"Kai, I'm off. Like always, I'll be away for a few days. Don't wander around and just wait for me here, okay?" said Qiang Lei as the dilapidated door covered the shack in darkness once more. As though the scene never played and the words were never said, Kai, seemingly suffocated by the darkness, disappeared soon after.

The view in front of Qiang Lei was greeted with smiles as soon as she traveled by foot towards the academy. She, a 13 year old girl, watched the world intently with her bright green eyes as if everything that she sees is her own treasure. The azure sky with the big and small clouds hanging above her, the myriad trees dancing with the breeze welcoming her entrance as the leaves fall and scatter along the way, the sounds of birds, butterflies, bugs, pheasants and all earthlings piercing her ears every now and then were like music to her.

Everything above the earth and below the heavens is such an spectacle to watch. 'A... Alive. Everything is alive.' She thought that a smile never seemed to leave her face and her heart seemed to be full of warmth.

The place where the shack she called 'home' was located can only be considered as a lower realm in this world — Great Grey Continent. Though not the lowest, there was only a little disparity with the lowest one. Even so, in this lower realm, the village where her 'home' resided was definitely one of the many poorest places.

It took an hour to reach the academy by foot. However, Qiang Lei had developed a habit to appreciate what she sees with her eyes that it had become a part of her. Hence, it had taken her two hours at most to arrive at her destination. And yet, instead of feeling tired, she felt more energized. Elated.

As her destination drew near, carriages of various extravagance began to pass her by and as though she was an ant destined to be trampled on, this journey of hers was also full of various gazes — mockery, disdain and pity. It was only natural as one would usually say.

In a world where strength, beauty, wealth and honour reign, a 13 year old girl, whose looks and aura clearly did not possess any of these, was akin to an eyesore that must be removed. For her existence was lower than a noble family's servant and only a status higher from a slave. But it matters not for Qiang Lei. Carriages built and plated with gold, gemstones and various ores with carvings of celestial beasts and beings, curtains of high-quality silk embroidered with fine designs and details, high-ranking magical beast as their mounts, guards donned in ebony and golden armours — they may highly express one's standing in this world, but it matters not for someone like her. It may not be something that she can hope to have but it was something she was not interested in either. Like how the carriages passed her by, such extravagance was also passing.

She only wanted to live simply and in peace. A wish she never attained in her previous life on earth. She was a homebody whose life revolved around the internet and network of information since her highschool years up to when she started working in an IT company. Little did she know that her thirst for knowledge and information is both a blessing and a curse. Her fate was the latter and thus, death welcomed her for knowing more than what she should.

An ancient cube she happened to see in a trash can that she spent time researching about and scrutinising was the beginning of her end. She had not even divulged what information it contained but the act of unfolding it was met with minds and eyes of greed and in the end, she was assassinated.

She never thought she would be given a chance to live once more until she arrived in a completely different world. As soon as she has woken up, she was already inside the shack. With her being not yet knowing what had happened, what she only felt was that her hand was holding onto something. She sat straight and looked at the object.

'It was the cube. The fucking cube.'

The ancient cube was akin to the size of a table tennis ball. Gold in colour, black runic carvings were visible on its surface truly giving off an ancient vibe. What shocked her though was the bullet implanted in it.

'So I died via gunshot, huh. Cliche but sigh, effective.'

She sorted her thoughts and recalled the memories. She was in her office fully focused on the thing she was holding in front of her nose. The next thing she knew, she was already here.

'Ugh. ****.'

Touching her nose, she trembled slightly. She pretty much figured out how she died and why she had to die, this damn thing can only be the reason! She observed the cube once more. Except for the bullet with her dried blood on it, everything was the same. Without a second thought, she removed the bullet inside the cube and something happened once more.

'Sh... Shit.'

As the bullet was taken out, the blood stains on the cube seemed to have come alive as they seeped through it and was completely absorbed by it. The next second, it shot right through in between her brows like a streak of lightning and pain began eroding her mind that she fainted. Not even it took for an incense to burn a quarter, she woke up and the pain was already gone. She touched her forehead and knew it was there.

It. Was. Fucking. There.

Yet, she could do nothing. She could only sigh and sit straight up. Looking around, she sighed once more. She recalled the memories of the owner's body and that act of her made her fall backwards.

*Thud

'For real.'

Time travel and transmigration were not unknown to her given her nerdy personality and humongous thirst for knowledge but to be reincarnated in a body of an orphaned 13 year old girl...

'Seriously, god?!'

She could only scream internally and cry dry tears. She could naturally adapt to the situation but why must the heavens play with her fate! It was fine to be a trash from a noble family! But this...

An abandoned child, picked up by old farmer couple, and had been living in this dilapidated shack... to repay the old couple, she worked to the bones since she learned how to walk and had done all kinds of jobs there of to earn a living — coppers, grain of rice, simple herbs, farm animals, you can name them all. Even after the death of the couple at the age of 9, her life revolved around one thing...

Surviving.

She had learned and experienced all kinds of things to survive. From farming to selling things in the market, from reading and writing to handling delivery jobs, from being bullied to being beaten half to death...

'Ah, such a cruel life, Qiang Lei. But I cannot help but admire you too. Your desire to live in these 13 years was really strong that the heavens seemed to have felt it too. While your soul was not here anymore, I will do my best to make sure that with this body of yours, you will live longer than you could have hoped for.'

"Sigh." Closing her eyes, she sighed deeply. She sat straight up once more and then kowtowed for a little while. No one knew what she was thinking. As the sun started to peek through the myriad holes of her 'new home', she could only utter the words...

"Thank you."

She sat straight back up. After feeling she regained all her senses, she stood up and walked towards what seemed to be the 'door' of her house. She pushed it slowly and the rays of the sun began to blind her. She stood outside and the rays of the sun seemed to pass through her giving temporary warmth to her being.

And then she smiled. Closing her eyes once more, she began feeling the world around her.

'So nice. This is not...'

Sensing the change in her surrounding, she opened her eyes and scanned the area. All of a sudden, her right foot seemed to feel heavier and without a second thought, she looked down. Shock as she was, the only thing that can portray it was her parted lips. Her eyes reflected a white wolf whose left paw was pressed down on that right foot of hers.

Scanning her memories quickly, she pursed her lips.

She squatted down as she looked at the thing. Staring at each other, each figure was reflected in their own eyes. Qiang Lei's green eyes looked at the wolf's blue eyes. With a smile full of warmth, she softly said...

"Kai."

Kai was the name she gave to the wolf that saved her life when she was picking fruits and herbs in the forest near the shack for the first time. Unaware of any lurking danger, she casually walked around the forest as if it was her own backyard. Unknown to her, ferocious beasts live there. Though very few and low in level, it was considered death for Qiang Lei if she encountered them. And death seemed to like her as a low level hornless bull saw her! Known for its sturdy body accompanied by its large feet, a single hit from it was sure to send Qiang Lei flying away and moreover, in front of death's door.

If not for Kai showing up, this bull would have already feasted on her. It was probably the most memorable encounter she had. Kai, the wolf, was injured that time and to repay its kindness, she decided to treat its wounds. At first, Kai was reluctant as its paw scratched her arms. But contrary to Kai's expected reaction, Qiang Lei was not bothered by it at all. Instead, her hand never stopped from touching the wound. Seeing through her intentions, Kai let her be. As a 9 year old kid, she can only stop the bleeding and using her shabby clothes, she wrapped the wounded parts. Using the remaining water with her, she wiped the wolf's body to remove the remaining stains completely forgetting that she, too, was injured.

After tending to the wounds, Qiang Lei bid goodbye to the wolf and yet upon reaching the shack, she was surprised to see the same wolf as she never sensed it as it followed her.

She sat down cross legged on the ground facing the wolf. As if what's in front of her is of the same race, she reached out to it in an attempt to 'shake hands' with and said, "Qiang Lei."

The wolf stared at the hand and only noticed the scratch it caused her. It then slowly walked towards the dumbfounded being and began licking the wound. Not even a minute had passed and the wound had healed already.

"Wow!", exclaimed Qiang Lei. She looked in its eyes and smilingly said, "thank you."

Four years had passed since then and yet the memory was as clear as still water. She may have lost the couple who adopted her, but she gained a new friend then. Kai left her side every once in a while within that four years but most of the time, they were together. It kind of served like a protector for Qiang Lei as it had always kept her away from harm until the midnight of today, that is.

Sleeping soundly, Qiang Lei was alone in the shack. Unbeknownst to her, the door slowly opened and a lone bandit began stealing her things. She was awaken by the noise and before she can shout for help, her eyes widened followed by the seering pain. Her throat was stabbed by the man with a dagger that pierced through the wood underneath her. Not resigned to death, she tried pushing the man away, who was towering over her, with her slender hands and feet but to no avail.

The man, seemingly enjoying the struggle, smiled viciously.

"Haha. If only you just pretended to be asleep, maybe you will still be alive by sunrise. Hahaha."

Mad laughter echoed in the night silencing Qiang Lei's struggles. The man, seemingly not satisfied, retrieved another dagger and poked holes on her body slowly. Starting from her feet up to her neck, the man created her own art with the holes one by one. Pain and pleasure played a music of death only the two can hear. Numb to the pain, Qiang Lei's body had been convulsing non-stop wanting to give up and yet... And yet! Her will to live was still visible and very clear in her eyes as she stared at the black figure who was in ecstasy.

"Eh, aren't you a stubborn one?", said the man as he looked at her. Who would have known that he had been staying in the shack for long and yet the girl was still alive.

"Sigh. I need to go now. Lemme tell you, little girl. Don't cling to life too much. It is lesser painful", said the man followed by his manic laughter. As a final push towards death's door, the man pulled up the dagger stuck in her throat causing her blood to spurt out towards him.

Without even cleaning the blood stains on him, the man left and ran towards the nearby forest. Inside the shack, Qiang Lei laid in her pool of blood filling the air with the smell of it. She fixed her eyes up the ceiling afraid it will close once she looked elsewhere. As tears began to fall from her eyes, she tried her hardest to utter a single word numerous times as if it could still save her.

"K... K... Ka... Kai..."

Sensing something was not right, Kai ran towards the shack. Reaching the center of the forest, Kai began to smell Qiang Lei's blood. As it followed the scent, it found a man walking towards the nearby river seemingly attempting to wash away the blood on him.

Kai was very familiar with Qiang Lei's blood since their first encounter. Sure enough, it pounced on the man viciously tearing and ripping him apart completely. Standing still, it looked up the sky as it was welcoming the dawn. The river had been painted with red as blood continued to flow with it.

It felt it. It knew it. There was too much amount of her blood on this human. Qiang Lei was dead.

'Qiang Lei...'

—

As if slapping it awake from a sleep, its name being called by her made the wolf step back. It scanned Qiang Lei's body checking if she was injured. After making sure she was safe, Kai walked towards Qiang Lei whose eyes never left its own.

Sensing Kai had put down all its guard, Qiang Lei hugged the beast tightly, closing her eyes.

The owner's soul may have already been replaced by the new Qiang Lei, but she understood that Kai was the only and the most important thing in her life and she will definitely treat it as how she treated it in the past.

Kai was dumbfounded by Qiang Lei's action and until now, was unable to comprehend what was going on. It knew that Qiang Lei had died, but for some reason, she was alive and very well at that. Just as it wanted to escape from the slender arms of the girl, she only tightened her hug and softly said,

"Thank you, Kai. It is good to be alive. Let us live together from now on. Forever, if there is one."

Kai quivered lightly as its eyes widened a little. It did not know what to feel as its emotions were in turmoil. It was an animal, okay? Why did it seem like it just heard a confession?

Nevertheless, the pain it once felt after Qiang Lei's death was very excruating and something it never wanted to feel again that if it was a human being, it would have already cried its heart out until all its senses were numbed. A wishful thinking, it was, but it, too, promised to protect her life even if it was to die.

Kai can only close its eyes as it enjoyed the warmth from the human being.

Reminiscing the past was something the new Qiang Lei liked to do. Whether the memories were good or bad, she would always remember them, not missing a frame out. People may often want to forget things and bury them deep in their minds especially if the feelings they bring were pain and sadness, but she was exactly the opposite case. She did not want to forget. No matter how sad, painful, hateful or despairing it was, she would only want to remember. And this was the same with the original owner's memories. It was not like the memories only brought negative feelings.

—

Goldhill Academy

Qiang Lei stopped from walking as soon as the sight of grandiose and majestic place appeared in front of her. Goldhill Academy. Truly living up to its name, the academy was built upon the most expensive and impressive materials. The academy walls stood tall towering and shining over her and the many people who come and go the academy gates. Carriages lined beside the walls as young nobles got down from them and walked with their heads held high. With their dresses made from brocades, both soft and heavy, and other high quality fabrics adorned with various rich designs, they were truly imposing. Adding the fact that they were escorted by their own maids and guards, Qiang Lei believed that this was truly what it meant to be an aristocrat.

Not allowing the carriages to go inside the academy gates was quite a surprise though. The gate was wide enough to let five carriages to go in and out at the same time and tall enough to let an elephant in and out too, and yet, any mode of transportation seemed to be prohibited.

Was it for safety? Cleanliness? Only the people seated at the top of the academy's pyramid would know why.

'Well, it's not something a person with a status like me can meddle in.'

Thinking she had admired the sight enough, Qiang Lei took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the city gates while trying to diminish her presence. Yes, diminishing her presence. Her status was enough to treat herself as an air. Hence, doing so was relatively easy. She was neither a noble or a trash who others can easily identify. She belonged to the mob and she was okay with it.

As she drew closer, she gained a clearer picture of the people who entered her line of sight. An academy was really a place where you can see all kinds of countenance and stature. It was also a place where vital force was varying and very rich. Each person carries their own vital force. Its amount in one's body was quantify through cultivation giving a discerning eye and mind a rough estimation of one's strength and progress. Qiang Lei knew very little about this. The surface knowledge she gained from reading books and hearing stories and rumours can never describe this force, let alone the whole cultivation department. It was nothing but a drop in the ocean. Hence, she never learnt it.

But Qiang Lei still had merit. She can sense the aura of all the people she encountered. It was not only the kind of aura that people usually give off. Qiang Lei can sense deeper. She can sense the genuine aura from others, the one directly connected to one's soul and spirit. Hence, she can easily tell one's true desires and intentions. That was how she survived alone for four years and she believed, with the help of this skill that she did not know the origin, she would be able to continue doing so.

She finally reached the academy gates. She saw 10-15 guards strictly monitoring the people who passed by. A small suspicion would make one be halted on their steps and a few questions would be asked before being cleared.

'What the hell is going on?' It truly aroused Qiang Lei's curiosity. She walked towards the guard who was standing behind a wooden table.

Per Qiang Lei's observation, the guard seemed to be around 30 years of age. Dark in complexion and burly in built, with narrow eyes that seemed to close from time to time. His nose was big, his lips were thin and he got a mustache that looked neat. He was wearing a black scale armour and a white owl insignia on the left side of his chest. His aura gave off a scare that no one dared approach. He was also expressionlessly monitoring the people who caught his sight.

"Mister." She called out neither in arrogant nor servile tone.

Surprised as he was, the guard's eyes widened but he quickly calmed down as his face returned to being wooden. His eyes looked down as he fixed his gaze to where the sound came from.

Standing in front of him was a young girl around 12-13 years old. She got a slender body and was around 155 cm in height. She got a fair complexion that made the calluses on her hands more prominent that one cannot help but look. Her long black hair that reached her butt was flowing like waterfall behind her back. Her thin and round eyebrows emphasised her forest green eyes. She got a small nose and thin lips. She was wearing a white flowing robe which was a peasant clothing that covered her entire body, white socks and straw sandals. She was carrying a cloth bag with her left hand while her empty right hand was rested on the side.

'Neat.' The guard thought. At one glance, one can easily tell that the girl in front of him came from a poor family but the guard thought otherwise. She looks very healthy and not deprived of her needs. What shocked the guard the most though was that he has never felt her presence until she talked. He was 100% sure that he watched the people within 15 meters from him but he never saw her.

"!" The guard furrowed his brow with this discovery. He never saw her until he heard her voice. The more he thought about it, the more disturbed he was. He calmed down once more. He stared at her.

"Yes?" Indifference was shown in his tone.

No longer speaking, she reached inside her left sleeve and retrieved a white envelope from it. She then handed it to the guard. The guard quickly opened it and read the contents of the letter. During this time, quite a number of people were already drawn to the scene.

"Is this girl wanting to attend the academy? Clearly, the school admission is over three months ago and will open again next year." A person nearby commented loud enough for a few people nearby to hear.

"This girl is clearly poor with her clothing. How can she afford to pay?"

"Look! She seemed to have handed a letter to the guard. It must be a recommendation!"

"So what if it is a recommendation? She still needs to pay to attend the school unless the letter indicates that she is exempted."

"Heh. A peasant will always be a peasant! How can the academy let someone of that status come here? She will only sully the academy's face!"

Here and there, people began to talk about the girl not caring if she can hear them or not. And yet, she remained rooted to where she was standing as if she did not hear anything. She was not bothered by them.

After a while, the guard sized her up once more. "Qiang Lei?" He asked.

"Yes." She politely answered.

"I need to confirm this first so wait for a while here." The guard said. Not waiting for her to respond, the guard turned around and entered the academy.

As soon as the guard left, there was silence for a while until one of the spectators neared her.

"Ah, ah, ah... That's Lin Ruo! She is the second miss of the Lin clan, one of the noble clans here in the Great Grey Continent. Their clan is close to the Royal family and they are really wealthy."

"She is as beautiful as what they say."

"She enrolled this year and was one of the top scorers of the entrance assessment."

"She only likes to associate herself with the nobles so she must be displeased with the girl."

"Hey, let's remain here. I bet there will be a good show!"

The crowd increased in number and formed into a bell curve that seemed to trap Qiang Lei.

Qiang Lei stayed rooted to where she has been standing. Even if she can sense other people's hostility towards her, she remained unaffected.

Lin Ruo walked passed her and stood directly in front of her. Sizing her up, she moved her eyes up and down.

"Who are you and why are you here?"