An endless void without up or down, left or right, devoid of the passage of time—only a churning, viscous, conceptual “chaos.”
A consciousness awakened here, like a tiny speck of light cast into an infinite sea of ink.
*Is this…
the afterlife?*
The consciousness rippled, carrying a trace of bitterness and self-deprecation.
*To think that I, Ji Liman, had such a fine reputation!
I wasn’t exactly a pillar of society, but I was a fine young man who enjoyed the good life to the fullest!*
*And in the end, to save some little girl, I got plowed into by a dump truck and ended up here…
How dramatic.*
His thoughts drifted through the chaos, feeling an unprecedented loneliness.
However, just as this absolute silence was about to swallow him whole, a cold, mechanical, emotionless voice resonated directly at the core of his consciousness:
[Detection complete. Host’s soul traits meet the criteria for ‘Bravery,’ ‘Sacrifice,’ and ‘Leadership Potential.’]
[To honor and enhance the host’s heroic act, the Strongest Lord Regent System is now bound.]
“Wait? A system?!”
Ji Liman’s consciousness vibrated violently, like a boulder tossed into a tranquil lake.
“A system?! You mean I’m not totally dead, but transmigrated to another world?”
[Correct. As this is the ‘Strongest Lord Regent System,’ the host’s new identity upon arrival will inevitably be that of a future Lord Regent of a world.]
“Whoa! A Lord Regent?!”
Ji Liman’s mood instantly did a complete turnaround, as if he could already picture himself sitting beside a throne, wielding supreme authority and calling the shots.
“Sounds a bit treasonous, but awesome! Power over the entire court, second to one, above tens of thousands… Wait, maybe even above everyone!”
“If there’s a young empress too… heheh~”
He asked impatiently, “So, System, which world am I going to? Do I know it? Is it a popular anime world or a fantasy novel world? Please tell me it isn’t somewhere weird.”
The System responded with an unruffled tone: [Current world target: Warhammer 40,000 universe.]
[The body the host will possess upon awakening is that of the ‘Son of the God-Emperor,’ about to awaken from the Armor of Fate in the 41st Millennium of the Imperium of Man—the future Regent of the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman.]
“Guilliman, huh…”
“Wait!”
“Roboute Guilliman?!”
Ji Liman’s consciousness froze instantly, as if locked in ice.
A few seconds later, an emotional meltdown erupted: “What in the bloody hell—the Warhammer world?! System, you’re screwing me over!!!”
“System! Is it too late for me to commit suicide?!”
“I’m not being this Lord Regent! Don’t tell me the Lord Regent I’m taking over is *that* Guilliman!”
Although Guilliman was the only Primarch who had both a loving mother and father…
he was also the single most miserable bastard around!
First, his ‘dear brother’ Fulgrim slashed his throat with an envenomed daemon blade, leaving him in stasis for ten thousand years!
Ten thousand years later, he wakes up only to find the Imperium of Man a thousand times weaker than when he went to sleep.
And all his enemies—Chaos, Orks, Tyranids, Necrons—haven’t gotten weaker at all.
In fact, they’ve gotten fucking stronger!
What kind of hopeless starting hand was this?!
It couldn’t be more fucked up!
“I refuse! I refuse! I can’t handle this, System!”
“A mess that even a Primarch, a demigod body, couldn’t fix—you’re asking a regular Earthling like me to handle it?”
“I want to kill myself! Quick, before I fully arrive, give me a swift death!”
Ji Liman immediately went full doom-and-gloom, giving up on the spot.
At that moment, the System’s voice remained steady, even carrying a hint of coaxing logic:
[Host, please calm down. To assist the host in surviving the new world and fulfilling the duties of the ‘Strongest Lord Regent,’ this system will provide necessary assistance.]
“Oh? Assistance?” Ji Liman grabbed onto this like a lifeline.
“Is it something like gaining the full soul possession of the Emperor as soon as I check in, or giving me a complete Emperor body right off the bat?”
“If it’s that… maybe I could still struggle a bit.”
[Uh, negative. This system’s authority is strictly limited to providing enhancements related to the concept of ‘Lord Regent.’]
“Then… can you give me another Guilliman body, or a complete demigod soul? I can accept that too. Two demigods combined are better than one, right? Quantity leads to quality!”
[Regarding this… the system cannot guarantee it. It requires the host to make a selection.]
[Strictly speaking, the character ‘Guilliman’ that you know falls within the scope of your upcoming selection, but whether you can draw him depends on your luck.]
“Huh? What do you mean ‘selection’? What do you mean ‘within the scope’?” Ji Liman asked in confusion.
[This system’s full title is the ‘Strongest Lord Regent System.’]
[Next, the host may conduct an Anchor Gacha spin, randomly selecting one ‘Lord Regent’ from across the multiverse. Once successfully anchored, the host will instantly inherit all physiological and psychological traits, abilities, and knowledge of that Lord Regent, and this process will not affect the host’s own primary consciousness.]
[Thereafter, by fulfilling the duties of a Lord Regent, the host can earn ‘Administration Points.’ Accumulating enough Governance Points will allow you to redeem any item, technology, or ability from the origin world of your anchored Lord Regent.]
“Administration Points?
Anchored Lord Regent?” Ji Liman quickly digested the information, then pressed further, “So as long as I anchor a Lord Regent, I get everything they have.
But don’t I already have Guilliman’s body?
Or rather, won’t I have it when I wake up?”
[The Guilliman body you obtain serves as the baseline. Once you anchor another Lord Regent’s physique, even if the other party is merely a mortal, their everything will undergo a deep fusion with the Primarch body.]
[Currently, the Guilliman body you are about to take over remains in the ‘stasis moment’ prior to being slain by Fulgrim’s daemon sword. Upon completion of the fusion, all injuries will be completely healed, and attributes such as strength, constitution, and spirit will stack with portions of the anchored subject.]
“Is this fusion partial, or a pure, absolute fusion?” Ji Liman checked cautiously.
[It is a pure, absolute fusion! Genes, lineage, willpower, memories, techniques, instincts… everything will blend perfectly! However, rest assured, Host: your own core consciousness will remain the sole Helmsman, inheriting those memories and powers without having your personality overwritten.]
“Alright, fine… better than nothing.” Ji Liman sighed.
Though still skeptical of the System’s “assistance,” he didn’t seem to have a better choice.
“Show me the options then.”
Instantly, a giant roulette wheel glowing with countless spots of light appeared in Ji Liman’s mindscape.
The wheel listed the names and blurred images of famous Lord Regents throughout history from China and around the world—from China’s Duke of Zhou and Dorgon to foreign figures like Richelieu and Metternich…
Ji Liman took one look and couldn’t help cursing:
“Aren’t these all fucking mortals?! What goddamn help can they give me!”
“Guilliman was going to be resurrected anyway with the help of Archmagos Cawl’s Armor of Fate and Yvraine, the emissary of the Aeldari God of Death.”
“What good does fusing a mortal template do me right now? An extra bit of mortal strength and political scheming memories?”
“With a gap like this, I’d be better off having that Adeptus Mechanicus Archmagos Belisarius Cawl attach an extra Power Fist to my arm later!”
He grumbled, but looking at the endless chaos before him, he knew there was no alternative.
“Whatever, lying around here isn’t getting me anywhere. Desperate times call for desperate measures! Spin!”
With a thought, the giant roulette wheel began to spin rapidly.
Countless faces of Lord Regents flashed past like a magic lantern, dazzling to behold.
Finally, the wheel slowed down, its pointer coming to rest on a very distinct figure.
It was an extraordinarily tall, burly man with resolute features and a signature small mustache.
His appearance bore an uncanny resemblance to the literary titan Zhou Shuren—who fought with his pen as his spear—from Ji Liman’s memory.
He wore a high-collared outfit with a white base and red trim, covered by a crimson cloak with a striking band of white fur around the collar.
Most eye-catching of all were his fists, which looked brimming with destructive power—and were nearly the size of his head.