Chapter 1: Trash?

Chen Shen felt himself lying on a solitary boat, the undulating waves causing his prone body to sway incessantly.

Perplexed, he opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by darkness.

He raised his somewhat weak hand to touch the surroundings, realizing he was confined in a small, narrow box.

"Strange, the system malfunctioned. I should have died in the game pod. How did I end up in this pitch-black place in the blink of an eye?"

Chen Shen's thoughts were still lingering in the past, specifically in the memories of his previous life on Earth…

In his past life, Chen Shen was an orphan, struggling to survive in the cold, harsh metropolis.

He had picked up trash, distributed flyers, worked as a security guard, and sold goods on the street.

In his early twenties, he finally saw a glimmer of hope: his gaming talent was discovered, and he embarked on a career as a professional gamer.

He thought that with a year or two of hard work, he could rise from a nobody to a hero, representing his country on the world gaming stage, winning the heart of a beautiful and wealthy woman, and reaching the pinnacle of life.

But he never expected to lose his life during a test of a new game pod.

The large game pod exploded in an instant, and the nearly realistic fantasy game world before Chen Shen's eyes was instantly replaced by a burst of flames.

At that moment, he realized that an accident had occurred during the test, and his life as the sole game tester was over…

"Beep! Soul reconstruction successful, 100% compatibility with the invincible system. Initiating host qualification detection…"

A system-like voice echoed in his ears, startling Chen Shen, who was lost in his memories of his past life.

Then, a semi-transparent control panel appeared before his eyes, identical to the one he had tested before his transmigration!

Now he understood; he had likely been reborn in another world with the game system!

…

"Spit! What bad luck! Chen Xiong and Chen Hu, the two young masters, eliminated their greatest threat but gave us the job of carrying the coffin. What bad luck!"

"There's no other way. Among the young masters' followers, you and I have the lowest cultivation. Naturally, the dirty and tiring job of carrying the coffin falls to us."

…

Hearing the commotion outside the coffin, Chen Shen realized that the "box" he was in was actually a coffin!

"Chen Xiong? Chen Hu? These names sound familiar…"

At this thought, Chen Shen's mind suddenly went blank, and a flood of information poured into his memory without warning.

After a while, he finally had a better understanding of his current situation and identity in this life.

Chen Shen, the grandson of General Chen Zangfeng of the Xia Kingdom, was the last remaining heir of the Chen family's main line.

Unfortunately, this last heir had terrible luck, born with a mental disability. No matter how diligently he practiced, his cultivation of mystic energy always progressed at a frustratingly slow pace.

A fool was destined to have no chance of inheriting the family legacy.

Even though his grandfather, Chen Zangfeng, was deeply protective, he did not want to entrust the future of the clan to a fool due to his personal feelings.

Therefore, three months ago, he painfully exiled Chen Shen from the imperial capital to a second-tier town called "Nine Dragon City" on the border of the Xia Kingdom, hoping his only grandson could live out his days in peace in this remote place.

But even this was not enough for some members of the Chen family!

As long as Chen Shen, the legitimate heir of the Chen family, was alive, there would always be the potential for trouble!

Thus, Chen Xiong and Chen Hu, the two brothers, came to Nine Dragon City under the pretext of visiting their distant cousin.

Chen Shen, being simple-minded, was deceived by their insincere words of repentance, believing that his two cousins had come to visit him out of familial affection, and he was touched by their supposed concern.

But he never imagined that these two beasts had secretly laced his food and drink with a deadly poison!

Thus, the native-born Chen Shao died from the poison, and Chen Shen from Earth "reincarnated" in his body.

…

"Tsk tsk… You really had a tough life! From now on, you are me, and I am you. I will avenge your wrongs! With the system in hand, the world is mine, hahaha… By the way, have the results of the host detection come out yet?" Chen Shen asked with great anticipation.

"Beep! Host detection results: weak constitution, average talent, ordinary intelligence, plain appearance, no standout features."

"Current cultivation: Three-star Mystic Apprentice."

"Strength evaluation: Trash."

Hearing this evaluation, Chen Shen's smile froze on his face: "Damn it, I'm just a regular person. If I had extraordinary talent, would I need to rely on you?"

As far as Chen Shen knew, the cultivators of the Xia Kingdom were ranked from lowest to highest as Mystic Apprentices, Mystics, Mystic Scholars, and Mystic Masters.

Each realm was further divided into nine stars, with one star being the weakest and nine stars the strongest.

So, despite his harsh words, Chen Shen was also deeply troubled.

At fifteen or sixteen years old, he was still just a Three-star Mystic Apprentice?

This was truly the epitome of trash, and he was embarrassed to tell others that he came from the imperial capital and had access to the vast cultivation resources of the General's family…

"Beep! New mission discovered: Escape the coffin and return to your family's courtyard in Nine Dragon City."

"Mission reward: Open the character space bag. Mission failure penalty: Unknown."

"Hey, it's just like a game. The system is already giving me a mission? Success will bring rewards, but failure… the system says the penalty is unknown, but for my current situation, it probably means only one thing: death," Chen Shen said with a self-deprecating smile.

He tried to sit up, but the space was too cramped, and his forehead hit the coffin lid with a thud before he could straighten his body.

Hearing the noise, the slender man carrying the coffin suddenly changed his expression: "I think I heard something from inside the coffin?"

"Bullshit! The coffin contains a dead man. How can a dead man make any noise?" the scar-faced, muscular man replied brusquely.

"But, but I clearly heard a thud."

"You're as timid as a mouse! At least you're a Seven-star Mystic Apprentice!"

The scar-faced man, showing no concern for the delicate girl following a few steps behind, turned to her and asked, "Wench, tell me, did your young master suddenly fall ill last night and die in the middle of the night?"

The fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl's eyebrows furrowed, and her already pale face grew even sadder as she slowly nodded.

This girl was Chen Shen's maid, named Miao Ling.

Even in her rough, coarse clothing, her delicate beauty was evident, with delicate features and smooth skin. However, her eyebrows were always slightly furrowed, and her face was somber, a sign of her deep sorrow.

"See, I told you!"

The scar-faced man, completely disregarding the delicate girl's feelings, pounded the coffin lid with his fist and sneered, "Chen Shen was a waste of life in life, and a waste of a ghost in death. What are you afraid of?"

Seeing this, Miao Ling quickly ran a few steps to catch up and grabbed the scar-faced man's arm as it swung down: "Stop! My young master is already dead. How can you desecrate the coffin of a deceased person without fear of retribution?"

"Ha! What a loyal little wench! Retribution, you say? Fine! I'll show you what happens when you anger me!"

With that, he violently threw the pole, causing the coffin to crash to the ground with a loud thud.

Then, the scar-faced man pounced like a hungry wolf, pinning the frail girl, Miao Ling, to the ground…