Chapter 1

The Wasteland, the Great Xia Dynasty.

Qin Wang Palace.

In the ancient and elegant room, Zhou Yuan, who lay on the floor like a corpse, suddenly woke up, the marks on his neck clearly visible.

"Thank goodness it was just a dream~"

Realizing he hadn't been pierced by arrows but had merely been dreaming, he took deep breaths, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, clearly indicating that the scene had felt all too real.

Looking around, Zhou Yuan found himself in an ancient and elegant room, feeling utterly perplexed.

In his memory, he should have been spending the night with a beautiful secretary. How did he end up in this unfamiliar environment?

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Zhou Yuan's head ached, and he clutched it tightly with both hands.

A set of memories not his own forcibly entered his mind, rapidly flashing through his thoughts.

This was a poor land, the Wasteland.

Here, martial arts reigned supreme, and the strong were revered.

The strong could shatter mountains and rivers with their fists, point their swords at the heavens, cut through the sun and moon, and fly through the air, capable of anything; the weak could only cower and survive in the shadows.

The Great Xia Dynasty was one of the ten major dynasties in the Wasteland.

And his current identity was the 17th prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, Qin Wang Zhou Yuan.

In other words, he had been transported to another world.

"Wait, I finally made it to a high position in the company, why did you make me transmigrate?" Realizing he had transmigrated, Zhou Yuan was instantly dumbfounded, standing there in a daze.

Born into the royal family, he was a born noble, with wealth and honor bestowed upon him. He had to admit, this was a unique stroke of luck, as if blessed by a goddess.

But what good was this to him? He was already at the peak of his life, so why did he have to transmigrate? Why did he have to get involved in the royal family?

"Imperial edict has arrived!"

A clear and gentle voice came from outside the door.

Hearing this familiar voice, Zhou Yuan quickly got up, dusted off his clothes, and hurried out.

What met his eyes was Lin Hai, the chief eunuch, holding the imperial edict and leading a group of eunuchs to the courtyard where he lived.

Seeing Zhou Yuan kneeling on the ground, Lin Hai unfolded the edict and read it aloud.

"Imperial edict of the Great Xia King: From this day forth, Qin Wang Zhou Yuan is hereby appointed as the Crown Prince and shall immediately move to the Eastern Palace. He will ascend the throne as the new king of the Great Xia tomorrow. So decreed!"

Despite the few words, Zhou Yuan was stunned, completely bewildered.

What was going on? How did he become the Crown Prince? And he was to inherit the throne tomorrow?

Lin Hai said, "Qin Wang, please receive the edict."

"Ah? Oh!"

Coming to his senses, Zhou Yuan took the edict and stood up.

Putting away the edict, he asked in confusion, "Eunuch Lin, what's going on? Shouldn't the throne be inherited by Crown Prince Zhou Qing? Why me all of a sudden?"

His stepfather, the current Xia King Zhou Tianwu, had seventeen children besides him, ten sons, and seven daughters, all of whom were stronger than him.

How could he be chosen to be the Xia King?

And Crown Prince Zhou Qing, who was already appointed as the Crown Prince, was supposed to ascend the throne next spring and become the new king of the Great Xia. How did it suddenly become his turn?

Lin Hai took a step forward and whispered in his ear.

"Ah!"

Zhou Yuan was shocked, his eyes wide as he looked at Lin Hai, his voice trembling, "A-A-All of them... are dead?"

"Um!"

Lin Hai nodded solemnly.

Zhou Yuan swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his neck.

He never imagined that his nine brothers had all died!

And it happened within these three days!

Suddenly, he thought of something.

After a moment of silence, he stepped forward and whispered in Lin Hai's ear.

Hesitating for a moment, Lin Hai stepped forward to respond.

"No way?"

Hearing the explanation, Zhou Yuan's face turned pale.

From what he understood,

This was a premeditated murder.

His brothers were targeted by someone or some force.

The original Zhou Yuan was the youngest brother, the last one to be killed, which happened last night.

But because he had transmigrated, he had come back to life.

If others found out he was still alive, he would never see the next day's sun.

This transmigration was just a one-day trip in another world!

The pale-faced Lin Hai said, "Qin Wang, please follow me to the palace. The king has some words for you."

Unfortunately, Zhou Yuan didn't hear a word, his mind plotting how to escape.

Even if he couldn't enjoy a peaceful life, he didn't want to die prematurely.

Suddenly, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear.

[Ding!]

[Detected host has arrived in another world. Immortal Martial Emperor Sign-in System is binding...]

[Binding successful!]

[Immortal Martial Emperor Sign-in System is at your service.]

[Sign in once daily to receive opportunities to summon heroes from Chinese history, treasures, elixirs, cultivation techniques...]

"System?"

Zhou Yuan was stunned.

Before he could react, the system voice continued.

[Newbie gift pack opening...]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Ancient Human Emperor Body.]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the *Yanhuang Decree* and the automatic cultivation mode has been activated.]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the *Xuan Yuan Sword* (Lord of Weapons).]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the *Yulong City* (a space for training soldiers, including cavalry, infantry, and archery camps).]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained seven Dragon Tokens (used to summon troops, such as Qin Sharp Warriors, Wei Warriors, Zhao Border Riders, Leopard Riders...).]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained Divine Dragon Liquid (can be used to enhance attributes or control others).]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained a Golden Dragon Armor...]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the loyalty of a thousand Jinyiwei guards.]

[Ding! Host, would you like to sign in?]

"Sign in!"

Zhou Yuan responded almost involuntarily.

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have obtained one opportunity to summon a hero! Host, would you like to perform the summoning?]

"Summon!"

[Congratulations, host, you have summoned the ten-star hero 'Bai Qi'!]

Bai Qi?

The foremost of the four great generals of the Warring States period, the God of War Bai Qi?

Zhou Yuan was overjoyed.

His first summon was Bai Qi, the butcher of the Warring States period!

The 'Wu'an Lord' who bore the title of death!

"Summon Bai Qi immediately." Suppressing his joy, Zhou Yuan called out in his mind.

[Ding! Emergency summoning mode activated...]

"Qin Wang."

Lin Hai's voice broke the silence.

"Ah! What is it?"

Zhou Yuan came back to his senses.

Lin Hai's lips twitched.

This man wasn't listening to a word he said!

"Your Highness, the king wants to see you. Please follow me to the palace."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

With that, Zhou Yuan put away the edict and took a bold step forward.

With the system's boost, he walked with a swagger, clearly not the same Zhou Yuan who had wanted to run away earlier.

After a moment of shock, Lin Hai and the other eunuchs hurried to catch up.

When they reached the entrance of the palace,

A tall, imposing figure stood there, wearing black armor, standing eight feet tall, with a broad back and narrow waist, sharp brows, and piercing eyes, exuding a formidable aura.

His mustache was thick, his chin covered in stubble, his eyes like deep pools, and he looked to be in his thirties, a fearsome man!

Standing there, he was like a fierce deity, causing everyone to stop in their tracks.

Lin Hai frowned, his eyes filled with caution, and he asked coldly, "Who are you?"

The imperial guards also drew their weapons.

"Bai Qi!"

The imposing man said casually.

His aura was so overwhelming that Lin Hai and the imperial guards were left speechless, their bodies involuntarily retreating.

Zhou Yuan, however, was delighted.

Bai Qi truly lived up to his reputation as a hero of China, making a grand entrance that left everyone in awe and fear!

"General Bai Qi, I greet you, Your Highness!"

Bai Qi stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head in respect.

"General Bai Qi, please rise. No need for formalities."

Zhou Yuan helped him up, feeling extremely excited.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Bai Qi stood up, bowed again, and felt deeply moved.

To be personally helped up by a ruler was a rare honor.

With his past life behind him, everything had turned to dust. In this life, he would devote himself to helping Zhou Yuan achieve greatness and expand his territory.

Bai Qi's attribute panel also appeared before him.

[Name: Bai Qi.]

[Level: Ten-star (Heroes are ranked from ten-star to five-star, with ten-star being the highest and five-star the lowest).]

[Dynasty: Warring States period (Qin State).]

[Cultivation: Fifth stage of the Void God realm (stages: Postnatal, Prenatal, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, Divine Essence, Void God...).]

[Cultivation Technique: Ancient Asura Decree.]

[Talent: God Slayer.]

[Troops: SSS~ Qin Sharp Warriors ~ 50,000 (all at the Seventh stage of the Grandmaster realm);

SS~ Qin Elite Warriors ~ 100,000 (all at the Seventh stage of the Prenatal realm).]

"Fifth stage of the Void God realm?!"

Zhou Yuan's mouth twitched.

In the entire Great Xia, there were only a handful of Void God realm cultivators.

He never expected that Bai Qi, who had just arrived, was also a Void God realm powerhouse. This summon was truly powerful!

His current cultivation was only at the First stage of the Grandmaster realm, and he had just started cultivating.

If it were before, he would have been a mere Fifth stage Postnatal cultivator, the weakest among all the princes and princesses.

The Qin Sharp Warriors and Qin Elite Warriors were also incredibly strong!

But he liked it.

Having people under his command made him feel powerful, and he wouldn't fear anyone in a fight.

Lin Hai asked curiously, "Your Highness, who is he?"

Zhou Yuan shrugged, clearly proud, "My subordinate."

Turning to Bai Qi, he said softly, "General Bai Qi, since you're here, please accompany me to the palace."

"Understood!"

Bai Qi bowed and stepped aside.

Suddenly, his eyes turned cold.

"Who's spying on us?"

Without hesitation, Bai Qi drew his sword and threw it, the cold bronze blade piercing the wall.

Lin Hai frowned, glanced at where the sword had landed, and waved his hand. Four imperial guards immediately left the formation.

When they returned, two of them were carrying the sword, while the other two dragged a Qin Wang Palace servant, blood trickling from his mouth and a sword through his chest.

"Yang He? I didn't expect you to still be here?!"

Zhou Yuan's face darkened, his eyes filled with killing intent.

According to the memories of his predecessor, this man was one of those who had strangled him to death in the early hours of the previous night.

As for the other two,

His vision blurred, and he had forgotten their faces.

Lin Hai asked curiously, "Your Highness, who is he?"