Jasper woke up.
Memories flashed by as he groaned. But, surprisingly, his head was free of pain.
"... eh?"
It was as if what happened with Liam was all but a dream.
He looked around, and it was almost dusk. Fragrant aroma entered his nose and turned to see a campfire with a cooking pot atop.
Jasper was currently lying on a sheet of cloth with a makeshift pillow.
Judging from the surroundings, someone camped here to take care of him.
'Wait…'
Jasper was dazed and looked at his hands.
"I'm alive."
"Yes, you are alive."
Jasper jolted and immediately went on defense.
That was when a middle-age man came out of from the shadows of the trees. This man was completely bald and has slight wrinkles on his face, complementing his thin eyes. The first thing that Jasper noticed was his amicable smile and his tidy, small white beard.
With the man's clean white robe, he clearly looks like a monk of some sort.
"That's how you treat your benefactor?" the middle-aged monk revealed a fake expression of regret and disappointment.
"You are…" Jasper was surprised but didn't lower his guard, "Sorry, but I don't trust strangers."
The middle-aged monk paused and looked at him.
The atmosphere became tense before the middle-aged monk suddenly broke into laughter.
"Jasper Langford. I understand your suspicions, but I really am the one who saw you by the riverside and healed you. Do you believe me now?"
"You could've seen my benefactor take me in. That's not enough proof."
The middle-aged monk wasn't offended and nodded, "I see, that's a possibility. How about this?"
An intense pressure emanated from the monk's body, pressing Jasper's chest tighter.
"You're just an ordinary person. If I have ill intentions, I wouldn't need this useless talk, would I?"
Jasper finally let down his guard. Not because he was clear of suspicions but because in front of this man, no matter what he does, it will amount to nothing.
After all, the man in front of him is at least stronger than Liam!
Jasper wouldn't fully know the extent of the monk's power as he himself is not even a cultivator.
"Finally calmed down?" the middle-aged monk sat beside the campfire.
Jasper nodded, "A bit. I will apologize once I make sure you really are my benefactor. I am also a man who holds gratitude."
"Yes, yes, I know." the monk then took a bowl and poured soup from the pot. He offered it to Jasper.
Jasper received it. The monk wouldn't need to resort to cheap tricks with his power, thus, there should be no problem with this soup.
"May I know what you need from me?"
The middle-aged monk laughed again.
"You're such a cynic. People don't always expect something in return when they help."
Jasper frowned and met the monk's eyes.
"You seem to know me."
He remembered this monk calling him by his full name.
"… of course, I do. But before that, how's the soup?"
Raising a brow, Jasper answered, "It's a good soup, actually. How did you make this?"
"Hehe, thanks for the praise. I don't cook much, so I'm glad to hear that. This is actually deer meat with spices such as…"
The two talked about the soup for some time.
"Ah, I see. You have talent for this, mister. You say you don't cook a lot, but this is pretty good."
"Aiya, don't praise me that much. It's because I have excellent cooks at home that I learn so much with little time," the middle-aged monk slightly blushed as he scratched his bald head.
"Cooks? You must be rich."
"Erhm…" the monk cleared his throat and changed the subject, "You're wondering how I your name, right? After all, this should be our first time meeting each other."
Jasper nodded, and his eyes turned vigilant once again.
"I also know much more," the middle-aged monk let out a confident smile, "Jasper Langforn. Born in poverty, son of Irene and Hawk. You attended your local primary school and middle school. Birthdate is September 2121.
Even though you can't provide any tutors, you're always at the top of your school in terms of academics. Before your batch enters the age of enlightenment, in terms of strength, no one can beat you!"
While listening, Jasper rummaged through his memory to see if he encountered a cultivation technique that can look through a person's identity.
However, he failed.
This monk must have a powerful technique. Jasper has no right of learning yet.
"How'd you know this information?"
"That's easy," the monk said as he then reached out for the bag and took out a device.
It's the latest MyPad smart tablet, MyPad6 Pro!
"I looked at your school ID and searched through your school's registry to find your basic information."
"..."
Jasper saw his wallet on the ground and felt incomparably stupid at that moment.
"Are you surprised?" the monk smirked, "After all, I have the latest MyPad, it hasn't even released to the public yet. It was just announced a week ago."
Seeing Jasper's dumbfounded look, the monk realized something.
"Ah, sorry, I forgot you're dirt poor. You don't know about such things. Maple's products are really expensive after all."
Jasper snorted, "Don't look down on me. I am aware of Maple's product. Particularly, that' the MyPad6 Pro! It has 8MP wide camera, 1080p video…" he then went on and on about the specs of the product.
"Wow, I'm impressed. You're as poor as a dog, I didn't expect you to know such things."
Jasper lifted his chin, "Of course. I have great ambitions. I already have more than 100 things listed in my wishlist once I've become powerful and rich! And can you stop calling me poor!?"
The monk chuckled, "I am aware of your ambitions."
"..."
"You're correct in your suspicions. I do need something from you, Jasper."
Jasper thought for a while and replied, "I've seen more evidence that you are my benefactor than not. Even if that's untrue, you still provided me with this soup. As long as it is fair, please tell me what you need and I'll gladly provide it!"
Even though Jasper said that, he still has a rising suspicion at the back of his head. What can this monk need from a non-cultivator?
This monk already knows that he is poor and has no powerful background or connections. That's why it's hard to guess what this monk may want from him.
"I love that attitude. We'll really get along!" the monk clapped.
"..."
"Before that, let's talk about history, shall we?"
Jasper gave a confused look. What's history got to do with anything right now?
Ignoring his confusion, the monk recalled the history as he closed his eyes.
"A hundred or so years ago, the first enlightened human revealed himself, the one you all call the [Ancestor]. At that time, he was already above the Body Tempering Realm, he was at the Qi Refinement Realm. Thus, he was able to prove that he was extraordinary.
People were enamored, and with the Ancestor's lead, people with potential were being enlightened left and right. Cultivation brings health and youth, countless scientific papers even support it. In less than a decade, cultivation has circulated all around the world, reaching the far west of America to the far east like Japan and Korea.
Because of this, people were more focused on cultivation than on their jobs. The economy becomes unstable because of the sheer amount of people quitting their jobs. After all, with cultivation, they can expand their lifespan and never be sick. They can also take the world's natural energy as nourishment as they step into the Qi Refinement Realm… wait, that's not really important haha." the monk heartily laughed again.
"Sorry, I got too engrossed in the history. Hmmm, where were we? Right! Fifty years or so since the Ancestor revealed himself and introduced cultivation, Dark Rifts began appearing on Earth. It's still theorized why these Dark Rifts appeared, but what's reality is that otherworldly monster we call Voidkins appeared and sparked the first dimensional war between these creatures from the void and cultivators here on Earth.
Harsh and hellish weren't enough to describe the world back then. Humans died like ants, and only cultivators remain. Soon, we learned that we can close the Dark Rifts with enough natural energy coming from the world. We also learned that ley lines connecting the wonders of the world contain a lot of this natural energy.
Thus, with the help of every cultivator, the Ancestor who had already reached the Immortal King Realm used these ley lines and pulled all the continents to close the Dark Rift, creating the supercontinent we live on today, Nirvania!"
The monk suddenly became overexcited just from telling the history of Earth's enlightenment era.
"Yes, I already know. That's the basics of history."
"Ahh… yeah, of course, you know that. You're a top student, after all," the monk chuckled, "Well, the reason I brought up history is because it has something to do with what I need from you."
"What is it?" Jasper went straight to the point.
"I'm the Ancestor, and I'd like you to be one of my disciples!"