"Pfft!"
The sound of a cold spear piercing flesh, accompanied by a terrible scream, erupted across the smoke-choked battlefield.
Li Xuancang's eyes flew open. A searing pain spread from his shoulder through his entire body, and the stench of blood filled his nostrils.
"Where am I?"
He looked around. Two groups of people were fighting with cold weapons, like something straight out of a movie.
"Ah!"
Before he could make sense of anything, a stab of agony struck. It felt as if his soul had been forcibly torn apart and stuffed with unfamiliar memories, leaving his head splitting with pain.
After a while, the pain gradually eased. He now had another set of memories, as if he himself had lived two entirely different lives in two parallel worlds—as if he had personally experienced both.
He looked down to see himself dressed in a threadbare coarse-cloth uniform, soaked in blood.
A deep gash split his shoulder, cutting down to the bone, and blood would not stop flowing.
"Damn it! The Barbarians are charging! Hold the line!"
"I don't want to die! Somebody, save me!"
"Kill! We'll fight these Barbarians to the death!"
"..."
Li Xuancang absorbed the memories, and at once understood the situation.
This was the Wild Continent, a world plunged into chaos by demons, where the Myriad Races stood side by side.
Though the Human Race was powerful, it was surrounded by countless formidable foes. Its territory was constantly being devoured, Barbarians battered at the borders, demons devoured people, and commoners were worth less than grass.
The Great Flame Dynasty, where he now found himself, was beset by unending border wars, crushing taxes, and brutal corvée labor.
The original owner had been an ordinary farmer's son from Azure Creek Village. Everyone in his family was a mortal.
Two years ago, his family had been unable to pay their taxes, and he had been dragged off to serve in the army at Lakeside Station.
Two years away from home, with a thousand miles between them and a perilous journey to boot.
His family consisted of his elderly, frail parents, his eldest sister, who was already married, and his still-young little sister.
In this world overrun by demons and squeezed dry by officials, an ordinary farming family struggled on the brink of life and death every moment.
The original owner had long hoped to endure his military service, return home alive, and protect his family.
But the brutal flames of war on the frontier had eventually crushed that humble wish.
Today's battle had erupted, leaving him gravely wounded and on the verge of death. In the end, that was how Li Xuancang, who had come from Blue Star, took over this broken body.
"Of all places, why did I have to end up in this demon-ridden world? And as a border soldier who could die any day..."
Li Xuancang's heart turned cold, and despair engulfed him in an instant.
He had no cultivation, no backing, and was badly injured.
In this mountain of corpses and sea of blood, in his current state, he wouldn't last the time it took an incense stick to burn.
"Hahaha! Kill them all!"
The Barbarian soldiers in the distance advanced step by step, their eyes bloodthirsty. The shadow of death had him firmly in its grip.
Was he really going to die on the battlefield as soon as he got here?
Li Xuancang was unwilling to accept it, but there was nothing he could do.
[Ding! Host's life is in danger. Binding conditions met. Daily Enhancement activated.]
[Only effect: Permanent 1% increase in strength every day, with no upper limit, no cooldown, and no side effects!]
A cold, mechanical voice rang out abruptly in his mind.
Li Xuancang's pupils shrank. A blazing light flared within his deadened heart.
A permanent 1% increase in strength every day, without end and with no upper limit.
As the years went by, this strength would become unimaginably terrifying.
As long as he survived, he could grow infinitely stronger.
In that instant, Li Xuancang had only one thought: survive. As long as he lived, he could have everything.
He wasn't just going to live for himself.
In a distant village, his family awaited—the beloved kin of the body he now inhabited.
His timid, ordinary parents, his gentle yet resilient eldest sister, and his young, helpless little sister.
The world was merciless, demons roamed everywhere, and officials and powerful families wantonly oppressed mortals.
If he died here, the farming household that had lost its only son would only march toward ruin, step by step, amid crushing taxes, demonic calamities, hunger, and cold.
"I'm going to survive."
"I'm going to grow stronger."
"I'm going to climb the ranks, secure a military position, wield authority, and protect my family."
"..."
Li Xuancang clenched his bloodstained fist, his gaze utterly resolute.
A Barbarian soldier had already rushed up to him. His curved saber gleamed coldly as he swung it straight at Li Xuancang's head.
"Die, you Great Flame scum!"
The Barbarian soldier grinned savagely, his face twisted with cruelty. His curved saber swept down with a gust of wind.
Li Xuancang endured the pain in his shoulder. His instinct to survive pushed his body to its limits, and he desperately twisted aside.
He barely dodged the fatal strike. The saber grazed his neck, leaving a shallow cut.
"Hm?"
Seeing Li Xuancang evade the blow meant to take his life, the Barbarian looked surprised. He stepped in close, ready to strike again.
"Boom!"
At that moment, a gentle warmth surged through Li Xuancang's limbs and bones.
His aching muscles regained their strength, his weakened body brimmed with vitality, and a subtle but genuine increase in strength settled over him.
It was only one percent, a tiny amount, but in this desperate situation, it was crucial.
Li Xuancang's gaze sharpened. He gripped the broken iron spear in his hand and summoned every last bit of strength in his body.
The original owner had been a farmer's son, accustomed to years of labor, and his physique was decent.
Over the past two years, he had also received some battle formation training and built up considerable strength.
"Pfft!"
He thrust his spear, slashing the other man's arm.
"Argh!"
The Barbarian cried out in pain. His eyes bloodshot, he flew into a rage and brought his curved saber down hard at Li Xuancang.
"Then let's do this!"
With death at his heels, Li Xuancang had no choice but to stand his ground. His body wouldn't let him dodge.
He staked everything on one desperate gamble, channeling every ounce of his strength into his spear and thrusting it at the Barbarian's chest while the man was blinded by rage.
"Pfft!"
A longer weapon had the advantage. In that split second between life and death, the spear pierced the Barbarian's chest.
"Argh!"
With a roar, Li Xuancang pushed beyond his body's limits and twisted his wrist hard, wrenching the iron spear in the wound. The instant the enemy stiffened in pain, he stepped forward.
He unleashed what little strength remained and drove the spear through the Barbarian's heart.
"Argh!"
The Barbarian let out a scream as blood gushed from him. His curved saber fell to the ground, and his body went rigid.
"Thud!"
The Barbarian's eyes widened as he crashed to the ground, his last breath gone.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
After killing his enemy, Li Xuancang was utterly spent. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, without even enough strength to move a finger.
Looking at the corpse beside him, he felt no dread at having killed someone, only the relief of having survived by the skin of his teeth.
"Kill!"
The sound of battle echoed across the field. Li Xuancang's heart sank.
He had no strength left at all. He could only lie helpless, and any Barbarian could end his life.
No matter how unwilling he was, Li Xuancang could do nothing to turn things around. He could only wait for death to come.
"They're here! Our reinforcements are here!"
Just as Li Xuancang had fallen into despair and resigned himself to death, a thunderous cheer erupted from the Great Flame Dynasty's forces. A troop of several hundred rushed toward them from the rear.
Before you continue