"Ah!"
"Does dying really come with a sense of pain?"
"Fuck, why does my voice sound different?"
A sharp stab of pain jolted Wei Qing out of his confusion. It was fine when he stayed silent, but the moment he spoke, even he was startled.
The instant his astonished voice fell, countless fragments of memory flashed through his mind, and the original body's past played out in his head like a movie.
The original body had been the legitimate son of the Wei clan in the Great Zhou Imperial City. His father, Wei Yuan, had been a fifth-grade Earth-rank Garrison Commander of the Heavenly Realm Division.
Two months ago, he had vanished while investigating the "Black Lotus Cult."
Seeing this, the original body's second aunt, Liu Ru, had developed malicious intentions. Not only had she driven him to a side courtyard where the servants lived, she had also secretly administered a slow-acting poison in his food.
By the time the original body noticed, it was already too late.
In his previous life, Wei Qing had been a member of the Dragon Group. He had encountered an explosion while carrying out a mission, and never expected that when he awoke again, he would have crossed into this strange world and become the master of this body.
Just as Wei Qing finished digesting the original body's memories, a mechanical electronic voice suddenly rang out in his mind:
[Beep! System activated] [Host: Wei Qing] [Age: 16] [Realm: Ninth-grade Martial Artist (Intermediate)] [Spirit: 99] [Strength: 62] [Constitution: 59] [Residual poison detected in the host's body. A novice gift pack has been issued and stored in the system space] [Claim it?]
The system? A novice gift pack?
Wei Qing was stunned at first, then joy welled up in his heart.
As a modern man who had read web novels, he naturally knew what a system meant.
This was the foundation on which he would establish himself in this world.
According to the original body's memories, the Tianyuan Realm was a chaotic world where demons and humans coexisted.
Three hundred years ago, spiritual energy had erupted throughout the Tianyuan Realm, and demons had emerged into the world.
The First Human-Demon War had broken out.
After lasting a hundred years, humanity had won a bitter victory, successfully killing and sealing away most of the demons.
Now, with the passage of time, the surviving demons' Primal Energy was gradually recovering.
Another great war was on the verge of erupting.
In a chaotic age, if one wanted to survive, powerful strength was the only thing one could rely on!
"Claim it!"
With a thought, a virtual interface appeared before him, displaying the contents of the gift pack.
[Detoxification Pill ×1, Realm Advancement Card ×1, Earth-rank Technique Flowing Cloud Slash ×1, Soul Severing Blade ×1]
Immediately afterward, Wei Qing used the novice gift pack without the slightest hesitation.
As the Pill entered his mouth, the residual poison in his body was rapidly dispersed and neutralized by threads of cool medicinal energy.
At the same time, a warm current surged from his dantian and quickly spread throughout his body.
Wei Qing felt as though his body had been reforged. Power continuously gushed through him, while his bones erupted with explosive cracks like beans popping in a wok.
His body, weakened by the torment of the poison, instantly brimmed with vitality, and his aura grew far more profound.
"Is this the power of an Eighth-grade Martial Artist?"
Wei Qing clenched his fists, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
He could clearly feel that his body had undergone a qualitative leap.
His strength had reached at least ten times that of his previous life.
Then, countless insights into blade techniques surged into his mind, as if he had experienced millions upon millions of battles to the death.
With a thought from Wei Qing, the data on the virtual panel refreshed:
[Host: Wei Qing] [Age: 16] [Realm: Eighth-grade Martial Artist (Intermediate)] [Spirit: 194] [Strength: 164] [Constitution: 162] [Martial Skill: Flowing Cloud Slash (Mastered)]
"You people are courting death."
Suddenly, an enraged young man's voice pierced through the coffin and reached Wei Qing's ears.
"Young Master Wushang, the eldest young master has already passed away. Please don't disturb his peace."
The old voice carried a hint of warning.
Jun Wushang was the second young master of Marquis Huaiyuan's Manor, as well as the original body's childhood friend and sworn brother.
Because his mother had been a maid, his status in Marquis Huaiyuan's Manor was no different from that of a servant.
In the end, it was only with the original body's help that he had managed to take his mother away from Marquis Huaiyuan's Manor, and through hard work, become an intern Prison Suppressing Envoy of the Heavenly Realm Division.
The Heavenly Realm Division represented the sharpest fang of Great Zhou's imperial authority, and throughout history, it had obeyed only the emperor's orders.
It exterminated demons and monitored the realm.
Once one entered the Heavenly Realm Division—
Born as a person of the Heavenly Realm Division, dying as a soul of the Heavenly Realm Division.
Either improve one's strength and become a higher-ranking Garrison Commander!
Or die in the course of carrying out a mission!
There was no third path...
Conversely, offending the Heavenly Realm Division—
Death would be the least of one's worries!
Even an intern Prison Suppressing Envoy, once the Ink Blade at his waist was drawn, could force even the current Minister to retreat three paces.
Marquis Huaiyuan commanded over ten thousand city-defense troops. From then on, he no longer dared target Jun Wushang.
He had even tried to acknowledge Jun Wushang as his son several times, but Jun Wushang rejected him every time.
At noon, Liu Ru had sent word that Wei Qing's cousin, Wei Lin, would soon be able to take over Wei Qing's intern Garrison Commander position.
Combined with the connections and resources Wei Yuan had left behind, he had not taken Jun Wushang, an intern Garrison Commander, seriously at all.
Unfortunately, he did not know that Jun Wushang had already been promoted to a full Garrison Commander.
Three days ago, the original body and Jun Wushang had agreed that once Jun Wushang completed his assessment mission and became a full Prison Suppressing Envoy, they would celebrate at the Drunken Immortal Tower.
Today, just as he completed his assessment and was promoted to a full Prison Suppressing Envoy, he received news of the original body's death.
Smack!
A resounding slap viciously struck Steward Zhao Chuan across the face, and half of his face instantly swelled with purple marks.
"Shut your filthy mouth."
"My brother is an intern Garrison Commander registered with the Heavenly Realm Division. The Heavenly Realm Division's regulations state that whenever a Garrison Commander dies suddenly, an undertaker from the Heavenly Realm Division must personally examine the corpse."
"Only if it was a natural sudden death may the family collect the body and bury it."
"Who allowed you to bypass the Heavenly Realm Division's regulations and handle a Garrison Commander's corpse privately?"
"I have reason to suspect that you murdered an intern Garrison Commander of the Heavenly Realm Division. Get out of my way, or I'll cut you in half alive."
A flash of cold light passed, and a strand of white hair drifted slowly down. The distinctive Ink Blade of a Garrison Commander was pressed against Zhao Chuan's throat.
"Young Master Wushang... I... I'll move..."
Zhao Chuan broke into a cold sweat and staggered back several steps.
He could not afford to bear the charge of murdering a Garrison Commander.
That crime was enough to exterminate three clans.
Jun Wushang strode forward and slapped the coffin lid flying with one palm.
He stepped forward, preparing to take Wei Qing's corpse away.
"Oh..."
Wei Qing's lazy voice drifted out from inside the coffin.
Jun Wushang was stunned at first, then burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha, I knew it! My brother couldn't have kicked the bucket so easily."
"Hurry up and get out... Is it comfortable lying in there?"
"A... a corpse has risen!"
Hearing Wei Qing's voice, Zhao Chuan was so terrified that he collapsed limply to the ground.
Two days earlier, he had personally checked.
Wei Qing had been completely breathless, his heart no longer beating.
Yet now...
Jun Wushang's figure flashed, and he appeared before Zhao Chuan. A vicious kick to the gut sent him flying. "What a racket!"
"Keep babbling, and I'll kill you."
"Wushang, for trash like this, just kill them!"
The instant his voice fell, a flash of blade-light swept from Wei Qing's hand, and Zhao Chuan's corpse was severed in two.
A red orb of light emerged from the corpse and merged into his body.
[Beep! Ordinary vile servant slain] [Strength +5, Constitution +4]
After sheathing his blade, Wei Qing turned to face Jun Wushang and revealed a faint smile.