Golden Legend at the Start!

Jia Ma Empire, Qingshan Town.

The sun had just risen. Inside an ordinary wooden house, Mu Chen looked suspiciously at everything around him. His home was not supposed to look like this.

Mu Chen muttered, "Damn, I stayed up too long binge-reading. I'm hallucinating now."

Just then, a torrent of information continuously surged into his mind. The needle-like pain made Mu Chen suck in cold breaths again and again. After quite a while, he slowly rubbed his forehead, his eyes holding thirty percent fear and seventy percent delight.

"Holy shit! I actually transmigrated!"

"Dou Qi, Qingshan Town? Fuck, this is Horse Breaks the Heavens! No, Battle Through the Heavens! Damn... I almost got brainwashed."

Mu Chen was a little dazed. He had transmigrated into the world of Battle Through the Heavens just from sneezing! Wasn't that absurd?

Perhaps because he had transmigrated bodily, Mu Chen had replaced someone in this world with the same name and surname as himself, merging with all of that person's memories.

"Damn, this is way too tragic. Seventeen years old and only at the fifth stage of Dou Qi. And because he couldn't pay the 'protection fee' these past two days, the Bali Brothers nearly beat him into a cripple. He was dying in bed, then my transmigration happened, and he didn't even leave behind any ashes..."

Mu Chen's face was full of sympathy. Ending up in such a miserable state was truly pitiful. Mu Chen said solemnly, "Since Heaven has allowed me to replace you, your grudges are my grudges.

"The Bali Brothers..."

As if recalling something, Mu Chen hurried over to a mirror in the corner.

The person in the mirror had a sturdy build. The thin fabric covering his body could not conceal his clearly defined muscles. He stood nearly 1.8 meters tall, with sharply chiseled features and fair skin. Yet his face still carried a trace of youthful immaturity. Judging by his appearance, he was around seventeen years old.

"I really am several years younger."

Mu Chen flexed his wrist. His body felt much lighter and stronger. Having inherited that pitiful fifth-stage Dou Qi, he was actually somewhat stronger than he had been at his peak in his previous life.

However, Mu Chen, who had thoroughly read the original novel, understood clearly that fifth-stage Dou Qi was absolutely among the lowest tiers on the continent. Such people were targets anyone could bully at will.

After all, who wouldn't want to find a sense of superiority by picking on a soft target?

"So... System, are you there? I'm a little nervous," Mu Chen said tentatively after seeing no one around.

He could not help being nervous. At seventeen, he was still wandering below the level of a Dou Zhe. He could not even touch the threshold of being called a genius.

In the original owner's memories, there was only a common, low-tier Yellow-class Dou Technique. He did not even have the worst cultivation technique, and he was a lone warrior besides! This treatment was downright shabby.

Although Mu Chen had practiced fighting techniques for two years, he understood that such methods were simply not worth mentioning before powerful Dou Techniques.

"Loading system template..."

"Binding complete. Host Mu Chen, one beginner's gift pack detected. Would you like to open it?"

The voice in his mind finally put Mu Chen at ease. He grinned and said with a rather punchable expression, "The System really is standard equipment for transmigrators. The ancients truly did not deceive me."

"Open it!"

As soon as he spoke, Mu Feng felt the world before him immediately blur. A palm-sized gift box tied with a golden ribbon bounced into view. Something inside seemed to be trying to burst out, causing the lid on top to bob up and down as though it were about to be sent flying, yet it fell just short every time.

Before Mu Chen could marvel at it, a ray of seven-colored light appeared from the void. Swaying like a drunken sprite, it drifted down onto the gift box.

In an instant, a crisp, ethereal chime rang out. Boundless golden flashes filled every corner of the world, turning Mu Chen's pupils golden.

"Whoa, Golden Legend!" Mu Chen nearly moaned, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the blurry object floating within the golden light, its outline faintly visible.

"A Golden Legend right from the start—what kind of treasure could it be? Gold represents nobility, and it's surrounded by ethereal radiance. It must be something incredible. Could it be the Flame Mantra cultivated by the protagonist?"

Mu Chen's breathing quickened. Though he still did not know what lay within the golden light, it would at least change his current awkward situation.

"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 100,000 gold coins."

"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained one Douzhe Cultivation Card."

"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained one Xuan Huang Flame."

"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained one Divine-Grade Talent Card."

"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the lower volume of the Origin Qi Manipulation Art."

Mu Chen patted his slightly stiff cheeks and drew in a cold breath, feeling his little heart pounding wildly.

As a fan of Battle Through the Heavens, Mu Chen naturally knew what the Xuan Huang Flame was. He had temporarily forgotten even the other two items that came afterward.

"A Heavenly Flame! Though it's ranked near the bottom among Heavenly Flames, it's still a Heavenly Flame. Ordinary people can search their entire lives without obtaining one.

"Didn't Gu He, a dignified sixth-tier alchemist, mobilize such a huge force for the sake of a Heavenly Flame, only to return empty-handed in misery?"

Mu Chen forcibly suppressed his excitement. Heavenly Flames were wonderful, but they were not something he, someone who was not even a Dou Zhe yet, could touch. Forcing himself to absorb it would be no different from playing with fire and getting burned. Mu Chen still had that much common sense.

At this moment, the golden light faded, and the rewards obtained from the beginner's gift pack transformed into streams of light that entered the System inventory.

Mu Chen closed his eyes, and information regarding the System's functions appeared in his mind. He examined it carefully, the delight on his face growing stronger and stronger.

Opening his eyes, Mu Chen clenched his fists and said with soaring ambition, "With the System by my side, becoming a Battle God will be no big deal."

With a flash of light, a blue card the size of a playing card appeared in Mu Chen's hand. The words "Dou Zhe" were inscribed on it in faint golden lines. Under Mu Chen's gaze, the card's information and rank emerged as well.

Douzhe Cultivation Card: Blue Quality!

Effect: After use, cultivation will rise directly to a one-star Dou Zhe, with no side effects.

According to the information Mu Chen had learned, item quality tiers from low to high were white, blue, purple, gold, and finally red.

"A single card can actually skip over Dou Qi, the most difficult stage to cultivate in the early phase! Blue items are already this powerful. I wonder how amazing the higher-tier purple, gold, and ultimate red items are?"

Mu Chen chose to use the Douzhe Cultivation Card without hesitation. Once his intention was conveyed, the card in his hand suddenly turned into countless tiny blue particles and merged into his palm.

Mu Chen felt as though a lock inside his body had been opened. The Dou Qi within him rose rapidly, his meridians were expanded, and his bones were tempered. His strength, speed, and other attributes were all greatly enhanced. The entire process took only three seconds.

"Damn, I feel like I could punch a cow to death now. This leveling speed is practically like riding a rocket—it just shoots upward.

"The System's stuff is seriously powerful."

Starting from the Dou Zhe realm, one could use cultivation techniques to assist their training. But just as Mu Chen was about to retrieve his cultivation technique, the somewhat dilapidated wooden door was kicked down.

The door shattered directly. Two burly men dressed as mercenaries barged in with fierce expressions. Upon seeing the frowning Mu Chen, one of them said mockingly, "Kid, you've delayed this month's 'protection fee' for three days already. If you don't hand it over today, it won't be as simple as getting beaten up. Believe it or not, I'll burn down this lousy wooden house of yours and cripple your Dou Qi."

The mercenary who spoke was called Bali. He possessed eighth-stage Dou Qi. Because his older brother was part of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, he often bullied and extorted ordinary people in town who were weaker than him.

Beside him stood his brother Bada, who also possessed seventh-stage Dou Qi. The original owner Mu Chen had replaced was frequently bullied by these two. Earlier, they had even beaten him half to death. Every month, he had to hand over the so-called "protection fee." They were notorious thugs in Qingshan Town.

Mu Chen sneered. "That suggestion you just made isn't bad. I'm planning to cripple your Dou Qi and break your arms and legs. Consider it a gift for the previous owner."

Bali froze for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Kid, are you still asleep? What a big mouth. I can't figure out where your confidence comes from. Have you forgotten how you used to kneel humbly before us?"

Unfortunately, Mu Chen gave no further explanation. Having accepted the original owner's memories, he could feel the humiliation the original owner had once suffered as if it were his own.

Bali only felt his vision blur, and Mu Chen was already in front of him. The moment he realized something was wrong and tried to strike first, Mu Chen naturally gave him no chance.

Mu Chen reached out, grabbed Bali by the hair, and slammed his head down. His right knee instantly drove upward into Bali's face, smashing it bloody. A miserable scream rang out. Mu Chen then viciously stomped on his chest and abdomen, shattering half his ribs and destroying the Dou Qi he had painstakingly cultivated. His attack was extremely ruthless.

By then, Bada had reacted and thrown a punch. Mu Chen curled his lips into a smile and struck later yet arrived first. Dou Qi energy swirled around his palm as he completely blocked the punch.

Mu Chen's expression turned cold. Grabbing Bada's fist, he twisted hard and directly bent Bada's arm into a twisted mess. With a pull, Bada screamed as Mu Chen yanked him over, then kicked him in the lower abdomen, destroying his Dou Qi.

"I said I'd break your arms and legs!"

Watching the two let out shrill screams as they rolled around the floor in agony, Mu Chen felt slightly uncomfortable, but he quickly recovered.

"The primitive law of the Dou Qi Continent has always been that the strong reign supreme! If I didn't have my current strength, I might be the one lying on the ground screaming miserably."

Mu Chen did not kill them. After taking the valuable items from their bodies, he threw the Bali Brothers out onto the street.

The commotion from the fight had already drawn plenty of attention. When people saw that those thrown out were the Bali Brothers, cheers immediately erupted from both sides of the street. This showed just how terrible their reputation had been.

Now that the Bali Brothers had been crippled by Mu Chen, the people they had bullied in the past clearly would not let such a good opportunity slip away. Their eventual fate was easy to imagine.

As the saying went, "A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall." Those two were backed by the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, so Mu Chen had no intention of staying at "home" and waiting for trouble to come knocking.

The strength of a one-star Dou Zhe was still a little too low.

After leaving the crowd, Mu Feng chose an inn and checked in.

There were still three good items in his inventory.