Chapter 1: Reborn in Another World

  The willow is smoked by the gentle breeze, and the flowers are fragrant and intoxicating. It's the season when the spring light is scattered in the southern country. On the main street outside the west gate of Zhenhai County, Yue State, stands a magnificent mansion.

  In front of the mansion, on either side of the two stone platforms stood a flagpole about 20 feet high, with a blue flag fluttering at the top. On the right-hand flag, a golden silk thread embroidered a lion's head with its teeth bared and claws outstretched, looking fierce and powerful. The flag flapped in the wind, making the lion seem even more lifelike. On top of the lion's head was a pair of black silk thread-embroidered bats flying with their wings spread wide. On the left-hand flag were embroidered the four characters "Fu Wei Escort Agency" in bold and powerful strokes, with silver hooks and iron lines that seemed extraordinary. The mansion's vermilion-painted large gate had copper nails as big as teacups shining brightly on it, and above the gate was a signboard inscribed with the four golden characters "Fu Wei Escort Agency", with the two smaller characters "Headquarters" written horizontally below.

  A young man with a handsome face and elegant attire stood in front of the mansion, staring blankly at the plaque above the gate, his face displaying an extremely strange expression, as if he was shocked, disappointed, helpless, and bewildered... If you listened closely, you could hear him muttering to himself: "Fugui Escort Agency? Ling Family? Demon-Expelling Sword Manual? Why is my life so miserable?"

  Ling Muyun stood dazedly in front of the Fuwei Pawnshop, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He originally didn't belong to this world or this era, but had accidentally strayed into it and couldn't find a way back. The taste of this experience was naturally hard to put into words, not something he could share with outsiders.

  Ling Muyun was originally just an ordinary young man in modern society, but because he was unemployed and staying at home, he was bored out of his mind. One day, while browsing the internet, he stumbled upon a single-player wuxia game called "Wuxia Legend", which claimed to be based on the works of four famous wuxia authors: Jin Yong, Gu Long, Liang Yusheng, and others. The game was said to have been developed by borrowing from these classic novels. Remembering his childhood obsession with reading wuxia novels late into the night, Ling Muyun's long-dormant dreams of adventure were rekindled, so he downloaded the game and prepared to play it thoroughly. But as soon as he entered the game interface, a mysterious electrical accident occurred, directly electrocuting his physical body into charcoal, while his soul crossed over in a daze.

  Just after crossing over, Ling Muyun was also a bit dazed, but he quickly recovered. After all, in his original world, his parents had already passed away, and he hadn't married yet, so there were no real relatives left to worry about, and many unnecessary entanglements were gone.

  Ling Muyun crossed over to this world, which is similar to the ancient Huaxia. It belongs to a dynasty called Daxia. The territory of the Daxia Dynasty is vast and boundless, with thousands of miles in all directions, its land area more than ten times larger than that of Huaxia where he lived in his previous life. The Daxia Dynasty divides its administrative units into three levels: state, county, and prefecture. There are nineteen states under its jurisdiction, each governing several counties and prefectures. For example, the Yue State is divided into six counties and more than fifty prefectures. The Jinghai Prefecture is one of the six counties in the Yue State, and the provincial government is located here.

  Because this world lacks mineral resources like sulfur and saltpeter, gunpowder was not invented, let alone the most basic firearms. As a result, the era of hot weapons never arrived, so despite having a civilization history of tens of thousands of years, it remains in the era of cold weapons. Due to staying in the cold weapon era for too long, coupled with the extreme abundance of heaven and earth's primordial energy, the martial arts flourished extremely, producing strong warriors from the grasslands and rivers, even creating a strange situation where the imperial court and martial arts sects co-governed the world.

  Ling Muyun was originally quite satisfied with his identity after crossing over. Born into a wealthy family, he had no worries about food and clothing, and didn't have to worry about inheriting the family property; as an only child, he could enjoy the warmth of family relationships without having to fight for it; at 16 years old, he was still young and had his whole life ahead of him; and with the family's martial arts tradition, he could learn the coveted martial skills and fulfill his past life's dreams of being a martial hero.

  But when he delved deeper into his family's situation, Ling Muyun was like being doused with a basin of cold water, and he felt chilled to the bone.

  His family runs a security company, and it's a big one, with dozens of branches, thousands of guards, and routes that span several states. The problem isn't the size of the company, but its name: Fuwei Security Company. And this company has been passed down through his family for generations, founded by his great-grandfather Ling Yuantu, and now run by his father Ling Zhennan. And the family's traditional martial art is none other than the 72 Routes Devil-Slaying Sword Technique!

  Fuwei Escort Agency, 72 Evil-Slaying Sword Techniques... anyone who has read Jin Yong's martial arts novels should be familiar with these terms. This is similar to the Lin family of Fuzhou in Jin Yong's "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer". Although this world does not have Fuzhou City in Fujian Province, but only Jinghai County in Yue State, there is a similar escort agency and a similar family-style martial art, which seems to also foretell a similar tragedy. Especially when thinking about the game "Martial Arts Legend" that caused him to cross over, which is based on the background of the four great families of Jin, Gu, Huang, and Liang's martial arts, Ling Muyun feels a chill run down his spine.

  Standing still for a moment, Ling Muyun's eyes gradually changed from confusion to determination: "Don't say that this may not be the world of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, even if it is really the world of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, I can make plans ahead of time and rewrite the story!"

  "Master, what's wrong with you? Why are you standing at the door and not coming in?"

  At this time, a voice suddenly entered Ling Muyun's ears. Ling Muyun looked up to see the sound and saw an old man with a white face and no beard wearing a cloth hat and a long gown coming out from inside the door. It was Ling Fang, the steward of the Ling mansion.

  Ling Muyun smiled and nodded slightly, saying: "Oh, it's Fang Bo, I was just distracted for a moment. Are you going out? Where are you headed?"

  Ling Fang, although surnamed Ling, actually has no blood relation with the Ling family. It is said that he was originally an orphan and was brought back by Ling Muyun's grandfather from outside before Ling Zhen Nan was born. Ling Fang began serving Ling Zhen Nan under the arrangement of Ling Muyun's grandfather when Ling Zhen Nan was still a child, and in the Ling family, he has seniority. Although he is a servant, the entire Ling family respects him very much. Ling Zhen Nan always instructed Ling Muyun to address him as "Uncle", so facing Ling Fang, Ling Muyun is also very respectful.

  "I can go where, Master saw that you suddenly disappeared without a word, so let the old slave come out to find you, didn't expect you are here, now the old slave is at ease."

  Ling Muyun smiled shyly and said, "Oh, I felt a bit stifled too, and didn't say goodbye to anyone, so I just slipped out for a stroll. Next time I'll definitely let you know first, Fang Bo."

  "Hmm, then young master, you come with me to see the old master first."

  "Good."

  Ling Muyun nodded and followed Ling Fang into the courtyard.

  The Fuwei Escort Agency is divided into two parts, the outer house is where the escort agency handles its daily affairs, while the inner house is where the Ling family resides. Ling Mu Yun followed Ling Fang into the inner house and arrived at the main hall, where he saw his father, Ling Zhen Nan, sitting in a taishi chair with a tobacco pouch in hand, eyes closed in contemplation.

  Ling Mu Yun shouted from the front: "Dad!"

  Ling Zhen Nan opened his eyes and looked at Li Mu Yun with a benevolent gaze, asking: "How did you disappear without a sound, where did you go?"

  "There's nothing, just felt a bit stifled and went out for a stroll."

  Ling Zhennan nodded upon hearing this, and suddenly raised the tobacco pouch in his hand to strike Ling Muyun's shoulder, which was one of the 72 moves of the "Bixie Sword Technique" called "Flowing Star Plummet".

  Originally, Ling Zhen Nan often unexpectedly tested Ling Mu Yun's skills. If it were an ordinary day, seeing him use the move "Flowing Star Plummet", Ling Mu Yun would respond with another move from the Devil-Expelling Sword Method called "Flowers Bloom to See the Buddha". However, this Ling Mu Yun was not the same as before. The newly reborn Ling Mu Yun had merged with his original memories, but he wasn't the original Ling Mu Yun after all. So for a moment, he couldn't react in time and forgot to dodge.

  As the pipe rod was about to fall on Ling Muyun's shoulder, he didn't react at all. Ling Zhennan's eyes narrowed and his hand tightened, the pipe rod froze in mid-air three inches from Ling Muyun's clothes: "What's wrong? If you encounter a strong enemy on the road, your reaction is so slow, do you still have this shoulder?"

  Although Ling Zhen Nan's words were tinged with blame, his face still wore a smile, clearly he hadn't really lost his temper with his son.

  "Yes, Father!"

  Ling Muyun suddenly realized Ling Zhennan's intention, his left shoulder sank, and he turned around to get behind Ling Zhennan. He grabbed the feather duster on the tea table and stabbed it at Ling Zhennan's back, using the "Flowers Bloom to See the Buddha" move from their family's 72 Evil-Expelling Sword Techniques.

  "This is it." Ling Zhen Nan nodded with a smile, and with a reverse hand movement, he used his tobacco pouch to deflect the feather duster in Ling Mu Yun's hand. Immediately after, the tobacco pouch rod swiftly struck Ling Mu Yun's neck, executing the "Riverbank Flute" move from the Devil-Expelling Sword Technique.

  Ling Muyun gathered his spirits and, according to his memory, used the "Purple Energy Arrives from the East" move from the Evil-Expelling Sword Technique to counterattack.

  The father and son exchanged dozens of moves, when Ling Zhen Nan suddenly thrust out his tobacco pouch, lightly tapping the left side of Ling Mu Yun's chest. Ling Mu Yun was unable to block it in time, feeling a numbness in his right arm as the feather duster slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

  Ling Zhen's face showed a satisfied expression, and he smiled: "Very good, very good, today you've mastered several more moves, your progress is not small!"

  Listening to Ling Zhen Nan's praise, Ling Mu Yun's face didn't have a hint of joy. The current him was no longer the original Ling Mu Yun. He deeply knew that even if it were Ling Zhen Nan himself in the martial arts world, he could only barely be considered a third-rate character. In the situation where Ling Zhen Nan intentionally held back and didn't use his true strength, he could only barely hold on for thirty or so moves, what was there to be proud of?

  Ling Zhen Nan saw that Ling Mu Yun seemed to have a gloomy expression, so he asked: "Xuan Er, I think your face doesn't look too good, what's wrong?"

  Ling Mu Yun's face was calm as he explained, "Nothing, I just feel a bit tired. Dad, you don't have to worry."

  Ling Zhen Nan said: "Since you're tired, go back to your room and rest. I'll send someone to call you when it's time for dinner."

  "Yes, father, I'll take my leave first."