My Future Refreshes Weekly

Chapter 24: The Timeline White Crane Experienced

So many things had happened today, it was clearly impossible to continue training.

Du Lingwei first added Jiang He’s contact number and sent over a few documents.

“These are study materials for Fire Controllers. You can look through them yourself first. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just message me.”

“Tomorrow morning, let’s meet outside the fire station. I’ll take you to train together.”

Du Lingwei put down her phone: “Then I’ll head back first.”

Jiang He: “Sorry to trouble you!”

“See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow!”

It wasn’t until that head of red hair disappeared behind the door for quite a while that Jiang He’s heartbeat finally calmed down.

He couldn’t help but raise his hand, light up his phone screen again, and open the chat app—

A new avatar appeared in his friend list. Enlarging it, the picture showed a red-haired girl in a loose shirt, rubbing her face against a chubby calico cat that looked extremely unwilling.

This was obviously Du Lingwei’s selfie. Did she also keep a cat?

Jiang He closed the avatar and saw the entrance to her Moments. There were a few photos there too. He raised his hand, about to click, but his finger froze mid-air.

He felt as if he were an uninvited guest, suddenly arriving at a girl’s doorstep… barging into her house like this, would it be inappropriate?

After a moment of internal struggle, Jiang He didn’t click into her Moments. Instead, he exited her profile, and in the chat window typed, erased, and retyped, finally sending out just two words.

【Jiang He: Received.】

【Du Lingwei: (salute sticker)】

Instant reply!

Jiang He’s lips curled upward as he set the phone down with a smile.

The moment he raised his head, he saw White Crane.

White Crane was standing less than half a meter away, his whole face scrunched up in disgust, with an expression that screamed “this guy is so gross.”

Jiang He’s face turned red in an instant: “Why are you peeking at me!!”

“Oh.” White Crane withdrew his expression. “I was just going to remind you—if you don’t want to spend the night at school, you’d better head home.”

Jiang He glanced at his phone and only then realized more than an hour had passed—it was already close to five o’clock.

He had actually zoned out for that long?!

Looking at White Crane’s mocking half-smile, he gave a dry cough, pretended nothing had happened, pocketed his phone, quickened his pace, and walked toward the door.

“Let’s go.”

Leaving the lounge, Jiang He entered deeper into the school grounds, where many silhouettes were still busy amidst the ruins.

Especially near the direction of the special class’s teaching building—he saw many Transcendents releasing their powers, lifting massive boulders, carefully clearing debris, and neatly stacking preserved items into the supply zone.

Clearly, they were reclaiming resources.

Wei Sheng was among them, standing at the supply zone tallying records. Noticing Jiang He, he waved.

“Jiang He!”

“Teacher Wei.”

Wei Sheng set aside his work and walked over: “The school will be temporarily suspended, and the special class building needs to be rebuilt. Your course selection will have to wait until the new term… I’ll send you some supplementary materials later, you can read through them first.”

In truth, whether it was Wei Sheng’s or Du Lingwei’s materials, they didn’t mean much.

With White Crane around, whether it was talents or Transcendent professions, he could provide the very best guidance.

Jiang He calmly nodded: “Alright.”

“And also.” Wei Sheng adjusted his glasses. “In this incident, you saved many students. The school intends to formally commend you.”

“On the honors side, the school plans to award you Outstanding Student of the Year. At the very least, that will raise your Student profession by three levels in one go, and also fulfill the ritual requirement for advancing into the profession 【Scholar】...”

“On the resources side, the school is preparing to grant you a scholarship worth millions, along with a corresponding 【Cultivation Fund】.”

“The Cultivation Fund can be exchanged at school for various cultivation resources. For example, the 【Spiritual Blood Quota】 you previously used can be redeemed with the fund.”

“What?!”

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

Never mind the Outstanding Student title—free profession levels and advancement of the basic profession 【Student】? No reason to refuse that.

But a million in scholarship too?

He knew his parents’ savings combined were less than a hundred thousand.

A million… how many bowls of cold noodles could that buy?

Not to mention an equivalent-level cultivation fund!

Jiang He swallowed hard, his eyes nearly turning into gold coins.

He was about to strike it rich!

He couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Wei, when will the scholarship be issued?”

“At the start of the new term, together with the Outstanding Student honor…” Wei Sheng noticed Jiang He’s excitement and remembered his parents had passed early, so he probably didn’t have much left in savings.

So after a pause, he said: “I’ll speak with the principal. Perhaps we can issue your scholarship in advance.”

“That’s amazing, Teacher Wei!”

Jiang He beamed with joy.

After finishing his talk with Wei Sheng, on the way home he thought about the million prize soon to arrive, and couldn’t help but hum a little tune—

Although special class students had a ten-thousand monthly stipend, he was about to graduate. How many months could he even collect?

It was the lump-sum scholarship that was truly sweet!

Even White Crane walking beside him gave his approval.

Though he had ways to earn money, even ways to amass billions quickly, those methods either carried high risk, required complicated conditions, or broke laws.

None were as easy and clean as this scholarship.

“Very good,” White Crane said. “This way, it will be much easier for you to break through to E-rank before next Friday.”

“Otherwise, I would’ve had to find some way to get you more money…”

Jiang He was startled: “Next Friday?”

Though he wanted to level up quickly, wasn’t this too fast?

His classmates in the normal class, some who awakened early at age ten or so, had only just managed to break through to E-rank by now.

He had only awakened this past Friday, and next Friday he had to break through to E-rank?

“Of course,” White Crane said.

“Your transferred profession, 【Rumor Bearer】, is just an entry-level profession.”

“Not only does it lack the ability to inscribe Spell Words, even its capacity to store them has a cap—the base can store 3, and every 3 profession levels increase that limit by 1.”

“In other words, if I disappear next Friday and you lose the Word-Spirit ability—”

“Then you would only have a few Spell Words left. Once they’re used up, there’s no way to replenish them.”

“You must raise your energy level to E-rank and advance to 【Word Keeper】, to store Spell Words without limit and gain the ability to ‘Record’ Word-Spirits.”

“As long as you’ve recorded the Word-Spirit, you can inscribe Spell Words yourself and replenish your uses.”

“Only then can you continue disguising yourself as a Word-Spirit talent user and keep advancing your profession.”

Jiang He nodded in understanding.

The Word-Spirit talent he now used was “borrowed.”

To obtain it permanently, he had to “extract” it from White Crane once he disappeared.

But White Crane, as a super S-rank Heroic Spirit, had countless specialties and skills. 【Word-Spirit】, being his only talent, was equivalent to a rare SSR—drawing it directly had an extremely low probability.

Instead of gambling on a random draw, it was better to push his energy level and advance into 【Word Keeper】.

However, leveling up wasn’t something that could be rushed.

With the 【Meditation Room】 destroyed, he had lost the method of quickly recovering mental energy. Even if Jiang He wanted to grind, there was nothing to grind.

On the way home, he bought White Crane various snacks, and downstairs also packed a serving of cold noodles.

By then, news of the Arc Light Organization’s attack had already spread widely. Uncle Cui, upon hearing First High had been attacked by thugs, worried for Jiang He’s safety. Only when he saw Jiang He unharmed did he finally relax.

Jiang He also remembered White Crane’s words—

Although White Crane had lied at first, not everything he said was false.

At least about June 13th, when the Arc Light Organization would attack Central State again, destroying Lidu Apartments and killing Uncle Cui’s family—that was not a lie.

In fact, because of White Crane’s appearance, the Arc Light Organization’s attack and the timeline Jiang He had experienced had already shifted somewhat.

He wasn’t even sure whether the Arc Light Organization would attack again, or whether the time would change.

So Jiang He hinted at it, taking the chance of this attack to remind Uncle Cui that Central State was not safe lately, suggesting they return to their hometown for safety.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get much of a response.

In Uncle Cui’s view, the Parliament had already issued a statement. No matter how bold the Arc Light Organization was, they wouldn’t dare appear again.

Unable to persuade him, Jiang He returned home helplessly.

He placed the food on the table and flopped onto the sofa with a sigh.

“Is there really no way to get Uncle Cui’s family to leave Central State for a while?”

“What’s the point of leaving? Other places aren’t necessarily safe either.” White Crane sat on the sofa, picking up food and eating as he said:

“The greatest evil of the Arc Light Organization isn’t attacking schools or cities… it’s that they’ve shattered the Parliament’s ‘authority.’”

“Authority takes years to build, but only a day to break.”

“This world is full of Transcendents, full of ambitious men and evildoers. Once they see someone challenge the Parliament, break order, and remain unscathed, seeds of evil will sprout in their hearts.”

“Starting tomorrow, Transcendent crime rates across the world will skyrocket.”

“Chaos is coming. No matter where you hide, it won’t make a difference.”

“If you want to protect Uncle Cui’s family, you must grow stronger, quickly.”

Chaos, huh?

Jiang He fell silent for a while, then stood, moved the food aside, and cut off White Crane’s meal.

He stared into White Crane’s eyes and spoke seriously.

“I need your memories. The real ones.”

“You don’t have to tell me the cause of your berserk rampage.”

“But I need to know what you’ve experienced. I need to know what disasters await the future!”

“Stop talking to me in riddles!”

This time, Jiang He wasn’t driven by curiosity, anticipation, or empathy.

He wanted to know the future—because he needed to prepare for it.

His gaze, shaped by this mindset, grew solemn and resolute.

White Crane noticed it all, and felt a faint stir in his heart.

Growing fast.

He nodded slightly and said:

“Let me finish eating first?”

“Truth be told, I haven’t eaten in over twenty years.”

When you destroyed the world, you never thought of keeping a chef?

“…Eat.”

Jiang He sat back on the sofa, watching as White Crane ate unhurriedly, then wiped his mouth.

With a snap of his fingers, the trash on the table vanished with a bang.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

“First, I’ll remind you—I’ll skip trivial details. Minor events are easily affected by the butterfly effect and can mislead your judgment.”

“Second, I’ll also omit events too far in the future.”

“I’ll only tell you the 【important events】 of the coming years, and the 【key events】 most relevant to us.”

“Mm… I’ll also talk a bit about my life experience, so you’ll understand me better.”

“But I will omit some things you cannot know for now.”

“Don’t worry—this time I’ll only omit, not lie.”

Jiang He nodded in agreement.

White Crane began.

“Let’s use the ‘Awakening Moment’ as the starting point.”

“On May 18th, 2029, I awakened my talent 【Word-Spirit】.”

“Though this talent wasn’t as powerful as your 【Ferryman of Time】, it was still a genuine S-rank talent. I was so thrilled I couldn’t sleep all night.”

“On May 19th, I registered my talent at school and chose the 【Sunflame Wielder】 path.”

“After that, under Teacher Wei’s lead, I toured the special class and met a few classmates there.”

These were all things Jiang He had experienced too.

But due to White Crane’s influence, their experiences overlapped only roughly—details differed.

For instance, in class, the one who had scolded a classmate on White Crane’s behalf wasn’t “another him,” but Teacher Wei.

And he hadn’t managed to break through to F-rank as a Transcendent.

That divergence had created enormous differences in what followed.

“On May 20th, I went to school to transfer into Fire Controller, but then the Arc Light Organization attacked. Protected by Teacher Wei, I hid in a corner.”

“After the incident, the school was destroyed, Du Lingwei was gravely wounded and near death, unable to guide me in cultivation; Chi Zhilei, who originally promised to help temper my Fire Seed, had to tend to her father who was severely injured and dying, so she couldn’t spare the time.”

“So I studied alone at home, reading books.”

This was the true situation of an “S-rank genius”—just one day after awakening, only slightly stronger than an ordinary person.

Forget contributing—when facing a terrorist attack, all he could do was shiver in a corner.

And because Du Lingwei was badly injured, the “fire station training” event had been skipped entirely.

Jiang He hadn’t expected that the White Crane who would one day become a super S-rank had such a pitiful beginning.

Also…

Jiang He was startled: “Chi Zhilei’s father was gravely injured?”

“Mm, you don’t know yet,” White Crane said. “Chi Zhilei’s father is the mayor of Central State, Chi Zhenshan. He was besieged and seriously wounded by several Transcendents of the Arc Light Organization, and is now in emergency care.”

“After this injury, his energy level will fall to entry-level A-rank, his strength greatly diminished.”

“And because of this incident, the Parliament will hold him accountable, stripping him of his position as Central State’s mayor.”

“The next mayor of Central State will be Teacher Zhong… tch.”

Jiang He understood now. No wonder after the attack ended, Chi Zhilei had suddenly disappeared, and today she hadn’t chased after him to go home together. It turned out her father had been hurt.

He recalled her actions today, her goodwill toward him, and after some hesitation, pulled out his phone and sent her a message.

【Jiang He: Wishing a speedy recovery.】

Chi Zhilei didn’t reply, perhaps not checking her phone.

Jiang He set his phone down: “And after that?”

“For the next few days, I stayed home, self-studying, practicing Transcendent abilities, trying to raise my Fire Controller profession level.”

“But due to lack of Fire Source, my Fire Controller level was hard to advance, so my strength grew very slowly.”

This was not only White Crane’s original experience, but also a “foresight” of what lay ahead.

So he explained it in detail.

“In those few days while I studied, Central State gradually descended into chaos—”

“The Arc Light Organization’s attack had caused heavy casualties, leaving people panicked, and placed great pressure on city governance. Such an environment was the breeding ground for crime.”

“For several days, incidents large and small erupted one after another.”

“Some Transcendents took advantage of the chaos to seek revenge, commit murder, plunder, or unleash malice…”

“Many missing persons—it was impossible to know if they died in the attack, or afterward.”

“Since statistics couldn’t distinguish, it made no difference.”

Jiang He furrowed his brows tightly.

This was White Crane’s prophecy for the coming days in Central State.

The cracks in order gave birth to chaos and darkness.

This was Transcendent Rampage.

White Crane continued.

“Until May 24th, when Central State suffered a second large-scale malignant incident.”

“The Arc Light Organization, which should have disappeared, reappeared in Central State.”

Jiang He froze: “It’s only been a few days, and the Arc Light Organization will attack again? Haven’t they already achieved their goal?”

White Crane’s lips curled into a cold smile.

“That’s the interesting thing about Transcendent Rampage.”

“Once Pandora’s Box is opened, it’s not so easily closed.”

Jiang He’s expression darkened as he realized.

“Copycats!?”