Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

She was playing with her phone, the screen displaying the chat content of the class group.

Everyone was originally discussing where to go during the Tomb-Sweeping holiday, then Chen Qian found a physics test paper from somewhere, took a picture of it, and sent it to the class group, which sparked a discussion about the test.

The group chat was lively, the atmosphere exceptionally harmonious.

Yu Wen sighed in the group, "Tonight's really nice, not like before when people would always fight, some sharing pictures of animals."

She was implying that someone was a group pest.

Ma Shicheng, a member of the group, jumped out, "You might as well speak more clearly."

Yu Wen said, "Who I'm talking about, everyone knows in their hearts."

Dan Xiao asked, "Kaiquan, Hu Jun? And Cui Yu, why don't I see them talking?"

They used to be some of the most active members in the group.

Wang Longlong said, "They've gone off to do something big."

Dan Xiao was very interested, "What big thing? Spill the details."

"Sorry, I can't reveal that," Wang Longlong was quite tight-lipped; if he told, it would ruin the image of Cui Yu and the others.

Chen Qian said, "Let's compare our answers, starting with the multiple-choice questions."

Although the Tomb-Sweeping holiday was upon them and they could play to their hearts' content, the temptation to guess their grades early was still quite enticing.

After all, everyone was free in the evening, so comparing answers was quite a good activity.

Many students who were usually silent also began to compare their answers with the test paper.

Xue Yuantong felt a bit disappointed; she wanted to see her classmates chat, but now they had started to compare answers, and to her, this was the most boring thing.

Jiang Ning lay back in his chair, withdrew all his Divine Sense, and stared blankly at the starry sky.

He actually preferred to waste his life aimlessly like this, rather than always busying himself with trivial matters.

What was the point of all the hustle and bustle in life? After hundreds of years of cultivation, in the end, one's life ends and the Dao dissipates.

Occasionally stopping to look at the stars in the sky seemed quite nice, too.

While Jiang Ning enjoyed the quiet, Xue Yuantong suddenly stood up and went back to the house.

"What are you going back for?" Jiang Ning asked.

Xue Yuantong said airily, "I'm off to do something big."

"Forget about that, come watch the stars with me," Jiang Ning said, quite enjoying her company beside him, playing with her phone, even though they only occasionally spoke a word to each other, but the feeling was pretty warm.

On her lips, Xue Yuantong retorted, "Hmmph, like I would keep you company!"

But her heart was filled with joy. Jiang Ning always used to bully her, but who would have thought that one day, he would be pleading with her.

Xue Yuantong felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

She pranced back into the house.

Xue Yuantong went to the kitchen, washed a large mango; it was the victorious fruit she and Jiang Ning had bravely earned together.

She raised the knife and split the mango into two halves, then cut out the seed in the middle.

Carefully, she scored the mango flesh with the knife, marking it with horizontal and vertical cuts; then, she turned the half inside out, revealing chunks of the tender flesh.

After she finished, she carried the mango back outside.

"Here, eat," Xue Yuantong offered him a piece.

"Not bad, not bad," praised Jiang Ning.

"Hmph, see who cut it," said Xue Yuantong, her voice proud as the mango was very sweet and she was particularly happy.

As the two enjoyed the stars, the discussion about the physics answers in the group became more and more intense.

Chen Qian indeed was a top student in Class 8, but many didn't acknowledge his authority, like Song Sheng who dared to directly challenge his answers.

Song Sheng's grades were also not inferior; having taken a break for a few months and missing so much, he still managed to score in the top ten of his class in the last final exams, showing his strength.

If things had gone normally and Song Sheng had not broken his leg and been hospitalized, he certainly would have been a strong contender for second place in the class, behind Jiang Ning.

As such, Song Sheng's grades would have firmly placed him within the top five, even contending for the top three. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible for him, with his status from a parallel class, to get admitted to a 211 university through the college entrance exam.

Chen Qian felt his authority was being challenged and he got into an argument with Song Sheng over a multiple-choice question.

"If you don't believe me, ask Dong Qingfeng, he's good at physics," Chen Qian got worked up, determined to prove himself right today and started calling his friends for support.

"And there's Bai Yuxia, she's one of the top five in our class."

Chen Qian then called out for the class president to join in.

Suddenly Wang Longlong interrupted, "What about Brother Qi? Doesn't my Brother Qi count? He's in the top three of our class!"

The group suddenly fell silent.

Wu Xiaoqi popped up, "Practicing basketball and street dance here, don't bother me."

After a brief interruption, the passion was not dampened, and the group resumed their heated debate over the physics multiple-choice question.

Chen Qian even posted a picture of his step-by-step calculation notes.

...

Ma Shicheng was playing League of Legends in an internet cafe.

In a dark, murky corner, under the light, Ma Shicheng had his headphones on, the game music leaking out of the damaged headphones.

His eyes were fixed on the monitor.

His phone was placed on the table, charging through a data cable, with message notifications continually popping up on the screen.

Ma Shicheng clicked the mouse swiftly, his other hand hovering over the keyboard, ready to strike.

He was maneuvering his favorite champion, "Yasuo," sweeping through Summoner's Rift.

The solemn announcement of kills resounded:

"Double Kill"

"Quadra Kill"

Only one enemy remained, both of them low on health; Ma Shicheng expertly dodged the opponent's fatal strike with Yasuo's agile movements.

Another E-ability took down the enemy.

"Penta Kill!"

Ma Shicheng hastily took off his headphones as the announcement in the internet cafe rang out:

"Player at computer 18 has achieved a Penta Kill, reward 20 yuan of internet time!"

The patrons in the internet cafe all turned to look toward his station, only to see the player at computer 18 slowly popping a stick of green gum into his mouth.

Then the announcement continued: "Please listen to the song 'Unparalleled,' requested by the player at computer 18."

The onlookers felt this guy was really showing off.

At the same time, they couldn't help but envy him.

Once Ma Shicheng finished his act, he finally had the time to check his phone, unsurprisingly full of messages from the class group.