Chapter 1

In the year 2220, a storm capable of overturning the entire Earth swept across the globe!

Things that had previously existed only in myths and legends suddenly became common sights all over the planet.

Have you ever seen a person who could fly? Have you seen someone swing a sword and cleave mountains and rivers apart? Have you witnessed a scene where flames filled the sky with a mere wave of a hand?

After that storm, all of this became reality.

With the existence of such people, even airplanes and cannons became somewhat insignificant in this era.

Across the globe, these individuals capable of soaring through the skies and diving into the earth were collectively known as Awakened.

That storm was also called the Spirit Energy Storm.

The geopolitical landscape of every nation began to reflect its strength based on the power of its own Awakened.

The entire Earth was now dominated by three powerful, ancient nations.

Huaxia!

Northern Europe!

And the rising star, North America!

Although North America had a short history as a nation, its ability to rapidly become one of the top powers on Earth naturally meant it possessed its own extraordinary merits.

As for Huaxia and Northern Europe, they had been established for thousands of years, and their territories naturally contained some truly remarkable existences.

After experiencing that storm, countless Awakened sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, emerging in endless numbers.

However, regarding the strength of these Awakened, the nations soon joined forces to calculate an extremely accurate classification system.

It was divided into E, D, C, B, A, S, and Grandmaster!

Every Awakened at the Grandmaster level was a top-tier existence across the entire Earth.

They possessed a deterrent force comparable to a nuclear bomb from before the storm!

The reason Huaxia, Northern Europe, and North America were able to become the three most powerful nations on Earth was entirely because they had powerhouses of the Grandmaster level holding down the fort.

Only then could they sit securely in their positions.

With more and more Awakened appearing, all of humanity now took pride in being able to become an Awakened.

The status of Awakened in society was even exceptionally high.

Three months after that storm, in a small city in the Jiangnan region of Huaxia.

The city was named Hancheng.

Although Hancheng was small, it was complete with all the necessary facilities; while it lacked the prosperity and the glitz and glamour of a major metropolis, it had everything one could need.

In the old streets of Hancheng, there stood a somewhat dilapidated house.

The house was tiny, measuring only twenty or thirty square meters.

Inside this small house, a youth was curled up under a thin quilt.

The layout of the house was cramped, with no extra items; there was only a cot, and the rest was filled with bags of instant noodles or empty noodle cups.

There was an old kettle that could barely manage to boil water.

Beyond that, there was only the bathroom next door.

It was quite squalid.

The youth's face was pale, his fingers tightly clenched. Between those gripped fingers was a black stone, emitting a faint, dark radiance.

It made the already dim little house gradually begin to glow with color.

It was just that this glow was black.

The youth's name was Yang Chen. He was an orphan.

After leaving the orphanage, he had taken root in Hancheng, usually making a living by collecting scraps. Once, he had found this black stone in a trash can and, thinking it looked nice, had worn it on his person.

All this time, there had been no major changes.

But today, for some reason, his finger had been cut by something sharp, and as blood flowed out, it landed on the black stone.

Then, the stone suddenly emitted a powerful suction force, continuously drawing blood from the wound on his finger.

It continued until Yang Chen's face turned deathly pale, and he had nearly been drained dry!

Fortunately, the stone seemed to sense Yang Chen's physical condition and gradually stopped.

Then, a cold voice emerged in Yang Chen's mind!

"Myriad Worlds Sign-in System activated!"

As the voice fell, a screen appeared in Yang Chen's mind.

Character: Yang Chen (Mortal!)

Physique: None!

Title: None!

Level: Mortal!

Permission: Sign-in! (Remaining sign-in attempts: 1!)

Shop: Not unlocked!

It took Yang Chen a long while to be able to see this interface clearly.

After all, he was just a person who made a living by scavenging; how good could his quality of life be? Although the Spirit Energy Storm had swept through and improved the physique of everyone on Earth to some extent, a long-term lack of nutritional support still led to a relatively weak constitution!

"Wh-what is this?"

Yang Chen stared at the interface before him with great effort, his mind a blur, unable to figure out what was going on.

After a good while, Yang Chen gradually came to his senses and began to ponder.

Just as Yang Chen was deep in thought, the system's voice rang out once again.

"Host detected with one sign-in attempt. Would you like to use it?"

That cold, mechanical voice instantly pulled Yang Chen back to reality!

Yang Chen gave a bitter smile.

"Is this supposed to be an additive to my miserable life? Use it, then!"

Although he didn't know what was going on, since it had appeared within his own body, he might as well use it; there shouldn't be any harm in it.

Besides, he had nothing left that anyone would want to covet, except for this life of his!

No, even this life was nothing more than a worthless one.

Therefore, Yang Chen wasn't very worried!

"Signing in..."

A massive wheel suddenly appeared before Yang Chen's eyes, spinning violently with a pointer standing upright.

As time passed, the wheel gradually came to a stop, and on the side where the pointer rested, several large characters appeared.

"Physique Enhancement!"

Yang Chen's pupils constricted slightly. Although he didn't know what it meant, he clearly remembered from the previous interface that his physique was apparently that of a mortal?

And this physique enhancement—could it be that it would elevate him from a mortal?

Wouldn't that make him an esper!

For a moment, Yang Chen's mind became active, his nostrils flaring as he breathed heavily, staring fixedly at those large characters, waiting for a response.

Sure enough, the moment the wheel stopped, the system's voice rang out.

"Physique Enhancement initiated. Sign-in has entered cooldown. Cooldown time: fifteen days!"

Ding!

A crisp sound rang out, and then Yang Chen felt an invisible force instantly envelop his body.

Following that, Yang Chen felt as if his flesh and blood had come alive; the cells in his body were constantly dividing and then strengthening, while his bones emitted a series of crisp cracks.

At Yang Chen's dantian, a small vortex seemed to slowly emerge, and wisps of gentle energy began to condense within his dantian, feeling extremely warm.

As that warm energy entered his dantian, it flowed along his meridians and into Yang Chen's body.

As time went on, more and more energy filled Yang Chen's entire body, and under the nourishment of this energy, his physique gradually became more and more vibrant.

A feeling of comfort flooded Yang Chen's entire heart.

"Awesome!"

Yang Chen's brows smoothed out, and his face was filled with intense joy.

At this moment, Yang Chen felt as if he were soaking in a pool of warm water; both his body and his mind were receiving immense relaxation.

Gradually, the energy began to thin out.

Yang Chen knew that perhaps the transformation had reached its end!

Ding!

Another crisp sound pulled Yang Chen's thoughts back.

"Transformation complete!"

Yang Chen's slightly closed eyes snapped open, and a flash of divine light burst forth.

A powerful ripple instantly erupted from Yang Chen's somewhat thin frame! It seemed to pierce directly through his small house and shoot straight up into the clouds!

Yang Chen looked at his hands in shock, unable to believe for a moment that his body could erupt with such powerful strength!

The interface appeared before Yang Chen's eyes once again.

Character: Yang Chen (Grandmaster!)

Physique: Mortal Grade

Title: None!

Level: Mortal!

Permission: Sign-in! (On cooldown, cooldown time: 15 days!)

Shop: Not yet unlocked!

Yang Chen noticed two changes: next to his name, it had been updated to Grandmaster, and his physique had changed to Mortal Grade!

Grandmaster, huh?

Yang Chen found it hard to believe, because on Earth, a Grandmaster was the pinnacle of existence. Only a nation that possessed a Grandmaster could be considered a top-tier hegemon!

And he had become a Grandmaster after just one sign-in?

This was simply too dreamlike!

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the Imperial Capital, inside a courtyard house, a young man was gently wiping a blade resting on his thigh. His eyes were filled with extreme tenderness, as if he were looking at his own lover.

At this moment, the young man's eyebrows twitched slightly. He looked toward the south, his lips moving ever so slightly.

"The aura of a Grandmaster... in the south? Could Uncle Liu have succeeded?"

Then, the corners of the young man's mouth slowly curled upward, his eyes brimming with unconcealable joy.

"Since Uncle Liu has succeeded, I can finally set down this heavy burden."

The young man then slowly rose to his feet, gently slid the blade into the scabbard at his waist, and strode toward the door.

To be continued!