Chapter 1: Red Moon
Red Moon Calendar 299, January 5th.
Thursday.
Nanjiang Province, Yang City.
Yang City No. 1 High School, Senior Class 1 classroom.
At the back of the classroom, by the window.
Lin Yi rested his chin on his hand. The afterglow of the setting sun shone upon him, outlining the slightly dazed profile of his face.
Looking at his classmates, who were brimming with youth and vitality, he finally confirmed one thing—
’I think I’ve really... transmigrated!’
He only remembered trying to save someone and taking on a dump truck. His last memory was frozen on the screech of brakes, the terrified screams of passersby, and the moment that suffocatingly large truck, reeking of death, slammed into him...
Then, the world distorted and shattered.
When he opened his eyes again, he was here.
Other than transmigration, there seemed to be no other rational explanation for his current situation.
’This... is no longer the Blue Star I knew. Is this a parallel world?’
Lin Yi rubbed his temples, murmuring to himself.
From the fragmented memories of the body’s original owner, he had gained some understanding of this world.
This world was strikingly similar to the Blue Star of his previous life in terms of its civilizational trajectory and historical timeline, but in 2026, a massive turning point had occurred.
That year—
The Red Moon descended.
A scarlet lunar disk hung bizarrely in the sky, replacing the familiar silver one.
What followed was a continuous rain of blood, as if the heavens themselves were weeping.
The raindrops didn’t just stain the mud red. They were like the opening of Pandora’s box, spawning countless ferocious, bloodthirsty, and violent monsters.
They tore cities apart, destroyed homes, and ushered in an era steeped in blood and filled with widespread suffering.
Human civilization teetered on the brink of collapse under the shrieks and claws of the monsters.
Fortunately, the Red Moon brought more than just disaster.
The blood rain that filled the sky contained an unprecedented energy—Spiritual Qi.
The Spiritual Qi of Blue Star began to recover, and the age of the Martial Dao began.
The ranks of Martial Artists who cultivated Spiritual Qi grew rapidly. Wielding powerful fists and feet and mastering nascent Martial Skills, they became the bulwark against the tide of monsters.
Human society was thus able to rebuild order upon the ruins, maintaining a fragile balance.
However, the initial path of the Martial Dao was fraught with hardship.
After all, creating a Cultivation Technique from scratch was no easy task.
The turning point came from an official operation.
A large tomb-raiding syndicate was busted. Among the confiscated illegal artifacts, officials unexpectedly discovered a relic of the legendary Late Ming and Early Qing martial arts Grandmaster, Ji Jike—the "Fundamental Diagram of Form-Intention Fist."
This diagram, containing ancient wisdom and the mysteries of the human body, was like a bright lamp illuminating the fumbling in the dark. It became humanity’s first truly universal cultivation codex.
’Red Moon Calendar 299... The interval between the Red Moon’s appearances is getting shorter and shorter. This world is becoming more and more dangerous!’
Lin Yi sighed deeply.
Having just transmigrated, his first thought was naturally his own survival.
The Red Moon didn’t hang in the sky permanently; it appeared at intervals.
Each time it descended, it would only appear for a single day.
In the beginning, the Red Moon appeared once every five years.
But now, it appeared once every six months.
The interval was constantly shrinking.
Lin Yi even wondered if there would come a day when the Red Moon would hang in the sky forever, never to set. When that time came, an endless rain of blood would submerge the land, and a limitless tide of monsters would pour forth... Could humanity withstand such an apocalypse?
’No!’
Thinking of that apocalyptic scene, Lin Yi’s gaze gradually hardened with resolve.
’I have to get stronger! The faster, the better! Only by becoming a true Martial Artist and possessing enough power can I survive the potential apocalypse!’
In his past life, he had been a dreamer, a faithful reader of web novels. He had fantasized countless times about the thrill of roaming the world with a sword and riding the wind.
Now, a real Martial Arts World lay before him. Learning martial arts was no longer a distant dream. How could he miss this opportunity?
Besides, learning martial arts was a necessity for survival.
’I have to master this!’
Just as Lin Yi fully accepted his new identity as a transmigrator and began to immerse himself in it...
In the hallway outside the classroom.
CLACK... CLACK... CLACK...
The heavy, rhythmic, and oppressive sound of leather shoes striking the floor grew clearer as it approached from a distance, finally stopping at the classroom door.
"The homeroom teacher is here!"
Someone hissed in a low voice, their tone filled with reflexive tension.
In an instant, the clamor in the classroom died abruptly, as if throttled by a giant, invisible hand.
The laughing and roughhousing students, like startled birds, WHOOSHED back to their seats. They sat up straight, eyes forward, their youthful nonchalance instantly replaced by a solemn gravity, like a troop of soldiers awaiting inspection.
CREAK~
The front door of the classroom was pushed open.
Homeroom teacher Lu Donghai walked in with a steady gait, a dark blue folder tucked under his arm.
He wasn’t tall, just under five-foot-seven, with a pair of delicate gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. Behind the lenses, his gaze was as calm as still water, and he had a scholarly, refined air.
If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, you would never connect this scholarly figure with the legendary Martial Artist who could shatter a Giant Stone weighing over a thousand pounds with a single blow.
No pleasantries, no preamble.
Lu Donghai walked straight to the center of the lectern. His sharp gaze swept over every face below like a searchlight, his powerful aura making the very air feel stagnant.
"The results of the New Year’s major exam..." His voice wasn’t loud, but each word landed like a hammer blow on everyone’s heart. "...are out!"
He paused, a flicker of disappointment, almost imperceptible, flashing behind his lenses.
"Three students from our class have fallen out of the school’s top thirty!"
"They were surpassed by students from the regular classes!"
He stressed his words, his tone laced with the stern disappointment of a teacher whose students weren’t living up to their potential.
"Even those who made it to the top ranks, when measured by the standards of previous years, most of them have barely reached the average!"
Lu Donghai’s gaze swept across the room as he delivered his verdict, one word at a time:
"You are the worst elite class I have ever taught!"
The cold assessment made the temperature in the classroom plummet.
He said no more, crisply turning on the classroom computer.
The large LCD blackboard screen behind the lectern lit up, displaying a clear and conspicuous rankings list.
Lin Yi’s heart skipped a beat. His gaze instantly focused on the blackboard.
Soon, he found his name at the very top of the list.
[Examinee]: Lin Yi.
[Class]: Senior Class 1 (Elite Class).
Exam Results—
[Theory]: 30 points.
[Subject Rank]: 1st in Class (1st in School).
[Skills (Basic Crushing Fist)]: 28.5 points.
[Subject Rank]: 1st in Class (1st in School).
[Qi and Blood]: 9.03 (equivalent to 90.3 points).
[Subject Rank]: 3rd in Class (3rd in School).
[Total Score]: 148.8 points.
[Overall Rank]: 1st in Class (1st in School).
The current high school Martial Dao assessment revolved around these three core components—
Theory, which tested knowledge of Martial Dao history, monster characteristics, and cultivation principles.
Skills, which examined the mastery and application of basic Martial Skills.
Qi and Blood value, which directly reflected physical strength and represented cultivation progress.
The first two were out of 30 points, while the latter was out of 100.
’First in class, first in the whole school? I’m actually a genius?!’
Looking at the exam results, Lin Yi blinked, stunned for a moment.
’This isn’t like the transmigration scripts I imagined!’
’According to the transmigration novel tropes I read in my past life, shouldn’t it be a loser-to-hero story? Starting as trash, being looked down on by everyone, then getting a golden finger by some coincidence and beginning a journey of counterattacks and face-slapping all the way to the top?’
’How come when it’s my turn, I’m a genius right off the bat? The kind who crushes the entire school, at that?!’
’Is transmigrating this awesome?’
Then, at the lectern, Lu Donghai began to comment on the exam results one by one.
"First..." His gaze fell on a stocky boy with a crew cut in the front row, his tone softening slightly. "I want to specifically commend student Liu Yang."
The student named Liu Yang instantly straightened his back even more, unable to hide the excitement on his face.
"Liu Yang’s Qi and Blood value..." Lu Donghai pointed at the screen. "Has increased significantly from 8.85 to 9.05! His Qi and Blood ranking has jumped from 28th in the school all the way to 2nd! His overall rank has also shot up to third in the school! This is significant progress and deserves praise. I hope student Liu Yang doesn’t become complacent and continues this momentum."
Liu Yang nodded vigorously, his chest heaving, his face glowing with the pride of being recognized.
After praising Liu Yang, Lu Donghai’s gaze traveled across the classroom and locked precisely onto Lin Yi at the back, by the window.
The earnestness and gravity in his eyes were completely different from his earlier sternness.
"Student Lin Yi."
Lu Donghai’s voice grew heavy, tinged with a hint of worry.
"In this exam, your Qi and Blood value increased from 9.01 to 9.03. Although it’s an improvement of 0.02, the increase... is minuscule."
"This caused your Qi and Blood ranking..."
"...to drop from first in the school to third!"
"Despite your absolute advantage in Theory and Skills, your total score is still firmly number one in the school."
Lu Donghai sighed, his words heavy with meaning.
"But this is by no means a good sign! On the contrary, it’s an extremely dangerous one!"
He stared at Lin Yi, as if trying to carve every word into his heart.
"Among this year’s seniors, you are the most promising candidate for the top ten universities! But at your current rate of Qi and Blood growth..."
Lu Donghai shook his head, his tone somber.
"By the time the college entrance exams come, I’m afraid you’ll have a hard time meeting the minimum Qi and Blood requirement for the top ten universities!"
The classroom fell silent.
Everyone held their breath, listening to the homeroom teacher’s harsh analysis of this number one genius.
"Lin Yi," Lu Donghai’s voice took on a trace of helplessness. "I suggest you seriously consider accepting a ’contract-based investment’ from one of the financial groups. I know that if you sign a contract, you’ll be subject to certain restrictions for the next few years and lose some of your freedom. But!"
He emphasized,
"There are only six months left until the entrance exams! If you can use a financial group’s resources to quickly boost your Qi and Blood and get into a top Martial Arts University, your future will be boundless! The price is just a few years of restrictions. By any calculation, it’s worth it! You have to think about your future!"
His gaze was intense, filled with a teacher’s deep concern and high hopes for his most outstanding student.
Meeting Lu Donghai’s earnest gaze, Lin Yi nodded silently, his voice calm.
"Teacher, I’ll consider it seriously."
Cultivation in the Martial Dao had never been an easy matter.
"The poor pursue literature, the rich pursue martial arts." Behind these words was a stark reality.
Just like Lin Yi’s Senior Class 1, the school’s elite class, which had only thirty students.
However, of these thirty students, twenty-eight were from wealthy families.
Only Lin Yi and the student the teacher had just praised, Liu Yang, were not from wealthy families. They were poor students.
Oh, wait...
Lin Yi’s gaze swept over Liu Yang’s brand-new, designer Martial Arts Uniform...
Liu Yang had been adopted by a tycoon last month. He was one of the rich kids now too.
That left Lin Yi as the only poor student in the entire class.
For those well-off classmates, cultivation resources were readily available.
Take the most basic and in-demand Qi Blood Pill, for example. It cost three thousand yuan a piece on the market. They could buy them as needed, popping them like candy, just to temper their Qi and Blood and solidify their foundation.
As for him, Lin Yi...
An orphan.
His parents had died in a monster attack during a terrifying Red Moon incident just as he was starting middle school.
For all these years, he had been relying entirely on government social assistance just to get by and stay in school.
He had to budget every single cent, stretching each one as far as it would go.
A three-thousand-yuan Qi Blood Pill?
That was almost equivalent to several months of his living expenses!
Where would he get the money to buy one?
’A contract-based investment from a financial group?’
Lin Yi began to consider it.
The original owner hadn’t wanted to be restricted by a financial group, so he was willing to put in ten, even a hundred times the effort into his cultivation rather than sign what was essentially an indentured servitude contract.
’What about me?’