Chapter 1

Wine should be sipped, and the road should be walked step by step. If you take too big a step, you might pull your balls!

So said Mr. Ge.

Suning pulled his balls, and it hurt...

He stood on the vast, endless grassland, and in the intervals of pain, he was somewhat dazed...

He had misjudged his own abilities. Even in a fantasy world, to challenge the heavens, one would have to endure great suffering and a series of clichéd adventures to achieve it, and that was if you were the main character. If you were a side character, you were just cannon fodder, a stepping stone for the protagonist to rise. No matter how glorious you were at the time, the protagonist's aura and the plot's progression would turn you into experience points, dissipating into the universe.

Clearly, Suning was not the main character, and he had not even crossed over into a fantasy world. To want to challenge the gods, he was far from ready...

Suning patted his slightly dazed head and took a few deep breaths. Hmm, this air, why is it so fresh? No PM2.5? Suning remembered that the air in the country was always filled with these tiny particles. And the sky, oh! It's so blue! Living in a big city, he hadn't seen such a clear blue sky in a long time. This is truly a beautiful scene of vast blue skies and endless grasslands, where the wind blows and the grass reveals the cattle and sheep!

Suning couldn't help but feel the urge to recite a poem to express his current sense of tranquility and joy, but he quickly considered his "poetic" skills and wisely abandoned the idea.

The eyes are the windows to the soul and the basis for the brain's judgment. Everything the eyes see is evaluated by the brain. So, Suning blinked, and his brain quickly reacted. The beautiful scene in front of him instantly shattered into pieces, and then the pieces reassembled, forming a different picture.

This place was not beautiful. There was no green grass, no herds of cattle and sheep, only withered grass and a cold wind. Based on the cold, Suning initially determined it was winter. Fortunately, he was wearing a down jacket. Phew, good thing! Suning was relieved that he hadn't taken off his jacket and gone bare-chested when he was cursing. But, a very serious question suddenly appeared in his mind... Where the hell am I!

He was clearly on the peak of Mount Tai, cursing the gods, and it was even at night! How did he end up on a vast grassland after closing his eyes and laughing bitterly, and it was daytime? The sea turning into fields doesn't happen that fast! This is like the 2012 apocalypse! Did the earthquake turn night into day? What a scam!

Suning felt speechless. Sighing, he looked down at his hands, "Why are you so cheap?!" Why did you curse the gods? They say there are gods three feet above your head. His parents and grandparents always offered sacrifices to the kitchen god. He knew this, and now he didn't know where he was! Looking at his hands pointing to the sky, Suning was about to sigh to the heavens when he noticed something odd. Why do my hands seem smaller?

That's not right! I'm twenty-two, but these hands look like those of a teenager. They are so white and tender, and my hands are big enough to grab a basketball, but these hands can only grab a small soccer ball! Suning quickly touched his face, then his nose, eyes, ears, hair, and head... Wait, when did my hair change?

Suning grabbed a handful of hair and looked at it. It was black and shiny, with good quality, just like the models in shampoo commercials, smooth and lustrous... Spit, spit, spit, that's not the issue! I clearly had a buzz cut, when did it get so long? This is not right! Suning hurriedly reached into his pocket and pulled out his Nokia smartphone, which cost over four thousand yuan! Suning held up the phone and took a picture of his face...

His hand loosened, and the phone fell...

What, what is this? This appearance, why does it look like I'm a teenager? I'm clearly over twenty, how could I have grown younger? This is clearly what I looked like in junior high! How, how can this be? Suning's legs gave out, and he fell to the ground. He quickly picked up the phone and took another picture, examining it from all angles. Suning finally confirmed that he had indeed become several years younger, returning to his junior high school state. No way!

Was I struck by lightning and sent back a few years? Did I cross over?

Suning quickly opened his phone and checked the time and date. It was 10:21 AM, and the date was...

Did I read that right?

Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan Year 4, January 16? Tang, Tang? Zhenguan? What's going on? The Tang Dynasty? The Tang Dynasty has phones? Did the phone cross over too?!

Suning took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pressed his fingers on the Jingming acupoint. This was the simplest part of the eye exercises, as it only required one hand. Suning was lazy and had a grudge against the other three parts that required both hands.

After finishing, he patted his head, shook it, and confirmed that his mind was clear. He opened his 24k gold eyes and looked at the phone's screen. What a scam! How is this possible! The Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan Year 4?! Over a thousand years ago! How can this be! Even if the phone is a divine device, it shouldn't cross over like this! Did you cross over with me?

After a long while, Suning began to face his current situation. Regardless of what was wrong with the phone, he put it in his pocket, sat on the ground, and began to meditate, closing his eyes and recalling everything he had experienced.

He, Suning, male, twenty-two years old, from a rural hometown, had some strength, graduated from a third-rate university, and his family had no money. For such a young man, society uniformly called him a "loser." Academically speaking, Suning naturally belonged to this class. His parents were farmers who had worked hard to support his education, hoping he would leave the isolated village and see the outside world. With no extra money, he was naturally a "loser."

Of course, everything changed after he met the old man. The old man was a top chef, his official identity, but Suning always felt he should be a disciple of some academic sect. However, the old man not only refused to tell him this but didn't even reveal his name, using "Nameless" as his public name...

Suning always felt that on that sunny day at the foot of Mount Tai, the old man's strange gaze, his calm smile, and his prepared speech, as well as the satisfied look after Suning agreed to be his disciple, were all arranged by heaven or the old man himself...

After following the old man, Suning, lacking interest in studies, focused on learning the old man's skills, and his grades were always poor. From elementary school to junior high, high school, and university, they never changed. This time, he failed eight out of nine subjects in the second-to-last semester of university. The remaining subject only passed because the teacher, learning he had failed the other eight, added ten points out of kindness. His parents and the counselor then said, "Your child is too bad, we can't manage him, go back and farm!"

Wasn't it just a polite way of expelling him? Why did they even play that song in the office? Who were they mocking?

Fine, farming it is! Do you think I have no money? According to the old man, if the school bullies you, just buy the school and level it! The old man had plenty of money and no heirs, so it would all be his. He wouldn't have to worry about money, and with the old man's skills, he could support himself.

The old man was very rich, extremely rich. Top chefs couldn't be poor, right? But this was their secret, and no one knew, so his parents didn't know either. They were farmers, illiterate, and had no idea about the old man's identity. In their isolated village, they only knew he was a strange old man. They were very dissatisfied with Suning becoming a disciple, hoping he would be a scholar, not a chef...

Of course, they didn't know the old man's skills went far beyond his culinary expertise. The old man's cooking was just a hobby, and his true skills were something Suning didn't dare to exaggerate. After twelve years of learning, he wasn't sure if he had learned even a tenth of it. At first, Suning wondered why the old man, with such skills, didn't become a national leader but chose to be a chef. Later, after spending more time with the old man, Suning understood...

So, his parents had no grand goals or broad vision. They only knew that Suning had lost the chance to be a true scholar, and the feeling of hope being shattered was not good. In anger, they took Suning to an agricultural store, bought all the seeds and two bottles of pesticide, and packed them for him to take home. If he couldn't be a scholar, he would be a farmer. In the hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, farmers were second! And he had to walk home from Henan to his hometown in Hebei!

Suning was stubborn and started walking. It was fine, but on the morning he left, just as he stepped out of the school gate and severed ties with the hateful school, his Nokia rang. A lawyer called, telling Suning that the old man had left a will, passed away peacefully at 6 AM, and left all his inheritance to Suning. He needed to return to handle the procedures, totaling...

Suning didn't hear the rest. Upon hearing the old man had passed, his mind went blank, and he fell to the ground...

For a full hour, surrounded by people discussing whether to call the police or an ambulance, Suning finally got up and stumbled away. He had to return home to mourn the old man...

When he reached the foot of Mount Tai, Suning remembered his first meeting with the old man. It was there that they met, and he became the old man's disciple. They climbed to the peak of Mount Tai, and Suning felt immense sorrow, leading to a heavy drinking session. Now, thinking back, Suning was still scared. In that state, he had the courage to curse the gods and even inquire about their descendants.

Then, perhaps the gods couldn't bear it anymore and, while Suning was laughing bitterly to the sky, a strong light struck him. When he lowered his head and opened his eyes again, he was here...

This was a very speechless situation. Imagine lying in bed, closing your eyes to sleep, and the next morning, opening your eyes to find yourself naked on a beach, the sea breeze making you feel refreshed...

The feeling of speechlessness is unimaginable.

Am I really in a crossover?

Suning asked himself. He had read many such novels and watched many such TV shows, but what was his situation? Was he really in a crossover? How clichéd would that be? Suning wasn't crazy enough to jump off a mountain to see if he could have a strange encounter; he knew that would just turn him into a meat sauce!

Subconsciously, Suning took off his backpack and emptied its contents. Most were seeds, small ones like wheat and rice, which seemed to be alive; larger ones like potato tubers were also alive. There were a few clothes, a wallet, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a tooth cup, a towel, a facial cleanser, a lip balm, a Swiss Army knife, two bottles of pesticide, a meat floss bread, a pack of Lucky instant noodles, a charger, and a wallet. That was all.

So, the things on him were still there. The phone was there, the earphones were there, the clothes were the same, the pants were the same, the shoes were the same. The only difference was that he seemed a few years younger, looking like a junior high school student, around fourteen or fifteen. What was going on?

And what about the Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan Year 4, January 16, on the phone? Even if it was a divine device, it shouldn't have such an error. The earliest year in the calendar was 1900, not 630, a difference of over a thousand years!

Besides the date, the signal was also lost, indicating no service. Even with 3G data, he couldn't access the internet or make calls, only use the basic functions of the phone, which didn't even work. He couldn't contact the outside world. The battery also seemed to have an issue. Suning remembered checking the time on his phone at the top of Mount Tai, and it was down to 9% battery. How did it suddenly become fully charged?

Unable to figure out any issues, Suning put the phone back in his pocket, zipped it up. He vaguely felt something was wrong with the phone and couldn't lose it, so zipping it up was the safest. He then packed his backpack, put it back on, stood up, and looked around, falling into confusion again. Which way should he go?

If he was still in China, the grassland was in the north, and to find people, he should go south. So, he should head south. Remember, as long as you go south, you'll eventually find people, no matter where you are. Let's go!

Years of tragic experiences had only made his mental resilience incredibly strong.

Think about it, what's the most tragic thing for a student? Failing exams, right? Ha! I've been failing since I was little, so this little change is nothing. I'll just go south and find people!

Taking the first step, Suning suddenly stopped, deep in thought. He was considering a very serious issue! A very serious issue! It concerned his entire journey!

Which way is south?