Great Gan, Lin'an County.
The bright moon hung high in the sky. Lin'an County Town, already sunk into slumber, appeared tranquil and peaceful beneath the cool moonlight.
"Pain, pain, pain..."
At that moment, Bi Changsheng felt as though someone had forcibly pried his head open and stuffed a chaotic mass of things inside. He did not know how much time had passed. Only when the pain began to recede did he sense the existence of his body, and he struggled to sit upright.
"A night raid that wiped out the whole household, a desperate escape, killing my pursuers with a forbidden art, then falling unconscious... Did I transmigrate?"
Before he had time to sort out the sudden appearance of another set of memories—that of someone else who was also named Bi Changsheng and had lived seventeen years—he muttered uncertainly to himself.
By the moonlight spilling through the window, Bi Changsheng began looking around.
The room was not large, but its exquisitely carved tables, chairs, doors, and windows, along with the Chi Dragon Pattern Moon-Gate Canopy Bed he was sitting on, all revealed its refined character. Looking at everything before him, Bi Changsheng finally confirmed that he had transmigrated.
"I only spent a tiny bit too much time grinding games. How did I end up transmigrating?"
Bi Changsheng mocked himself inwardly.
Still, he accepted transmigration quite well. He had been an orphan, and he had no attachments in the other world.
At the same time, Bi Changsheng had been a private detective purely out of interest. His usual hobbies were playing games and reading novels, so he was already extremely familiar with the idea of transmigration.
After accepting reality, Bi Changsheng began sorting through the memories that had suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Creak...
Before Bi Changsheng had time to ponder for long, the door suddenly opened, and a tall, thin old man carrying a lantern walked in.
"Young Master, you've finally awakened!"
Seeing Bi Changsheng sitting on the bed in thought, the old man looked extremely excited. He could not even keep a firm grip on the lantern in his right hand, and it nearly fell to the floor.
The sound interrupted Bi Changsheng's thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked toward the doorway, while the identity of the person standing there also surfaced in his mind:
"Uncle Fu, is that you?"
This was the ancestral residence of the Bi Family. Bi Changsheng's father, Bi Tiancheng, had been born here. Later, Bi Tiancheng had gone out to make his way in the world, honing his skills before returning to Lin'an County Town and establishing a vast family fortune.
At the time, because Bi Tiancheng had achieved success, he had chosen another place to establish his residence. This small courtyard had merely been kept as the ancestral home. Aside from Uncle Fu, who was related to the Bi Family by blood and had once received Bi Tiancheng's great kindness, no one else knew of the courtyard's connection to the Bi Family.
"Aye, Young Master, it's me, it's me."
Hearing Bi Changsheng call his name, the old man at the door—Uncle Fu, as Bi Changsheng had called him—finally recovered from his excitement. Uncle Fu hurried to the candlestick on the table and used the flame of his lantern to light it. The room was instantly enveloped in candlelight.
Once Uncle Fu reached the bedside, Bi Changsheng asked, "Uncle Fu, how long has it been? How is the Bi Family doing now?"
"Young Master, you've been unconscious for more than a month. The master is already dead. The Bi Family has been carved up by the Zhao Family, the Sun Family, and those beasts from the authorities. The authorities even accused the master and you, Young Master, of colluding with the Demon Sect, and joined forces to issue a warrant for your arrest..."
As he spoke, tears streamed down Uncle Fu's aged face.
While comforting Uncle Fu, Bi Changsheng compared what he said with the memories in his own mind.
The world Bi Changsheng had transmigrated into was not an ordinary world. Practicing martial arts could strengthen the body; powerful martial artists could run across eaves and walls or kill with a single leaf. There were even rumors of cultivators who could ride clouds and mist, pluck stars, and seize the moon.
Unfortunately, because the original owner had been born with a crippled constitution, no matter how hard he worked, he could not become a true martial artist. On the night the Bi Family was wiped out, he had only managed to escape by burning his lifespan and potential with the forbidden technique, the Body Burning Art.
Through his conversation with Uncle Fu, Bi Changsheng had basically sorted out the original owner's memories and the events of recent days. At the appropriate moment, he said, "It's getting late. Uncle Fu, go back and rest first. I'd like to be alone for a while."
"All right, Young Master. Everything has passed. If the master were still here, he would certainly hope that you could live well."
Uncle Fu clearly still looked somewhat worried, but he did not refuse Bi Changsheng's suggestion.
"Don't worry, Uncle Fu. I'll live well and won't let my father's sacrifices for me be in vain."
Bi Changsheng spoke softly yet firmly.
Uncle Fu said nothing more. He walked to the table and picked up the lantern he had just set down, then left the room and carefully closed the door behind him.
After Uncle Fu left, Bi Changsheng began seriously considering how he would establish himself in this world.
Suddenly, Bi Changsheng's thoughts were raised infinitely high. He seemed to see a boundless river of time, in which countless civilizations evolved. He saw cultivators flying through the sky on swords, enormous demons crawling and licking their wounds, giant dragons roaring, and even mecha dancing through the air...
What attracted Bi Changsheng, however, was a Dao Fruit floating above the river of time and radiating endless vitality. No matter how the river of time surged against it, it remained unchanged.
The moment Bi Changsheng saw the Dao Fruit, it seemed to form some inexplicable connection with him. In reality, his body, which had already been nearly drained dry, changed in an instant. His sallow skin visibly turned fairer, then became as smooth as polished jade. His dry, straw-like white hair also turned glossy black.
It turned out that along with his transmigration, Bi Changsheng had also been lucky enough to obtain the Longevity Dao Fruit from the game he had been grinding before transmigrating. Unfortunately, the Longevity Dao Fruit could only grant him immortality from old age, not an indestructible body. On top of that, this body could not cultivate and had no method of protecting itself. Bi Changsheng had already made up his mind: he absolutely had to keep a low profile and survive, striving to live until the end of time.
Huh?
Previously, his body had been too weak for him to notice, but once it recovered, Bi Changsheng immediately sensed a force circulating within him.
"Isn't this the force produced when the original owner temporarily raised his cultivation by using the forbidden technique? Why hasn't it dissipated?"
"This body is rather interesting. Perhaps I may not be unable to obtain a method of protecting myself."
Another thought instantly arose in Bi Changsheng's mind.
The crowing of roosters broke the dawn.
As a lover of novels, Bi Changsheng naturally possessed a martial-arts dream of carrying a sword across the world and indulging in the joys of vengeance and freedom.
Moreover, with the Longevity Dao Fruit within him, he was like a child clutching gold. Although he had already decided to keep as low a profile as possible, Bi Changsheng understood that existing in this world would inevitably leave traces. Even if he tried his utmost to hide himself, over an infinitely extended span of time, it was inevitable that his abnormality would be discovered.
He possessed an intense desire to control his own destiny!
Bi Changsheng's current plan was to delay the discovery of his abnormality for as long as possible, while swiftly mastering a method of protecting himself on the condition that his life remained safe. That way, he could rationalize his abnormality—or even make others dare not pry into it.
Unable to hold himself back any longer, Bi Changsheng took the long sword hanging on the wall and walked out of the room.
Pushing open the door, he saw a fairly spacious courtyard. Its layout resembled a traditional quadrangle dwelling. The courtyard walls were not very high, and inside stood a well and a tall locust tree. Two reclining chairs had been placed beneath the tree, with a small tea table between them.
Coming to an open space in the courtyard, Bi Changsheng drew the ancestral refined-steel sword in his hand. After recalling the technique in his mind, he circulated the force within his body and began practicing. As Bi Changsheng wielded the sword, turning and shifting with every step, the entire courtyard filled with flashing sword light.
Bi Changsheng's sword grew faster and faster, its momentum revealing the elegance and swiftness of a clear breeze.
Suddenly, Bi Changsheng's gaze flashed like lightning as it pierced the void. The long sword in his hand moved rapidly, and he actually struck three times in the span of a single breath.
In less than half an hour, Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng had reached the entry level!
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