Chapter 1: Transmigration
“Where is this?”
Staring at the unfamiliar room before him, Zhou Ming—his head throbbing violently and his vision spinning—showed a trace of confusion on his face.
An old incandescent lamp gave off a dim orange-red glow, allowing him to barely make out his surroundings.
The yellowed, cracked walls; the worn-out desk beneath the window; a cupboard with visible cracks; and two mismatched chairs together formed the scene Zhou Ming saw.
“What era is this? How can someone still be using an incandescent bulb, and in a bedroom, no less?”
A sudden uneasiness welled up inside Zhou Ming. He shook his head hard, hoping to clear his dizzy and aching mind.
“Ah…”
The next moment, the pain in his head intensified—as if a sharp knife were stirring his brain.
Lying on the bed, he clutched at his temples desperately, hoping to lessen the unbearable pain.
Unfortunately, the comforting motion was useless. The agony was so sharp that he could only grit his teeth and endure it in silence.
Introverted by nature, Zhou Ming had always suffered quietly. He never expressed pain through screams; even in unbearable torment, the blood at the corner of his mouth was proof enough.
As the headache deepened, Zhou Ming twisted uncontrollably on the smelly bed. The quilt covering him was soon kicked to the floor.
Before long, his already groggy mind succumbed to the waves of pain, and he fainted—at last free from the torturous agony.
He lay motionless like a corpse. Only the blood at the corner of his lips slowly trickled down his neck.
In the dim room, with nothing to mark the passage of time, no one knew how long it was before Zhou Ming—who seemed dead—finally moved again.
Moments later, supporting himself with one hand on the bed and pressing his temple with the other, he slowly sat up once more.
Although his head still throbbed faintly, his expression showed that he was much better now. At least, there was no longer any confusion in his eyes.
“Never thought I’d actually experience something straight out of a novel—transmigration. Is this punishment from the heavens, or a gift?”
Thinking of his family, friends, and all the familiar faces from his past life, Zhou Ming felt a wave of loneliness engulf him.
Yet, when he thought about the mysteries of this new world, compared to the predictable life he had before, Zhou Ming couldn’t help but feel that this was perhaps Heaven’s reward—a chance at a more exciting life.
Though the beginning was a little difficult… just a little.
That was Zhou Ming’s polite way of describing his situation, suppressing the urge to curse. After all, if transmigration was real, then maybe Heaven was too—and he didn’t want to jinx his future luck.
“Sigh!”
In the dimly lit room, an indescribable sigh escaped Zhou Ming’s lips.
No matter what, everything from his past life was gone. Whether it was guilt toward his family or nostalgia for his old friends, all of it could only become a single sigh at this moment.
Then, closing his eyes, Zhou Ming continued to massage his temples while sorting through the memories of this body. He had only grasped the rough outline earlier.
The body’s original owner was an orphan who grew up in a welfare home. His name was Zhou Ming—same pronunciation, but with a different character.
Zhou Ming could only take that as fate.
He didn’t dwell on it. After a brief sigh, he moved on.
What mattered most now was to organize the memories left behind by his predecessor. In his current state, forgetting something important was a real possibility.
As countless images flashed through his mind, Zhou Ming finally understood the world he was now in—and why his predecessor had died, allowing him to take over the body.
This world was called Blue Star, though nowadays, most people referred to it as the Astral Realm.
But that detail wasn’t important. What truly mattered was that, over a thousand years ago, an event had occurred that completely changed the course of Blue Star’s history.
Dimensional rifts—also known as dimensional passages—had descended upon the world.
When the rifts appeared, hordes of ferocious beasts surged out like waves, attacking every living being on Blue Star, including the humans who had once ruled the planet through technology.
Though the destruction wrought by these beasts plunged the world into sorrow, scientists, scholars, and the upper echelons of nations and major corporations were instead filled with excitement.
Because the arrival of these creatures proved that Blue Star wasn’t the only world with life—and that beyond the dimensional rifts lay unimaginable wealth and resources.
They weren’t worried about encountering a higher civilization beyond the rifts, because the sheer number of beasts emerging implied a primitive environment—one that couldn’t possibly support advanced intelligence.
But that hopeful illusion was soon shattered.
Beasts began appearing that could withstand bullets and even ordinary artillery shells. The high-ranking officials who believed that modern weaponry could easily wipe them out suddenly felt a threat unlike any before.
As more rifts appeared—and more powerful beasts emerged—that sense of dread became undeniable reality.
And it wasn’t just beasts. Beings once thought to exist only in legends—the so-called dark creatures—also appeared: werewolves, vampires, merfolk, serpentfolk, harpies. It was as if ancient myths had come alive on Blue Star.
Against mindless beasts, humanity could still barely resist with heavy weaponry. But when facing intelligent dark creatures, humanity suffered crushing defeats.
The reason was simple—when such beings infiltrated human settlements, humanity couldn’t simply drop nuclear bombs or missiles on themselves.
It wouldn’t take many such strikes for human civilization itself to collapse.
Yet, when faced with extinction, Blue Star’s humans no longer cared about consequences.
But even the plan of perishing together with their enemies became impossible.
The appearance of the dimensional rifts caused Blue Star’s size to expand several times over. Though its environment remained suitable for human life, its satellites were destroyed, and wireless communication was nearly wiped out.
Because of this, humanity lost its final means of resistance.
In the period that followed, humans on Blue Star became slaves or food for the dark creatures. In history, this era was later known as the Doomsday Era.
Still, through sheer numbers, a small portion of humanity survived—hiding deep underground or in the mountains.
They had lost everything and were weak, yet they possessed extraordinary learning ability and brilliant intellect.
While avoiding beasts and dark creatures, the surviving humans not only began to rebuild their civilization and technology, but also started searching for a power that could truly belong to humankind—their own transcendent strength.