Chapter 1: Knight Chen Shang

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Knight Chen Shang

Sunlight streamed through the carved wooden windows of Black Crow Castle, casting long, slender pools of light across the floor.

Chen Shang opened his eyes on the soft, massive bed and gently pushed aside the fair arm wrapped around his neck. The owner of the arm seemed disturbed by the movement, grumbling in dissatisfaction before rolling over, burying her face in the pillow, and falling back asleep.

The messy bed was a testament to the previous night’s debauchery, but as a Third Level Knight, Chen Shang possessed excellent physical stamina. Still brimming with energy, he sat up and stretched, his bones letting out a series of satisfying CRACKS. He hopped out of bed and practiced a set of long fist forms, allowing the Fighting Spirit to circulate through his body for a full cycle before finally returning to his Dantian.

"Is there still no hope for a breakthrough?" Chen Shang thought, sensing the Fighting Spirit within him. He sighed with regret. Without enough talent, no amount of hard work would matter!

It had been almost thirty years since he transmigrated to this world. When he first arrived, he became the son of a minor Lord, meaning he never had to worry about food or clothing. His father had planned out a set path for him: grow up, study, cultivate trusted aides, and eventually take over the territory. However, when Chen Shang discovered the existence of Extraordinary Power in this world, he resolutely renounced his inheritance to pursue it, angering his father so much that the old man nearly disowned him.

He was gone for over a decade. Chen Shang successfully cultivated Fighting Spirit and became a Knight. First Level, Second Level, Third Level—he advanced rapidly without a hitch. Yet, when he attempted to break through to become a Great Knight, he hit an impenetrable wall.

His talent ended right here. It was a despair-inducing chasm!

Then, one day, he accidentally helped an envoy responsible for procuring supplies for Wizards. From this envoy, he learned a shocking truth: Knights were merely child’s play; Wizards represented the truly great path of evolution! Overjoyed, Chen Shang immediately asked for more information, only to learn a devastating fact—he had no Spirit Talent.

Anyone born with the talent would be detected by the Elemental Tower at birth and subsequently taken away, along with their families, to be privately cultivated at a Wizard Academy! That place was a completely different world from the realm of ordinary people.

Unwilling to give up, Chen Shang got the envoy drunk and extracted more fragmented, terrifying information. This world was far more bizarre than he could have ever imagined!

The Core Truth Continent of the Wizard World was an infinitely vast land divided into three layers: the inner core, the surface, and the sky. In the outer reaches, one hundred and eight minor worlds orbited it, collectively guarding the Truth Continent. The world Chen Shang inhabited was one of them.

Naturally, such a peculiar place did not form on its own. The drunken envoy proudly clamored that many Great Wizards, wielding mighty power, had personally selected suitable worlds and physically relocated them. To transform the ecology of the vast Truth Continent, they had even dragged over countless stars to provide endless light and heat. Of course, it was also these Great Wizards who forcefully stabilized the Truth Continent’s physical form. Otherwise, such a massive world would have collapsed into a terrifying singularity.

Chen Shang fell into a daze. He wondered if that meant it would have collapsed into a black hole. Did Wizards really possess such formidable power? What devastated him more was that he could not even touch the threshold of this power.

After seeing off the procurement envoy, Chen Shang returned to his territory in a state of utter despondency. His father had grown old and said nothing, simply handing the territory over to him before passing away peacefully one winter.

Chen Shang became a Knight, and his territory expanded several times over. The Duke even bestowed upon him the title of Count Black Crow, yet he only spiraled into decadence.

With no hope left for his cultivation, his life was set in stone. Chen Shang could see his future all the way to the end at a single glance. He would be a mediocre Lord, marry an aristocratic lady of equal standing, have a few children, pass on the territory, and then die of old age one day. He would be buried in the family cemetery, his tombstone engraved with the words: *Lord of this Land, Chen Shang*.

The more he thought about it, the more depressed Chen Shang became. Losing all interest in morning exercises with the little maid in his bed, he walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. His eyes were lifeless, his appearance unkempt. Long, disheveled hair cascaded down his shoulders, and his beard desperately needed a shave. Yet, none of this could hide his underlying handsomeness, and his tall, slender body was packed with strength.

A Third Level Knight could live for three hundred years. He wondered, "Am I really going to spend the rest of my life living a life of debauchery?"

If Extraordinary Power did not exist, such a life would certainly be wonderful. But after tasting the sweetness of cultivation, who would willingly settle for this?

"My Lord! My Lord!"

The breathless voice of his old butler, Vickers, suddenly came from outside the door.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and a white-haired Vickers hurried inside. He held a formal suit in his hands, neatly pressed and ironed.

"My Lord, please dress quickly. The Duke’s guards have arrived," Vickers said, lowering his voice. His Adam’s apple bobbed. "They’ve already crossed the stone bridge. They’ll be at the castle gates in fifteen minutes at most."

Chen Shang froze as he took the clothes.

"The Duke’s guards?" he repeated. "Here?"

Vickers nodded emphatically, the wrinkles on his face seeming to deepen.

Chen Shang looked down and slipped into the clothes, his mind racing as he buttoned them up. The Duke was the supreme ruler of the Lu Xing Duchy. He resided in the Royal City, which was tens of thousands of miles away—a journey of more than half a month on horseback from Chen Shang’s territory. As a lowly Count, Chen Shang had almost no interaction with the Royal City, save for paying his annual taxes on time and sending some local specialties during the holidays.

Why would the guards come here in person?

Frowning at the thought, he asked, "How many men?"

"Thirty cavalrymen," Vickers replied. "Fully armed and bearing the royal banner. The subjects all saw them from the fields..."

Thirty cavalrymen? Chen Shang was taken aback. This was not the size of a standard messenger escort. Usually, such an arrangement was reserved for escorting heavy criminals or protecting an important figure. What could possibly warrant the Duke sending thirty cavalrymen to a remote Lord like him?

Chen Shang finished dressing immediately and began to shave and comb his hair.

"Where is the honor guard?"

"Waiting at the gate," Vickers said, handing over a dark blue woolen coat. The cuffs were embroidered with the family crest—a crow standing on a stalk of wheat—though the edges were a bit frayed. "My Lord, should we... prepare something? In case the guards stay the night..."

"They won’t stay. There must be something major going on," Chen Shang said, shaking his head as he pulled on the coat. "Just make some preparations for now. Have the kitchen slaughter two sheep, and bring up that thirty-year-old barrel of red wine from the cellar."

He went downstairs, rallied the honor guard, and marched out of the castle in perfect formation. It was a good thing he had become a Knight; his old man never had this kind of imposing presence when he was alive.

The morning breeze blew past, carrying the fresh scent of the wheat fields and setting the family banners fluttering in the air.

His territory was located in the southwest corner of the Lu Xing Duchy, on a relatively fertile plain where two rivers intersected. In the distance lay endless stretches of wheat fields. The crops were in the grain-filling stage, presenting a lush sea of green that rippled in the wind like waves.

Even further away, a small cluster of black dots could be seen slowly advancing toward the castle. It was the Duke’s guards.