re not the same.” Yun Xiu shook her head, “I know about master’s experiences from before. When she took me in as a disciple, she was just a trainer in a martial arts hall.

“But gradually, she acquired all kinds of identities; a reincarnation of a powerful being, a disciple of the Dream Saint… Sometimes I don’t even know. Is she still the same master I knew at the beginning?”

“Does it matter whether she is that original person?” Zhou Heng’s face still wore a smile, “Miss Xiu’er, think about it carefully. The master in your memories who cares for you, cherishes you and teaches you… Is she really just the image from the beginning?”

“…” Hearing this, Yun Xiu suddenly froze and fell into silence, not saying anything for a long time. After a while, her face bloomed with a smile again, “Thank you, Zhou Heng. The master I care about is actually the same master all along.”

“That’s more like it.” Zhou Heng laughed.

“But I still have a concern,” Yun Xiu’s expression became serious again. She stared into Zhou Heng’s eyes with utmost seriousness, “Zhou Heng, are you still the Zhou Heng from before?

“The one who, despite everything, walked out from the mountains, bravely strove upwards, practiced martial arts diligently, saved money by eating frugally, and who would come to my family’s stall to sneak a couple of buns to eat?”

“Or are you gradually becoming that powerful being from your past life, the one who arranged countless formidable backups for your current life, that unfathomable unknown existence?”

She asked very seriously and earnestly, each word forceful, as if the sound of metal and stone striking the ground, her gaze fixed intently on Zhou Heng’s eyes.

At the end of her questioning, she even stood up leaning on the table, bending forward to bring her exquisite and radiant face close to Zhou Heng’s, their noses less than an inch apart, almost touching.

“Of course not…” Zhou Heng began to answer.

After all, he had an advantage, he actually wasn’t the reincarnation of any powerful being, so there was no case of awakening past life memories that could overshadow his present life. His mental state was certainly fine.

But as these words started to leave his mouth, Zhou Heng suddenly felt a bit dazed, as many images flashed through his mind.

These were his experiences from the three-plus years since he had crossed into this world.

Scene after scene replayed, from the mountains to Huangtong Mansion City, to Pure Yang Palace, to the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer… From the Nine Swords to the Five Thunder Orthodox Gold Book, to the Heaven Rotating Seal, to the Sword Technique of Conviction, to the Xuan Huang Baot Pagoda Secret, to the Three Treasures Wishful Fist…

It seemed that ever since he had obtained this cheat, he indeed had changed compared to before.

It was not that his mental state had changed directly, but various experiences had subtly brought about some changes in his mentality.

Upon reflection, it seemed that he hadn’t spent whole nights practicing, studying techniques, or feeling elated over minor improvements in proficiency like he did at the beginning.

It appeared to be time to adjust his mentality.

Of course, he had to keep using the advantage; Zhou Heng was very clear about this. It was only the mentality that needed some adjustment.

“Thank you.” Zhou Heng looked at the face close at hand and smiled.