In the year 518 of the Da Xia calendar, in the capital city.
Late at night, a torrential downpour fell upon Tiandu city — this heavy rain had continued uninterrupted for three days and three nights.
At that moment, a blazing bolt of lightning tore across the dark and heavy sky, accompanied by a deafening rumble. It slit through the pitch-black curtain of the night and illuminated the entire land.
Inside a small courtyard at the entrance to the South Gate alleyway, Gu Chen opened his eyes.
At first, his vision was blurry and he looked stunned, until several minutes passed by, and then his eyes began to regain color and his expression returned to normal.
"I didn't die?" Gu Chen explored his surroundings with a somewhat vacant gaze and found that the room's layout and decoration were very retro, as if he had returned to ancient times.
"Where am I..." As Gu Chen spoke, he tried to get up, but at that moment, he suddenly felt a searing pain inside him, causing cold sweat to immediately form on his forehead.
"Can someone tell me what exactly is going on?"
Gu Chen's face was pale, and he wore an agonized expression, attempting to relieve the pain in his body through deep breathing.
Then, a flood of strange memories suddenly surged forth, swarming into Gu Chen's mind, causing him to grunt and shiver as he felt a severe pain in his head.
The sensation was as if countless steel needles were simultaneously puncturing his brain and then chaotically scrambling inside it.
The pain was excruciating.
With the agony tormenting both his body and spirit, Gu Chen's eyes rolled back, and he fainted once again.
It was unknown how much time had passed when Gu Chen gradually opened his eyes once more.
He remained silent for a long while, his eyes lifelessly fixated on the ceiling.
"Kyushu..."
"Da Xia..."
"Jing Tian Department..."
"So, I've transmigrated..." After assimilating some of the original owner's memories, a bitter smile appeared on Gu Chen's face.
Gu Chen, twenty-nine years old, started his own company after graduation. After several years of ups and downs, it began to improve. Perhaps due to the immense mental stress of entrepreneurship without an outlet, Gu Chen found himself obsessed with extreme sports at some point.
Free solo climbing, BASE jumping, cliff diving... By engaging in various extreme sports, he successfully released the pent-up mental stress lurking within.
Of course, as a result, he fell in love with the sport and seized every opportunity to perform various attempts and challenges.
This time, the reason he ended up in this world was because Gu Chen, in his pursuit of thrill, chose the most difficult challenge in extreme sports and, unsurprisingly, he failed.
The outcome of such failure goes without saying...
And these were just the overt benefits.
The martial arts secrets within the Jing Tian Department, as well as various medicinal pills and divine weapons, were not things that money could buy.
Even more so, if one made significant contributions, one could gain direct access to the royal secret vault. With some luck, one might even attract the Emperor's favor and secure an audience.
Such treatments were not available to ordinary officials.
Hence, every Patrol Officer of the Jing Tian Department aimed to become a Metropolitan Procurator.
Gu Chen, with his considerable talent, ranked among the top of his peers as Patrol Officers. With his simple nature and deep-seated hatred for demons, having devoted himself to eradicating them since joining the Jing Tian Department, he was highly valued by the higher-ups.
Indeed, many speculated that the Jing Tian Department's leaders had already shortlisted the original Gu Chen as a "reserve" for the Metropolitan Procurator, just waiting for him to attain the necessary cultivation level to be promoted officially.
This naturally incited the envy and hostility of others aspiring to the same position.
Among them, a fellow called "Liu Zheng" was particularly at odds with the original Gu Chen.
Both joining the Jing Tian Department together, they were always in competition. Their personalities were vastly different; Gu Chen was taciturn and inept at speaking, making few friends, whereas Liu Zheng was tactful and good at networking.
Both were closely matched in all aspects. Learning this news, Liu Zheng naturally became even more anxious and, above all, resentful.
So, a few days earlier, after the original Gu Chen had returned from a mission, Liu Zheng set a trap, provoking Gu Chen, who was straightforward and lacked cunning. Unable to stand being mocked, he accepted the challenge without a second thought.
In truth, if one were to speak purely of strength, Gu Chen and Liu Zheng were nearly equals, with the outcome of their battle uncertain. However, Gu Chen had been injured while combating demons during his previous mission and had not fully recovered. Thus, he fell into a disadvantage during the fight with Liu Zheng, who seized the opportunity to strike fiercely, inflicting severe injuries on him.
After lying unconscious for three days and nights, Gu Chen ultimately couldn't hold on and died completely.
Upon this thought, Gu Chen couldn't help but shake his head. The original Gu Chen was too young and rigid, unable to tolerate insults, which is why he fell into Liu Zheng's plot and suffered greatly, losing his life in the process.
As Gu Chen was digesting the memories, suddenly, a bright light appeared before his eyes, and a screen similar to the game panels of his previous life materialized in front of him.
Name: Gu Chen
Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Technique (Great Success), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill (Great Success), Red Flame Palm (Minor Success), Dragon-Sinew Tiger-Bone Fist (Beginning)
Internal Technique: Pure Yang Technique
Cultivation: Twenty years
Stage: Early Stage of Essence-Gathering
Merit Points: 0
As the panel floated before his eyes, a surge of information simultaneously appeared in Gu Chen's mind.
"Merit Points... can increase cultivation and enhance martial arts realm?" Gu Chen lay in bed, murmuring to himself, a smile unconsciously forming at the corner of his mouth.