Chapter 1 Nine Provinces

In the five hundred and eighteenth year of the Da Xia calendar, in the capital city,

Late at night, a torrential downpour drenched Tiandu City, persisting for three days and nights without any signs of stopping.

At this moment, a brilliant flash of lightning streaked across the dark, murky sky, accompanied by a deafening roar, tearing apart the black night and illuminating the entire world.

In a small courtyard at the entrance of South Gate Alley, Gu Chen opened his eyes.

At first, his eyes were dazed, his expression somewhat vacant. It wasn't until several minutes had passed that color gradually returned to his eyes, and his expression normalized.

"Am I not dead?" Gu Chen looked around in confusion, noticing that the layout and decor of the room were quite antique, as if he had returned to ancient times.

"Where is this..." As Gu Chen spoke, he tried to get up, but at that moment, a sharp pain suddenly surged from within his body, causing cold sweat to appear on his forehead.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?"

Gu Chen's face turned pale, and he looked pained. He tried to relieve the physical pain by taking deep breaths.

Just then, a surge of unfamiliar memories rushed into Gu Chen's mind like a tidal wave. He let out a muffled groan, his body trembled, and a sharp pain also erupted in his mind.

It felt like countless steel needles were simultaneously piercing his brain, moving chaotically within.

The pain was excruciating.

The dual torment of physical and mental pain caused Gu Chen's eyes to roll back, and he fainted once more.

It was unknown how much time had passed before Gu Chen slowly opened his eyes again.

He remained silent for a long time, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Nine Provinces..."

"Da Xia..."

"Jing Tian Department..."

"So, I have traversed..." After initially processing the memories of the original owner, a bitter smile appeared on Gu Chen's face.

Gu Chen, twenty-nine years old, founded a company after graduation. After years of ups and downs, it began to show some promise. Perhaps due to the immense mental pressure of entrepreneurship, which had no outlet, Gu Chen became addicted to extreme sports for reasons unknown.

Rock climbing, low altitude parachuting, cliff diving... Through various extreme sports, he successfully released the psychological pressures lurking within himself.

Naturally, he also fell in love with the sport. Whenever he had the time, he would engage in various attempts and challenges.

This time, the reason he crossed into this world was because Gu Chen sought thrills and chose the most challenging extreme sport. Unsurprisingly, he failed.

The result of the failure needs no further elaboration...

Fortunately, heaven seemed to favor him particularly, granting Gu Chen a second chance at life.

Of course, this life seemed somewhat extraordinary.

Through the earlier memory fusion, Gu Chen learned that the original owner of this body was also named "Gu Chen," sharing the same name as him.

"This seems to be a common benefit for transversers... Well, after being called by the same name for nearly thirty years, if I suddenly had to change my name, I might really not get used to it," Gu Chen smiled.

With the original owner's memories, Gu Chen gained some understanding of this world.

This world was called Nine Provinces, and he was in the capital of Da Xia, named Tiandu.

The Da Xia dynasty had ruled the world for five hundred and eighteen years. When he saw this memory, Gu Chen was indeed a bit surprised. In his previous life, spanning five thousand years, there seemed to be very few dynasties that lasted so long.

Of course, Da Xia was different from the dynasties of his previous life. It had endured so long because of the unique nature of this world.

If the previous world was a technological one, then Nine Provinces was a high martial world.

No, not just high martial, but with a touch of the strange as well.

It belonged to the genre of high martial plus bizarre flow.

The original owner was part of the Jing Tian Department, a violent agency specifically tasked with subduing the increasingly numerous demons and strange creatures.

The original owner, Gu Chen, at age twenty, was an orphan. His mother, early in her pregnancy with him, encountered an attack by demons and strange creatures. Though she miraculously survived, she developed a chronic illness and passed away shortly after giving birth.

His father also died at the hands of demons and strange creatures after his birth.

Therefore, the original owner harbored deep hatred for these vile creatures, which was why he chose to join the Jing Tian Department.

"Are orphans the standard configuration for transversers now...?" After reading these memories, Gu Chen seemed somewhat helpless.

The original owner, who had been parentless since a young age, was raised by his second uncle.

This was the background of the original owner, Gu Chen.

"But, why was 'I' injured, and so severely?" Gu Chen frowned, searching through the memories in his mind.

Soon, he had an answer, recalling the causes and consequences.

It mainly stemmed from an internal selection for the next Metropolitan Procurator within the Jing Tian Department.

The Jing Tian Department was one of Da Xia's most important agencies, directly under the Emperor of Xia, answering only to the current emperor, with no one else having any authority over it.

Although they faced the extreme danger of demons and strange creatures daily, with the slightest carelessness leading to death, their powers were excessively large.

Even the lowest-ranking Metropolitan Procurator was equivalent to a sixth-grade official in Da Xia, and their benefits and treatment even surpassed that.

These were just the visible advantages.

Some martial arts manuals, various pills, and divine weapons within the Jing Tian Department weren't available for purchase even with money.

Furthermore, those who achieved significant accomplishments could directly enter the royal secret vault. With a bit of luck, they might even gain the current emperor's favor and audience.

These were privileges ordinary officials could not enjoy.

Therefore, every patrolling envoy of the Jing Tian Department aimed to become a Metropolitan Procurator.

The original Gu Chen, highly talented and one of the top among his peers, harbored straightforward hatred for demons and ghosts. After joining the Jing Tian Department, he was solely focused on slaying demons and ghosts, earning appreciation from his superiors.

Many speculated that the upper echelons of the Jing Tian Department had already listed the original owner as a "reserve" for Metropolitan Procurator, just waiting for his cultivation to reach the required level before he could be appointed.

This naturally aroused the hostility of many peers aspiring to the Metropolitan Procurator position.

Among them was one peer named Liu Zheng, who didn't get along with the original owner at all.

They joined the Jing Tian Department at the same time and had always been competitors. Their personalities differed greatly; the original owner was wooden and inarticulate, making few friends, while Liu Zheng was sociable and adept at making connections.

They were evenly matched in various aspects. When Liu Zheng learned of this news, he became particularly anxious and, of course, more resentful.

A few days ago, after the original owner returned from a mission, Liu Zheng set a trap, provoking him. Being straightforward and lacking scheming, the original owner accepted the challenge without hesitation.

If it were purely on strength, the original owner and Liu Zheng were about evenly matched, with the outcome uncertain in a fight. However, the original owner was injured while dealing with demons on a previous mission and had not yet recovered. Fighting Liu Zheng put him at a disadvantage, allowing Liu Zheng to seize the opportunity and inflict severe injuries.

The original owner remained unconscious for three days and nights, eventually unable to hold on and dying.

Reflecting on this, Gu Chen couldn't help but shake his head. The original owner was too young, straightforward, and unyielding, which let Liu Zheng take advantage, causing him to suffer a great loss and lose his life.

Just as Gu Chen was processing the memory, a bright light appeared before his eyes, and a screen resembling a game interface from his past life materialized.

Name: Gu Chen

Martial Arts: Iron Armor Skill (Advanced), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill (Advanced), Red Flame Palm (Intermediate), Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Fist (Novice)

Internal Skills: Pure Yang Skill

Cultivation: Twenty Years

Realm: Early Breathing Stage

Merit Points: 0

As the screen appeared before him, a large amount of information simultaneously flooded Gu Chen's mind.

"Merit points... can increase cultivation and elevate martial arts stages?" Gu Chen lay on the bed, murmuring to himself, his lips curling into a smile.