"Two hundred and ninety-nine."
"Three hundred."
"Three hundred and one."
"Three hundred and two."
Dawn streamed through the window into the cramped room. Bare-chested, the handsome young man sweated profusely as he did one-arm push-ups.
He only stopped when he heard a knock at the door.
"Xiao Yuan, Auntie's off to work. I left breakfast on the table, so remember to eat."
"Got it."
The door closed.
Jiang Yuan pushed off the floor with both hands, tightened his abdomen, and flipped to his feet. He let out a slow breath.
He glanced at the watch on his left wrist and asked, "Little Black, how long have I been exercising?"
A cute black cat appeared on the watch, standing on its hind legs. In an adorable voice, it said,
"Master got up early and exercised for one hour and seven minutes today. That's amazing, meow!"
Jiang Yuan nodded slightly.
His morning workout had consisted of ten rounds of Basic Martial Arts practice, ten sets of sit-ups with one hundred reps per set, and three hundred one-arm push-ups with each hand. It had taken him an hour in total.
That was a decent pace.
"Open the status panel," Jiang Yuan said softly.
[Character: Jiang Yuan] [Race: Human] [Level: Unranked] [Age: 17] [Stamina: 14] [Strength: 12+1] [Speed: 11] [Spirit: 15] [Cultivation Methods: Basic Martial Arts, Basic Breathing Method, Basic Body Tempering Method] [Evaluation: Weaker than an ant]
"Ugh, my stats are still as terrible as ever."
Jiang Yuan sighed and glanced at the time on his watch.
"Is it this late already?"
"Uh-oh, today's the awakening and class-change day. I can't be late."
After a rushed three-minute shower, Jiang Yuan quickly ate breakfast and headed out, boarding the Sky Rail to school.
The morning train was packed, but Jiang Yuan was lucky enough to snag a seat.
"Yaaawn..."
Jiang Yuan yawned as he sat on the Sky Rail.
Suddenly, the view outside the window brightened. The train had passed the towering Terminal Building, which stretched into the clouds.
Jiang Yuan leaned against the window and gazed out through the transparent glass, murmuring, "No matter how many times I see it, it's still breathtaking..."
The view before him was wide open. The Sky Rail was traveling a hundred meters above the ground.
Below lay a suburban residential area, where detached houses looked tiny. Straight ahead, enormous towers rose like a Steel Forest of buildings hundreds of meters tall. Sky Rail tracks crisscrossed the urban jungle, while all kinds of aircraft streaked through the air above the city, trailing light. The scene was intensely futuristic.
At the city's center stood the Giant Clock Tower, so tall its peak was nowhere to be seen.
Farther away, on the horizon, Jiang Yuan could just make out the cloud-shrouded Steel Wall rising into the sky. If he could see it at all, the weather must be good.
"Welcome aboard No. 51 Sky Rail Tram. Good morning to all passengers in Nanjiang City. It's another peaceful day," an AI-generated voice announced over the speakers.
"Here are this morning's top stories."
"Last night, a small-scale beast tide erupted from the Level-A Abyss in Area 13 outside the city. It was suppressed within half an hour by Qin Zhan, the city's garrison commander, and his forces, who killed a Level-Six ferocious beast."
"Sources say Liu He, principal of Nanjiang City's First Martial Arts Middle School, has broken through to Tier Seven and is a leading contender for the next city lord."
"Regarding the recent anomaly in the East Sea, experts believe it was very likely caused by a King Rank ferocious beast. The Sakura Country has sent an envoy to Great Xia to discuss the matter."
"A new Level-Seven Abyss has been discovered outside Beijiang City. The local Martial Artist Association is organizing martial artists to explore and clear it..."
"The annual Martial Dao College Entrance Exam will begin next month. This is a grand occasion for Great Xia, and it remains to be seen how many extraordinary talents and dark horses will capture everyone's attention this year. These students bear the hopes of countless parents and have trained tirelessly, day and night, all to get into the Martial Arts University of their dreams. Whatever the outcome, I'd like to say this to them: give it one more month of hard work. Honor your youth, and honor the martial way..."
Listening to the broadcast and watching the scenery outside, Jiang Yuan's thoughts wandered.
He had crossed into this world seventeen years ago.
He still couldn't tell whether he'd been transported to another world or to the future of his original one.
According to the history books, everything had followed the same course as in Jiang Yuan's original world up until 2024 AD, three hundred years ago. Then came 2025.
Everything changed.
That year, Abyssal planes suddenly descended across the world, and countless ferocious beasts poured out of them.
A thousand-meter-long dragon-like creature made its nest beneath the sea. A hundred-thousand-meter-tall tree appeared on the moon's northern hemisphere. Hundred-meter-tall demon wolves roared across the wilderness. Wherever the eerie Demon Shadow passed, disaster followed... Humanity's population was cut in half during the Great Cataclysm.
That year also came to be known as the first year of the Age of God Abandonment.
Fortunately, a full-dive game called the Heavenly Dao descended and merged with the real world!
The world expanded a hundredfold, and the game's quests, Instance Dungeons, equipment, items, and potions began appearing one after another.
Everyone gained a digitized game interface. They could gain experience and high-tier materials and equipment through cultivation and by killing ferocious beasts. Those who awakened exceptionally powerful talents soon became human powerhouses, embarking on the path to godhood, evolving to a higher level of existence, and fighting back against the Abyss!
A hundred years into the Age of God Abandonment, powerful people emerged in droves. People with all kinds of talents found their own classes. Meanwhile, humanity united, technology advanced by leaps and bounds, and a system of martial arts was established so ordinary people could cultivate and grow stronger too.
Two hundred years into the Age of God Abandonment, humanity flourished. One powerhouse after another reached the Demigod level. Some Abysses with low danger ratings were opened as places to level up, Martial Artist Associations and martial arts universities were established at every level to train the strong, and humanity began suppressing the Abyss's counterattacks...
And now, it was the 297th year of the Age of God Abandonment.
"Why are you so tired? Were you up late training last night?"
"Don't even ask. I secretly logged into Star Domain with my dad's account last night and watched a few female streamers doing martial arts. Man, those figures—unbelievable."
"That good, huh?!"
"Of course! Didn't you see how much my vitality dropped?"
Two high school students in uniform chatted nearby, excitedly discussing the suggestive female streamers.
Jiang Yuan wasn't interested. All he could think about was his awakening and class change.
He'd been born into an ordinary family in this life. His father, Jiang Damu, was a border sentry and a Tier-One Martial Artist with the Warrior class. He was stationed at the city wall year-round and rarely came home. His mother, Tao Chunru, had awakened a healing talent and changed class to become a doctor. She worked as a nurse at Beijiang City Third People's Hospital.
For now, he was staying with his aunt in Nanjiang City, where he lived with her family. His cousin was in her first year of high school.
Aside from being a transmigrator and retaining memories from the womb, Jiang Yuan was no different from any other ordinary boy at the bottom of society. He had no cheat like the ones in novels and no powerful family background. Apart from his handsome face, which had earned him the title of school heartthrob, he had nothing.
In this dangerous, terrifying, yet magnificent age, only those who awakened powerful talents and classes had the chance to become strong and change their fate.
"We've arrived at Martial Arts Middle School Station."
Before you continue