"Young master, it hurts, it hurts, it really hurts."
It seemed this wasn't a dream. He really had transmigrated.
In the antique-style room, Ye Jing pinched the maid Qiuyue's smooth, delicate cheek. Only after hearing her plead for mercy did he finally accept reality.
Everything that had just happened hadn't been a dream. He really had transmigrated.
After merging with the memories, Ye Jing gained a preliminary understanding of his identity and this world.
The original owner had been a scholar who had studied hard for eighteen years. Though he'd barely passed the imperial examinations, he'd been named Third-place Scholar during the palace examination three days ago because of his handsome looks. It was a meteoric rise.
But his looks had been both his making and his undoing. Because he was so exceptionally handsome, the Empress had let her gaze linger on him for several minutes, which had displeased Emperor Li.
In a fit of anger, Emperor Li had ordered the original owner to spend thirty years compiling books at the Hanlin Academy, effectively ruining his future prospects.
The original owner had returned home, growing angrier the more he thought about it. In the end, his rage overwhelmed him, and he died, allowing Ye Jing to take over his body.
The original owner really was something. Was it worth getting so worked up over such a minor matter? He'd even lost his life over it.
Ye Jing wasn't just saying that because he wasn't in the original owner's shoes. As he'd merged with the memories, he'd discovered to his astonishment that this wasn't some traditional feudal society. It was a fantastical dynasty where Martial Arts reigned supreme.
Dali was a newly established dynasty, founded a thousand years ago during the Fifth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm.
In Dali, Martial Arts reigned supreme. Which of the great officials in court wasn't a Martial Arts giant, a pillar of strength who could hold down an entire region?
The original owner had no real aptitude for cultivation. After more than a decade of hard training, he'd only reached the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation.
Even though he'd gotten lucky and become the Third-place Scholar, without any aptitude for cultivation, he still had no prospects.
With the original owner's cultivation, he'd most likely have been sent out to serve as the magistrate of some county. That would give him a little more freedom than compiling books at the Hanlin Academy, and nothing more.
Advancing any further would be all but impossible.
As Ye Jing saw it, being assigned to compile books at the Hanlin Academy wasn't so bad.
Dali was a place where the strong preyed on the weak and Martial Arts stood above all. Someone as green as him, only at the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation, was nothing more than cannon fodder.
Dali might have had good public order, but one careless word could offend someone, and some passerby might kill him with a casual flick of the hand.
Though a Hanlin Academy compiler held a lowly post, he was still an official. Besides, the Hanlin Academy was a backwater office, and his compiling post was even more so.
Even if Ye Jing didn't understand the ins and outs, as long as he could be patient and stay at the Hanlin Academy, he could surely live out his life in peace.
"Young master, there's nothing wrong with compiling books at the Hanlin Academy. Please don't let yourself get worked up and fall ill again."
Ever since Ye Jing had worked himself into a feverish rage and taken to his bed for three days, Qiuyue had been terribly worried.
Now that she saw him awake, she couldn't help offering a few words of comfort.
"Don't worry. I've survived a great disaster, and I've come to terms with things. Working at the Hanlin Academy isn't so bad."
"All right, I've been lying in bed at home for three days. Now that I'm awake, I should go report for duty at the Hanlin Academy."
After saying goodbye to Qiuyue, Ye Jing got up and headed to the Hanlin Academy to report for duty.
Ye Jing's job at the Hanlin Academy was to write biographies—in other words, to write biographies of famous figures in Jing Kingdom's history.
He'd barely sat down at the Hanlin Academy when Hu Jie approached him, looking mysterious.
"Ye Jing, do you know why you, a Third-place Scholar, were demoted by Emperor Li to spend thirty years compiling books at the Hanlin Academy?"
Hu Jie was the first friend Ye Jing had made at the Hanlin Academy. Aside from his passion for gossip and love of a crowd, he was also a loyal friend.
"Wasn't it because Emperor Li was petty?" Ye Jing asked, surprised. He glanced around and lowered his voice to play along.
"How could that be!"
"I just got some news, brother. Now I finally understand why Emperor Li was so furious during the palace examination that day." Hu Jie sat on the desk in front of Ye Jing, visibly excited.
"Oh? Brother Hu, tell me why!" Ye Jing asked.
Hu Jie looked around. Only after making sure no one was nearby did he rein in his excitement and speak gravely. "Three days ago, as the National Preceptor of Dali, Daoist Master Wuchen, was nearing the end of his life, he glimpsed a trace of Heavenly Secrets and proclaimed that the Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm was about to arrive!"
"Brother Hu, you mean...!" Ye Jing realized what was going on, and his expression instantly darkened.
Seeing Ye Jing's expression, Hu Jie knew he understood the reason for what had happened that day. He clapped Ye Jing on the shoulder and declared with bold confidence,
"Hahahaha, Ye Jing, don't be afraid! Our chance has come. When the Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm arrives, we might just soar to the heavens!"
Ye Jing ignored Hu Jie's grand pronouncement, his mood sinking in an instant.
Ye Jing had originally thought that, with his official post at the Hanlin Academy, he could live out his life in peace in Dali, even with the pitiful strength of someone at the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation.
But hearing Hu Jie say that the Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm was on its way instantly changed his mind.
According to the historical records, the world had undergone six great upheavals since ancient times. No one knew the origin of these Heaven and Earth Cataclysms, but each one brought forth countless great opportunities and gave rise to a host of earth-shaking powerhouses.
But great opportunities came with great risks. Every time a Heaven and Earth Cataclysm descended, mountains of corpses and seas of blood followed.
The first Emperor Li of Dali had risen from humble beginnings during the Fifth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm. In the end, he'd led a Rebel Army and established Dali.
If the Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm really was coming in the not-too-distant future, just as Hu Jie had said, then Dali, already in turmoil, would soon fall apart.
Ye Jing wasn't just being alarmist. Even without looking far ahead, once the Cataclysm struck and Dali descended into chaos, the eight Kings of Different Surnames would certainly raise their troops.
Those eight Kings of Different Surnames had already shown signs of disloyalty. When the Cataclysm came, they'd surely imitate the first Emperor Li.
When the nest is overturned, what egg can remain unbroken? For a weakling like him, only at the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation, hoping to survive such a turbulent age was nothing but a fool's dream.
No wonder Emperor Li had been so furious when he'd seen him that day. At a time like this, the emperor most wanted to see scholars with aptitude for cultivation, not trash like him, stuck at the Fifth Level of Qi Condensation.
Ye Jing had no mood to indulge Hu Jie. He picked up a book from the desk, hoping it would help him calm down.
It was a biography recounting the life of Sword Saint Zhu Yang.
Sword Saint Zhu Yang's life had been full of hardships. He'd made a name for himself at a young age and possessed extraordinary talent in the Sword Dao, but then his talent had been destroyed overnight, and his childhood sweetheart had fallen for another.
Even his warm and loving family had been wiped out by his enemies. His beloved parents had both died. Utterly despairing, Zhu Yang had leaped from a cliff, only to receive the inheritance of an unnamed Sword Saint and eventually obtain the Thirteen Swords of Heavenly Annihilation.
After Ye Jing finished reading carefully, he had to admit that Sword Saint Zhu Yang's life had indeed been full of hardships.
[You read Zhu Yang's life story with great concentration and activated Heaven-Defying Comprehension.] [With your Heaven-Defying Comprehension, you comprehended the Thirteen Swords of Heavenly Annihilation.]
Ye Jing was stunned. What were these two notifications in his mind? Had the transmigrator's perks finally arrived?
Before you continue