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[This book starts off slow, but the subscription numbers for individual chapters have been continuously rising in the 24 hours post-launch, which shows that at least the plot of the first 1.6 million characters has not collapsed. Readers who enjoy it can follow with confidence~]
…
The year 3145 of Great Qian Longchang – the ninth of April.
In the Ping'an Wang Family, the former Family Head Wang Dingyue passed away in his prime.
After a seven-day mourning period, Wang Shouzhe, a legitimate descendant of the direct bloodline, assumed the role of the new Family Head according to national and clan regulations. This occurred under the supervision of Madam Gongsun Hui, alongside the other elders, after reporting to the Old Ancestor Wang Longyan and the extended lineage of ancestors.
The Wang Family was rated by the Great Qian Land as a ninth rank Profound Martial Family, with influence limited to the Ping'an Town area of Changning defense, belonging to a lesser-known Prominent Family lineage.
However, their ancestors were once prosperous, tracing their roots back to a branch of the Great Qian Wang Clan.
A thousand years ago, for unknown reasons, our ancestor separated from the Great Qian Wang Clan and traveled thousands of miles to Longzuo County. There, they opened up the land to establish the Wang Family of Longzuo, laying the foundation of the family.
At that time, the Longzuo Wang Family was considered a prestigious and unparalleled Prominent Family.
Unfortunately, flowers do not bloom for a hundred days, nor can a person stay well for a thousand days.
After the glory days, the family's fortunes gradually declined.
Later.
In the year 3000 of Longchang, the talented Wang Zhuxuan of the Longzuo Wang Family carried the Expansion order southward to the Changning defense, founded a settlement at the confluence of the Liu Ping Mountain Range and Peace River, broke new ground for human habitation, and established the merits of building the Ping'an Wang Family, taking root and thriving there.
Ancestor Zhou Xuan, at the peak of his power, once reached the Advanced Stage of the Spirit Platform Realm and was peerless within Ping'an Town.
What made Ancestor Zhuxuan proudest was his granddaughter Wang Longyan, who was exceptionally talented. By the age of eighteen, she had reached the High Segment of Level Seven in the Qi Refinement Realm and was admitted to the prestigious Purple Abode Academic Palace. By thirty, she broke through to the Spirit Platform Realm and before sixty, she advanced to the Mid Stage of the Spirit Platform Realm, receiving significant cultivation and trust from the Academic Palace.
Wang Longyan, along with Liu Xuanfu of the Liu Clan, were known as the Two beauties of Changning, with their fame spreading far and wide.
In addition, the prodigious great-grandson Wang Qiongyuan of the Ancestor's direct lineage also showed exceptional talent. With the Ancestor's nurturing, he reached the Spirit Platform Realm at the age of forty and took over the position of the Family Head.
At that time, with three members of the family in the Spirit Platform Realm, the Wang family's influence even extended over the entire Changning defense region.
It wasn't until the year 3095 of Longchang, when Ancestor Zhuxuan was 145 years old, that the long-calm fierce beasts deep within the Liuping Mountain suddenly went berserk, with Ping'an Town bearing the brunt and becoming the disaster zone.
To protect the Wang family's centennial foundation, Ancestor Zhuxuan personally held back a Level Five fierce beast, the Golden-winged Sun-Eating Tiger, waiting for reinforcement to arrive.
The battle was extremely brutal. Two elders from vassal families also went missing in battle with the beast tide, their fates unknown. Although the Golden-winged Sun-Eating Tiger and the beast calamity were eventually killed by the reinforcements from Changning defense who arrived later, the Ping'an Wang Family had already suffered immense damage.
Not only did Ancestor Zhuxuan fall in this battle, but the highly anticipated Fourth Generation Spirit Platform Realm beginning stage Family Head Wang Qiongyuan and the fifth-generation successor Wang Xiaodong also died in the beast calamity.
The fall of two generations in the Spirit Platform Realm greatly diminished the strength of the Ping'an Wang Family.
And the two vassal clans, Liu and Zhao, had long harbored ill intentions. During the beast calamity, they preserved their strength in secret, with their elders faking their deaths to escape. When the Wang Family began to wane, they joined forces in an attempt to take over the Wang family's base.
At the crucial moment, Wang Longyan of the third generation of the Wang Family resolutely went against the rules of the Purple Abode Academic Palace, abandoning her promising future to return to her family, and took the initiative to confront a total of three Spirit Platform Realm opponents from the enemy side.
In a one against three situation, Wang Longyan bravely killed the Spirit Platform Realm allies of the enemy, deterring the Spirit Platform Realm elders of the Liu and Zhao families.
Unfortunately, Wang Longyan was severely injured in the battle. Her strength fell to the beginning stage of the Spirit Platform Realm, and her lifespan was greatly reduced.
Even so, Wang Longyan still bore the burden alone, barely maintaining the Ping'an Wang Family. The Liu and Zhao families did not dare to provoke Wang Longyan excessively and thus employed a strategy of eroding the Wang family's strength.
Time flew by, and another four to five decades passed. No one from the successive generations had reached the Spirit Platform Realm, and now even the First Clan Leader Wang Dingyue had died.
All the burdens seemed to have fallen on the shoulders of Wang Shouzhe, the new generation Family Head!
…
Inside an antique wing of the Wang Family's main residence,
"Young, no, Family Head~ the deceased has passed away. Please have something to eat. If you keep this up, your body won't hold up. These meals were personally prepared for you by Madam Gongsun." Wang Gui, the close attendant, carefully held a box made of purple sandalwood, his face full of deep concern.
"Sigh~" Wang Shouzhe let out a sigh, put down the "Wang's Ancestral Inheritance Chronicles," and regained some clarity in his eyes, a thought emerging in his heart, "Who would've thought that a car accident would transport me to a mysterious magical world, and I'd randomly become the head of a declining Prominent Martial Family. It seems like the burden is heavy indeed."
It turned out that three days ago, the original Wang Shouzhe collapsed onto his late father's coffin from excessive grief. When he faintly awoke, he found himself as a transmigrator.
Over the past three days, the merging of memories made Wang Shouzhe seem somewhat bewildered. People thought he was distressed and somewhat dispirited, but they didn't know the whole story. They simply followed the clan rules and the heritage, pushing him into the position of Clan Leader.
After finishing the "Wang's Ancestral Inheritance Chronicles," Wang Shouzhe roughly understood the family and the world where he was. This world he found himself in is called "Great Qian Land" in which the country was established by Profound Martial Families, with the Imperial Household being the largest Profound Martial family. Other larger and smaller Profound Martial Families are spread throughout like stars in the night sky.
Intertwined with each other, they influence the politics, economy, and even the fate of the entire Great Qian, directly or indirectly.
Although the Wang Family is merely a lesser-known Level Nine Family, it is already one of the dominant forces in the Changning Ping'an area, and it also occupies a significant speaking right within the local Government Organization Town Defense Guard.
Even earlier, during the era of Wang Shouzhe's great-grandfather, the Wang family was the unquestioned prominent family of Ping'an Town, with its power extending its influence even to the surrounding areas of Changning Wei.
But following the two earth-shattering pivotal battles mentioned in the "Wang's Ancestral Inheritance Chronicles," which led to the fall of the family's experts, the family's fortunes had been declining year by year. Even with Wang Longyan, the old ancestor's strenuous support, it was difficult to withstand the combined encroachment of the Liu Clan and the Zhao Clan.
Wang Shouzhe always felt there was something odd about that battle. Why did the Liu and Zhao families dare to hold back their strength and ultimately rebel? And why did the reinforcements arrive so late?
The Chronicles were vague on details, leaving much unexplained. However, Wang Shouzhe kept his suspicions in mind for the time being.
Subsequently, the former Family Head Wang Dingyue, in an attempt to reach the Spirit Platform Realm to save the family from disaster, ventured into the dangerous frontier in search of a breakthrough opportunity.
However, Wang Dingyue's efforts ended in tragedy with his untimely death, adding misery to the declining Ping'an Wang Family.
If nothing unexpected happened, according to this trend, within the next few decades the Wang family's land and properties in Ping'an Town would be gradually encroached upon and replaced by the town's other two families. The once vast and glorious family would fall into decline, and the family bloodline would be reduced to commoners.
"However, it is an interesting world," Wang Shouzhe narrowed his eyes, quietly reflecting as he assimilated the memories. "It seems that although the previous Wang Shouzhe was young, he was not a simple character."
His memories told him that Wang Shouzhe had been hailed as a prodigy since childhood, his natural talent and gifts only slightly behind Wang Longyan, according to the ranking by old ancestor Zhou Xuan among the bloodline of the seven generations of his descendants.
With the family's concentrated resources, Wang Shouzhe achieved the high Level Six of the Vital Energy Refining Realm at the age of eighteen and was not far from Level Seven.
This was good news; at least he hadn't transmigrated into the body of a worthless person.
The young servant Wang Gui, observing the changing expressions of Wang Shouzhe, grew more worried. "Family Head, please rest. I will go and call for the doctor immediately."
"It's alright, I'm not seriously hindered," Wang Shouzhe stopped him. "Wang Gui, leave me. I have some matters to ponder."
"Yes!"
Wang Gui put down the food box, briskly left the room, and carefully closed the door behind him.
Once Wang Gui had left and he was alone, Wang Shouzhe truly relaxed, letting his guard down. After days of vigil beside the spirit tablet and merging with his new consciousness, he hadn't eaten properly and his stomach was growling with hunger. Before he could tackle the overwhelming task of revitalizing his family, he needed to satisfy his hunger first.
Opening the exquisite sandalwood food box, a tantalizing aroma wafted out. Inside, compartments held rice, vegetables, meat, and a piece of steamed fish.
Driven by hunger, he quickly picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. The seasoning was mediocre, but the texture was exceptionally rich. As he chewed, the meat's fragrance filled his mouth. Swallowing it, he could faintly feel a warm current flowing within him.
Hmm, this tasty?
What kind of meat was this? Pork? No, pork didn't have such a fine texture. Lamb? That wasn't right either—this meat lacked any gamey taste and was rich in flavor, juicy, and tender, much like an expensive imported beef he had once tried before transmigrating.
However, soon his amalgamated "memories" told him that this was the meat of the Spirit Horned Yaks, a precious food source. Regular consumption could strengthen the body and promote cultivation.
As a young clan leader with exceptional talent, he was the top priority for the family's resources, naturally entitling him to such benefits.
Wang Shouzhe savored the warm current in his body and the quick restoration of his energy, silently exclaiming to himself that it was indeed excellent meat. He couldn't resist the temptation and quickly finished the little yak meat that was there.
Still not satisfied, he turned his attention to the steamed fish. His merged memories informed him that it was the Red-tailed spirit bream, a rare spirit fish from Peace River nearby. It was a Level Two fierce beast that could grow to hundreds of pounds in weight, strong enough to capsize boats and extremely ferocious.
Ordinary fishermen encountering such a beast would flee in sheer terror, with any delay resulting in capsized boats and loss of life.
This particular Red-tailed spirit bream had been caught last year by the former Clan Leader Wang Dingyue, along with several of the clan's experts, who fortuitously captured it using their skills. It had been preserved and stored in the family's ice cellar as a supplement of Spirit Food for the younger generation of the clan.
The cook had carefully removed the fish bones, presenting a steamed meat that was savory and tender, giving a refreshingly cool sensation as it traveled through his body, offering comfort and an exquisitely delicious taste.
Even the rice was not ordinary—each grain was plump, translucent, and chewed with a nice texture, giving off a strong fragrance akin to orchids. This was, indeed, the famous Spirit Food known as White Jade Rice.
Wang Shouzhe enjoyed his meal immensely. The weakness in his body and flagging spirits vanished, replaced by vibrant energy and a clear mind.
If he could eat like this at every meal, his cultivation would surely progress at an extraordinary pace.
But that was obviously impossible. The family was no longer as prosperous as in the past. Even someone with his standing could not indulge in such luxury, let alone other family members.
Now that he had become the Family Head, he couldn't neglect the welfare of other family members by endlessly encroaching upon their resources for his own benefit. If he did so, it wouldn't be long before the family became divided, and it would hasten its downfall.
Even if just for the sake of enjoying various delicious meals at every turn, he had to help the Wang family grow stronger and more powerful.
"System!" Wang Shouzhe lay on the bed to digest, closed his eyes and called out with his thoughts in a calm manner.
But after a while, there was no response.
Could it be? Wang Shouzhe felt his heart sink. A transmigration without a golden finger could be challenging. He tried calling out several times more, but still no golden finger appeared.
His heart grew colder as he realized the predicament he was in, a Mysterious Magical World populated with numerous experts and rampant fierce beasts—how was he to cope without a golden finger?
[Author's PS: Following some suggestions, I've adjusted the closing section of Chapter One. Also, the book's performance has steadily improved in the early and middle stages, with a significant increase occurring after approximately 1.3 million words; the late stage has not yet been written... Don't miss out as you pass by.]