I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1058 The Rain of the Republic of China Era: Unable to Hear "I Love You"
A grand sacrificial ceremony was held for seven days. Zhang Chen performed his magic for seven days, demonstrating his extraordinary power, which greatly intimidated the various lords in the world and made the forces of the Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, and the Yellow Heaven Path more stable, as solid as Mount Tai.

As time slowly passed, after the sacrificial ceremony was over, Zhang Chen did not bid farewell to Wu Gou. Instead, his figure flashed and disappeared from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already in the underground feng shui array. He went all the way to the core of the feng shui array and saw that the Corpse Ancestor had entered the coffin and was sleeping. The huge power of the magnetic field of heaven and earth poured into the coffin, giving the Corpse Ancestor a continuous source of power.

Zhang Chen began to complete the final finishing touches on the feng shui formation. As he continued to connect the nodes of the feng shui formation, the feng shui of the entire Qingcheng Mountain underwent a mysterious change. The air in the mountains became fresher, with a touch of peculiar energy. The vegetation grew more lush, and the clouds and mist in the mountains began to increase.

Feng Shui Formation

After Zhang Chen connected the feng shui array, a deep look appeared in his eyes. He raised his head and looked at the core of the feng shui array: "Has the day finally come?"

Zhang Chen mobilized his supernatural powers, opened the Frozen Hell, took out an ice coffin, placed it at the core of the feng shui array, and then slowly lay down inside. The next moment, the lid of the ice coffin closed, and Zhang Chen entered a state of cultivation, continuing to deduce his little tricks, waiting for death in the process.

He didn't know how long he had been lying there when suddenly, at a certain moment, Zhang Chen's physical life force was cut off. Then, his reincarnation authority was activated, and his soul was caught in a vortex and disappeared into the void.

Reincarnation is the framework that constructs the universe and is one of the most fundamental laws. Even though the world has changed drastically, the law of reincarnation still exists; it's just that the Six Paths of Reincarnation have been taken away by Zhang Chen.

"I wonder what era I'll awaken in the next cycle of reincarnation...?" This was Zhang Chen's last thought at that moment.

The 18th year of Emperor Taizu's reign, the 8th day of the 12th lunar month.

The continuous drizzle, mixed with ice crystals, pattered against the tiles all night long.

As dawn approached, the puddles reflected the grayish-blue light of the sky, casting a bleak glow over the prison cells.

The damp, cold air seeped into the bones, and coughs echoed throughout the cell.

In a certain place in Southwest China, inside the Third Service Prison.

The large, brick-and-stone prison housed over twenty prisoners.

Four or five people huddled together, pulling moldy cotton wadding over themselves. They were pressed tightly together, yet they still couldn't stop shivering.

In the corner of the bunk against the wall, a boy of about eighteen or nineteen years old was curled up facing the wall, his tattered cotton-padded coat wrapped tightly around him, and he remained motionless for a long time. Several prisoners nearby were observing him in the daylight, whispering among themselves.

"This kid hasn't uttered a sound in the three days he's been here. Could he be dead?"

"I heard he was an intellectual who got arrested for reading 'superstitious' books."

"Look at him, he looks pathetic. I wonder how long he can hold out?"

"I bet half a cornbread that he definitely won't survive this winter."

"But this kid is really tough. He gets beaten up every day but doesn't change his tune. I don't know why. Is it worth it? You know, a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle!"

"What else could it be? They can't see reality clearly, and they probably still have hope for their case, thinking they can get justice by making a scene."

"Heh, what wishful thinking! Don't you even know where you've come from? Some tough guys have been struggling here for eighteen years, and they still haven't gotten anywhere. In the end, they just gave up!"

"That's true. You may not know why you were arrested, but you must understand one thing: you were arrested to be sentenced. How could you be innocent?"

"Young people are normal to not be able to accept reality. They'll accept their fate after being locked up for a few months."

"Wait, I've seen him stop moving for a long time."

"Oh no, I hope they won't freeze to death."

"Would you like to go take a look?"

As they were talking, the boy suddenly started coughing violently, his body trembling like straw in the wind.

The boy sat up abruptly, looking around in confusion. A stench of mustiness, sweat, and urine assaulted his nostrils, making him cough several times.

He stared wide-eyed at his dark blue cotton-padded jacket—the elbows were worn shiny, the front was stained with patches of dark and light dirt, and the cotton was sticking out of the cracks, as stiff as sandpaper.

"What is this? Why does this clothing look like it's from the 1960s?"

Zhang Chen looked around blankly, saw the slogan on the mud wall that read "Confess and you will be treated leniently, resist and you will be punished severely," touched the prickly straw mat beneath him, and finally his gaze fell on the group of people wrapped in tattered cotton wadding opposite him.

Just as Zhang Chen was about to ask something, countless fragments of memories suddenly flooded into his mind. He curled up, clutching his head, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

The steam age began in the 18th year of the founding of the nation.

Fifty years ago, after Westerners used guns and cannons to blast open the corrupt dynasty, history followed a path almost exactly the same as Zhang Chen's 21st century. Now, eighteen years after the founding of the nation, we are in a special period.

This body is also called Zhang Chen. His father was an illiterate farmer who was assigned to a blacksmith shop during the Great Transformation Movement.

"I misunderstood. In the constant cycle of reincarnation, my consciousness has become too weak after each reincarnation. It can only transform into a second personality as an observer. Although it remains conscious, it has no power to interfere with the outside world." Zhang Chen rubbed his face, looked at his hands, and a sense of unreality and dazedness appeared in his eyes.

In that long cycle of history, it was as if he had watched a long movie, powerless to interfere with it. He had tried to influence the material world, but the power of reincarnation suppressed him too much. "Moreover, the feng shui formation of Qingcheng Mountain seems to have malfunctioned, making my soul in the cycle of reincarnation increasingly weak." Zhang Chen carefully sorted through the fragments of memory in his mind: "Something's not right. The original owner's mother had already passed away, and the current one is a stepmother. When I was one year old, my father had already married my stepmother. I have three younger sisters and one younger brother."

As his memories gradually came together, a hint of embarrassment appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes: "I had a pretty miserable life in this life."

You have to understand that in this era of scarcity and lack of food and clothing, stepmothers are rarely kind-hearted.

Even for something as simple as food or clothing, you can't avoid showing favoritism, especially when the stepmother has a child; it becomes even more obvious then.

Now he is the least favored one in the family.

They ate the worst food, worked the most, wore the most tattered clothes, and were scolded and beaten the most.

And all of this seemed to go unnoticed by the blind and heartless father. On the contrary, he often taught him that as the eldest son, he should be sensible and give way to his younger siblings...

Thinking of this, Zhang Chen couldn't help but rub his temples.

"Damn it, poverty really does bring trouble."

He wasn't angry, but he couldn't help but sigh.

In those days, such things happened far too often in a large courtyard.

Even siblings born of the same mother can be different, and it is not uncommon for parents to be unkind and children to be unfilial.

Not to mention that he was neglected by his father and unloved by his stepmother.

"But it's not all bad. I have a childhood sweetheart fiancée... She's a top student at Shanghai University. Her family is poor and couldn't afford to study, so I worked hard to support her. She should be graduating this year, right? She said she'd marry me after graduation." Zhang Chen continued to sort through his memories, gradually clarifying some of the threads:
A month ago, the Great Han Dynasty began its "Down to the Countryside Movement," sending everyone without formal employment to the countryside. The original owner's biological father and stepmother secretly approached him, hoping he would transfer his job at the steel mill to his younger brother, Zhang Xiao. Firstly, Zhang Xiao was getting older and needed a respectable job to make it easier to find a partner. Secondly, Zhang Xiao had been idle since graduating from elementary school, a street urchin, and logically, he should be sent to the countryside.

What kinds of places did the educated youth go to when they were sent to the countryside?
The poorest and worst-condition places.

The vast majority of educated youth, including their parents, were actually unwilling to go to the countryside.

The stepmother, of course, was no exception and set her sights on him.

After hearing her parents' request, and thinking about her boyfriend of three years, the original owner fell silent for a moment.

He happened to be there during the steel mill's last opportunity to hire during its expansion phase, and he was lucky enough to become a worker. Now, the steel mill is fully staffed and has long since stopped hiring.

What if I lose my job? What will happen to my marriage partner? Will I still get married? Considering the timeline, my partner is graduating from university in the next few days.

And now you want me to transfer my job to my younger brother?

What should I do? Should I still get married?

Besides, my younger brother is only twenty years old, and I, as the older brother, don't even have a wife yet.

Besides, you want me to go to the countryside so my brother won't have to? And you want me to transfer my job to him?
If you've gone this far, can you still be considered parents?

Zhang Chen felt bitter at this moment.

"Every time it starts, it's the parents who are sacrificed, right? My father dug a huge pit for me in my past life, and it's still a pit in this life!" Zhang Chen was so angry that he wanted to curse.

As they parted, his stepmother pretended to say something to him.

"Zhang Chen, you must have the courage to admit your mistakes. Once you're inside, you must behave well and try to get out as soon as possible."

"As you know, you'll definitely lose your job after this incident. Have your dad contact the steel mill and transfer your job to Zhang Xiao. We can't let someone else benefit from this."

"Don't worry, I'll have Zhang Xiao give your job back when you get out."

Listening to his stepmother's heartfelt words and seeing his father standing by coldly, tacitly accepting everything, he felt utterly hopeless.

Even if he were stupid, he could see that the most important culprit in his being sent to prison was her.

My father knew the truth.

At that moment, he understood everything.

"No wonder he was so resentful; he literally died of anger." Zhang Chen clicked his tongue in amazement.

In this life, his soul is completely shielded, and he has lost all perception of the outside world.

(End of this chapter)