"Wait, you can't do that!"
To Wang Fei's surprise, I wasn't the one who protested. Instead, Jun Hai was barreling down the corridor, his expression furious. He glared in the direction of my classroom and waved his arm, incensed. Wang Fei, however, remained calm.
"We can and we will."
"What do you mean by that?!" Jun Hai exploded. "First, I heard that his classmates mocked and insulted my big brother after he saved the life of one of them, and now you're kicking him out of school? How is this fair?!"
"Your brother is now trash. His meridians are destroyed and he's no longer a cultivator. As such, there is no longer a place for him in a cultivator academy."
"Don't give me that bullshit!" Jun Hai hollered, jabbing his finger at the teacher. "My big brother contributed greatly to the school, fighting off a Lava Drake, saving the life of his classmate, and carried out many other missions the academy assigned to him! And now that he's injured, you're just going to kick him out like this? Where is the justice?!"
"This world has always been a utilitarian one," Wang Fei replied stiffly. "The Divine Path Academy is a meritocracy, not a charity. We cannot afford to keep a non-cultivator within our ranks." She sniffed. "Especially since his presence will drag down our rankings."
"Rankings?! Is that what you care about?!" My brother trembled in rage. "If that's the case, then I quit too…"
"No," I interrupted him. "Don't quit."
"But, big bro…"
I shook my head. "We can't have both of us leaving the Divine Path Academy. Now that I'm out, you're the only one left to support our family." Then I leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "This isn't over yet. I'll be back, I promise. And when I return, I'll make sure they regret their decision."
"Big bro…"
"Are you done?" Wang Fei glared at us. "If not, then stop wasting my time…trash. Unrelated personnel shouldn't be in the school's premises."
"You…!" Jun Hai glared at my former homeroom teacher. "My brother was loyal to the academy and did everything you asked of him, and this is how you repay him?!"
"All cultivators are weapons to be wielded. Once they lose their capacity to function as a weapon against spirit beasts, then they are not needed."
"Is that how you view us? You don't treat us as humans!"
"It's fine. I know I'm not wanted here." I placed a restraining hand on Jun Hai. At least there was someone who would be angry on my behalf, and that alone touched me. "Keep tabs on the academy for me. I'll leave for now."
"Big bro…"
Everything that happened after that was a blur. I couldn't remember exactly what I did after my exchange with Wang Fei and Jun Hai, but the next thing I knew, I was wandering aimlessly in the streets. Passing by commuters and holographic advertisements, I stared blankly at store windows and displays, my mind unable to process what had just happened.
I had never expected my life to turn out like this. Just a week ago, I was a promising cultivator. I was slightly above average, able to get into an elite cultivator school like Divine Path Academy, and while I wasn't the best, I believed I was doing decently.
Sure, I had dreams of reaching the top, becoming a Heaven-ranked cultivator one day and saving humanity from the strongest spirit beasts and most fearsome demonic monsters that had ever existed. Which cultivator wouldn't aspire to be a legend whose reputation would be spread throughout the world? Fame, glory, honor, even wealth…
But now those dreams lay in tatters, all hopes of attaining the pinnacle of cultivation dashed. I didn't regret saving Li Wang. Not because I was a beta cuck simp like some of the existences in the fourth dimension were claiming, but because if I lacked the courage or resolve to risk my life saving others, how could I ever become the hero I aimed to become?
I had always known the path to heroism was a difficult, thorny one. Sure, it was easy to be selfish and ruthless, to only act in one's benefit, but that was basically what my classmates were. None of them stepped out to risk their lives to save Li Wang, and they looked down on me for doing it. The existences beyond the fourth dimension who were mocking me for not being ruthless and for being a "beta Japanese protagonist" were basically the same type of people as my abusive classmates, even if they didn't realize it.
I vowed never to become like them. No matter what, I was going to maintain courage and honor, and become a hero.
Unfortunately, that goal was put into jeopardy because of my ruptured meridians.
Stopping by a corner of a store, I stared blearily at my reflection. Honestly, I didn't see any physical change. Bespectacled, plain, average height, short black hair and dark eyes. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about me even before I lost my cultivation. If anything, my current condition made me look even more ordinary.
No wonder my classmates…sorry, ex-classmates couldn't help ridiculing me.
"Ha…"
Sighing deeply, I leaned against the wall next to the store window. I had to stop moping around. It wasn't achieving anything. But I had no idea what to do now. Wait around for an overpowered cheat system to conveniently drop into my lap so that I could overturn the current crisis and take revenge on all those who looked down on me? This was reality, not some trashy web novel or manhua. Of course such convenient things wouldn't happen in real life.
…right?
I waited. Nothing happened. No system showed up.
Turning around, I watched the cars and vehicles race down the road, following the traffic signals. When I caught sight of a truck, I suddenly had this crazy idea of throwing myself in front of it. If I allowed myself to get hit by the infamous truck-kun and die, maybe I'll reincarnate into another fantasy world and gained the cheats or systems that all those web novels and manhua love talking about.
Don't be an idiot.
Fortunately, I wasn't delusional enough to kill myself. I couldn't let my family worry, especially after all the trouble I put them through over the last week or so. They had been so concerned over whether I would recover, and I wasn't selfish enough to take my life and put them through a tragedy.
At that moment, I could have sworn I heard voices from beyond the fourth dimension urging me to kill myself, taunting me for being a "pathetic beta MC" or something along the lines of that. They really were the same type of monsters as my classmates who I had sworn revenge on.
Ignoring them for now, I decided to visit a shrine for spiritual guidance. Unlike cultivator academies, the temples tended to be run by volunteers. Monks who maintained the premises through donations rather than strength. Perhaps a few of them were cultivators with speculation online that hidden masters often hid among them, but I wasn't sure how true those rumors were. In any event, they did provide counseling services, so I thought I could get some advice. What I did know, though, was that a few crippled cultivators had retired to become monks. They took care of cultivators who could no longer fight, and wouldn't turn away anyone who was in need. They might have experience in cases like mine, and I hoped they could point me in the right direction.
The nearest temple was Ru Lai Fo Shan, which was located at the edge of Xia Hai City. Located atop a hill overlooking the city and having a great view of the sea and port for which Xia Hai City was famous for, it was a tourist location. The temple was said to date back for as long as a couple of millennia, with a few statues that had been smoothed over throughout the ages.
They stood as guardians to the shrine, bearing all sorts of weapons and fierce expressions. Damage to the courtyard showed that a battle had taken place here recently, but apparently the monks had fended off the spirit beasts by themselves. Or maybe they had embellished the story, with cultivators arriving to save the monks shortly afterward. I wasn't sure because of the numerous contradictory reports online.
Unsurprisingly, there was hardly anyone around. Apart from a few tourists who were posing next to the statues and snapping pictures, the people in the shrine were staff rather than monks. In fact, there weren't any monks around except a single old man deep inside the temple. Instead, a young woman in a uniform and cap came to greet me with a smile.
"Are you here for the sights? The souvenir shop is that way. There are charms that might improve your luck or chances for romance!"
…I was stupid for ever expecting anything. Clearly, the temple had been subsumed into capitalism.
"Um, I'm actually here to look for spiritual guidance."
"Oh, then proceed that way." The staff's expression changed slightly, but she was professional enough not to show too much of her dissatisfaction. Evidently, she was a little miffed that I wasn't here to spend money. "I'm sure the reverend will speak to you if he's not busy communing with the gods."
There was a trace of derision in her tone. Even though she worked here, she didn't seem to believe in the holiness of the sacred grounds. To be fair, I was skeptical of it too. While the world had seen huge shifts because of cultivation powers and spiritual beasts and demonic monsters that defied scientific explanation, we actually hadn't seen any real gods or "higher powers."
"No need. I've been waiting for him."
"Whoa!" The staff jumped and spun around in astonishment. "R…Reverend! I didn't know you were here!"
"Perhaps you're the one who needs to spend less time communing with customers."
"S…sorry!" The staff blushed and ran off, looking for another tourist to swindle money out of. I watched her go and turned to the reverend, who looked every bit the stereotypical old monk. An ancient man reaching ninety or a hundred, dressed in dark blue and yellow robes, with prayer beads wrapped around his hands.
"Reverend…" I bowed respectfully, but he raised his hands and shook his head.
"We…we don't do that here."
"Uh…" I wasn't sure if he was trying to be funny. That was definitely a reference to one of the greatest actors to have graced the big screen, and it was a pity about his passing.
"Anyway, I have been waiting for you. I'm glad you finally came."
"Um…do I know you?"
"No, but I know you."
Cryptic as always. I guess that was what I should have expected from an enigmatic monk. He certainly had that air of mystery around him. I studied him, not sure what to make of the situation. He chuckled and gestured for me to follow him.
To my surprise, he didn't head for the interior of the temple, but instead further to the peak of the hill, for a more scenic view of the city and the sea.
"Don't worry, I mean you no harm. In fact, I'm here to help." He clasped his hands behind his back as he stared into the distance. "I know what you're here for."
"Eh?"
"You've lost your cultivation powers. But the people you risked your life to save have turn their backs to you and discarded you like trash. Depressed and in despair, you have no idea what to do."
"How…?" I gaped at him in disbelief. There was no way he could have known about that, not unless he was a stalker. This wasn't the first time we had met, was it? Was he someone I knew, but in disguise?
"It's a common story that happens all the time." The reverend laughed. I blinked.
"Really?"
"Yes. All the people who come here suffer the same fate. Perhaps their situations are not exactly identical, but it's a similar pattern of being abandoned. It's not strange. Many people in this world are selfish and think only of their own benefit. When someone ceases to be useful to them, they throw them away without a second thought. It's not just cultivators who do that."
He grimaced.
"I have men whose wives treat them like disposable ATMs, only to run off with other men once their husbands go bankrupt or lose their jobs."
"…huh?"
"What, haven't you watched all those manga dub videos on YouTube? I can recommend several channels for you. Sekai no Fushigi and Attack on Mika, Etra chan saw it, and Manga Soprano, to name a few."
…I didn't know monks watched manga dub videos on YouTube.
"What? We are human too, you know."
"Okay…"
"Anyway, you're too young to be married. You're clearly just a student. And your yang qi is pure, so clearly you have never been in a romantic relationship before, so I don't think you just got dumped by a girlfriend for being poor. And since I can sense your broken meridians, then it can only be the scenario I mentioned earlier."
So the guy guessed what happened to me based solely on dumb luck. Brilliant.
"Relax, young man." The reverend placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I see now…your name is Song Jun Wen. You are…no, you were from Divine Path Academy before they expelled you."
My jaw dropped. So he did know who I was.
"You saved the Li family's young master's life, and they paid for your hospital fees. But because your meridians were damaged when you saved him from…from…"
The reverend paused and frowned for a moment. Then, giving up, he reached inside his robes and pulled out a smartphone. Switching it on, he sped-read the text on the screen before turning back to me with a wry grin.
"…from a Lava Drake."
"You investigated me?" I asked, no longer impressed but more outraged. And here I thought he had an omniscient viewpoint. "That's a violation of privacy!"
"Sorry about that." The reverend held up both hands, but he didn't seem guilty. "It's just that I have contacts in the hospital you were in. The doctors there are good friends of mine. Cases like yours aren't uncommon, and often the patients would be driven into a corner. It is my desire to help you and others like you."
He scratched his bald pate and shrugged.
"Honestly, if you hadn't come here, I would have shown up at your doorstep sooner or later. But now that you've come here on your own, I guess we might as well start."
"Start what?" I couldn't help but be guarded. The reverend grinned and spread his arms.
"Why, start helping you regain your cultivation, of course!"