In 2220, a storm powerful enough to shake the entire Earth swept across the planet!
Things once found only in myths suddenly became commonplace all over the world!
Had you ever seen someone who could fly? Someone who could slice mountains and rivers apart with a single swing of their sword? Someone who could conjure flames that filled the sky with a wave of their hand?
After that storm, all of those things became reality!
With people like that around, even planes and artillery seemed insignificant in this new era.
Across the globe, those capable of flying through the skies and burrowing through the earth were collectively known as espers!
The storm itself came to be called the Spirit Energy Storm!
And the strength of each country was reflected in the power of its espers, shaping the global order.
The Earth was now ruled by three ancient, powerful nations.
Huaxia!
Northern Europe!
And the rising newcomer, North America!
Though North America was a young country, there had to be a reason it had so quickly become one of the most powerful nations on Earth!
Huaxia and Northern Europe, on the other hand, had existed for a full millennium. It was only natural that their territories held extraordinary beings as well!
After the storm, countless espers sprang up like shoots after the rain.
Before long, the nations had joined forces and established a highly precise system for measuring their strength.
They were ranked E, D, C, B, A, S, and Grandmaster!
Every Grandmaster-level esper was among the most powerful beings on Earth.
Their presence carried the same deterrent force as a nuclear bomb had before the storm!
Huaxia, Northern Europe, and North America had become the three most powerful countries on Earth solely because they had Grandmasters to guard them!
That was how they had secured their positions!
As more and more espers emerged, people everywhere took pride in the prospect of becoming one themselves!
Espers even held an exceptionally high status in society!
Three months after the storm, in a small city in Jiangnan, Huaxia, there was a place called Hancheng.
Hancheng was small but had everything one could need. It was nowhere near as prosperous or dazzling as the big cities, but it had a bit of everything.
In Hancheng's old neighborhood stood a run-down little house.
It was tiny, no more than twenty or thirty square meters.
Inside, a young man lay curled up beneath a thin blanket.
The cramped room held little besides a camp bed. Instant-noodle packets and cups littered the rest of the floor.
An old kettle still worked well enough to boil water.
Beyond that was a bathroom next door.
It was a rather shabby place.
The young man's face was pale, and his hand was clenched around a black stone. A faint, black light emanated from between his fingers.
The dim little room gradually began to glow.
But the light was black!
The young man's name was Yang Chen. He was an orphan.
After leaving the orphanage, he had settled in Hancheng and made a living by collecting scrap. One day, he found the black stone in a trash can. He thought it looked nice, so he kept it with him.
Nothing much had ever come of it.
But for some reason, today his finger had been cut by something sharp. Blood welled from the wound and dripped onto the black stone.
The stone suddenly exerted a powerful suction, drawing Yang Chen's blood straight from the cut.
It drained him until his face was deathly pale, nearly turning him into a dried husk!
Fortunately, the stone seemed to sense his condition and gradually stopped.
Then a cold voice appeared in Yang Chen's mind!
"Myriad Worlds Sign-in System activated!"
As the voice faded, a panel appeared in Yang Chen's mind.
Character: Yang Chen (Mortal!)
Constitution: None!
Title: None!
Level: Mortal!
Access: Sign-in! (Sign-ins remaining: 1!)
Shop: Locked!
It took Yang Chen a long time to make sense of the panel.
After all, he was just a scavenger. How good could his life be? Though the Spirit Energy Storm had improved everyone's constitution to some extent, going too long without proper nourishment still left a person weak!
"W-what is this?"
Yang Chen struggled to look at the panel before him. His mind was foggy, and he had no idea what was going on.
It took a while for Yang Chen to collect himself. Then he fell into thought.
As Yang Chen pondered, the system's voice rang out again.
"One sign-in opportunity detected. Would you like to use it?"
The cold voice immediately snapped Yang Chen back to his senses!
Yang Chen gave a bitter laugh.
"Is this a little something to spice up my miserable life? Go ahead!"
He didn't know what was happening, but since it had appeared inside him, he might as well use it. It probably wouldn't do him any harm.
Besides, he had nothing worth coveting. Nothing but his life!
No, even his life was hardly worth much.
So Yang Chen wasn't too worried!
"Signing in..."
A huge wheel suddenly appeared before Yang Chen and began to spin. A pointer stood upright at its center.
As time passed, the wheel gradually slowed to a stop. Beneath the pointer, several enormous characters came into view.
"Constitution Upgrade!"
Yang Chen's pupils contracted slightly. He didn't know what it meant, but he clearly remembered the earlier panel saying his constitution was that of a mortal.
Could this upgrade lift him beyond the mortal level?
Could he become an esper?
Yang Chen's hopes flared. He breathed heavily through his nostrils, staring fixedly at the words as he waited for a response.
Sure enough, the moment the wheel stopped, the system spoke.
"Constitution upgrade commencing. Sign-in entering cooldown. Cooldown: half a month."
Ding!
A crisp chime rang out, and an invisible force instantly enveloped Yang Chen's body.
Then Yang Chen felt his flesh and blood come alive. The cells in his body divided and grew stronger, while his bones cracked again and again.
A small vortex slowly took shape in Yang Chen's dantian. Streams of gentle energy gathered inside it, bringing a pleasant warmth.
As the warm energy entered his dantian, it flowed along his meridians and through his body.
As time passed, more and more energy filled Yang Chen from head to toe. Nourished by it, his body gradually brimmed with vitality.
A wonderful sensation spread through Yang Chen.
"That feels amazing!"
Yang Chen's brow relaxed, and delight filled his face.
At that moment, he felt as though he were soaking in a warm pool. His body and mind both relaxed completely.
Gradually, the energy began to fade.
Yang Chen realized the transformation was probably nearing its end!
Ding!
Another crisp chime pulled Yang Chen back to the present.
"Transformation complete!"
Yang Chen's half-closed eyes flew open, and a brilliant light flashed in them.
A powerful surge burst from Yang Chen's somewhat frail body, as if it had smashed through the roof of his little house and shot straight into the heavens!
Yang Chen stared at his hands in astonishment. He could hardly believe his body was capable of unleashing such tremendous power!
The panel appeared before Yang Chen once more.
Character: Yang Chen (Grandmaster!)
Constitution: Mortal Grade
Title: None!
Level: Mortal!
Access: Sign-in! (On cooldown. Cooldown: 15 days!)
Shop: Locked!
Yang Chen noticed two changes. One was that his name was now followed by Grandmaster. The other was that his constitution had become Mortal Grade!
"Grandmaster?"
Yang Chen could hardly believe it. On Earth, Grandmasters were the most powerful beings around. A country needed a Grandmaster to be considered a top-tier power!
And he had become one after a single sign-in?
It was almost too unreal to believe!
At the same time, thousands of miles away in the Imperial Capital, a young man sat in a courtyard house, gently wiping the blade resting across his thighs. His eyes were tender, as though he were gazing at his beloved.
Just then, the young man's brow lifted slightly. He looked south and murmured,
"The aura of a Grandmaster... Could Uncle Liu have succeeded?"
The young man's lips slowly curved into a smile, joy impossible to hide in his eyes.
"Now that Uncle Liu has succeeded, I can finally put this burden down."
The young man rose, slipped the blade into the sheath at his waist, and strode toward the door.
To be continued!
Before you continue