Chen Chuan snapped his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was the top of an antique bed canopy.
He struggled to turn his neck and looked around.
The room was unfamiliar, with simple, even somewhat empty furnishings; the tables and chairs were placed haphazardly.
Memories that did not belong to him began to surface in his mind.
Chen Chuan—son of the current Chen Family Head in Qingya City—had once held noble status and an unlimited future. He should have been born into privilege, yet he had been nothing but trash who could not Cultivate.
Relying on the Chen Family name, the original owner of this body had bullied men and women, indulged in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, and was utterly unruly.
In the end, because he swallowed a Virility Pill—a potent and dangerous drug that hollowed out one’s Foundation—he had completely collapsed his already frail body.
The Chen Family regarded him as an indelible stain on the family tree and the biggest laughingstock in Qingya City.
Finally, the Chen Family Head expelled him from the family and cast him into this dilapidated manor in a remote corner of the city, leaving him to fend for himself.
"Cough, cough, cough—"
Chen Chuan tried to prop himself up, but his arms were so weak he could not exert any strength. The effort triggered a fit of violent coughing; his lungs spasmed, bringing an even deeper wave of weakness.
He fell heavily back onto the hard bedboards, staring at the ceiling, his lips curling into a bitter arc.
Rebirth was a good thing, but being reborn as a Family outcast, terminally ill, and loathed by everyone and their dog...
This starting point was practically Hell difficulty.
"What kind of sin did I commit? I was just stir-frying a dish and I ended up transmigrating."
Chen Chuan was depressed to the extreme.
As the youngest head chef at a hotel, he had been busy cooking for customers when a gas leak caused an explosion.
When he finally woke up, he appeared in this unfamiliar place.
Moreover, this start made him feel very desperate.
Just as Chen Chuan was in despair, an emotionless mechanical voice abruptly sounded deep within his consciousness:
[Compatible Soul detected. Vital signs are weak. Binding conditions met.]
[Pay-to-Win Invincible System, beginning binding.]
[Binding successful!]
[Host: Chen Chuan.]
Chen Chuan’s pupils suddenly constricted, and his heart pounded wildly, almost smashing through his breastbone.
A System?
The legendary cheat system of transmigrators?
[System initial binding complete. Gifting Host one Newbie Gift Pack.]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Encyclopedia of All Things in the Heavens (Imprinted on the Soul, available for use at any time).]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Invincible Talent (Learn and Cultivate anything instantly; one thought leads to total comprehension).]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Eye of Wisdom (Able to perceive the essence of all things, see through illusions, and point directly to the Origin).]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Chaos Divine Body.]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining Divine Grade Spiritual Root: Chaos Spiritual Root.]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining Skill: Purification (Can purify all sources of filth in the world upon use).]
A majestic flow of information instantly flooded his mind; those countless types of knowledge were imprinted like stars, incredibly clear.
However, the System’s prompts were not over:
[Detected that the Host’s body contains a special Bloodline.]
[System analyzing...]
[Analysis complete: Primordial Purple Radiance Ancestral Dragon Bloodline (Concentration: 0.00001%, nearly non-existent, currently in a dormant state).]
Chen Chuan’s spirit was bolstered.
The original body didn’t lack a Bloodline.
It was simply so thin that it couldn’t be detected.
This was finding life in a dead end!
[Prompt: Primordial Purple Radiance Ancestral Dragon Bloodline concentration can be increased through Pay-to-Win. Consume the corresponding gold tickets to increase Bloodline concentration and awaken supreme divine power.]
Pay-to-Win?
Chen Chuan was stunned and hurriedly asked in his consciousness, "How do I pay? How much is needed?"
[To increase Bloodline concentration to 0.1%, requires gold tickets: 1,000 taels.]
[To increase Bloodline concentration to 1%, requires gold tickets: 10,000 taels.]
[To increase Bloodline concentration to 10%, requires gold tickets: 100,000 taels.]
[Subsequent ratios will increase as concentration rises.]
[A/N: Tickets are basically coins but I wanted something different so I used tickets!]
Looking at that dizzying string of zeros and then feeling his empty Dantian and pockets, the hope that had just ignited in Chen Chuan was doused by a bucket of ice water.
A thousand taels of gold?
Even if he pawned the ragged clothes he was wearing, they wouldn’t be worth a single copper coin.
The original owner had long since squandered everything that could be squandered; he was now truly penniless in every sense of the word.
Chen Chuan felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Possessing a mountain of treasure but having no key was more agonizing than having no System at all.
"Creak!"
The bedroom door was gently pushed open.
A slender figure stood at the doorway.
The light outlined her gracefully slim curves. Her ink-black hair was simply tied up with a plain wooden hairpin, revealing the elegant lines of her fair neck.
Chen Chuan looked up, and his breath couldn’t help but hitch.
It was an exquisite face.
Eyebrows like distant mountains shrouded in mist, eyes like autumn waters rippling.
However, this exquisite and beautiful face was currently covered with a layer of year-round frost.
Those eyes, which should have been sparkling with life, held no emotion, only a coldness and detachment that kept people thousands of miles away.
Ji Siyu!
Chen Chuan’s wife.
Hiss hiss hiss...
"This woman is actually the Reincarnation of a God Emperor!"
Chen Chuan used the Eye of Wisdom to observe Ji Siyu and actually discovered that she was the Reincarnation of the Ice Phoenix Divine Emperor.
From the original body’s memories, he learned that Ji Siyu had still not yet awakened her Spiritual Root to Cultivate.
If she didn’t awaken her Spiritual Root during her final chance at eighteen, she would be destined to never Cultivate.
But Chen Chuan couldn’t understand how a God Emperor’s Reincarnation could be so pathetic?
"She probably hasn’t awakened her God Emperor memories, which is why she hasn’t started Cultivating," Chen Chuan muttered to himself.
Thinking about how Ji Siyu might awaken her God Emperor memories in the future and once she started Cultivating, would she come looking for trouble with him, Chen Chuan?
After all, the original owner’s attitude toward Ji Siyu was utterly loathsome, involving all sorts of verbal and physical abuse.
However, Chen Chuan was also fortunate in one regard: this wife in name only had never actually consummated the marriage with him.
Perhaps the resentment wasn’t that deep.
The original owner’s body had long been hollowed out by wine, women, and drugs, losing his ability as a man. Combined with his physical weakness, he wasn’t even Ji Siyu’s match in a fight.
Ji Siyu’s gaze lingered for a moment on Chen Chuan’s pale face.
Her look was like she was viewing an inconsequential, even somewhat eyesore-like object.
Her red lips parted slightly, and her voice was cold without a hint of emotion: "Not dead yet?"
After speaking, without waiting for any reaction from Chen Chuan, she turned straight around, her skirt cutting a cold arc as she disappeared outside the door.
The sound of footsteps grew distant, leaving the room full of silence and a deeper chill.
Chen Chuan opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything.
The original owner would insult Ji Siyu at every turn, find ways to demand money, and even try to get physical; his various actions were appalling.
The only reason Ji Siyu stayed here was because of a deal.
The Ji Family needed a unique Medicinal Pill from the Chen Family to extend the life of the Ji Family Old Ancestor.
And the Chen Family Head’s only condition was for Ji Siyu to marry Chen Chuan.
From this, it could be seen that the Chen Family Head still had a shred of care for this profligate waste of a son.
No matter what, Chen Chuan was the Chen Family Head’s son.
Smiling bitterly, Chen Chuan took a deep breath and used all the strength he had just recovered to struggle out of bed.
When his feet hit the floor, they felt weak, and he nearly tumbled over.
Supporting himself against the cold wall, he shuffled out of the room step by step.
He needed money; he needed gold coins!
This was his only way to survive!
The living room was equally empty; any valuable items had long since vanished.
He looked toward Ji Siyu’s bedroom; the door was tightly shut, and there was even a brass lock on it.
Guarding against him like a thief.
The last bit of wishful thinking in Chen Chuan’s heart was extinguished.
The original owner had even stolen Ji Siyu’s dowry to sell off, so it was no wonder she acted this way.
This home had long been ruined by the original owner until only an empty shell remained.
He paced out into the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over this fairly spacious manor.
The outlines of green bricks, black tiles, pavilions, and towers were still vaguely visible, but they lacked maintenance and appeared somewhat desolate.
If he sold it, he might get a decent amount of gold tickets.
But as soon as this thought arose, he snuffed it out.
If he sold this place, he and Ji Siyu wouldn’t even have a place to shelter from the wind and rain.
Moreover, this was, after all, their only remaining place of refuge in the world.
In desperation, Chen Chuan dragged his weak body out of the manor gates.
There weren’t many pedestrians on the street, making it seem a bit deserted.
He walked aimlessly, his body floating and his steps staggering.
Just as he turned a street corner, he saw a man in coarse cloth clothes looking panicked.
The man was clutching a grey cloth bundle, looking left and right, and rushed toward a nearby trash heap like a thief.
He quickly stuffed the bundle inside, covered it with some rotten vegetable leaves and rags, and then ducked into a nearby alley without looking back, disappearing from sight.
Sneaky!
Something’s not right!
Chen Chuan subconsciously focused his mind, and that cool sensation in his eyes surfaced once again.