The Protagonist, Suppress Before Exalting!

The system did not reply.

Images began to appear on the screen.

A scene of a bountiful rice field unfolded, where a young man slowly stood up.

Yun Ming stared at the man who looked exactly like him, even dressed identically, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Should he change his clothes first before anything else?

In the image, Simulation Yun Ming slowly rose, a hint of confusion in his eyes as he looked around, trying to find any familiar trace.

The nearby farmers cast curious glances at this sudden stranger.

"Young man, where did you come from?" one farmer asked curiously.

Simulation Yun Ming didn't answer right away, instead countering, "Where is this place?"

His voice carried a note of doubt and inquiry.

"This is Longxi, Qi Kingdom," the farmer replied.

Hearing this, Simulation Yun Ming fell into thought.

He muttered to himself, "Qi Kingdom, Li Maozhen, the Empress..."

A contemplative expression crossed Simulation Yun Ming's face.

After glancing at the farmer, he cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thanks."

"According to the setting, this is the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period—an era of martial chaos and heroes rising," Simulation Yun Ming pondered inwardly. "There's no way to learn martial arts, no connections. And I'm just an ordinary man. To survive in this turbulent world, I have to take a gamble and join the army."

You know well that in chaotic times, human life is as cheap as grass. You must find a powerful force to rely on.

You decide to join the Qi Army, hoping to make a name for yourself, earn the Empress's favor, and eventually obtain Martial Arts Manuals.

With a decent physical condition meeting the army's requirements, you successfully enlist in the Qi Army, becoming a lowly soldier.

However, your early days in the army are far from smooth. The cook demands silver from you, but you're penniless. As a result, you get beaten black and blue by other Soldiers. Worse still, you're assigned to scrub toilets.

Your heart burns with anger and resentment, and you silently vow to one day wipe out everyone who bullied you.

Yun Ming, who was in the middle of changing clothes, suddenly received a string of system notifications and froze.

Looking out the window, he saw his simulation self, face swollen with bruises, scrubbing a toilet with tears in his eyes.

"No way."

Yun Ming's face darkened. "This is brutal!"

"And it's live-streaming! Is the whole world watching me scrub a toilet?" The thought alone made Yun Ming feel mortified.

If he didn't manage to rise to prominence later, he'd be a laughingstock.

"I should've picked a House of Royalty—a better starting identity would've helped."

Yun Ming frowned. Even with Tenfold Cultivation Speed, he still needed Martial Arts Manuals in hand.

As a pure commoner, where was he supposed to get Martial Arts Manuals?

Moreover, Yun Ming suddenly realized another problem.

He didn't even understand the human meridian system. Even with a manual, it would be tough.

Angel Nebula.

"This is way too tragic, isn't it?" The angels gathered in the Royal Palace, eyes fixed on the Light Screen showing the battered man.

"Beaten every three days, thrashed every five!"

The angels buzzed with discussion, brows furrowed, feeling both sympathy for the man's plight and outrage at the brutal scene.

As angels, they despised the strong bullying the weak.

"What is this thing? Why are we being made to watch this?" Angel Zhui frowned, her Willow Eyebrows knitting together.

Her voice carried dissatisfaction and confusion about the Light Screen's appearance.

"Just showing this guy getting bullied—isn't that ridiculous?" Angel Leng's lips curled into a mocking smirk.

Angel Yan analyzed in a low voice, "Things might not be as simple as they seem. Judging by the background, it appears to be a cold-weapon era, a place with relatively backward civilization. I've traveled through countless civilizations and seen many lowly individuals who, through their own effort and wit, eventually rose to become leaders of civilizations, writing legendary chapters."

"Perhaps this Light Screen is showing the protagonist's legendary story."

"Tch!"

Angel Leng's eyes were full of disdain and contempt. "Which one of us angels isn't a legend?"

They had fought countless battles and weathered countless storms—they were legends themselves!

"Let's keep watching."

Holy Keisha sat high on her throne, gently swinging her crossed leg. She said nothing more, only staring deeply at the Light Screen.

Meanwhile, on the distant Blue Star, Du Kao and Lian Feng were also focused on the Light Screen's content.

"The name Li Maozhen sounds familiar," Du Kao said, frowning in thought, his face full of confusion.

Lian Feng quickly pulled up relevant data and replied, "General, you've forgotten—he was a figure from the late Tang Dynasty, who later became the King of the Qi Kingdom."

Du Kao suddenly realized—he had been active during the Tang Dynasty, but it was so long ago that he hadn't recalled it at first.

Still, the confusion in his mind didn't fade: "What exactly are they trying to convey by showing this?"

Lian Feng also furrowed her brow, staring at the sky screen.

She shook her head helplessly. "At the start, this man is wearing modern clothes, yet he suddenly appears in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Could this be time travel? As absurd as it sounds, everything this light screen has shown is completely beyond our understanding. I'm sorry, but I don't know its true intent either."

"."

"What a waste!"

At the edge of the deck, Qiang Wei's sharp eyes fixed on the protagonist being humiliated in the scene.

She let out a cold snort, disdainful and dissatisfied. "If it were me, I'd fight to the death. I'd take those bastards down with me and never let them off easy."

Cheng Yaowen's weathered face showed calm rationality.

He gently shook his head, disagreeing with Qiang Wei's fierce words. "Qiang Wei, you only have one life. Once it's gone, there's no getting it back. If you die, you lose everything—including the chance for revenge."

Ge Xiaolun nodded in agreement, speaking naively. "Yaowen's right. Where there's life, there's hope. Besides, maybe this is heaven's way of testing him—'When heaven is about to place a great burden on a man, it first strains his muscles and starves his body.'"

Qiang Wei replied flatly, "A scholar can be killed, not humiliated—that's my bottom line. People fight for pride, just as Buddhas fight for incense. I'll never let anyone trample my dignity."

Zhao Xin cut in with a grin. "Qiang Wei, would you rather be a hero for five seconds—brief and brilliant—or a coward for life, fading into obscurity?"

Willow Eyebrows arched in displeasure as Qi Lin retorted, "If they pull this kind of crap, aren't they afraid of getting stabbed in the back on the battlefield? An army that's vicious to its own is nothing but a coward abroad. They'd collapse at the first clash, utterly useless."

Lei Na had somehow found a bag of chips. She sat on the deck, munching leisurely while commenting on the scene. "This guy's the protagonist, you know. He's bound to become amazing later. Right now, it's just his growth and transformation."

To her, it was simple—protagonists always start low before they rise high.