First Arrival in Another World

Shi Nan felt a chaotic void in his mind, his entire being muddled as if locked within an endless, dark dream, unable to move a muscle.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but Shi Nan gradually regained consciousness, sensing the existence of his limbs, and struggled to slowly open his eyes.

His gaze was unfocused and listless; only after a long while did a glimmer of spirit finally appear in his pupils.

"Where is this..."

Shi Nan felt his body was incredibly weak, to the point where even lifting a hand was a struggle, so he could only move his eyes with great effort to survey his current situation.

It was a room of moderate size, and to Shi Nan's eyes, the decor seemed quite archaic. The layout was simple: a desk, a chair, and a wardrobe standing against the wall.

Beside the wardrobe stood a mirror nearly as tall as a person, facing the spot where Shi Nan currently lay.

Looking at the reflection in the mirror, Shi Nan's eyes widened abruptly.

The mirror reflected an antique-style bed, and lying upon it was a young man of about twenty. The youth had handsome, delicate features that made it hard to distinguish his gender, with disheveled hair and a look of shock on his face.

"This is... me?"

Shi Nan felt a jolt in his heart; he struggled to prop his body up into a sitting position, staring blankly at his own hands.

These hands had fair, tender skin and slender fingers, like bamboo shoots emerging after the rain—a world of difference from his original, calloused hands.

But he had just been at a class reunion, drinking a few too many because his old classmates wouldn't stop pestering him; how did he end up here after waking up from a nap?

Before Shi Nan could dwell on his current predicament, a massive stream of information flooded his mind. The information arrived with such intensity that it caused a splitting headache, forcing him to close his eyes and gasp in pain.

This stream of information consisted of clusters of disorganized memories, which Shi Nan began to sort through with great difficulty.

"Lingyang Realm... Human Race... Chengtian Domain... Tenglong City... Shi Lan... eldest legitimate son of the Shi Clan... born with a crippled body?!"

After sorting through a small portion of the memories, Shi Nan couldn't bother to continue organizing the rest; he opened his eyes in excitement, a brilliant light shining within them.

"Transmigration happens every year, and this year it's finally my turn! Heavens, you haven't treated me poorly!"

The eldest son of a great clan, born with a crippled body—Shi Nan had seen or heard of this transmigration trope at least eight hundred times. The next step should be the arrival of a golden finger, followed by him experiencing setbacks, growing stronger through them, and eventually reaching the pinnacle of life!

Thinking of this, Shi Nan looked at the closed door with eager eyes.

According to the tropes, the next person to push the door open should be a charming, devoted little maid who obeyed his every word, or perhaps a childhood sweetheart—most importantly, not a blood-related sister—who would rush toward him in excitement.

He stared at the door for a long time until his eyes felt sore, but there was still no movement from the door.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't made any noise that the people outside hadn't heard him.

Shi Nan nodded to himself, his gaze wandering around, wondering how to create some noise to lure someone in.

Unfortunately, the furnishings in the room were far too simple; there wasn't even a vase or any other decorative items.

After hesitating, Shi Nan began to move his body with great difficulty, wanting to get off the bed to cause a commotion.

However, this body was far too weak. Just as Shi Nan moved to the edge of the bed and before he could even lower his legs, his body went limp and he tumbled off.

"Thud—"

Shi Nan crashed onto the wooden floor, emitting a muffled sound.

Shi Nan lay on the ground, his face contorted in pain, nearly losing his breath; the bed was simply too high, at least a meter tall.

After a long while, no one had entered.

Shi Nan felt a hint of disappointment. He caught his breath and began to sort through the memories in his mind once more.

A long time later, Shi Nan opened his eyes. The first thing he did was roll over, point his middle finger at the sky, and unleash a string of colorful profanities.

Shi Nan—or rather, it should be Shi Lan—felt the light that had previously flickered in her eyes dim until they were completely devoid of spirit.

The grand dream she had held of imitating her predecessors, stirring up the winds and clouds in this strange world, living a life of dashing freedom, and opening a vast harem had already vanished into thin air, becoming nothing more than a pipe dream.

Now, Shi Lan had only one thought in her mind: she wanted to go home.

After digesting the memories left by the original owner, Shi Lan's heart was filled with ashes.

This was the Lingyang Realm, where the sky was round and the earth square, spanning countless millions of miles—a distance an ordinary person could never traverse in a lifetime.

In the Lingyang Realm, the Human Race, Demon Race, and Devil Race divided the world. The humans occupied the Shenzhou Vast Land, the demons dominated the boundless Demon Domain, and the devils entrenched themselves in the infinite Devil Cave. Friction occurred frequently at the borders of the three races, with wars of varying scales never ceasing.

Here, there were martial artists who could reach the divine, capable of burning mountains and boiling seas, destroying peaks and snapping ridges with a wave of their hands; some could even ascend to the nine heavens to pluck stars and grasp the moon.

These things undoubtedly exceeded her understanding.

The fact that Shi Lan was a girl was known only to herself and her biological mother, Su Lanyue, in the entire Lingyang Realm; even her "father," Shi Tianlu, was unaware.

As the head of the Tenglong Shi Clan, his strength was such that he could effectively trample the entire Tenglong City beneath his feet.

In his youth, Shi Tianlu had never considered the matter of descendants. It wasn't until he was past fifty and stood at the pinnacle of Tenglong City that he began to consider the issue of continuing his lineage.

To this end, Shi Tianlu took seven or eight wives and concubines, and Su Lanyue was one of them.

However, the essence and blood of a martial arts powerhouse were condensed into one, making it difficult to leave behind offspring and even harder to conceive.

In the blink of an eye, Shi Tianlu was nearing sixty, and his mood grew somewhat impatient. Consequently, he made a vow: whoever gave birth to the eldest legitimate son of the Shi Clan would become the matriarch of the clan.

The difference in status between an ordinary concubine and the matriarch of the household was beyond measure.

For the sake of this promise from Shi Tianlu, the women in the back courtyard pulled out all the stops, employing countless secret remedies and methods.

Soon, there was news from the back courtyard; two women had become pregnant at once, and one of them was Su Lanyue.

Su Lanyue was determined to secure the position of matriarch of the Shi Clan; not only did she procure labor-inducing drugs, but to be safe, she also secretly had someone find a newborn baby boy.

After giving birth to Shi Lan, Su Lanyue staged a grand deception, swapping the infants to fool Shi Tianlu and successfully obtaining the position of matriarch of the Shi Clan as she had wished.

The first thing Shi Tianlu did upon picking up the child was to check its cultivation aptitude, for in the Lingyang Realm where strength reigned supreme, power was the foundation of everything.

The baby boy's cultivation aptitude was abysmal, a natural-born cripple who was destined to remain a mortal for his entire life.

Upon receiving this result, Shi Tianlu was in such a foul mood that he left in a hurry without even giving the child a name.

Later on, in order to protect her position as matriarch and unable to bear the thought of being separated from her own flesh and blood, Su Lanyue had no choice but to let Shi Lan live disguised as a boy, a charade that had lasted for nearly twenty years.

After digesting this information, Shi Lan felt as if an invisible hand were gripping her throat, making it difficult for her to breathe.

She dared not imagine what the outcome would be if Shi Tianlu were to discover the truth, and having transmigrated into a woman with no power to protect herself, how was she to survive in this Lingyang Realm where martial prowess was everything?

No wonder she had caused such a commotion and wailed for so long, yet not a single person had entered; there wasn't a soul near this room, let alone her family, not even a maid or servant.

The secret of Shi Lan being a woman was a matter of life and death for both her and Su Lanyue, so naturally, it was impossible for anyone else to be by her side.

A secret known to outsiders was no longer a secret.