[This is where you can park your brains, dear readers, so feel free to leave them here. When you go, your looks, charm, wealth, intelligence, and health will all be infinite, and your length will increase by 3.]
Great Zhou Dynasty, Qingyuan Prefecture, Blackwater County.
Spring came late, and winter lingered; the remaining cold was still fierce.
The last of the snow had yet to melt, and long icicles hung beneath the eaves and along the corners of the walls.
In a house on the eastern side of Blackwater County, on the kang in the west room.
Jiang Tian's eyelids twitched. His lashes trembled faintly as he slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a dim ceiling beam. An oil lamp hung from it, its flame wavering as wind slipped through the crack beneath the door, making the room's light and shadows flicker between brightness and gloom.
He had been in this world for more than ten days. After fully absorbing his predecessor's memories, he had finally gained a rough understanding of his surroundings.
At that moment, one piece of good news and one piece of bad news lay before him.
The good news was that the system might be late, but it had arrived.
But the bad news...
[Host: Jiang Tian] [Lifespan: 16/17] [Realm: None] [Martial Arts Mastered: None] [Entries: Poor Bone Structure (White) (10+/100), Outstanding Comprehension (Green) (427+/500)] [Entry Points: 0 (You can obtain points by extracting entries from others. Entries can only be extracted from people at the same realm as you or below. Entries of different colors grant different numbers of points.)] [White: 10 points, Green: 100 points, Blue: 500 points, Purple: 1,000 points, Red: 10,000 points, Gold: 100,000 points... Extracting an entry will not cause its owner any harm.] [Entries are divided into White, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, and Gold...]
"Shh..."
Jiang Tian sucked in a sharp breath.
He rubbed his cheeks hard, his palm passing over the purplish bruises that had yet to fade completely. A dull ache followed.
He was sixteen, and the lifespan column read "16/17."
In other words, he had only a year left to live.
His lifespan was like this because of his predecessor.
His predecessor had been a bookworm, spending all his days buried in books. In terms of scholarship alone, no one in all of Blackwater County could claim to be his equal.
But what use was studying in a world torn by war, overrun with refugees, and plagued by warring gangs?
Ten days ago, his predecessor had been invited by Wang Moshan, the third young master of the Wang family—one of Blackwater County's Three Great Families—to attend a Poetry Gathering.
He had read himself stupid and spoke without thinking, publicly pointing out several mistakes in Wang Moshan's poem and making him lose face.
After the Poetry Gathering ended, some people cornered him on the road, beat him viciously, and threw him into the snow.
And so his predecessor died.
Perhaps because they shared the same name, Jiang Tian's soul had crossed over into this battered body.
His predecessor's internal organs had suffered severe damage, and his foundations were ruined. His elder brother, Jiang Hai, had spent a fortune hiring a physician. Though the man had kept him alive, he had burned through what little life force the body had left.
By the time Jiang Tian crossed over, he had only a year left to live.
According to the physician, he had four or five years left.
But how the hell was that four or five years? What a damn quack!
"Damn it, I'd finally paid off the eight million in bank loans I owed after my business failed... and now I get this?"
Jiang Tian stared at the glaring "16/17" on the system panel. An unaccountable fury rose in his chest, but he had no idea who to direct it at.
His top priority now was to find a way to extend his pitifully short lifespan!
But what could he do?
Could he rely on this system?
Could evolving entries give him a few more years to live? Probably not, right?
Still, from his predecessor's memories, he knew that certain rare treasures of heaven and earth could prolong one's life. But which of those treasures wasn't worth a fortune?
Of course, there was another way to extend one's lifespan.
Once martial arts experts reached a certain realm, they could prolong their lives as well.
"Uncle! Uncle!"
As Jiang Tian's thoughts churned, a childish voice came through the door.
"U-Uncle, lunch is ready! Come eat!"
Jiang Tian turned toward the sound. A little girl as pretty as a porcelain doll pushed open the door and stumbled inside. Her cheeks were chubby, and her eyes were like two black jewels. She was his four-year-old niece, Jiang Yuexi.
The sight of her eased some of the sorrow in Jiang Tian's heart.
He was about to pick up his niece as usual when he suddenly froze.
A small system panel had appeared above Xiao Yuexi's head.
[Entry available for extraction detected] [Name: Jiang Yuexi] [Realm: None] [Entry: Gifted Intelligence (Green) (Available for extraction)]
Without hesitation, Jiang Tian thought, "Extract!"
The system had said the process wouldn't cause any harm. He had no reason to hesitate.
In an instant, the panel turned into a speck of glowing green light and shot into Jiang Tian's brow like a firefly.
[Entry Points: 100]
Jiang Tian glanced at the "Outstanding Comprehension (Green)" entry on the panel. It needed only seventy-three more points to evolve.
His gaze sharpened.
"Deep Blue... add points!"
"Whoosh!"
The panel trembled.
[Entry: Outstanding Comprehension (Green) → Innate Wisdom Root (Blue) (27+/1000)]
A wave of intense dizziness washed over him.
Mountains and rivers, the sun and moon, stars and dust, falling leaves and snow, dawn and dusk, the turning of the seasons... all kinds of strange images flashed through his mind like scenes on a revolving lantern.
"Uncle, what's wrong?"
Xiao Yuexi noticed the strange look on her uncle Jiang Tian's face. A deep look of worry appeared on her little face as she tugged at his sleeve.
"Your uncle's fine." Jiang Tian rubbed his brow and slowly opened his eyes.
His mind had never felt so clear.
Ancient poems his predecessor had seen only once and never memorized now surfaced in his mind without a single word missing. He could even clearly recall where they had been on the page.
Even his thoughts had grown faster.
Problems that once took him a while to untangle now seemed to answer themselves the moment they crossed his mind.
"So this... is Innate Wisdom Root?"
Jiang Tian marveled inwardly. The system's effects were far greater than he had imagined.
At that moment, most of the worry in his heart had faded.
Just then, a faint voice edged with coldness came from the kitchen beside them.
"Come eat."
"Coming, sister-in-law."
Jiang Tian hurriedly answered.
Before you continue