Chapter 1: Zhou Qing

Qian Kingdom, Zhou Estate…

Inside an elegantly furnished room, Zhou Qing slowly opened his eyes.

“Two months already.”

He let out a quiet sigh.

Zhou Qing was a transmigrator from Earth. Two months ago, he had somehow crossed into this world and become the youngest young master of the Zhou family.

The Zhou family was one of the most influential clans in the Qian Kingdom, having produced three grand chancellors throughout its history. In this life, Zhou Qing’s father, Zhou Shizhong, served as Commander of the Imperial Guard in the kingdom’s capital.

The Imperial Guard was responsible for protecting the royal palace, and its commander held authority over the entire force. It was easy to imagine how highly Emperor Qian regarded Zhou Shizhong.

Now, the emperor was growing old. The First Prince was renowned for both his intellect and military talent, and was widely accepted as the kingdom’s future ruler. As for Zhou Shizhong, he had grown up alongside the First Prince and was one of the prince’s most trusted confidants.

Thanks to that connection, the Zhou family’s prosperity was all but guaranteed for decades to come.

Born into a family like this, and as the beloved third young master at that, Zhou Qing had never wanted for anything.

“Tonight’s the night.”

His gaze drifted downward.

Lines of translucent text floated before his eyes, constantly shifting.

[Time Until Activation: 00:08:33:25]

The mysterious text had appeared the moment he arrived in this world.

After two months of observation, Zhou Qing had figured out that it was a countdown timer.

When it first appeared, it had been set to sixty days.

Now, only eight hours remained before it finally reached zero.

He couldn’t help feeling excited about what would happen when the countdown ended.

Just as he was staring at the fading numbers before him…

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A sharp rap sounded at the door.

Then came a deep, booming voice from outside.

“Young Master! We found something. A huge discovery!”

The moment Zhou Qing heard the voice, the image of a broad-shouldered, good-natured man appeared in his mind.

Zhou Dachun.

Zhou Dachun hadn’t originally been a Zhou. Blessed with extraordinary strength from birth, he had been taken in by the Zhou family as a child and later granted the family name.

After Zhou Qing was born, Zhou Dachun had been assigned as his personal protector.

Zhou Dachun wasn’t particularly bright, but he was fiercely loyal, which was why Zhou Shizhong trusted him so deeply.

“What did you find?”

Zhou Qing got to his feet and opened the door, revealing Zhou Dachun standing outside.

“Young Master, you told us to keep an eye on Lin Peiqin. Well, just now, that young master from the Lin family lost his mind at the gambling house after a bad streak. He offered up a family heirloom as collateral for ten thousand taels of silver…”

Zhou Dachun grinned.

“Lin Peiqin? The Lin family?”

Zhou Qing immediately understood what was going on.

The Lin family was another noble house in the Qian Kingdom, though it had fallen into decline over the past few decades.

The reason Zhou Qing had taken an interest in them was because he’d heard that one of their ancestors had once been an immortal.

That’s right.

Immortals existed in this world.

Or, more accurately, cultivators.

However, cultivators lived in seclusion and rarely appeared in the mortal world.

As a transmigrator, Zhou Qing was naturally fascinated by them, so he had ordered Dachun to keep tabs on the Lin family.

The Lin family’s young master, Lin Peiqin, was a worthless wastrel who spent his days gambling instead of doing anything productive.

So Zhou Qing had instructed one of the Zhou family’s gambling houses to deliberately lure him into a trap.

That had led directly to the situation Zhou Dachun had just described.

“Where’s the heirloom?” asked Zhou Qing.

The gambling house Lin Peiqin frequented belonged to the Zhou family. As the Zhou family’s Third Young Master, Zhou Qing’s word was law there.

“Right here.”

Zhou Dachun promptly produced a wooden box.

“The manager already checked it. It’s a book, and it looks pretty old.”

He handed the box over to Zhou Qing.

“A book?”

Zhou Qing took the box and opened it.

Inside was indeed a book.

The pages were yellowed with age, and on the title page were three simple characters:

The Qi-Guiding Art.

He could sense that this book was anything but ordinary. It wasn’t some run-of-the-mill jianghu martial arts manual; it was probably connected to that immortal ancestor of the Lin family.

“What else has been happening lately?”

Zhou Qing asked casually as he flipped through the ancient volume, examining it more closely.

Because of the experiences from his previous life, Zhou Qing paid close attention to current events and intelligence from the outside world. That was why he had instructed Zhou Dachun to keep his ears open.

“What kind of news?”

Zhou Dachun thought for a moment before replying.

“Well, the northern barbarians have launched several raids recently. Yesterday, during court, the First Prince volunteered to lead a campaign personally. He said he intends to travel to the northern frontier and command the army in driving them back.”

His voice brimmed with excitement.

“The First Prince is a brilliant strategist and a great warrior. Ten years ago, he repelled the barbarians several times. Now that he’s heading north in person, there’s no doubt he’ll return victorious!”

The announcement had earned the First Prince enormous prestige. Not only had it won him support from many court officials, but public opinion among the common people was overwhelmingly positive as well.

“What?”

Zhou Qing froze.

A frown slowly formed on his face.

“The First Prince is going to the northern frontier himself? At a time like this?”

Emperor Qian was already past sixty.

And at such a critical moment, the heir apparent was choosing to leave the capital?

Something felt off.

In his previous life, Zhou Qing had been deeply interested in history and had spent years studying the rise and fall of dynasties.

More often than not, a dynasty’s decline began with a troubled transfer of power.

The succession of the throne was a matter of utmost importance.

The emperor was old. Who knew when he might pass away?

And yet the First Prince had chosen this moment to lead a military campaign.

What if something happened while he was away?

What if someone stole the throne out from under him?

If Emperor Qian were to die unexpectedly while the First Prince was far from the capital, there was no telling what kind of chaos might erupt.

Zhou Qing’s brows knitted together.

The Zhou family was now deeply tied to the First Prince’s faction.

If someone else ultimately ascended the throne, the Zhou family was unlikely to fare well.

“Young Master?”

Noticing the change in Zhou Qing’s expression, Zhou Dachun looked at him in confusion.

“It’s nothing.”

Zhou Qing shook his head.

He would bring the matter up with his father, Zhou Shizhong, in a few days.

Perhaps he was simply overthinking things. Since the First Prince had chosen to depart at such a sensitive time, he must have confidence in his own arrangements.

Besides, while Emperor Qian was certainly elderly, he probably still had a number of years left.

After dismissing Dachun, Zhou Qing returned his attention to the ancient manual.

Time passed.

Before he knew it, night had fallen.

After spending most of the day studying the book, Zhou Qing reached a conclusion.

The ancient text appeared to contain an exceptionally profound breathing technique.

By controlling one’s breathing, the technique allowed a practitioner to draw in the mysterious Qi that permeated heaven and earth, gathering it within the body.

This process was known as Qi Refinement.

Once a person successfully condensed a tangible strand of Qi inside themselves, they would officially step into the Qi Refinement Realm.

“Qi Refinement?”

A spark of anticipation rose in Zhou Qing’s heart.

If he understood correctly, this was the very first stage of cultivation.

However, according to the ancient manual, drawing in Qi required a person to possess a spiritual root.

Without one, it wasn’t merely difficult to absorb Qi. You wouldn’t even be able to sense its existence.

Spiritual roots must be extremely rare, Zhou Qing thought.

Otherwise, the Lin family wouldn’t have gone so many generations without producing another cultivator.

I wonder if I have one…

The thought lingered in his mind.

Then his expression shifted.

“It’s time.”

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Zhou Qing closed the ancient manual.

As eager as he was to test the breathing technique and see whether he could sense the Qi described in the text, something even more important demanded his attention.

With that, he lowered his gaze.

The translucent countdown continued to flicker before his eyes.

[Time Until Activation: 00:00:00:10]

The mysterious timer had entered its final ten seconds.

In the blink of an eye, the countdown reached its end.

Under Zhou Qing’s watchful gaze, the glowing numbers finally ticked down to zero.