November 22, 2033, 5:30 p.m. Weather: sunny!
"Xiao Zhao! Work late tonight. I'll order you some supper in a bit. Let's get the game's entire attribute panel finished tonight!" A potbellied, bald old man gave the order to a young man wearing thick glasses.
"Supervisor, I'm not feeling well. Could I turn in the data tomorrow at noon instead?" Zhao Ping'an glanced at the sky outside, already growing dark, and asked hesitantly.
"No! You're young. What could possibly be wrong with you? Don't worry! As long as the game launches without a hitch, you'll get your bonus! Keep up the good work. I won't shortchange you. That's that!" The bald supervisor patted Zhao Ping'an on the shoulder, then turned and walked away.
"Super... Hey!" Watching the supervisor stride off, Zhao Ping'an raised a hand, then let it drop helplessly.
He picked up the phone on his desk, unlocked it with facial recognition, opened his contacts, and called the number at the very top—the one he'd memorized long ago. The contact was saved under two words: "Baby"!
"Beep, beep, beep..."
"Hello! Xiaoya, our supervisor's making me work late again. I can't have dinner and watch a movie with you tonight. I'm sorry!" Zhao Ping'an spoke cautiously once the call connected.
"What? Overtime again? How many days has it been now? You work late every day! Every single day! What good is saying sorry? Can you eat it or spend it? Huh?!!" On the other end of the call, a young woman's voice erupted like a cat with its fur standing on end.
Suddenly, a rich, magnetic male voice came through the phone, speaking gently. "Darling, who are you talking to? I've booked us a table at a three-star restaurant. Come on, get in the car. I'll take you there..."
"Okay, darling! I'll be right there! Zhao Ping'an, we're over! Don't ever bother me again!!!"
"Beep..."
Zhao Ping'an stared at the phone in his hand, the call already ended, his mind utterly blank! He'd been cheated on! And dumped!
Three years! They'd been together for three whole years! For her, he'd scrimped and saved to buy her makeup and handbags, and taken her all over to eat delicious food! If she hadn't wanted a new phone—and his bonus hadn't been just enough to cover it—why would he have worked himself to the bone for days? But now...
Zhao Ping'an sat before his computer, his eyes vacant, both hands mechanically hammering away at the keyboard.
He had no idea what he was writing.
Zhao Ping'an's hands moved faster and faster. His heart pounded faster, too, and his eyes gradually turned bloodshot!
Bang!!!
With a crash, Zhao Ping'an's head slammed straight onto the keyboard. A cup of cold coffee at his elbow tipped over, splashing everywhere...
Then, the glaring sparks remained reflected in Zhao Ping'an's blood-red eyes, forever!
Just then, a breaking-news alert popped up on Zhao Ping'an's phone!
"Latest update! One hour ago, a gas explosion struck the city's three-star hotel, Gathering Cloud Tower. A couple dining there tragically lost their lives! From a fragment of an ID card found at the scene, we've confirmed some details about the woman: Xie Xiaoya, twenty-three years old..."
One gives rise to two, two give rise to three, three transform into four, four gather into five elements, five become the six harmonies, the six overturn into seven stars, seven stars form the eight trigrams, the eight trigrams divide into nine palaces, and all things return to the ten directions.
Endless time and space, countless universes!
The universe was boundless, the worlds beyond counting, the Great Dao remote, the heavens and earth vast!
This was one of the worlds as numerous as grains of sand in the Ganges River—the Martial God Realm!
The Martial God Realm had three continents and thousands upon thousands of islands, all surrounded by an endless ocean.
In the southwestern corner of the Heavenly Saint Continent, in the northwest of the Profound Water Dynasty!
Zhao Ping'an rubbed his heavy head and opened his eyes, staring dazedly into the dim bedroom.
He had been in this world for four years.
Four years ago, he had died at his computer. For some unknown reason, his soul had come to this world, making him one of countless transmigrators.
Unfortunately, his new life had gotten off to a miserable start. He'd possessed the body of a beggar who had starved to death by the roadside.
Penniless and skin and bones!
As he lay by the roadside, waiting to die, a passing party of travelers found him.
At their head was a burly, powerfully built man with a handlebar mustache and a saber strapped to his back.
After confirming that Zhao Ping'an was still alive, the man rescued him for reasons unknown and brought him back to where he now lived.
A second-rate sect!
That burly man was Zheng Hetong, one of the four great elders of the sect called the Blazing Blade Sect, and its Third Elder.
After bringing Zhao Ping'an to the Blazing Blade Sect, Zheng Hetong took him in as a direct disciple. Zhao Ping'an had three senior brothers and one senior sister above him.
His Senior Disciple Brother was Ji Xiangming, his Second Senior Disciple Brother was Cui Kang'an, his Third Senior Disciple Sister was Mu Yunmeng, and his Fourth Senior Disciple Brother was Liu Zhe.
They had all joined the Blazing Blade Sect to study martial arts from within a hundred-mile radius.
Over the past four years, Zhao Ping'an had gained a basic understanding of this world. He had also learned why his Master, Zheng Hetong, had rescued him in the first place.
It was because he looked a lot like Zheng Hetong's son, who had died young.
This was a world ruled by martial artists.
Its levels ranged from the weakest Martial Apprentice, to Martial Warrior, Houtian Martial Artist, Innate Martial Master, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, and so on.
Each level was further divided into nine stages.
According to his Master, Zheng Hetong, there were even higher realms beyond Great Grandmaster, but ordinary martial artists like them had no way of reaching them.
After all, the strongest person in the entire Blazing Blade Sect, its sect master Song Lieyang, was only an Innate Martial Master at the Eighth Level Innate.
Even so, he was one of the strongest people within a hundred-mile radius, and the Blazing Blade Sect attracted many people every year who came to study martial arts.
Below the sect master were the four great elders, all of whom were also Innate Martial Masters.
As for their exact levels as Innate Martial Masters, Master Zheng Hetong hadn't said, and Zhao Ping'an didn't know.
But they were certainly not as strong as Song Lieyang, the sect master.
Below the four great elders were ten stewards, each at least a seventh-level Houtian Martial Artist. They managed the sect's various businesses outside its grounds, as well as some internal affairs.
Below the stewards were the direct disciples, inner disciples, and outer disciples.
There weren't many direct disciples. Only those accepted by the four great elders or the sect master counted. In name, direct disciples held a status equal to that of the stewards, but no one thought they were truly the same.
After all, this was a world where strength decided everything. Lacking self-awareness and acting arrogantly could cost you your life.
The difference between inner and outer disciples came down to how close they were to the sect.
Once you became an inner disciple, you were bound to the Blazing Blade Sect, sharing in its fortunes and hardships.
Outer disciples, on the other hand, were simply a way for the Blazing Blade Sect to make money. As long as you paid a certain amount of silver, you could join the outer sect and study martial arts.
As long as you had money, no one would stop you from studying there until you were eighty.
Of course, if you got into trouble outside, the Blazing Blade Sect wouldn't help you.
In the four years since his arrival, Zhao Ping'an hadn't learned any martial arts.
First, he was too young, and his body was still growing. Training too early would harm him.
Second, his body was too weak. Long-term hunger had left him noticeably thinner and frailer than others his age, so he needed to regain his health first.
After four years of recuperation, fourteen-year-old Zhao Ping'an could finally begin learning martial arts.
Before you continue