A D-Rank Adventurer's Bizarre Reincarnation

Chapter 4 - Du Zhen

"Damn!"

Zheng Jin thought as he rosed from his bed, almost popping a vein in anger after getting his sleep disturbed. If he had a list of the things he hated the most, being woken up when he's supposed to be sleeping was definitely one of it.

Zheng Jin then walked towards the door and swung it open. What he saw was three people, dressed in white robes like his own. One guy stuck out among those three, with an exceptionally ugly face; one which only his mother could ever love...or maybe not. He also had a bulky body and a comically gigantic sword tied behind his back.

"Is that supposed to intimidate me?"

Zheng Jin thought as he stared at the three men in front of him.

"What's this about?"

Zheng Jin asked, no longer carrying the polite or charming tone he had when talking to the elder and the beautiful girl earlier. For these uncultured goons who disturbed his sleep, there's no need for pleasantries.

Zheng Jin then waited for a response when he saw the ugly leader's face contort to an expression of both shock and confusion.

"Y-you...how are you still alive!"

The leader roared and pointed at Zheng Jin, his goons standing like dumbfounded idiots, not knowing what to say. Earlier this morning, somebody told them that Zheng Jin was seen talking to the outer sect's princess, Bai Shuanyang.

This, however, is impossible...for they are sure that they've killed Zheng Jin personally that very same night!

The leader hoped that the rumor was just a fake as he made his way to Zheng Jin's residence, looking to confirm his doubts...and alas, it turns out that the bastard is still alive, without a scratch on him no less!

"What do you mean?"

Zheng Jin's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the leader's eyes, thinking about what he just said.

"Could it be..."

Zheng Jin wracked his brain for answers...then he found the most probable one. Could it be that it wasn't just Ezio that died last night; did Zheng Jin, the original body's owner die too?

Zheng Jin wanted to confirm his suspicions...and what other way to do that than to make these guys talk.

"Is that so. Well, here I am, alive and well as you can see."

Zheng Jin said nonchalantly, waving his sleeves as he smiled at the three, waiting to see their reactions.

"T-that's impossible! We made sure your spirit energy had stopped circulating! Ho-how could you be alive after all that beating!"

The leader said out loud, looking at Zheng Jin as if he saw a ghost. One should know that once the spirit energy had stopped circulating in a cultivator's body, this is a sign that he/she will face death inevitably! This was why they left Zheng Jin last night...but for the bastard to be alive and to shrug it off as if it was nothing...it was unbelievable!

'Heh, how stupid can you get...'

Zheng Jin thought in his head. He wasn't sure before if the these three were as stupid as they look, but he didn't expect that they would be this stupid, revealing that they killed the old Zheng Jin without him even saying much. He smirked. After all, when it comes to taking advantage of foolish people...he was Estellia Kingdom's finest!

With what the ugly leader said just now, his suspicions had just been confirmed. The old Zheng Jin did die...and apparently, these three idiots killed him. The question is...what for?

The book he just read included the basic practices of modern sects. And although sects condone fighting amongst disciples, killing a fellow disciple is still a taboo and is met with harsh punishment; with some sects even resorting to executions in few cases. Zheng Jin wondered what could tempt these three to kill him that they even risked being punished by the sect.

"Hah, you call that a beating?" Zheng Jin said with a smirk on his face, baiting a response from the three, then he continued: "Do I look dead to you?"

"Y-you bastard...You were definitely a breath away from death when we left you! Don't think we wouldn't do it again!"

With a shout from the leader, the three pulled out their weapons, ready to attack Zheng Jin.

"First you attempted to kill a fellow disciple, now you are willing to attack me in broad daylight? I wonder what the elders would think about that?"

Zheng Jin, despite the three disciple's intimidating display, didn't budge an inch. A provocative smirk still on his face.

"You wouldn't dare!"

The leader responded to Zheng Jin, his tone noticeably losing its aggressiveness. Although they did get a spirit art manual from Zheng Jin, the punishment from killing a fellow disciple scares him. In his eyes, a manual wouldn't be worth it!

Suddenly, an idea flashed in the leader's head. He then mimicked Zheng Jin's smirk, then said:

"Hah, do you think the sect elders would believe a trash like you would say, let alone punish me for you...the trash of the Golden Dragon Sect!"

The two underlings nodded as the leader said that, believing that they will get out of this mess by scaring Zheng Jin with a bluff.

"So he does have some brains on him after all."

Zheng Jin thought as he looked at the leader, his face unchanged from the leader's rebuttal.

"But to do a horrible bluff like that in front of me...you must be joking!"

Zheng Jin chuckled inside his head. Looking at the ugly guy's sweaty face, shaking fingers and lack of conviction in his voice; even a kid who hasn't grown any hair yet could see through his act...let alone him!

"Oh really? Well then, why don't you accompany me to the Elder Hall? I'm sure they would be thrilled to hear how you three broke the sect's rules and how you thought you could get away with it. Oh well, if they really don't care then you wouldn't need to worry about being crippled for life, being a useless vegetable needing help to just s**t or take a piss; or maybe you don't need to worry about being kicked off the sect, knowing that no other sects would accept you, considering that a mere outer disciple like you dared to disobey the sect's rules and all."

The trio shut their mouths as they listened to Zheng Jin. The mere mention of the consequences of what they've done is enough to send shivers down their spine.

"Lastly, you needn't worry about the sect exterminating you three by beheading you and throwing your carcasses for the demon beasts to feed on...don't you?"

As Zheng Jin said that, his usual provocative smirk has now turned to a devilish grin. He enjoyed playing with people who antagonize him, especially if they're as clueless as these three.

"Well then, let's go, shall we?"

With that, Zheng Jin walked leisurely, as if he would really go to the Sect's Elder Hall; which of course, he didn't know the location of.

"B-big brother Du Zhen, you sh-should stop him!"

The underling said with a terrified expression on his face. Although a spirit art manual is quite rare, especially in the outer sects; it still isn't worth to get kicked out for it...let alone be executed!

"Shut up Zi Tien, don't tell me what to do!"

The leader, Du Zhen shouted at his underling. He too was scared of being punished, thus he snapped at Zi Tien.

"Big brother Du, you should give it back to him...m-maybe he'll let us off..."

The other underling cut in. He was scared of what Zheng Jin had just said. The look on his face says that he was definitely not joking!

With his underling's words, Du Zhen looked at Zheng Jin, confused as to how did he get the confidence to talk back against them. Sure there was an elder that used to back him up when he was young, but even that said elder don't even care about Zheng Jin that much anymore.

The present Zheng Jin was now a husk of his former self- a trash, a genius fallen from grace. He didn't even have the power to defend himself when he was beaten senseless, or even talk back when everyone accused him of sneaking in the girls' bath house, calling him a p*****t. But now? All he saw was a 16 to 17-year-old boy that is confident of himself, not afraid to antagonize them at all.

"Tch, here you go then... don't you tell the elders about this...or else, even if we are punished...you will suffer before we eventually kill you!"

Du Zhen then threw a black book towards Zheng Jin, landing right in front of him. Although he yielded for now, he was thinking of how to make Zheng Jin pay for this humiliation! And also, what he said about killing Zheng Jin if he dared to report to the elders was not a complete lie.

Du Zhen had quite a few connections in the outer sect because he was here for 10 years. He might not have the ability to enter the inner sect, but he enjoyed playing with weak disciples like Zheng Jin in the outer sect. He hoped that this fact would deter Zheng Jin from ratting out to the elders, at least after he planned what to do to silence Zheng Jin permanently.

Just as when the three were about to leave, Zheng Jin's voice rang out.

"Hey you, Du Zhen. Pick it up and hand it over to me properly."

"What did you just-?!"

Du Zhen almost spat out blood out of anger. This bastard actually dared to command him! But just as he was about to snap, he saw the serious expression on Zheng Jin's face. He cannot afford to piss him off now, he thought to himself.

Du Zhen then picked up the book and handed it over to Zheng Jin. It was then that Zheng Jin, with a mocking grin on his face, said this:

"Remember this Du Zhen, people with no manners...piss me off the most."

"This little piece of s**t actually dares to provoke me!"

Du Zhen naturally knew what Zheng Jin was doing, but alas, he had no choice but to tuck his tail for now. He then grit his teeth then stormed away from Zheng Jin's shack, taking his underlings with him.

"To think that you would expect me to let you off when you killed my benefactor, I swear upon the new gods of this world that I will definitely kill you three!"

Zheng Jin didn't care if Du Zhen plotted revenge against him at all, because sooner or later, he would have to kill him first! After all, Du Zhe and his underlings killed the original Zheng Jin, who made it possible for him to have another shot at living by reincarnating to this body. Naturally, he would owe Zheng Jin this much.

"Don't worry my friend, for us both...I'll obtain enough power to avenge you and to destroy anyone who dares stand in my way!"

Zheng Jin smiled as he recalled the creed of every adventurer in his original world...

Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat!

Which no matter what world he was in, holds true. Wherever he may be, fortune does indeed, favor the bold.

After reminiscing a bit, Zheng Jin turned his attention to the book Du Zhen "returned" to him.

"Hmm looks like it's a spirit art manual."

He wondered why he didn't find any "spirit art manuals" in his room. It turns out that they are actually so precious to the point that people were willing to kill for it. As for how the previous Zheng Jin obtained it, he didn't know. He then kept it inside his robes, now knowing how valuable this book is.

"Damn idiots, now I'm not in the mood for sleeping."

Zheng Jin then contemplated for a bit, then just decided to go around the sect to gather more information about the previous Zheng Jin and the sect he was currently in. He couldn't sleep now anyway, so he might as well do something with his time; and then later, he would see how to train the spirit art on the manual, after he knew a bit about the sect and the past Zheng Jin.

...

...

...

After Zheng Jin walked away, a figure could be seen, watching him closely. It was the girl he talked to last night, Bai Shuanyang! She had been watching from far away, and was surprised by Zheng Jin's previous actions, driving back the three goons just by talking to them.

"Hmmm, just what happened to him?"

Bai Shuanyang had the suspicion that something had changed with Zheng Jin, but she initially thought that he was just playing a joke on her.

This morning, however, she saw Du Zhen and his followers going towards Zheng Jin's residential area. Curiosity got the better of her and she followed the three. Sure enough, from what she had just witnessed, Zheng Jin carried himself in a way she had never seen before.

Actually, even when they used to be friends back when Zheng Jin was considered a genius, she had never seen him act like that. He was a stoic person and only ever talks much when he was with her or Elder Zhang Fei. The sudden change really puzzled her, clouding her mind for a while.

In the end, she pushed away the thoughts she had. After all, the days where they were well acquainted was long over. Now, he was just somebody she wished she never knew.

Bai Shuanyang then walked towards the sect's library, her head now cleared of the thoughts that was bothering her earlier.