2 Chapter 1 Nine Provinces_1

In the year 518 of the Da Xia calendar, in the capital city.

Late at night, a torrential downpour fell upon Tiandu city — this heavy rain had continued uninterrupted for three days and three nights.

At that moment, a blazing bolt of lightning tore across the dark and heavy sky, accompanied by a deafening rumble. It slit through the pitch-black curtain of the night and illuminated the entire land.

Inside a small courtyard at the entrance to the South Gate alleyway, Gu Chen opened his eyes.

At first, his vision was blurry and he looked stunned, until several minutes passed by, and then his eyes began to regain color and his expression returned to normal.

"I didn't die?" Gu Chen explored his surroundings with a somewhat vacant gaze and found that the room's layout and decoration were very retro, as if he had returned to ancient times.

"Where am I…" As Gu Chen spoke, he tried to get up, but at that moment, he suddenly felt a searing pain inside him, causing cold sweat to immediately form on his forehead.

"Can someone tell me what exactly is going on?"

Gu Chen's face was pale, and he wore an agonized expression, attempting to relieve the pain in his body through deep breathing.

Then, a flood of strange memories suddenly surged forth, swarming into Gu Chen's mind, causing him to grunt and shiver as he felt a severe pain in his head.

The sensation was as if countless steel needles were simultaneously puncturing his brain and then chaotically scrambling inside it.

The pain was excruciating.

With the agony tormenting both his body and spirit, Gu Chen's eyes rolled back, and he fainted once again.

It was unknown how much time had passed when Gu Chen gradually opened his eyes once more.

He remained silent for a long while, his eyes lifelessly fixated on the ceiling.

"Kyushu..."

"Da Xia..."

"Jing Tian Department..."

"So, I've transmigrated…" After assimilating some of the original owner's memories, a bitter smile appeared on Gu Chen's face.

Gu Chen, twenty-nine years old, started his own company after graduation. After several years of ups and downs, it began to improve. Perhaps due to the immense mental stress of entrepreneurship without an outlet, Gu Chen found himself obsessed with extreme sports at some point.

Free solo climbing, BASE jumping, cliff diving... By engaging in various extreme sports, he successfully released the pent-up mental stress lurking within.

Of course, as a result, he fell in love with the sport and seized every opportunity to perform various attempts and challenges.

This time, the reason he ended up in this world was because Gu Chen, in his pursuit of thrill, chose the most difficult challenge in extreme sports and, unsurprisingly, he failed.

The outcome of such failure goes without saying...

Fortunately, it seemed as if heaven held a special fondness for him and gave Gu Chen the chance to experience life for a second time.

Of course, this second life seemed somewhat extraordinary.

Through the memory integration just now, Gu Chen learned that the original owner of this body also carried the name "Gu Chen," sharing both the same name and surname.

"This seems to be a universal benefit for transmigrators... Well, it's just as well that, having been called by this name for nearly thirty years, a sudden change might indeed take some getting used to," Gu Chen chuckled.

With the original owner's memories, Gu Chen had gained a certain understanding of this world.

This world was called Kyushu, and the place he was in was the capital of the Da Xia Dynasty, named Tiandu.

The Da Xia Dynasty had ruled over the world for 518 years. When Gu Chen saw this part of the memory, he was genuinely surprised; in his previous life, throughout the five thousand years of history, there were rarely dynasties that lasted so long.

Of course, Da Xia was different from the major dynasties of his previous life. The reason it had existed for so long was due to the uniqueness of this world.

If Gu Chen's previous life was set in a world of technology, then Kyushu was a world of martial arts.

No, it was not just a world of martial arts, it also carried a peculiar attribute.

It was a combination of a martial arts world with an element of the bizarre.

And the Jing Tian Department, where the original owner belonged, was a forceful institution specifically designated to suppress the increasingly numerous demons, phantoms, and strange creatures.

The original owner of this body, Gu Chen, was twenty years old when he passed away. Both his parents had died, with his mother unfortunately encountering a monstrous and strange creature during her early pregnancy. Though she survived by a stroke of luck, she was left gravely ill and died not long after his birth.

His father also met his end at the hands of a monstrous creature shortly after Gu Chen was born.

Therefore, Gu Chen harbored a bone-deep hatred for these demons and specters, and this was also the reason he chose to join the Jing Tian Department.

"Both parents dead, that's almost become a standard for transmigrators..." After reading this segment of memory, Gu Chen couldn't help feeling a little helpless.

Orphaned at an early age, Gu Chen was raised by his uncle.

This was the background of the original owner, Gu Chen.

"However, why did 'I' get injured, and so severely at that?" Gu Chen frowned, searching through his memories.

Soon, he found the answers, remembering the causes and consequences.

The main reason stemmed from the internal selection for the next Metropolitan Procurator within the Jing Tian Department.

The Jing Tian Department was one of Da Xia's most critical institutions, reporting directly to the Emperor of Xia and accountable only to His Majesty, with no one else having the authority to intervene.

Although dealing daily with the perilous threats of monsters and strange creatures, which could easily claim one's life, the power and authority that came with the position were excessively great.

Even the lowest-ranking Metropolitan Procurator was equivalent to a sixth-grade official in Da Xia, and even with welfare benefits, they exceeded other officials.

And these were just the overt benefits.

The martial arts secrets within the Jing Tian Department, as well as various medicinal pills and divine weapons, were not things that money could buy.

Even more so, if one made significant contributions, one could gain direct access to the royal secret vault. With some luck, one might even attract the Emperor's favor and secure an audience.

Such treatments were not available to ordinary officials.

Hence, every Patrol Officer of the Jing Tian Department aimed to become a Metropolitan Procurator.

Gu Chen, with his considerable talent, ranked among the top of his peers as Patrol Officers. With his simple nature and deep-seated hatred for demons, having devoted himself to eradicating them since joining the Jing Tian Department, he was highly valued by the higher-ups.

Indeed, many speculated that the Jing Tian Department's leaders had already shortlisted the original Gu Chen as a "reserve" for the Metropolitan Procurator, just waiting for him to attain the necessary cultivation level to be promoted officially.

This naturally incited the envy and hostility of others aspiring to the same position.

Among them, a fellow called "Liu Zheng" was particularly at odds with the original Gu Chen.

Both joining the Jing Tian Department together, they were always in competition. Their personalities were vastly different; Gu Chen was taciturn and inept at speaking, making few friends, whereas Liu Zheng was tactful and good at networking.

Both were closely matched in all aspects. Learning this news, Liu Zheng naturally became even more anxious and, above all, resentful.

So, a few days earlier, after the original Gu Chen had returned from a mission, Liu Zheng set a trap, provoking Gu Chen, who was straightforward and lacked cunning. Unable to stand being mocked, he accepted the challenge without a second thought.

In truth, if one were to speak purely of strength, Gu Chen and Liu Zheng were nearly equals, with the outcome of their battle uncertain. However, Gu Chen had been injured while combating demons during his previous mission and had not fully recovered. Thus, he fell into a disadvantage during the fight with Liu Zheng, who seized the opportunity to strike fiercely, inflicting severe injuries on him.

After lying unconscious for three days and nights, Gu Chen ultimately couldn't hold on and died completely.

Upon this thought, Gu Chen couldn't help but shake his head. The original Gu Chen was too young and rigid, unable to tolerate insults, which is why he fell into Liu Zheng's plot and suffered greatly, losing his life in the process.

As Gu Chen was digesting the memories, suddenly, a bright light appeared before his eyes, and a screen similar to the game panels of his previous life materialized in front of him.

Name: Gu Chen

Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Technique (Great Success), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill (Great Success), Red Flame Palm (Minor Success), Dragon-Sinew Tiger-Bone Fist (Beginning)

Internal Technique: Pure Yang Technique

Cultivation: Twenty years

Stage: Early Stage of Essence-Gathering

Merit Points: 0

As the panel floated before his eyes, a surge of information simultaneously appeared in Gu Chen's mind.

"Merit Points... can increase cultivation and enhance martial arts realm?" Gu Chen lay in bed, murmuring to himself, a smile unconsciously forming at the corner of his mouth.