Demon beasts descended and terrorized the whole world and humanity.
For thousands of years, humans were always retreating in the hopes of preserving what they had left, hoping to make a comeback in the near future.
The birth of Demon Refiners alleviated the pressure and raised hope, but in the grand scheme of things, it was merely a ripple trying to subdue a raging ocean.
Cities and strongholds fell and rose multiple times, until only one remained at the ends of the earth, isolated from the outside world, bearing hope for the future generations to venture out and revive the formidable glory of the human race one day.
Golden Gate City, in one of the classrooms of Blackwind Academy—one of the four major Demon Refiner Academies in Golden Gate City—a female teacher explained the history of humanity and Golden Gate City to the multiple youngsters who were listening attentively while sitting on their respective chairs in front of her.
The teacher was beautiful and spoke with eloquence and expertise. Her purple dress accentuated her charm, garnering looks of admiration and emotional upheavals in the hearts of the youths—especially the males—inside the room.
"She's even more beautiful than the rumors. I heard teacher Aria is already a Stage 3 Demon Refiner. She could now transform into her Demon's spirit form and use it in a battle."
"Sigh, reaching the first level in Stage 1 is already very difficult and painful. Just how much pain had she endured just to reach her current level and strength?"
A few students in the back row spoke to themselves while glancing at the teacher in front.
"Golden Gate City is the last stronghold of humanity. To have a better hope of reclaiming the land that had been lost to the Demon Beasts and to restore the glory of humanity, everyone should aspire to become a Demon Refiner."
"Once you become a Demon Refiner, you will naturally gain strength unequaled to those who don't. You could then help defend Golden Gate City and slowly reclaim the land that we once lost. Of course, the latter would only be possible if any of you could reach Stage 5. As for you guys, I'd be happy if any of you can become a Stage 4 Demon Refiner," Aria discussed gently.
Occasionally, her eyes would dart around the room, taking note of anyone who listened and those that spoke during her discussion. The former would be commended, while the latter would be punished later on.
She paced in front of the students as she spoke naturally about the events that led to the current standing of humanity and Golden Gate City.
As she was about to discuss the levels and strength of Demon Refiner, one figure situated at the far end of the room suddenly caught her eye.
It was a male student with black hair. His head was dropped to his desk, sleeping soundly amidst her discussion.
Furrowing her brows, she was about to reprimand that student when she saw him abruptly sit up as if sensing her intentions.
Seeing that, Aria ignored that student and returned to discussing the levels of Demon Refiners and their strengths.
Meanwhile, the male student that she was about to reprimand has a dazed look on his eyes as he stares at the dozens of familiar yet unfamiliar figures around him.
'Where am I? What's going on? Is this an illusion? Didn't I die in the hands of the Celestial Demon Emperor? Didn't his divine weapon pierce my heart and soul?'
Thinking of that, his hands moved automatically and touched his left chest, where the divine weapon was supposed to be impaled.
'Gone?'
Glancing down, he realized that the divine weapon was no longer in his chest. There was no weapon piercing his heart, and the familiar pain that scattered his soul to smithereens was no longer present.
The sight of the gruesome wound and blood was also now replaced by a clean white shirt—a color he had not worn for a very long time.
At the same time, he also realized that his arms were somehow thinner and slightly pale without any scars or even wounds in sight.
'This…'
He hurriedly looked around once more.
The familiar figure of the one seated right beside him, the one in front, as well as the teacher discussing the levels of Demon Refiner in front.
All of it!
He has experienced all of it before!
The sense of Deja vu engulfed his mind, not expecting something like this to happen.
It was said that a person's life would flash before their eyes moments before their death.
But what he was experiencing was no longer a flash.
Time ticktocked, and his brain forcefully made sense of the current situation.
All of a sudden, he recalled something that had happened a few years prior to his last confrontation with the Celestial Demon Emperor.
Back then, he stumbled upon an inheritance of a powerful being he could not fathom.
After surpassing the trials the being had set, he emerged from the inheritance site, bringing with him only two items of considerable value.
A technique called Primordial Refinement, while the other was a weak spirit of a Demon Beast called Heaven Spring Jumping Spider.
The prior was a formidable technique that ultimately allowed him to cultivate to his peak, while the former, after merging with his soul, rested without any movements, becoming extremely elusive and hard for him to even sense with his powerful cultivation.
The Primordial Refinement was a technique that allowed him to harvest the essence of Demon Beasts and make them into his own. At the same time, it also made his own Demon Spirit be enhanced by consuming other Demon Spirits.
"...After one set their eyes on the Demon Beast they liked, they could harvest its blood, absorb it, and begin their path to being a Demon Refiner. As everyone knows, the Demon Beast blood that a practitioner absorbs the most will most likely become the Demon Spirit that will awaken once the practitioner reaches the second stage of Demon Refiner–"
The soft and gentle voice of Aira entered his ears. What she discussed was something very important, even containing some knowledge to higher levels that mundane humans don't know.
However, the young man hardly paid attention to her; his gaze still stared at his current pale and delicate hands.
'I was sent back in time?'
'That spider... It could only be that spider that allowed this to happen!'
His eyes went wide, struck by the absurd realization.
He suddenly recalled the information that came along those items in the inheritance site.
At the final trial, right before he took the two items away, there was a note containing only two words.
START ANEW!
At that time, he did not think too much about those words, thinking it just meant that by obtaining the inheritance, he would be able to start anew and reach new heights he had never reached before.
And indeed, when he obtained the Primordial Refinement Technique, he knew that it was the beginning of his rise.
The Primordial Refinement Technique was extremely formidable, allowing him to advance in his cultivation by leaps and bounds he did not dare imagine before.
The Heaven Spring Jumping Spider, on the other hand, seemed so ordinary compared to the technique.
However, thinking that the Primordial Refinement Technique was already good enough, he felt grateful and did not think too much about the spider, allowing it to rest peacefully inside his soul palace.
Thinking back to those words, he could not help but connect it to his current situation.
'Is this what those words meant?'
'Start anew, as in, restart my life?'
Heaven Spring Jumping Spider.
Heaven, Spring, Jump.
A new beginning, by jumping out of the heavenly cycle, return to the past with memories intact?
'Did the spider take my soul moments before my death and bring it back to this day?'
As the absurd thought surfaced inside his mind, the young man closed his eyes with a frown.
'My current soul is in harmony with my body… This shouldn't be the case of my future soul going back in time to possess my current body.'
Even if that were the case, he did not believe that his current body was strong enough to house his future soul, which contained immense strength.
'Has the spider just brought my consciousness back and not my soul?'
The body houses the soul, while the soul houses the consciousness.
Consciousness was a unique concept that was discussed in the Primordial Refinement Technique.
The body and the soul could be cultivated according to one's wishes, but the consciousness could not.
According to the Primordial Refinement Technique, even if the body and soul perished, as long as the consciousness remained intact, the hope for revival was still there.
The consciousness was unique and could be considered as an individual's true identity.
The body and soul may change forms, inheriting various race traits, but consciousness remains the same. If you were born human, then your consciousness remained human until your death.
Realizing that his soul was still in harmony with his body, he was more likely to believe that the spider had just brought his consciousness back.
After all, this concept was first encountered by him in the Primordial Refinement Technique, and the spider was part of the inheritance.
Even if, for instance, his soul got weakened, it would still be in disharmony with his current body if he took possession of it.
As for believing that everything about the Primordial Refinement Technique and the Heaven Spring Jumping Spider was all just a dream, he did not think about it at all.
His memories were intact, and he could clearly recall all of them without any problem.
If all of this was just a dream, with his current strength, would it even be possible for him to remember all the details of such a long dream so vividly?
Reining in his thoughts back to the present, a hint of elation and ecstasy naturally escaped his eyes and lips.
Everything might be absurd, but with his years of experience, the situation was not very hard to accept.
Knowing the cause made him able to adapt to his current circumstances almost instantaneously.
Recalling his suffering and regrets in his past life, he could not help but clench his fists in excitement.
'Since I, Kenny Ravenwood, have been given a second chance, then I shall fix all my mistakes and prevent all my regrets in my past life!'
'Dog shit demon emperor, just wait for my return! Just sit on your throne and clean your neck from time to time. I won't take long!'
What Kenny did not realize at this moment was that the room's temperature dropped the moment he clenched his fist.
Everyone suddenly felt a chill, including Aria, who paused in her discussion after feeling uneasy all of a sudden.
Realizing his mistakes, Kenny woke up from his stupor as he pulled back his killing intent.
Even without strength, his consciousness still had experienced a multitude of battles and near-death experiences. The consciousness, although intangible, could still exhibit its own wonders and affect the real world.
Feeling the temperature return to normal, Aria felt strange but nevertheless continued with her discussion.
"Where was I again? Oh, right. Demon Refiner strengths are categorized into special stages. The first stage is called the Assimilation Stage, the second is the Awakening Stage, the third is the Transformation Stage, and as for the fourth one… well, it's called the Spirit Manifestation Stage but anyone could not reach that level easily. As for the fifth stage and above, it's too far in the future, so let's not discuss them for now."
"Listen carefully. To start your Demon Refiner journey, one must start by absorbing the blood of the Demon Beast and use it to temper the body."
"The Assimilation Stage is further categorized into three minor stages. The Skin Refinement, Bone Strengthening, and then the Organ Forging. To begin the Skin Refinement, one may..."
The voice of teacher Aria entered his ears, making Kenny smile.
As he looked around, his heart could not help but soften and at the same time ache.
Two years from now, most of them would return to earth after a massive beast horde invades Golden Gate City.
This was his first setback and his first regret.
In this life, he vowed not to let the tragedy happen again.
His mind churned, thinking about how to resolve the crisis two years from now.
Increasing his strength was a given. However, he knew that even if his pace of cultivation surpassed that of his past life, his strength would still not be enough to contend and stop the beast horde.
'I need help,' Kenny thought without feeling any burden.
His gaze glanced around the room, as if searching for something or, more precisely, someone.
The next moment, his gaze landed on the lone figure at the other end of the room.
A smile crept into his face as he muttered, 'It's her. The reincarnator!'