Chapter 1: Lin Qi (Please Keep Reading)

Martial Calendar Year 2045, Cang Province, Tianhai City.

It was September, the scorching summer, and the entire city was shrouded in heat.

Rongshan Community, Building 4, Room 301

5:30

“Beep beep beep beep!”

Lin Qi’s eyes snapped open. He sat up instantly, reaching for the blaring phone alarm on his bedside table and silencing it.

With the alarm gone, only the whirring of the blue electric fan remained, thick, stifling air hanging in the atmosphere.

He looked around—a cramped bedroom.

The bed was a bunk: the upper bunk piled with luggage and miscellaneous items, beside the bed stood an old brown wooden desk.

The walls were covered in posters, most striking among them, a huge one depicting a man with blurred features, an imposing figure wreathed in golden flames.

Beneath his feet lay a massive, fierce black dragon beast, its terrifying aura almost bursting from the poster.

A bold line of characters swept across the poster:

“Effort is the stairway to strength—The Red Emperor, Strongest in the World.”

Apart from these, there were hardly any other furnishings—simple, bare.

The fifteen-square-meter room had a clear space in the center, its floor marked by deep footprints worn by time.

Lin Qi stood, pulling on a faded school uniform shirt.

He opened the door and stepped into the tiny bathroom for his morning routine.

“Swish swish!”

Toilet, brushing teeth, washing face—all done in one swift motion; grime washed away, he was refreshed.

Lin Qi gazed at his reflection: one meter seventy-five, lean, handsome, sharp features, his eyes lively and masculine, a hint of severity in his brows.

Leaving the bathroom, he saw in the living room a burly man, shirtless, sitting on a faded, worn sofa.

His upper body was covered in scars.

His left arm was missing, the sleeve empty; with his right hand, he carefully fitted a flesh-colored mechanical prosthetic.

“Click click—”

A few quick adjustments and the five fingers of the prosthetic moved stiffly, almost like a real hand.

“Morning, Qi!”

The burly man smiled at Lin Qi. His face was rugged, every inch marked by hardship.

“Morning, Dad!”

Lin Qi nodded.

The man turned to the kitchen, speaking as he worked:

“I’m heading to the hospital today to bring your mother home. She just finished surgery, should stay longer, but—”

“She refuses, worried about the cost.”

“Today’s your first day of senior high. Work hard at your martial training.”

“Do you have enough money left?”

Lin Zhen rambled on, his hands moving swiftly—lighting the stove, frying eggs, heating pre-made buns and bread...

[Balance: 66.6]

“I have enough...”

---

Lin Qi glanced at his phone balance, unconcerned, then took a packet of black coffee from a corner box, poured it into his glacier cup, added cold water.

After stirring, he drank it in one gulp; the bitterness filled his mouth, and he felt awake.

Soon, Lin Zhen brought out a full plate—meat buns, fried eggs, steamed bread.

After a quick meal, Lin Qi returned to his room, changed clothes, pulled on a pair of nearly worn-out black sneakers, and grabbed his backpack.

“Dad, I’m off.”

“Alright!”

Lin Zhen’s resolute voice called out from the kitchen, followed by another burst of activity.

...

Three minutes later

Leaving the community, Lin Qi mounted an antique bicycle and rode down the wide street.

“Whoosh—”

Riding into the morning wind, a clear female voice came through his black Bluetooth earphones:

“Martial Calendar Year 1999, also called the First Martial Year.”

“That year, terrifying disasters erupted across the globe—tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes…”

“Causing immense loss of life and property everywhere.”

“Initially, people thought it was just another bout of calamity.”

“When it seemed the worst was over, the true disaster arrived.”

“Huge black fissures appeared all around the world, from which countless monstrous beasts surged forth, destroying everything.”

“Devouring all life with insatiable greed.”

“They were walking disasters, hence their name—Calamity Beasts.”

“With mountain-sized bodies, tough skin, sharp claws and teeth that could easily tear through steel and grind humans to dust.”

“Busy streets were swept clean like rice fields, everything reduced to ruins.”

“War began. Faced with the Calamity Beasts, humanity unleashed every weapon, nations turning into war machines amid the tide of beasts.”

“In the face of these monsters, humanity retreated step by step, countless soldiers dying in battle, ordinary people displaced.”

“As the fissures appeared, people discovered their physical abilities had greatly improved, some even awakening special powers, almost like superhumans.”

“With endless Calamity Beasts, ancient martial arts found new life.”

“The war between humanity and Calamity Beasts commenced…”

The roadside bustled with tall buildings and shops, their electronic screens playing the latest news about Calamity Beasts.

Lin Qi listened quietly to the history lesson audio.

He’d heard this story countless times, knew it by heart.

“It’s been seventeen years since I came to this world,” Lin Qi mused, a little dazed.

He, Lin Qi, was a transmigrant.

Blue Star—a parallel world strikingly similar to Earth.

In his previous life, he was just an office worker, overworked for a month, finally dying from exhaustion.

Upon waking again, he was a newborn in this world.

Before 1999, it was almost identical to Earth, but after that year, everything changed dramatically.

From a mundane world, it transformed into a world of extraordinary martial arts.

---

As a seasoned reader from Certain Point, Lin Qi adapted to this world swiftly.

And, as a transmigrant, he had a golden finger.

Thinking of it, in a mysterious corner of his mind, within endless darkness, a broken golden banner appeared.

Cracked all over, as if battered in a great battle, only a fragment remained.

It stayed in his consciousness, dim and lifeless, like a torn cloth.

Until half a year ago, it finally shuddered once, releasing a golden ray.

At this thought, Lin Qi’s vision seemed to flicker with a golden light only he could see.

[Name: Lin Qi (17)]
[Profession: Martial Artist]
[Template: None (99.8%)]
[Vitality Value: 5.2]
[Techniques: Complete Circular Stance, Minor Tiger Fist, Minor Basic Spear Technique]
[Fist Technique: Tier One 80%]
[Spear Technique: Tier One 60%]
[Movement Technique: Tier One 57%]
...

This was the panel granted by the broken golden banner, letting him clearly see his martial arts progress.

Looking at the stats, Lin Qi sighed.

He’d hoped for the legendary Deep Blue system—just add points, become stronger.

He was ready for a meteoric rise.

But the reality disappointed him; the panel’s function was simple, only offering a way to view his progress, giving him a clear picture of his martial path.

He soon adapted, setting aside his fantasies.

Being able to track his progress, to see each step forward, gave him motivation to work harder.

This alone set him above countless others.

Half a year with the panel, his martial arts had improved tremendously—what was there to be dissatisfied about?

As a senior high student, war and Calamity Beasts were distant concerns, matters for the future.

For now, he only wanted to train diligently, get into a decent martial arts university, and earn enough to improve his family’s life.

With these thoughts, Lin Qi’s gaze lingered on one particular line:

[Template: None (99.8%)]

He had no information about this “template,” its function unknown, though he had his suspicions.

After every training session, he’d watch the progress bar tick upward.

The harder he trained, the faster it rose.

In half a year, the bar was nearly full.

By today’s pace, he’d soon find out what it was.

He sensed that the template was crucial, the key to his future in martial arts.

...