He stood frozen in bewilderment, every limb stiff with helpless uncertainty.
Endless questions and bone-deep fear churned within him, and he instinctively parted his lips.
A hoarse voice escaped his mouth, carrying a tremor even he failed to notice. "Where am I?"
Everything before his eyes was utterly unfamiliar, and the air carried the crisp yet strange scent of vegetation.
An ethereal, vast fluctuation of energy flowed between heaven and earth, far beyond his understanding.
Every blade of grass, every tree, every mountain and stone felt unfamiliar and distant.
Boundless confusion engulfed him in an instant like an icy tide.
Panic and dread spread wildly through his heart, nearly robbing him of his composure.
At that very instant, a surging torrent of mental energy suddenly burst through the strained dam in his mind!
Countless fragments of complex, bizarre memories churned and exploded uncontrollably in the depths of his consciousness.
Like a raging tsunami, they poured wildly into his soul.
Those shattered images rapidly pieced themselves together and unfolded, becoming brilliant, mysterious scrolls that slowly unfurled in his mind.
Majestic mountains and rivers, vastly different cultures and customs, and conflicts between powers spanning the continent.
And mighty beings who could soar through the skies and burrow into the earth, along with mysterious, unfathomable magic and battle aura...
Yet of all those images, the clearest, the one that shook him most deeply, was the Yulan Continent-a land that existed only in novels, filled with fantasy and endless mysteries!
The boundless continent stretched for countless miles, with towering mountain ranges piercing the clouds and limitless oceans of surging waves.
There were vast, primeval ancient forests, as well as bustling, prosperous human city-states.
The figure in his memories who sat at the pinnacle of the Radiant Church, wielding supreme authority and imposing his might upon the entire continent-Enshite, the Pope of Light. (The character names are different; I was afraid using the same names would get this taken down. Please understand.)
That shook him even more profoundly, instantly convincing him of an absurd yet undeniable fact:
He had transmigrated, arriving in a world similar to that of Coiling Dragon, a novel he had once read!
The original owner's memories merged completely with his soul, and he learned everything about this body.
The original owner was called Xiaoshitou, an ordinary boy from Yanhe Village under the jurisdiction of Hess City on the Yulan Continent (the place names have been changed too), who had just turned fourteen.
His family was poor, having farmed for generations, and struggled to make ends meet.
Yet through his innate tenacity, he had gritted his teeth and trained hard day after day, finally managing to become a First-Level Warrior, making him one of the village's few minor experts.
But that meager strength was utterly insignificant on this danger-ridden continent.
As autumn deepened and the date of the duchy's military conscription drew closer, life became increasingly difficult for his already impoverished family.
At home, there were only his elderly parents, who depended on each other, and this year's unrelenting natural disasters had left their fields with a terrible harvest.
After paying the grain tax, almost nothing remained of the little grain they had struggled to harvest.
Without some additional income, the family would never survive the long winter ahead.
Seeing his parents' worried faces, Xiaoshitou gritted his teeth and made a bold decision without telling his family.
He planned to venture into the dangerous mountains outside the village to hunt, trading wild animals for grain to gather enough food for his family to survive the winter.
Early that morning, just as dawn was breaking, he shouldered a crude wooden bow, tucked away a few hard, dry flatbreads, and resolutely entered the deep, dim forest.
Along the way, he held his breath and focused, carefully weaving through the dense undergrowth, his eyes scanning his surroundings, unwilling to miss the slightest trace of prey.
His efforts paid off, and before long, a plump wild rabbit entered his sight.
Delighted, Xiaoshitou immediately held his breath, slowly raised his hands, and drew his bow, aiming at the rabbit not far away.
But his attention was entirely on his prey, and he failed to notice the danger hidden in the grass.
A Second-Rank Green Bamboo Snake, gleaming a dark green, was silently slithering rapidly across the ground toward his ankle.
By the time he felt a bone-chilling cold and a sharp, searing pain at his ankle, it was already too late!
The Green Bamboo Snake suddenly bared its venomous fangs and sank them hard into his flesh, its lethal venom instantly spreading wildly through his bloodstream to his entire body.
Excruciating pain swept through every limb, and Xiaoshitou shuddered, desperately trying to struggle.
But his body rapidly stiffened and grew numb, while his vision swiftly blurred and darkened.
At last, everything went black, and he lost consciousness completely, collapsing heavily onto the cold, damp forest floor, his breathing growing ever weaker.
At that moment, as he hovered between life and death and his soul was about to scatter, a dying soul suddenly broke free of its restraints on distant Earth.
That soul crossed the endless, chaotic void like a meteor streaking across the sky, carrying boundless mystery and opportunity.
It hurtled unerringly toward the dying boy's body.
In an instant, time seemed to stop, and a strange stillness filled the world.
The soul from Earth met the body's original remnant soul without the slightest rejection or conflict.
Instead, like close friends reunited after a long separation, they instantly merged in perfect harmony.
Two entirely different sets of memories, two complete lifetimes of experience, permeated and intertwined with each other, all of them seared into the depths of his soul.
After an unknown length of time, the cold body finally began to tremble slightly, and a faint spark of life slowly returned, gradually growing stronger.
This was a rare soul-fusion mutation, and moreover, a perfect mutation seldom achieved while one's cultivation was still weak.
Having only just awakened, Xiaoshitou still had limited knowledge and had no way of knowing how precious this opportunity was.
Only when he reached God-level in the future, broadened his horizons fully, and accumulated a sufficiently deep foundation would he truly understand.
The accidental soul mutation of this day was an extraordinary, top-tier encounter that might not occur even once among the billions of living beings across countless planes.
The soul bearing two sets of memories awakened fully, and he slowly opened his eyes.
The lingering bewilderment in his eyes quickly faded, replaced by clarity and a heavy sense of responsibility.
Since he had taken over this body and gained another life in this other world.
He would take the original owner's place in caring for his elderly parents, protecting this seemingly insignificant yet incomparably precious family bond.
Bracing his still weak and aching body, he forced himself to his feet.
Drawing on the original owner's lingering memories, he identified the forest path and trudged toward the village, one difficult step at a time.
He crossed mountains and streams and passed through the deep forest until, at last, a rustic village came into view.
This was Yanhe Village, his home on the Yulan Continent from now on.
This world resembled ancient Earth, with most ordinary people living near water.
Outside the village, the river flowed gently, its surface sparkling in the sunlight.
It clearly reflected the green mountains, leafy trees, and scattered low houses along its banks.
In the distance, rolling mountains complemented the blue sky and white clouds, forming a tranquil pastoral scene.
The village streets were narrow and winding, their bluestone paving worn smooth and lustrous by the passage of years.
Most houses along the streets were simple wooden structures, their roofs covered with thatch and gray tiles, exuding a rustic sense of everyday life.
In the lanes, children laughed and chased one another, their clear, cheerful voices ringing throughout the village.
On stone benches outside their doors, white-haired elders basked in the warm sunshine and chatted about household affairs, looking leisurely and content.
At the village entrance, an ancient stone arch bridge spanned the river, the swift current beneath it roaring.
Beside the bridge, a towering tree spread its lush branches and leaves, blocking out the sky and sun like a giant umbrella.
A breeze passed, and the leaves rustled, quietly telling of the little village's long years.
As he looked at this scene filled with the warmth of everyday life, the boy's mind settled completely.
From this day forward, the farm boy Xiaoshitou no longer existed in this world.
His name was Shiheng.
He gazed at the familiar yet unfamiliar village, the confusion in his eyes vanishing completely, leaving only unwavering resolve.
In this world, the strong reigned supreme, and danger lurked everywhere.
Having gained another life, he could never live as aimlessly as the original owner and let others bully him.
He would not only give his parents a stable, prosperous life, but also carve out a place of his own on this vast Yulan Continent!
Before you continue