Inheritance Trial (Revised)

Ding!

You possess two Imperial Bloodlines. One is the Tang Imperial Bloodline, and the other is the Qin Imperial Bloodline. Please choose one bloodline to undergo the Inheritance Trial.

Warning!

You only have one chance at the Inheritance Trial. If you fail, you will lose all qualifications for inheritance.

"An Inheritance Trial? Tang Imperial Bloodline? Qin Imperial Bloodline?"

At that moment, Zhao Fu stood in a gray, misty space. Hearing these prompts, he looked utterly bewildered, unable to understand what was happening. He remembered gripping a crystal before suddenly passing out, only to enter this strange space afterward.

Although he did not understand what an Inheritance Trial was, the moment Zhao Fu heard "Tang Imperial Bloodline," he could not help gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Even in death, he would never forget what had happened on that rainy day. His heart was filled with disgust toward that bloodline.

As far as he knew, the Li Family was rumored to possess the descendants of the Great Tang imperial family, while the Great Qin Imperial Bloodline was likely inherited through his mother's side. Thus, Zhao Fu chose the Great Qin Imperial Bloodline without hesitation.

Selection complete!

An altar nearly a hundred meters tall slowly emerged before Zhao Fu. It was built from black stone blocks, each step nine inches high and half a meter wide. The stairs rose one after another into the clouds, and the entire altar gave off an ancient, majestic, solemn feeling.

Zhao Fu stepped onto the stone stairs and immediately felt his body grow heavy as a force pressed down on him. At first, the force was not too strong, but as Zhao Fu climbed step by step, the pressure upon him steadily increased.

Before he had even reached halfway up the altar, bean-sized drops of sweat covered Zhao Fu's body, soaking him completely. He could barely stand on the steps, swaying as though he might collapse at any moment.

Yet Zhao Fu still gritted his teeth and persevered, climbing the stone stairs step by step. Soon, illusions began to appear. At first, they were enchanting beauties, then visions of power and wealth appeared one after another.

These illusions might have trapped ordinary people within them, leaving them unable to break free. However, they could not stir even the slightest ripple in Zhao Fu's cold heart.

In the end, though the process had been arduous, Zhao Fu finally stood atop the altar. His mind was completely clear, yet countless scenes suddenly flashed through it—everything concerning the rise, prosperity, and fall of the Great Qin Empire.

Scene after scene appeared before him like a film. Qin's ancestor, "Qin Feizi," had been granted a small fief by the "Zhou King" after earning merit by raising horses, establishing a vassal state.

Then Qin King Zheng ascended the throne and, within ten years, destroyed the six states, unified the world, and established a Huaxia dynasty—the "Qin Dynasty."

And finally, Qin King Ying surrendered to Liu, and the Qin Dynasty perished.

Zhao Fu stared blankly at everything as though he were personally experiencing it. Great Qin's rise filled him with surging passion, while its fall left him feeling desolate.

Suddenly!

Zhao Fu felt as though his blood were burning, as though Flame had set his entire body ablaze. The burning spread from within to without, yet it was not painful. Instead, it felt warm and comfortable, like soaking in a hot spring during winter.

Then, Zhao Fu slowly opened his eyes.

A figure appeared before him. He wore a Black Gold Dragon-Patterned Robe and stood with his hands behind his back, his expression majestic. His eyes looked down upon the world, and an unmatched, unrivaled dominance radiated from his body. He was Qin Emperor... Zheng!

Zheng scrutinized Zhao Fu with his eyes before a faint smile appeared on his face. "From now on, Great Qin is entrusted to you!"

After saying that, Zheng's figure slowly disappeared, and a cube emitting purple light appeared at the center of the altar.

Though he had already somewhat expected it, Zhao Fu was still slightly shocked. The bloodline he possessed belonged to the Great Qin Empire that had ended the Warring States Era, and now he was to shoulder the rise of an empire.

After pondering for a while, Zhao Fu walked forward and grabbed the glowing cube. After a wave of dizziness, he appeared within a forest.

The trees in this forest were extremely dense and enormous. The tallest were several hundred meters high and more than ten meters thick, their dense canopies blotting out the sky and sun.

Although it was daytime, very little sunlight reached the ground. These trees also grew in all sorts of strange shapes. Some resembled humans, some resembled beasts, and their expressions seemed to show struggle, pain, or ferocity. Combined with the dim surroundings, the entire forest appeared rather terrifying.

He had not expected to begin in such a place. After obtaining the inheritance, Zhao Fu received some information. First, he looked over himself. He wore a rough linen shirt and trousers, with cloth shoes on his feet. Other than that, he had nothing.

Following the simple system's prompt, he summoned his status window.

Name: Zhao Fu

Title: None

Class: None

Battle Merit: Civilian (0/200)

Race: Human

Lifespan: 21 (100)

Attributes: Strength: 5 Intelligence: 8 Constitution: 4 Agility: 6

Cultivation: Zero Stage

Cultivation Technique: None

Skills: None

Equipment: Rough Cloth Shirt, Cloth Shoes, Rough Cloth Trousers

After looking over his attributes, Zhao Fu found that his Strength and Constitution were somewhat weak. His current attributes were based on his body in the real world. If one exercised regularly in reality and had good physical fitness, their attributes would be better. Conversely, if one was physically weak, their displayed attributes would also be weak.

As for the world he was currently in, it was called the Apocalypse World. Its area was dozens of times larger than Earth's. Zhao Fu had only entered this world with his soul, while his physical body remained in the real world. It was quite similar to the settings in some online game novels.

Time in the Apocalypse World differed from reality. One day in the real world equaled three days here. Dying in this world would not mean true death, but one would be unable to log in for ten days, and all levels, equipment, and skills would be reset to zero.

More importantly, this world was not safe. Besides humans, countless other races lived here, as well as innumerable terrifying magical beasts.

Ordinary people entering the Apocalypse World would usually spawn in a system main city. However, because of the Inheritance Trial, Zhao Fu's spawn point had deviated from the system main city.

Zhao Fu quickly found a secluded patch of land in the mountains, took out the cube, and pressed it against the ground. A prompt immediately sounded!

Use the Inheritance Stone? Yes/No

Zhao Fu chose "Yes!"

The cube on the ground emitted waves of light that spread outward like ripples on water. Then, an invisible force enveloped everything within a one-li radius. In the next instant, all grass, trees, and flowers within that radius vanished, leaving behind a flat expanse of ground.

Several phantom buildings slowly appeared. One was a thatched house with two rooms, labeled [Village Chief Hall]. Another contained a furnace and had a flag hanging outside, labeled [Blacksmith Shop]. One thatched house contained many simple clothes and was labeled [Tailor Shop]. Another thatched house held all kinds of bottled medicines and was labeled [apothecary].

There was also a circular platform built from stone bricks, labeled [Land of Origin]. In addition, another thatched house contained five stone tablets, labeled [Class Transfer].