Tales Of The Exiled Immortal

CHAPTER 5

Rain stared at the pile of gold coins once more, fingers tapping the edge of the drawer. A slow breath left him. With this much, clearing his meridians and forcing a breakthrough to Foundation Realm was possible. Barely. But possible.

He still needed more, much more. A thousand coins looked impressive to the eyes, but for cultivation? It was a drop in the ocean.

He’d barely begun calculating how much he’d have to earn when,

“Rain! Rain!”

A frantic shout echoed from outside, followed by quick, uneven footsteps sprinting toward his door.

Before he could react, the door slammed open and a girl burst inside.

“Rain! Are you alright? I heard Jackson came looking for you after you scared his younger brother shitless!” she yelled, words spilling over each other as she rushed to him.

Without waiting, she grabbed his hands, his arms, his shoulders checking him head to toe like a mother hen with a dying chick.

Rain stiffened.

“Jasmine, I’m fine,” he said, voice flat, completely thrown off by how aggressively she was poking at him.

Jasmine was one of the rare few who treated the original Rain kindly. They’d met during the sect recruitment ten years ago, and by chance or stupidity became close.

She was discovered to be a prodigy, immediately taken in by the Sect Master as her personal disciple, ascending straight to core disciple status within a day. But even after her rise, she still visited the “trash” outer disciple and secretly slipped him cultivation resources whenever she could.

“Are you sure you’re fine?” Jasmine asked again, brows scrunched together, eyes filled with worry. “Did that bastard threaten you?”

“Threaten me?” Rain let out a soft laugh.

Him? Threatened? In his past life, anyone who said those words to him ended up buried, burned, or fed to beasts. Jackson? He wasn’t even worth an insult.

“Why are you laughing? This isn’t funny!” Jasmine glared, puffing her cheeks in anger, a sight that would probably terrify someone weaker. “If he threatens you or tries anything again, just tell me. I’ll teach him a lesson.”

Before Rain could respond, she shoved a small pouch into his hands.

“Here. Take this. I begged my master for it.” She exhaled deeply. “You need to cultivate harder, Rain. Break through to at least the late stage of Qi Gathering. If you can reach that, I can plead with my master to let you stay in the sect during the five-year trial.”

Rain nodded, about to speak, but Jasmine suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

Rain froze again.

“You have to cultivate hard, okay?” she whispered, voice trembling slightly. “I can’t protect you forever. And if you remain weak… even my master won’t listen to me anymore.”

She pulled back, planted a quick kiss on his forehead, and before he could even blink, she spun around and bolted out of the room.

The door slammed shut behind her and Rain exhaled, rubbing his forehead.

“Awesome,” he muttered, not sure whether he meant the kiss, the concern, or the chaos she brought with her... well probably all three.

Jasmine was the only one in the entire sect who still believed in him. The only one. Whenever she heard he was being bullied, she didn’t hesitate, she’d come flying like a storm, fists and fury first, questions later.

And if he came back bruised or bleeding?

She’d find the bastard who did it and make sure they’d be pissing blood for a week.

As a prodigy under the direct tutelage of the Sect Master, Jasmine had already broken into the Spirit Body Realm. Among all the disciples, she ranked third easily. That’s how terrifying she was.

And she wasn’t just strong, she was untouchable.

The Sect Master doted on her like she was her own flesh and blood. Whatever Jasmine did, no elder dared question it. Even the peak masters turned a blind eye. She had the kind of authority most core disciples could only dream of. The kind Rain, back then, could only stare at from the dirt.

And because of her protection... he survived. Every single time someone tried to target him, they thought twice. Because hurting Rain meant dealing with Jasmine and no one wanted that smoke.

Rain’s lips curved into a quiet, nostalgic smirk as he sat back.

“It’s a pity such a gem almost slipped through my fingers...” he muttered.

The boy who once owned this body had been hopelessly in love with Jasmine, and Jasmine… Well, she clearly felt the same. Their connection hadn’t been ordinary. Back then, they were already planning to become Dao partners, an intimate and powerful bond in the Glory Dome Sect, where dual cultivation was the core of advancement.

But the Sect Master had crushed that dream with a single cold warning: “If you try dual cultivation with him, you’ll kill him, he'll explode.”

The idea had been simple. Harmonizing Yin and Yang between Dao partners amplified growth. But Rain’s cultivation had been so weak at the time that even touching Jasmine’s spiritual energy would’ve shattered his meridians and turned him into minced meat. So Jasmine chose to wait.

Wait, until the day Rain grew strong enough to stand beside her… and maybe even protect her and that decision cost her.

Since the sect’s technique relied on dual cultivation for its peak effects, choosing to hold back stalled her speed. Sure, she could still draw on natural Yang energy, like the sun but that only worked during the day. Her growth at night was frozen. She had to claw for every inch of power. All for someone who couldn’t even protect himself back then.

Rain leaned forward, eyes glowing faintly with something unreadable.

“She really was insane for him,” he whispered, running a thumb over the pouch she’d left.

And now that he was here, in this body and he wouldn’t let her devotion go to waste.

The previous Rain had loved Jasmine, but never felt worthy of her. That weakness is gone now. He wasn’t the old Rain anymore. He’d close the gap, surpass her, and one day, she would look at him with awe, not pity.

She would stand behind him, not ahead.

And if anyone dared lay a hand on her, he’d tear their sect, clan, and ancestry to ash.

“But first... strength,” he muttered.

His gaze drifted to the pouch in his hand.

“Let’s see what you brought me this time, Jasmine.”

In the past, she’d smuggled in rare pills, high-grade herbs, and spirit crystals. They were valuable, but back then, they barely made a dent in his growth.