The blazing sun hung high in a boundless, cloudless sky over Feiyun City in Qing State, Great Qian.
A carriage rolled slowly past the incredibly thick city walls. Through the wide-open gates, clusters of gray buildings and diverse pavilions came into view. Ancient red-roofed towers rose and fell in a staggered skyline, alongside sprawling courtyards with sweeping, upturned eaves.
Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed. RUMBLE. The thunder rolled in from the dark, distant horizon, growing louder as it spread. In an instant, the thunder roared and fierce winds howled.
SPLASH. A dense downpour tipped from the sky as if poured from a giant basin.
Wearing a bamboo hat and carrying an empty woven basket on his back, Xu Guang stood under the eaves in an alleyway. He stared up at the gloomy sky, his mood equally foul.
"It’s raining again," he thought.
Standing about 1.7 meters tall, he had a deeply tanned, youthful, and clean-cut face, with fine, adolescent fuzz lining his chin. But before he could dwell on his frustrations, he noticed several figures running toward him from the distance, seemingly seeking shelter from the rain.
A curtain of fine rain blurred his vision. It wasn’t until the group drew close that Xu Guang could clearly make out their faces, and his expression instantly worsened.
"It’s you again, you little brat. You still dare to show up on our turf?"
Xu Guang pursed his lips. After a brief pause, he forced a flattering smile. "If it isn’t Brother Hu! Please, Brother Hu, step over here. The wind is blowing, so the rain can’t reach this spot."
The burly man leading the group glanced at Xu Guang and let out a cold sneer before stepping closer. The lackey behind him roughly shoved Xu Guang aside, clearing the driest spot for Brother Hu to stand where the drifting rain wouldn’t touch him.
"I told you before. If you want to keep selling fish around here, you have to pay the protection fee. Did my words just go in one ear and out the other?"
Xu Guang’s face twisted into a bitter grimace. Gritting his teeth through the heartache, he reached into his shirt and took out ten Small Blade Coins—the total earnings from selling fish in the city today.
"Oh, so compliant? Seems you’ve made quite a bit, kid." Brother Hu sneered, then added, "But it’s not enough. The higher-ups have spoken. Starting this month, the protection fee for everyone in this territory goes up by thirty percent."
"Thirty percent?"
With a helpless look in his eyes, Xu Guang had no choice but to bend down and fish three more Small Blade Coins out of his trouser leg.
"Hahaha, how refreshing! You’re going to strike it rich, kid."
"You must be joking, Brother Hu. If there’s ever a path to fortune, it’d all be thanks to your blessing."
"Not bad. Don’t worry, we won’t take your money for nothing. Here in East Suburb Square, with our Black Water Gang protecting you, no one will dare bully you." Highly satisfied with Xu Guang’s attitude, Brother Hu laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
"Thank you for looking out for me, Brother Hu."
Xu Guang lowered his eyes, half of his body standing out in the rain. His gaze remained perfectly calm, as if he had long since accepted the rules of this world. He didn’t dare reveal a hint of resentment or express any dissatisfaction, choosing instead to bury his true thoughts deep within his heart.
Eventually, the rain began to ease.
Xu Guang navigated through the streets and alleys. At a grain shop, he bought three catties of millet, five catties of bran, and a small handful of salt. Then, he bought some medicine at a familiar clinic next door. Along with the extortion money Brother Hu had just squeezed from him, the thirty-six Small Blade Coins he had earned today were completely gone. Stepping onto the muddy ground, he made his way toward the city gates.
The sudden torrential downpour had turned the unpaved ground into a muddy mess. There were few pedestrians on the street. Xu Guang glanced down at the foul-smelling livestock manure that had been trampled into the muck, and subconsciously quickened his pace.
Walking briskly all the way, he passed through the immensely thick city gates, crossed a stone bridge, and traveled another three or five miles until a small village came into view.
Finally, at the entrance of the village, Xu Guang stopped. This was his only home in this world.
The dilapidated earthen walls varied in height, their tops piled high with assorted debris and rubbish. A small vegetable patch sat by the entrance, and a pair of funeral elegies hung over the main gate.
Xu Guang pushed the gate open and stepped inside, moving aside the farm tools propped behind it. "Mother, I’m home."
In the corner of the house, a frail, elderly-looking woman was washing clothes. Hearing his voice, Mrs. Xu quickly stood up. "Brother Guang, you’re back? It rained earlier—were you still able to sell the fish?"
Xu Guang took off the bamboo basket from his back and replied, "I had good luck today. A wealthy family in the city was hosting a wedding, so they bought the entire basket of fish. Here is the medicine I bought for you."
Mrs. Xu’s hands paused mid-air, her eyes reddening. "Your father..."
Xu Guang fell silent. Father Xu’s old injuries had flared up the night before last, and he had died suddenly in the middle of the night.
It had been nearly eight years since he arrived in this world and awakened his past life memories, yet Xu Guang still felt a lingering sense of unreality. Fortunately, he hadn’t been cursed with the typical tragic protagonist’s backstory; he still had both of his parents, as well as an older sister and a younger sister. His older sister had already married, but his younger sister had gone missing during his first year in this world.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to look for her. But given his and his family’s nonexistent connections, seven years of searching had yielded absolutely nothing. However, he wasn’t overly anxious. As long as his younger sister was still alive, given a bit more time, he was certain he would eventually find her.
Perhaps because they were so poor and of such low status in this life, the family was very harmonious. His parents and older sister treated him exceptionally well, always saving the best things for him. Now that he was older, they could just barely scrape by.
He couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. Why couldn’t he have transmigrated into a wealthy, aristocratic family, living a spoon-fed, pampered life of luxury? The cruelty of the world was unavoidable. Whether it was reincarnation or transmigration, neither was something he could control.
Mrs. Xu began putting away the things Xu Guang had brought back. Hesitantly, she said, "Brother Guang, after the New Year you’ll be seventeen, the age to get married. These past few years have been war-torn times, and a disaster hit the Central Plains. With so many refugees flooding in, who knows when riots might break out.
"I sat by your father’s coffin all night yesterday. I’m planning to ask someone to find you a match across the river. It’ll leave an heir for the Xu Family and let your father rest in peace."
Xu Guang remained silent for a moment. "Mother, I don’t want to rush this..."
"If you aren’t in a rush, I am! Your father... Sigh, just leave it be. Listen to me on this." After a pause, Mrs. Xu continued, "These are troubled times. When you’re gutting fish at the stall, make sure to come home earlier. When you’re out there, just endure and yield to others as much as you can. As long as you stay alive, that’s better than anything else."
"I know," Xu Guang nodded.
His expression shifted slightly. Endure and yield...
He had been enduring for eight years. From his early days of overestimating himself and getting beaten with clubs to learn his place, if those people hadn’t considered his young age and his brother-in-law who served in the city, he would already be a rotting corpse in a grave by now.
However, very soon, he shouldn’t have to endure it anymore.
"Listen to me. Remember Er Gou from the Front Alley, the one you used to play with as a kid? He just got paid a few days ago, and he was dragged off the street into an alley and robbed. By the time someone found him, his legs were broken." Noticing Xu Guang’s strange expression, Mrs. Xu quickly began to lecture him again. "Those people across the river aren’t peaceful either. They’re always trying to cross over and rob folks. Never mind ordinary households like ours; even the gangs in the neighboring towns have seen their bosses change hands several times these past few days. Don’t take this lightly."
Xu Guang nodded repeatedly, a look of utmost seriousness on his face. Satisfied, Mrs. Xu finally let him off the hook and turned away to cook dinner.
Xu Guang returned to his dimly lit room alone. Smelling the dampness in the air, his eyes were indifferent and numb.
In the empty space before him, floating in the void, was a glowing panel that only he could see.
[Current Search Keywords: Bloodline Power. Associated Terms: Awakening, Safe. Set Range: Thirty miles around Feiyun City]
[Searching... 99%]
He hadn’t arrived in this world completely empty-handed. But his sole advantage had fallen into a deep silence following a highly irrational attempt eight years ago.
It was a Searcher, a plug-in Xu Guang had created in his past life for a game—commonly known as a cheat code. Back then, to prevent it from being detected by the game developers, he hadn’t made it too overpowered. Its function was simple: input whatever you wanted to know, add some associated terms, and the plug-in would begin to search.
Eight years ago, right after he had just regained the memories of his past life, Father Xu had returned from fighting alongside Feiyun City’s Niu Mountain Guard. With him, Xu Guang had seen a three-meter-tall giant.
That man, respectfully addressed by everyone as General Giant Spirit, dealt a massive blow to his young mind. Was that really a human?
Later, after listening to his father’s explanation, he learned that the man was one of the Abnormal People—one who had awakened his bloodline.
As for the so-called Abnormal People, based on Father Xu’s explanation and his own understanding, it roughly meant that the bloodlines of the Human Race in this world contained the hidden power of the Ancient Ancestors. Some people were born extraordinarily gifted and could awaken easily, while others with mediocre talent might never awaken it in their entire lifetime.
General Giant Spirit was exactly that—one of the Abnormal People who had awakened his Bloodline Power. His status skyrocketed from the lowest caste of Slaves to the lofty heights of the Noble People. Perhaps, before long, if his Martial Arts Cultivation increased further, he could even be accepted by the Court into the ranks of the Divine People.
Great Qian was an unconventional feudal Dynasty where autocratic monarchy and a enfeoffment system coexisted. Its laws were draconian, strictly dividing its people into five castes: Divine People, Noble People, Mortals, Commoners, and Slaves.
The Xu Family belonged to the Commoner caste. Much like the oppressive caste system of ancient India in his previous life, this class was so lowly they weren’t even permitted to conduct business.
Over the years, it wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about using the foresight from his past life to make money and improve their living conditions. But to do so meant satisfying the bottomless appetites of the gangs scattered everywhere throughout the city, just like he had today. Even though his brother-in-law was a Martial Artist, the gangs feared the man’s powerful family, not the man himself.
His brother-in-law’s family had never liked his older sister to begin with. To spare her any further difficulty or grief, Xu Guang could only rely on himself.
No matter how capable he was, his birth dictated his status. Without martial prowess, he was nothing—just a lowly Commoner in Feiyun City.
A Commoner who, if he ever gained any wealth and caught the eye of the higher castes, would be ruthlessly stripped of everything!
Eight years ago, right after awakening the wisdom of his past life, Xu Guang saw General Giant Spirit and immediately wanted to awaken his own Bloodline Power. Therefore, he attempted to use the Searcher to find a method to do so. That single search had lasted an agonizing eight years.
This was the real reason why, despite possessing such an absurdly broken tool as the Searcher, he had been utterly unable to look for his younger sister or cure his father.
Eight years had passed. Xu Guang’s immense expectations had gradually morphed into disappointment, and by now, had almost entirely cooled into indifference.
But a few days ago, the progress bar that hadn’t moved in ages ticked forward. As of today, it had jumped ten consecutive times. Perhaps, by tomorrow, the search would finally yield a result.