The Li family of Hebei was a prestigious scholarly household, a lineage of distinguished officials and literati. With seven generations of successful imperial examination candidates and three father-son pairs attaining the title of Tanhua (third place in the imperial examination), their wealth and status were unparalleled.
As the ancestral home of the Li family, Li Garden was a grand estate, its architecture imposing, its courtyards lush with gardens and trees, making it the most renowned residence in the northern region.
Today, Li Garden was celebrating a joyous occasion. The vast estate was decorated festively, with bright red lanterns and banners hanging everywhere.
Guests from all directions gathered in great numbers, firecrackers resounded through the air, and people moved in and out in an unceasing stream, creating a lively and bustling scene.
After presenting his wedding gift, Ye Luochuan followed the crowd into Li Garden, his eyes scanning the surroundings, feeling a sense of nostalgia.
“I’ve finally arrived.”
“To think that I, a member of the Ye family, one of the Four Great Clans of Transmigrators, would cross into another world without even a single golden-fingered cheat ability!”
“No perks, no advantages. This is simply outrageous!”
Ye Luochuan wore a gloomy expression with a hint of frustration.
Ye Luochuan was not originally from this world. He had been an ordinary college student on Earth. During the May Day holiday, he had gone on a trip, only to be hit by a speeding car that failed to brake in time. The impact sent him flying into a lake. Fortunately, Ye Luochuan knew how to swim.
After swallowing a few mouthfuls of water, he managed to climb ashore. However, when he turned around to vent his anger at the driver, he was shocked to find that the world around him had completely changed.
After repeated confirmations, he finally realized that he had transmigrated. Not just to any time period but to an ancient world!
At first, he panicked. So, he jumped back into the lake, hoping to reverse the process and return home. But after multiple failed attempts, he had to reluctantly accept reality.
After overcoming his fear, Ye Luochuan, an avid fan of web novels, began to feel a sense of anticipation.
Surname Ye.
Orphan.
Exceptionally handsome.
Hit by a car.
“Oh-ho! All four key elements of a transmigrator protagonist are here! Isn’t this a perfect setup for a main character?”
Ye Luochuan’s despair turned into excitement. But just as he eagerly awaited his ‘golden finger’ (special cheat ability) to appear and lead him to greatness… it never came.
No system. No divine inheritance. No memory of past life cultivation techniques.
Nothing.
He reassured himself, thinking,
Maybe my system is still loading… or maybe I haven’t triggered the activation condition yet?
Well, I’ll just have to wait. Sooner or later, my golden finger will arrive.
With this thought, he felt a little better and began exploring the world. Using his modern wristwatch, he exchanged it at a pawn shop for 300 taels of silver.
Though his watch was nothing special back on Earth, here in ancient times, it was a priceless artifact. Even with the pawn shop owner deliberately lowering the price, Ye Luochuan still managed to get 300 taels, which he later realized was quite a fortune.
One tael of silver was worth about 1,000 modern Earth yuan, meaning he now had the equivalent of 300,000 yuan (roughly $40,000)!
“If only I could go back and forth between the two worlds… I could make a fortune through trade alone.”
With money in hand, Ye Luochuan quickly adapted. He bought appropriate clothing, registered his household identity, and even purchased a small courtyard to settle down.
Just as he was considering how to make a living, he stumbled upon an earth-shattering revelation—Martial arts existed in this world!
Not only martial arts, but there was also a ranking system known as the ‘Weaponry List’, featuring legendary figures such as.
Tianji Staff – Tianji Elder
Dragon Phoenix Rings – Shangguan Jinhong
Little Li Flying Dagger – Li Xunhuan
Upon hearing these names, Ye Luochuan immediately understood—He had transmigrated into a martial world, and it was the universe of Little Li Flying Dagger!
This realization left him feeling extremely uneasy. As a martial arts fan, he knew this was a world where strength ruled. Without martial prowess, nothing else mattered!
Even if he amassed wealth using his modern knowledge, it would likely be stolen by stronger fighters. After all, robbing the rich was common practice among martial artists.
If he was unlucky, he might even get killed just for accidentally looking at the wrong person.
“No way! I must become strong!”
But without a cheat ability, how could he accomplish that?
After deep contemplation, Ye Luochuan came up with two potential plans.
Befriend Li Xunhuan
Obtain the ‘Lianhua Manual’ from Lin Shiyin
To achieve either of these goals, he first needed to find them. Thus, he spent a significant amount of silver hiring the most reputable escort agency to safely bring him to Li Garden.
_____
During his journey, the bodyguards accompanying him shared another shocking revelation—This world was called Wu Realm, but the land they stood on was merely a small fragmented province of the original realm.
Two hundred years ago, Wu Realm was whole and vast beyond measure, with an unparalleled martial arts civilization. At the time, martial arts ranks extended far beyond what existed now.
Current Rank.
Houtian (Postnatal) – 9 levels
Xiantian (Prenatal) – Initial, Middle, Late, Peak
Grandmaster
Supreme Grandmaster
Ancient Ranks (now lost).
Martial King
Martial Emperor
Martial Sovereign
Martial Saint
Martial God
For unknown reasons, Wu Realm shattered, its vast land broken into numerous floating provinces drifting through an endless ocean. Along with this fragmentation, the spiritual energy that powered martial cultivation significantly diminished.
The province Ye Luochuan was currently in, which he called ‘Little Li Flying Dagger Province’, had an upper limit of Supreme Grandmaster due to the lack of spiritual energy. For two centuries, many peak Supreme Grandmasters had ventured into the ocean, searching for better lands rich in energy. But none of them ever returned.
Whether they succeeded or perished at sea remained a mystery. Hearing this, Ye Luochuan was stunned.
_______
After three months of travel, Ye Luochuan finally arrived at Li Garden, only to find it in the middle of a grand wedding celebration. Sweeping his gaze across the crowd, his eyes finally landed on a young man with wavy hair. Handsome beyond words, with refined elegance and a deep, mysterious gaze—Li Xunhuan.
The legendary Little Li Tanhua and master of the famed Little Li Flying Dagger technique. But today, despite the joyous occasion, Li Xunhuan’s face was gloomy and full of suppressed sorrow.
Ye Luochuan knew why. His beloved cousin and fiancée, Lin Shiyin, was getting married to another man. And that man was standing nearby—the groom, Long Xiaoyun.
As the ceremony commenced, with the bride and groom about to bow to the heavens.
BOOM!
A deafening thunderclap shattered the sky. In that instant, the entire Wu Realm trembled. From beyond the clouds, a brilliant cascade of golden light descended, illuminating the mountains and rivers for thousands of miles.