Chapter 1

In the Book and Sword Continent, outside the city of Yuzhou in the Han Empire. When Li Changsheng woke up, he found himself lying on a lush green meadow. The grass was damp, as if it still carried the morning dew, making his clothes slightly moist. Where am I? Li Changsheng looked around in confusion. I remember I was on a trip to Mount Lu and accidentally fell off a cliff. But this isn't the bottom of a cliff, how did I end up here? Li Changsheng was puzzled. Li Changsheng is fifteen years old. Due to his excellent academic performance, he was admitted to the key middle school in Huaiyang City—No. 6 Middle School. His parents took him to Mount Lu for a summer vacation as a reward. After accidentally falling off the cliff, he woke up in this unfamiliar place. Suddenly, Li Changsheng's head throbbed with intense pain, and his vision was filled with stars. The intense pain made it hard for him to breathe. Then, a large amount of information flooded his mind like a series of fast-moving movie scenes. When he finally regained his composure, he had a lot more memories! This place was no longer Earth, but a place he had never heard of—the Book and Sword Continent. Could it be that I have already died, and my soul has traveled to this person's body? Li Changsheng thought. And this young man, who is the same age as him, is also named Li Changsheng! By organizing the memories, Li Changsheng gradually understood some characteristics of this world. The Book and Sword Continent is similar to ancient China, with similar customs and traditions. However, unlike ancient China, everyone on the Book and Sword Continent can cultivate. There are two powerful existences on the continent: the scholars and the swordsmen. In the period before the Qin Empire, similar to the era of the Hundred Schools of Thought in China, it was the golden age of the scholars. During this period, the scholars' strong figures shone brightly, and they even had the potential to dominate the history of the Book and Sword Continent. These powerful figures included Confucius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Zou Yan, Huang Shigong, and Han Fei. Confucius annotated the *I Ching* and comprehended the power of the Earth. His power, "Earthly Yellow Sand," could unleash a vast desert, turning an area into a sea of sand in an instant. His power, "Eternal Purity," allowed his wounds to heal rapidly as long as he stood on the earth, making his life unending. His power, "Yellow Robe Great Auspiciousness," turned the earth into a defensive armor, providing unparalleled protection. With his powerful abilities, he founded the Confucian school. The Confucian school has now passed down to the fourth generation of sages, with many powerful figures. Laozi, also known as Li Boyang, after completing the *Tao Te Ching*, his strength soared, and he became a sage. His power, "Mystic Heart," allowed him to harness the power of heaven and earth, using the vast elemental energy to attack enemies. His power, "Supreme Goodness," could turn an area into a swamp. His power, "Heaven and Earth Indifferent," possessed immense destructive force. With the *Tao Te Ching*, he founded the Taoist school. Zhuangzi inherited from Li Boyang and also created his own powers. His powers included summoning a giant fish and a giant bird. The giant fish, Kun, was a powerful aquatic beast with the ability to stir up the seas. The "Golden-Winged Great Peng" was the fastest divine bird, with a wingspan of 180,000 miles and a total span of 365,000 miles. These two creatures, one a beast and one a divine bird, possessed immense combat power. The Taoist school is now at its peak. Zou Yan, the founder of the Yin-Yang school, created the Yin-Yang theory, the Five Elements theory, and the 28 constellations. His power, "Celestial Rotation," used the power of the stars to attack. His power, "Five Virtues," used the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth to attack. In that era, he shone alongside Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi, becoming a generation's master. He was known as "Talker Yan" and respectfully called "Master Zou." Huang Shigong wrote the military treatise *Six Secret Teachings*, which included the sections on civil, military, dragon, tiger, leopard, and dog. Each strategy in the *Six Secret Teachings* possessed immense destructive power, capable of easily annihilating a thousand-strong army. When the treatise was published, it caused a great uproar. Huang Shigong's strength was on par with Confucius, Zhuangzi, Laozi, and Zou Yan. ... Another type of powerful figure is the swordsman. A powerful swordsman can use sword qi to pierce through mountains and destroy thousands of soldiers with a single strike. In assassination, they can kill a person in ten steps and leave no trace over a thousand miles. Powerful swordsmen include the killing god Bai Qi, one of the Four Princes, Prince Xinling Wei Wuji, and the military god Li Mu. The founding emperor of the Han Empire, Liu Bang, was a sword immortal. He possessed a "divine spirit" inside his body, which was a crimson divine sword. He was a supreme sword immortal, once slaying the white snake demon and rising up, calling on the heroes of the world to overthrow the Qin Empire. He called himself the "Red Emperor," while the white snake was the "White Emperor." These powerful swordsmen have passed down ten major sword schools. The scholars and swordsmen, these super-strong figures, can easily destroy a city and annihilate a thousand-strong army. They possess the power to cause earthquakes and make the heavens lose their color. Swordsmen cultivate the elemental energy of heaven and earth, while scholars cultivate "scholarly spirit." Scholarly spirit is a unique ability of scholars, similar to "internal skills" in China, not only strengthening the scholar's body but also possessing powerful offensive capabilities. Writing books, essays, or excellent poetry can enhance a scholar's scholarly spirit. By writing books, essays, or poetry, one can enhance their scholarly spirit! Li Changsheng suddenly felt a surge of excitement, as if he had discovered a vast treasure right before his eyes. The Book and Sword Continent is now the Han Empire, and it is unknown how it will develop in the future. Poet Immortal Li Bai has not yet appeared, Poet Sage Du Fu has not yet appeared, Poet Sage Su Shi has not yet appeared, Cao Xueqin has not yet appeared, and Shi Nai'an has not yet appeared... If I can write the poetry and prose of these people in advance, the poetry of Poet Immortal Li Bai, the poetry of Poet Sage Su Shi, *Dream of the Red Chamber*, *Journey to the West*... Can I enhance my scholarly spirit and gain super abilities? Swordsmanship is widely cultivated on the Book and Sword Continent, and swordsmen are the current mainstream. Scholars are extremely rare, one in ten thousand, as they require extremely special talent. Like the founding emperor Liu Bang, every person with cultivation talent has their own "divine spirit." The divine spirit can assist in cultivation or possess offensive capabilities. The divine spirit of the scholars is a book, only a book spirit can carry the scholarly spirit. The divine spirit of the swordsmen varies, with a wide range of forms, including mountains, seawater, flames, lightning, and weapons. Different divine spirits have different abilities, allowing the owner to comprehend certain aspects of swordsmanship. Li Changsheng cultivates swordsmanship, and his divine spirit is also a sword. The sword spirit, known as a sword spirit, is a rare existence on the Book and Sword Continent because the sword spirit itself possesses powerful offensive capabilities. All those who possess a sword spirit will become supreme figures in the future. However, Li Changsheng is the only exception, as his sword spirit has no blade. The sword is three feet and three inches long, with no edge on either side. The hilt is embedded with a dazzling red gem, making it look luxurious but more like a decorative item. Hmm, inside my body? When Li Changsheng used his elemental energy to check his divine spirit, he suddenly discovered that he had an additional divine spirit in his mind. Next to the luxurious sword, a thin book lay quietly. The book was a line-bound edition, with thin, golden-yellow pages, looking very ancient and elegant. A book spirit! Could it be because I read books for over ten years on Earth that I have an additional book spirit in my mind? Li Changsheng started reading books from the age of three, and he has been reading up to the ninth grade, which is twelve years in total. Reading books for twelve years, in the Book and Sword Continent, he would be considered a learned person. If all the books he read were written on bamboo slips, even ten carts would not be enough to carry them. The foundation of reading books for over ten years made him a scholar, endowing him with the special talent to become a scholar. Book spirit, the lineage of scholars? Li Yang was overjoyed. Not only can I cultivate swordsmanship, but I am also a scholar! Li Changsheng was overjoyed. ... Suddenly, his expression changed. He suddenly remembered that today was an important day for Li Changsheng, as his father would take him to propose marriage! Li Changsheng was born into a large family in Yuzhou City, and his father was the current clan leader. However, because his divine spirit was just a decorative sword, his cultivation was not impressive. Therefore, his father arranged a marriage for him, hoping he would soon have children to continue the family line. This seemed like a good thing, but on the Book and Sword Continent, where strength is paramount, marriage is generally not considered without significant cultivation achievements. By arranging the marriage, his father was essentially saying that he did not believe Li Changsheng would achieve anything in cultivation. After enduring ridicule from others and his father's silent disapproval, this Li Changsheng could not bear the pressure and, being a bookworm, chose to jump off a cliff to end his life. This allowed the Li Changsheng from Earth to travel to his body by chance. To propose marriage and choose to end his life!? Li Changsheng was somewhat surprised. Since you don't want to meet your future wife, let me help you take a look. Since I have traveled to your body, I am you, and you are me, Li Changsheng thought. He was very interested in this arranged marriage because, in his memory, the girl he was to propose to was not only a beauty but also a prodigy. This Li Changsheng chose to end his life because of the proposal, but the Li Changsheng from Earth was very interested in it. The thoughts of people from two different worlds indeed had significant differences. She is said to be the first beauty of Yuzhou City and a prodigy. What kind of person is she? Li Changsheng was very eager to find out. Following the memories left by this Li Changsheng, he took a step towards the family compound.