Border Soldier

"Pfft!"

The sound of a cold spear piercing flesh, accompanied by a shrill scream, erupted across the smoke-filled battlefield.

Li Xuancang snapped his eyes open. Intense pain spread from his shoulder throughout his entire body, and the stench of blood in the air rushed into his nostrils.

"Where is this?"

He looked around to see two groups of people hacking at each other with cold weapons, just like a scene from a movie.

"Ah!"

Before he could process anything further, a wave of agony struck him. It felt as if his soul were being forcibly torn apart and stuffed with foreign memories, leaving his head feeling as though it were splitting open.

A moment later, the pain gradually subsided, and he gained a new set of memories. It was as if he had lived two completely different lives in two parallel worlds, both of which he had experienced firsthand.

He looked down to see himself wearing a tattered, blood-stained coarse military uniform.

A wound deep enough to expose bone had been carved into his shoulder, and blood flowed from it incessantly.

"Damn it! The Barbarians are charging! Hold the line!"

"I don't want to die! Someone save me!"

"Kill! Fight these Barbarians to the death!"

"..."

Li Xuancang integrated the memories and immediately understood the current situation.

This was the Wild Continent, a world of chaos where Demons ran rampant and a myriad of races stood tall.

Although the Human Race was strong, they were surrounded by numerous powerful enemies. Their territory was constantly being encroached upon; Barbarians battered their borders, Demons devoured humans, and the lives of commoners were as cheap as blades of grass.

The Great Flame Dynasty he found himself in was plagued by endless border wars, heavy taxes, and brutal forced labor.

The original owner of this body was a common farm boy from Azure Creek Village, born to a family of ordinary mortals.

Two years ago, when his family couldn't pay their taxes, he was forcibly conscripted into service at Lakeside Station.

He had been away from home for two years, separated by a thousand miles of treacherous terrain.

Back home, he had elderly, frail parents, an eldest sister who had already married, and a younger sister who was still just a child.

In this world where Demons roamed and officials exploited the people, an ordinary farming family struggled on the edge of life and death every single moment.

The original owner had prayed day and night, hoping only to survive his service and return home to protect his family.

But the cruel fires of the border war had ultimately crushed that humble wish.

Today, a major battle had broken out, leaving him mortally wounded and allowing Li Xuancang, who had come from Blue Star, to take over this broken body.

"Why did I have to end up in this chaotic world of Demons? And as a piece of border cannon fodder with no future..."

Li Xuancang felt a chill in his heart, and despair instantly enveloped him.

He had no cultivation, no backing, and he was severely injured.

In this mountain of corpses and sea of blood, he wouldn't last a single incense stick's time in his current state.

"Hahaha, kill them all!"

In the distance, the Barbarian soldiers looked on with bloodthirsty eyes, closing in step by step. The shadow of death had locked onto him firmly.

Was he to be buried on the battlefield the moment he arrived?

Li Xuancang was unwilling to accept this, yet he was helpless.

[Ding! Detected that the host is in mortal danger. Binding conditions met. Daily Enhancement activated.]

[Unique Effect: Daily permanent strength increase of 1%. No upper limit, no cooldown, no side effects!]

A cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang through his mind.

Li Xuancang's pupils constricted, and a brilliant light ignited within his deadened heart.

A permanent one-percent increase in strength every day, never-ending, with no upper limit.

As time flowed on, this power would become unimaginably terrifying.

If he survived, he could become infinitely strong.

In an instant, Li Xuancang had only one thought: to survive. As long as he survived, he could have everything.

He wouldn't just live for himself.

In the distant village, his body's closest kin still remained.

His cowardly, ordinary parents, his gentle and resilient eldest sister, and his young, helpless little sister.

The chaotic world was heartless, Demons were everywhere, and officials and tyrants wantonly oppressed the common folk.

If he died here, his family—having lost their only son—would only sink into ruin, step by step, amidst heavy taxes, demonic disasters, and starvation.

"I must live."

"I must become stronger."

"I must climb up, obtain a military rank, hold power, and protect my family."

"..."

Li Xuancang clenched his blood-stained fist, his gaze unshakeably firm.

A barbarian soldier had already charged to his front, a cold, glinting scimitar slashing directly toward his head.

"Die, you Great Yan scum!"

The barbarian soldier grinned hideously, his face twisted with cruelty as the scimitar, wrapped in a gust of wind, descended ferociously.

Li Xuancang endured the searing pain in his shoulder, his survival instinct forcing his body to its limit as he desperately dodged to the side.

He barely avoided the lethal strike; the scimitar grazed his neck, leaving behind a shallow trail of blood.

"Hm?"

Seeing Li Xuancang evade his killing blow, the barbarian looked surprised, stepped closer, and prepared to strike again.

"Boom!"

At that very moment, a gentle, warm current instantly surged through every limb and bone of Li Xuancang's body.

His aching muscles regained their strength, his weakened physique brimmed with vitality, and a subtle yet tangible increase in power descended upon him.

Though it was only one percent, insignificant as it was, it was crucial in this desperate situation.

Li Xuancang's eyes sharpened as he gripped his broken iron spear, channeling every ounce of his strength.

The original owner of this body had been a farm boy, accustomed to years of labor, and possessed a decent physique.

Over the past two years, he had also received some battlefield training, granting him considerable strength.

"Pfft!"

He thrust his spear out, instantly gashing the opponent's arm.

"Ah!"

The barbarian cried out in pain, his eyes turning blood-red as his ferocity flared, and he hacked his scimitar fiercely toward Li Xuancang.

"Do or die!"

Between life and death, Li Xuancang chose not to dodge; his body would not allow it.

He gambled everything, pouring all his strength into the spear and thrusting it straight at the chest of the irrational barbarian.

"Squelch."

An inch longer meant an inch stronger; in that split second of life and death, the spear pierced the barbarian's chest.

"Ah!"

Li Xuancang let out a roar, pushing past his body's limits as he violently twisted his wrist, churning the iron spear in the wound and stepping forward the moment the enemy stiffened in pain.

He unleashed the last of his strength, and the spear pierced through the barbarian's heart.

"Ah!"

The barbarian let out a miserable shriek as blood gushed forth; the scimitar meant for Li Xuancang fell to the ground, and his body went rigid.

"Bang!"

The barbarian's eyes widened before he crashed to the ground, completely devoid of breath.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Having slain his enemy, Li Xuancang was exhausted, collapsing to the ground and gasping for air, lacking the strength to even move a finger.

Looking at the corpse beside him, he felt no terror at the killing, only the relief of having survived a brush with death.

"Kill!"

At that moment, the sounds of slaughter echoed across the battlefield, and Li Xuancang's heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

He had no strength left and was now at the mercy of others; any barbarian could end his life.

Even with all his unwillingness, Li Xuancang was powerless to change the outcome and could only wait for death to arrive.

"They're here, our reinforcements are here!"

Just as Li Xuancang was in the depths of despair, waiting for death, a heaven-shaking cheer erupted from the Great Flame Dynasty as a force of several hundred men charged rapidly from the rear.