Transmigration

The moment his consciousness returned, An Baruch thought he was still dreaming.

Vague conversations drifted into his ears. He tried hard to open his eyes, but found his eyelids as heavy as if they were filled with lead. His body was wrapped in soft swaddling clothes, and the air smelled of candles and herbal medicine.

"Hogg, look, he's opened his eyes!"

A gentle woman's voice rang out, carrying irrepressible joy.

An managed to open a crack in his eyelids, and a woman's face appeared in his blurred vision. She had long chestnut hair and a pretty face that nonetheless showed exhaustion, and she was looking down at him with eyes full of maternal love.

Hogg? That name sounded a bit familiar.

"Let me see." A steady male voice drew closer, and then a sharply chiseled face came into view. The man had short brown hair and deep eyes, and looked to be around thirty years old. There was a unique aristocratic dignity between his brows, but at the moment it could not hide his excitement at becoming a father for the first time.

An's brain worked at lightning speed. Hogg... the Baruch Clan... Wushan Town... Dragonblood Warrior...

He suddenly widened his eyes, desperately trying to twist his neck to see the surrounding environment clearly. There was the antique stone house, the family crest hanging on the wall, the flickering flame on the candleholder, and a steward-like old man standing to one side with a smile.

This scene was far too familiar.

If he remembered correctly, this was the Yulan continent, the Holy Union, the Fenlai Kingdom, Wushan Town-the ancestral home of the Baruch Clan.

And he had just been born.

He had time-traveled.

An struggled to suppress the surging shock and sense of absurdity in his heart, trying to sort out his thoughts. The memories of his past life came flooding back like a tide-he had been an ordinary office worker, working nine-to-five, squeezing onto the subway, ordering takeout, and occasionally reading web novels to pass the time. Just yesterday... no, just the second before, he had worked overtime late into the night and fallen asleep slumped over his desk. Then there was no then.

Now he had become a newborn of the Baruch Clan, an infant in swaddling clothes.

"This child is really quiet." The steward Hiri leaned over to take a look and laughed, "Usually, babies cry and make a fuss for a good long while when they're born, but he's fine; no crying, no fussing, just staring with his eyes wide open."

Hogg also revealed a satisfied expression: "He has a calm disposition."

He remembered that in the original book, Linley had a younger brother named Wharton who was two and a half years younger than Linley and later awakened the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline. But twins? The original book had never mentioned Linley having a twin brother.

Could it be that because he transmigrated here, the timeline had changed?

"Hogg, give the child a name." The mother's gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.

Hogg pondered for a moment, his gaze falling upon the two infants lying side by side. Both little fellows had their eyes open, one quiet and steady, the other spirited and curious.

"The eldest is named Linley; we decided on that long ago," Hogg said. "As for the second..."

He paused, seeming to deliberate.

"Let's call him An," Hogg finally said. "An Baruch. In the ancient tongue, 'An' carries the meaning of unyielding perseverance. I hope that like this name, no matter what difficulties he encounters, he will be able to persist and keep walking forward."

An Baruch.

An silently committed this name to memory, and a strange feeling surged in his heart. The name from his past life had already grown hazy; from today onward, he was An.

At that moment, a pale golden light screen visible only to him appeared before his eyes, displaying a few lines of text:

[Heaven Rewards Diligence System activated] [Host: An Baruch] [Age: 0 years old] [Physique: Dragonblood Warrior bloodline (3% concentration, unawakened)] [Magical Talent: Pending detection] [Warrior Rank: None] [Magic Rank: None] [System Description: Every bit of effort the host puts forth will be rewarded. The longer the time invested and the higher the focus, the greater the gains. Critical strike bonuses can be triggered under specific conditions.] [Current Quest: Survive and grow up healthy.]

An was stunned.

A system? Heaven Rewards Diligence?

He had read countless web novels in his past life and was not unfamiliar with the system genre. Yet he never expected that after transmigrating, he would actually be gifted a cheat.

He carefully read the system description, and excitement gradually welled up within his heart.

The original book's Linley had Grandpa Doehring from the Coiling Dragon Ring to teach him, possessed the bloodlines of the Four Ultimate Warriors, and was blessed by Sovereign's Might, making him someone favored by the heavens in every way. Although he was now Linley's twin brother, there was simply no place for him in the original plotline, and whether he could live to the end was an unknown.

Yet this system gave him hope.

Heaven Rewards Diligence-as long as one was willing to put in effort, one could grow stronger.

For a time-traveler, this was practically a custom-made cheat.

"The child is staring and spacing out again." The mother's voice carried a hint of a smile. "Hogg, look at his eyes."

Hogg smiled as well: "Perhaps our Baruch Clan will regain its former glory in his generation."

An snapped back to his senses, realizing that he had indeed stared at the system panel for too long. He tried using his mind to close the panel, and the light screen vanished just as expected.

The sound of another infant crying drifted into his ears-it was Linley.

An struggled to turn his neck, looking toward the older brother beside him. Linley was crying his lungs out, his little face flushed red, and his hands flailing about blindly in the air.

This was the future Controller of Hongmeng? An couldn't help but want to laugh.

Yet upon second thought, right now he was merely an infant who couldn't even manage to roll over; what qualifications did he have to laugh at anyone else?

Days passed swiftly amidst eating, drinking, eliminating, and sleeping. An's body grew day by day, and the data on the system panel changed slowly as well.

At three months, he learned to roll over. The system prompted: [Physical experience +5]

At six months, he could barely sit up. The system prompted: [Physical experience +10]

At eight months, he learned to crawl. The system prompted: [Physical experience +20, minor critical strike triggered, additional physical experience +10]

An discovered that as long as he actively attempted to do things beyond an infant's capabilities, the system would grant experience rewards. Moreover, an action seemingly as simple as crawling actually converted the accumulated experience points into foundational physical attributes.

He learned to crawl half a month earlier than Linley, and learned to stand a month earlier.

Hogg and his mother both noticed An's "early intelligence," but simply chalked it up to individual differences between children and thought nothing more of it.

On his first birthday, An received a new prompt from the system:

[Host age has reached 1 year; foundational physique has initially taken shape. Dragonblood Warrior bloodline concentration is stable at 3%, which has not reached the awakening threshold. It is recommended that the host strengthen physical conditioning during the growth process; there is a probability that bloodline concentration will increase along with physical strength.]

An committed this advice to memory. He had originally intended to temper his body from a young age; after all, the core of the Heaven Rewards Diligence System was "effort brings reward."

By the age of two, An could speak complete sentences, feed himself, and jog a short distance. His physical coordination and strength were clearly superior to children of the same age.

Time flew by, and An was six years old.

According to the customs of Wushan Town, children of six had to begin participating in morning exercise. Hogg had prepared training clothes for An and Linley early on; the brothers changed into identical outfits and stood before the mirror, to the point that even Hogg couldn't tell who was who.

"An, your hair is slightly longer." Hogg carefully inspected them for a long time before finally distinguishing the two sons based on this subtle difference.

An smiled and said nothing.

He had already checked the system panel last night:

[Host: An Baruch] [Age: 6 years old] [Physique: Dragonblood Warrior bloodline (3.2% concentration, unawakened)] [Magical Talent: Pending detection] [Warrior Rank: Close to rank one (foundational physique already far exceeds peers)] [Magic Rank: None] [Current Diligence Points: 872 points (available to exchange for experience bonuses)]

Over the six years, An had not slacked off for a single day. He utilized every opportunity to exercise his body-crawling more than others when crawling, walking more than others when walking, and running and jumping more than others when running and jumping. The Heaven Rewards Diligence System faithfully recorded every single effort he made, accumulating over eight hundred diligence points.

Although the bloodline concentration had only increased by 0.2%, An knew this was a normal phenomenon. The original book's Wharton had also only naturally awakened in his teens.

"Let's set off." Hogg led An and Linley out the door, walking toward the training ground on the east side of Wushan Town.

The early morning sunlight spilled over the town's bluestone road, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees. In the distance came the crowing of roosters and the barking of dogs, while cooking smoke curled upward from the chimneys of various households.

The early morning of Wushan Town was as peaceful and serene as ever.

An took a deep breath, feeling the heartbeat thumping within his chest.

Today was the first day he officially embarked on the path of the strong.

One to two hundred children had already gathered at the training ground, ranging from six to sixteen years old, divided into three groups. The youngest were on the left, and the oldest were on the right.

An and Linley stood in the queue of six-year-old children, waiting for the arrival of the instructor.

"I heard today's instructor is Lord Hillman, a rank-six warrior!"

"A rank-six warrior? Too amazing!"

"I'm going to become a rank-six warrior in the future too!"

The surrounding children chattered animatedly among themselves, their faces written full of worship and yearning.

An did not speak, simply standing quietly in place, his gaze looking toward the blue stone in the center of the training ground that had been worn smooth.

He knew that shortly, Hillman would use his fist to shatter this stone to motivate the children.

Sure enough, a burly man strode over. He wore a suit of leather armor, a longsword hung at his waist, and his pace was steady and powerful. His tiger-like eyes swept across the entire field, and all the children involuntarily straightened their backs.

"I am Hillman; you can call me Instructor Hillman," the man's voice was as resonant as a bell. "Starting today, you will receive the most foundational warrior training. Do not think this is child's play; training concerns your future. Ordinary people have no battle-qi secret manuals to cultivate, and if you want to change your fate, you can only rely on rigorous training!"

His gaze swept over every child, finally lingering for a fraction of a second on An and Linley.

"Now, everyone-Qi Storing Posture, begin!"

All the children immediately separated their legs to shoulder width, slightly bent their knees, tucked their hands at their waists, maintained bodily balance, and adjusted their breathing.

An strictly followed Hillman's demonstration to assume the posture, and the Heaven Rewards Diligence System activated instantly:

[Detected host performing "Qi Storing Posture" training. Training timer started; for every minute persisted, physical experience +1. The higher the focus, the greater the experience bonus.]

An took a deep breath, concentrating all his attention on his body.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes...

The surrounding children fell one after another. Six-year-old children could mostly only persist for a little over ten minutes, seven- or eight-year-olds could persist for about half an hour, and those over ten could persist for forty to fifty minutes.

Yet An did not move.

His legs began to ache, dull pains radiated from his lower back, and a fine layer of sweat seeped out across his forehead. But he clenched his teeth, his gaze locked firmly onto the ground ahead, concentrating all his intent entirely on his breathing and body posture.

The Heaven Rewards Diligence System began to flash with a golden light:

[Focus Detection: Highly focused. EXP acquisition speed increased to 150%.]

[Endured for 30 minutes, accumulated physical stamina EXP +45.]

[Endured for 40 minutes, accumulated physical stamina EXP +60.]

[Endured for 50 minutes, accumulated physical stamina EXP +75.]

An's body was trembling slightly, yet he still refused to give up.

Linley was right beside him, similarly gritting his teeth and persisting. The brothers were as if locked in a contest of wills, neither willing to be the first to collapse.

Hillman noticed these two children, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes.

Six-year-old children, and they had actually persisted for nearly an hour?

One had to know that even the children in the ten-year-old group over there had mostly already collapsed.

These two kids... Hillman murmured to himself, his gaze shifting back and forth between An and Linley.

In the end, Linley could hold on no longer, his legs going soft as he collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

An persisted for three more minutes after Linley fell before slowly relaxing his body and sitting on the ground.

The system prompt sounded in his mind:

[Training ended. Total time: 63 minutes. Basic EXP +63, focus bonus +31, critical hit triggered! Extra EXP obtained +50.]

[Accumulated physical stamina EXP: +144 points.]

[Fighter level EXP bar: 12%. Estimated that completing 7 more training sessions of the same intensity will allow a breakthrough to a level-one fighter.]

An wiped the sweat from his forehead, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

One-twelfth. As long as he practiced seven more times, he would be able to become a level-one fighter.

This was faster than ordinary children by God knows how many times.

Hillman nodded thoughtfully. "So they are Lord Hogg's sons. Not bad, your performance was very good."

The surrounding children cast envious and admiring gazes.

An stood up, brushed the dust from his body, and looked at Hillman with a firm gaze. "Instructor, I want to join the ten-year-old children's group training."

Hillman was taken aback. "Are you sure? The training intensity for the ten-year-old children is much greater than yours, and you're only six."

"I'm not afraid of hardship," An said. "I just want to become stronger."

Hillman was silent for a few seconds, then laughed heartily. "Good! You've got ambition! Starting tomorrow, both you and Linley will go to the ten-year-old group for training."

Linley opened his mouth as if to say something, but upon seeing An's gaze, he also nodded heavily.

On the way home, the setting sun stretched the brothers' shadows very long.