Blank Historical Branch

"Failure meant being struck by a flying sword, pinned in place, and killed."

"Success meant a reward and a place in the second half of the match."

"Begin!"

The progress bar raced to completion.

The entire world fell silent.

The freak hung high in midair, his sword just a centimeter from Xu Yuan's nose.

But everything had stopped.

Xu Yuan felt even his breathing slow to a crawl.

He tried to raise his hand. He couldn't.

He tried to move. He couldn't do that either.

The heavy, stagnant void squeezed hard against his body, as though trying to reject him.

"Ah—"

Xu Yuan was suddenly "squeezed" out of that spacetime.

In an instant.

The entire gymnasium and the six-armed monster sped away like scenery outside a train window, vanishing from sight.

He felt himself hurtling through a dark ocean abyss at an unimaginable speed.

Perhaps an age passed. Perhaps only the snap of a finger.

Then, at some point.

A line of faintly glowing text appeared silently before his eyes:

"Current time: three days ago."

Xu Yuan felt himself slow down. In its place came an ever-stronger sensation of falling.

Light began to appear.

It was the fluorescent light above the classroom.

Then came the blackboard, the lectern, the desks and chairs, and the people.

Xu Yuan jerked his head up and found himself sitting in a classroom, an exercise book in his hands.

All around him, his classmates had their heads down, studying.

His deskmate slept with his head tipped back.

It was dark outside.

It was evening self-study.

Three days ago.

He really had returned to three days ago!

Where was the shop?

He glanced into empty space.

The shop opened at once, revealing the Apprentice Qi Refiner's Battle Prep Room.

The shelves were still bare.

There was only a black box labeled, "Gift pack delivered. Open it?"

You could've delivered it earlier, damn it!

I've already traveled back three days, and only now do you show up? I didn't even get to finish the fight!

"Open it."

Xu Yuan sighed regretfully and gave the command in his mind.

The black box opened at once.

Inside lay a blank slip of paper and a dull silver ring.

A slip of paper...

That counted as a reward?

With a thought from Xu Yuan, the slip appeared in his hand.

At the same time.

A line of faintly glowing text appeared on his retina:

"You have obtained the 'Blank Historical Branch.' Write down your wish, and the branch will immediately become reality."

Xu Yuan's heart tightened.

He had played all kinds of games, so the moment he saw "write down your wish," he understood how valuable this slip was.

Could it be—

Was this actually a special wish-granting item?

Then I've hit the jackpot!

He steadied himself and looked around. His classmates were all bent over their exercises. Only then did he take out a pen and write his wish on the blank slip:

"Please grant me one hundred wishes."

The moment he finished writing, all the text vanished.

The slip was blank again.

A new message flashed across his retina:

"Write a wish consistent with reality within 30 seconds, or the slip will disappear."

Wait!

Did that make you angry?

Xu Yuan sighed, looking a little forlorn.

It couldn't even grant a hundred wishes.

Every step in life was lined with thorns!

What should I write, then?

There was nothing else to write.

Only—

He picked up his pen and wrote:

"Grow stronger."

That should work!

In a world of cultivation, strength was everything.

His wish went with the current of this world. Surely there wouldn't be a problem!

Xu Yuan set down his pen and stared at the slip.

This time.

The words on the slip did not disappear.

Beneath the words he had written, new lines appeared in rapid succession:

"Historical branch established."

"This historical branch was born of your will and has not affected anything that happened in the past."

"Congratulations."

"You have gained a personal history known to no one:"

"Since junior high school, you have studied and trained desperately behind everyone's backs."

"You once practiced breathing and refined qi alone at midnight;"

"You also once shed sweat on the training grounds at four in the morning;"

"The sole witness, Yang Xiaobing, hid in the shadows and watched it all in silence, but never spoke a word."

"And now, without anyone else knowing—"

"You have broken through to Qi Refining First Layer."

Once all the text had appeared, the slip vanished.

Xu Yuan's heart shook.

What?!

You could grow stronger like this?

He sprang up, muttered, "Stomachache," and ran out of the classroom beneath his classmates' astonished gazes.

He swept into the restroom at the end of the hall like a gust of wind, found a stall, and locked the door.

It began!

A vibrant, flowing force quietly appeared within Xu Yuan.

"What is this..."

He raised a hand.

At his command, his five fingers began to glow faintly.

Spiritual energy!

I have spiritual energy!

At the same time.

Countless images surfaced in his mind.

Years of hard work, day after day.

Memorizing textbooks while walking, eating, even using the toilet; swinging a sword countless times on the training grounds; persisting with breathing exercises in the dead of night—

The memories surged in like a tide and became real, as though he could turn around and see the road he had traveled.

Xu Yuan closed his eyes, then opened them again.

The whole world looked clearer.

Without looking, he could sense movement all around him.

Light as a swallow.

A thousand pounds of strength in his hands (not really).

A mysterious force swirled in his lower abdomen. With a thought, he could summon it and direct it as easily as his own arm.

Could this be...

The legendary...

Chakra?

Bah, wrong universe.

Still.

This was spiritual energy!

It was the source of this world's wonders.

Xu Yuan thought for a moment, stepped out of the stall, gathered spiritual energy in his feet, and tried walking up the wall.

One step.

He didn't fall.

Two steps.

Still no fall.

Three steps, four steps, looking up at the sky, watching one star, two stars join into a line.

Stop!

This isn't the time to sing!

Xu Yuan took a few more steps and walked straight onto the mirror above the sinks. He turned around, put his hands in his pockets, and whistled.

The mirror was smooth.

But he didn't fall.

This power...

As long as I don't wear a skirt, it's perfect.

Quiet.

Quiet.

Silence—

Wonder and disbelief surged through Xu Yuan so strongly that he didn't want to say another word.

With spiritual energy, many techniques would unleash power as different as clouds and mud!

When the leaves danced in Konoha, maybe I could take a Zanpakutō out to sea and search for One Piece.

His life would never be the same!

The feeling of being remade from the bones up made Xu Yuan think, Everything before this was a life wasted.

"This is only Qi Refining First Layer. If I keep improving..."

He murmured under his breath, his heart burning with anticipation.

Since arriving in this world, he had either been pinned to death by a sword or been scrambling through a gunfight.

He hadn't even had time to examine the original owner's memories carefully.

In fact.

Cultivators in this world drew considerable attention.

They were not only powerful but genuine top-tier celebrities!

What livestream sales star could compare with a man who flew on a sword?

What actress could compare with a woman who commanded water, fire, and the five elements while remaining forever young?

For that very reason.

People in this world revered martial prowess.

Schools at every level emphasized physical training from childhood, and society hosted combat competitions of every rank.

Xu Yuan felt that was also why the body he had inherited was in such good shape.

Come to think of it...

A tiny slip of paper had brought him all the way to Qi Refining First Layer!

And he hadn't done a thing!

What the hell? It could actually "add history" directly!

Could I do that again?

Xu Yuan looked at his shop, only to find that its name had changed.

"Qi Refiners' Combat Prep Room."

The word "Trainees'" is gone.

The black box was still there.

The blank slip of paper had vanished, but a dull silver ring remained.

With a thought, Xu Yuan took out the ring.

"Final Enlightenment Ring."

"?? Set piece (1/2)."

"Effect: Increases cultivation speed by thirty percent. Qi Refining stage only."

"Obtain the other piece of the set to activate its set effect and the corresponding Identity Legacy."

"—At the right time, the ring will guide you."

Identity Legacy!

What was that supposed to be?

Xu Yuan searched the original owner's memories for what "legacy" meant.

Generally speaking,

only powerful, secret techniques were called legacies.

In that case, it should be able to boost his combat strength directly.

He had to get his hands on it!

Xu Yuan slipped the silver ring onto his finger and waited.

The ring did nothing.

Apparently, now was not "the right time."

So be it.

He would head back to class first.

He stepped down from the mirror, fetched some water, and cleaned its surface before leaving the restroom and returning to the classroom.

His classmates were all busy working through problems.

Only one or two looked up at him before lowering their heads and carrying on with their exercises.

Xu Yuan returned to his seat and gradually calmed down, taking in the tense, stifling atmosphere of the classroom.

That was senior year for you.

Even if you awakened spiritual power, it was useless if you didn't know how to use it.

You needed the right body of knowledge to put spiritual power to work!

All right, then.

Study hard and get into college!

That was youth!

Xu Yuan resolutely turned toward the blackboard.

On its right side, a line of large, forceful characters read:

"191 days until the College Entrance Examination."

That familiar sense of urgency.

Almost by reflex, Xu Yuan opened the workbook on his desk.

It was a senior-year alchemy exercise book. One thought question read:

"Your Alchemy Furnace is 12 meters long, 8 meters wide, and 6 meters high. A cube with edges 3 meters long is cut from one corner. What volume of medicinal liquid can the remaining space hold?"

"If, during alchemy, three times the standard amount of water vapor is added at the Kan position, the amount of Astral Wind infused is twice the amount of water vapor, and the quantity of Li Fire is 4.2 times that of the Astral Wind, will your furnace explode?"

"—Answer according to the Third Law of Full-Efficiency Furnace Operation."

Xu Yuan sat frozen for several breaths, then snapped the workbook shut with a smack and closed his eyes.

Who the hell wrote this question?

No, wait—

Why do I still have to go through senior year after transmigrating?

You might as well hang me from a bridge.