1: Chapter 1

Since that day, the world has never been the same.

Vegetation grew wildly, beasts mutated, and humanity suffered countless casualties in the sudden catastrophe, yet they also glimpsed new possibilities in the dire straits—at the age of eighteen, a certain shackle deep within the bloodline would loosen; some could control fire and water, others had the strength to uproot mountains. This was the so-called "Awakened."

Jiang Haojie stood in the crowd, the buzzing sound of discussion all around him.

"I want to be a Physical Enhancer; splitting a mountain with one punch, that's what you call thrilling!"

"Save it, you? You should thank the heavens if you can become a Mutant or a Psionic."

"Still better than an Ancient Martial Artist; who even practices that stuff nowadays?"

He listened in silence.

He was already familiar with these words.

In this era, the types of Awakened are clearly demarcated: the Combat Type, which prizes battle and dominates the world's order; the Life Type, which maintains daily operations and, while lacking extraordinary combat power, is indispensable; and the Support System, the bond within teams, providing healing or buffs, also an important link.

And the Ancient Martial Artist... seems to have been forgotten by most people in piles of old papers.

"Quiet!"

The deep voice of the Dean of Students came from the podium, and the rowdy crowd instantly quieted down, leaving only the sound of nervous breathing.

"First, Bai Yang."

A handsome youth stepped out in response, his pace calm, not even forgetting to cast a dashing smile at the crowd.

He climbed onto the altar and stood still.

A pure white light fell from above, completely enveloping him.

Immediately after, a sudden change occurred.

Intense red light erupted from within Bai Yang's body, and the air seemed to have been thrown into a furnace, suddenly becoming scaldingly hot.

A crimson beam of light shot into the sky, with faint phantoms of flames churning within it.

"Bai Yang, S-rank Combat Type Awakened, Fire-type Psionic!"

The moment the result was announced, the wave of exclamation and envy almost drowned out the plaza.

"S-rank! And it's the most aggressive Fire-type!"

"He's handsome, and his talent is so outrageous, it's just unfair..."

"A ticket to the top ten prestigious schools, he's basically got it in the bag now."

Jiang Haojie looked at the figure on the altar, illuminated by the red light like a god, his gaze flickering slightly.

Bai Yang, this person, was usually flamboyant in his conduct and had quite the reputation as a playboy; who would have thought he could awaken such a powerful talent.

In this world where the strong are respected, this meant he had already stepped onto a shortcut to the top of the pyramid.

The light on the altar gradually dissipated, and Bai Yang walked down with an unconcealable, smug smile.

The ceremony continued; one name after another was called, the light flickered, and the announced results brought both joy and sorrow.

The crowd's emotions rose and fell with it, cheering at times and sighing at others.

Jiang Haojie waited quietly.

His heartbeat was steady, but his thoughts drifted further away.

This era started by a meteorite, this path of determining one's fate based on awakening, is it truly the only one? And that path of the Ancient Martial Artist, which everyone scoffs at, what exactly does it hide?

He looked up at the altar floating in the air, engraved with ancient patterns, and deep in his eyes, a glimmer that no one noticed flashed by.

In the world of the Awakened, the Reinforcement Type has always been regarded as the rarest category.

Although they are not good at direct combat, they possess the extraordinary talent to imbue weapons with souls and raise their grade.

Because of this, the birth of every Reinforcement Type Awakened attracts fierce competition from all sides; they are not only priceless treasures but are also destined to become the wealthiest of beings.

The abilities of the Awakened are classified by strength from F to SSS, and their types are roughly divided into five categories: the "Physical Enhancer" with a body of steel; the "Mutant" who can transform into a beast; the "Elementalist" who manipulates earth, fire, water, and wind; the "Blacksmith" who specializes in weapon reinforcement; and the "Ancient Martial Artist" who inherits ancient martial arts.

Bai Yang walked down from the high platform during the ceremony, the light of awakening still lingering around him.

His classmates immediately crowded around him, and words of praise were endless.

He raised his chin slightly and accepted these praises calmly.

The ceremony continued, but most of the subsequent results were unsatisfactory.

"Chen Liang, E-rank Life Type, mutation direction—Teddy."

"Bao Qingdi, F-rank Support System, elemental attribute—Wood."

"Next, Jiang Haojie!"

When his name was finally called by the Dean of Students, Jiang Haojie, who was leaning against the wall, was almost falling asleep.

He woke up with a start, walked quickly to the podium, saluted the teachers, and stood still on the awakening altar engraved with runes.

The pure white beam of light fell as expected, completely swallowing him.

Afterward, the light dissipated, and everything returned to calm.

"Jiang Haojie, SSS-rank Combat Type,"

The Dean of Students stared at the testing crystal in his hand, his brows furrowed tightly, pausing for a moment before continuing to announce, "The profession is determined to be... Ancient Martial Artist."

The entire auditorium fell into a brief dead silence.

"No way... How is this possible?"

"It's over, Jiang Haojie's life is ruined. Top-tier aptitude, but he ended up with the most useless profession."

"It's truly a cruel twist of fate. SSS-rank talent, paired with any other profession, would be enough to guarantee admission to the Five Great Saint Academies, but it just had to be an Ancient Martial Artist... Let alone the Five Great Saint Academies, I'm afraid he won't even be able to touch the threshold of the top ten prestigious schools."

Whispers spread like a tide.

The teachers on the stage also shook their heads and sighed; they had once placed high hopes on Jiang Haojie, but now only deep regret remained.

The talent was indeed stunning, but this result of the awakening was truly regrettable.

In the early days of the spiritual energy recovery, the Ancient Martial Artist still had a place.

But with the development of the era, its limitations were exposed: the ability path was singular, growth was extremely dependent on hard-to-find ancient martial arts heritage, and even if successful, they were often inferior to Physical Enhancers of the same rank in actual combat.

Over time, the title of "most useless profession" was firmly stuck on it.

Everyone looked at the figure on the altar who seemed not to have come to his senses yet, their eyes complex.

There was sympathy, indifference, and no lack of mocking gazes of secret rejoicing.

However, no one knew that deep in Jiang Haojie's mind at this moment, a world-shaking tsunami was occurring.

"Ding!"

[Martial God System binding complete.]

[Initial reward issued: God-level talent 'Profound Insight'.]

[Talent description: All martial arts in the world, once read by the host, can be instantly understood and mastered.]

The cold mechanical voice exploded in his mind, pulling Jiang Haojie out of his trance.

He was stunned.

What was this? Like the protagonists in those stories, was he chosen by a system?

[Host awakening successful, officially stepping into the path of ancient martial arts. Newbie gift pack has been placed in the system space, please check it.]

[Warning: It is strictly forbidden to disclose this system information to any existence; violators will be erased.]

Jiang Haojie's heart tightened.

The warning came directly, but he didn't care.

He knew exactly what a system meant—it was a cheat code, a key to rewriting fate, how could he possibly tell anyone?

Before he could think carefully, a semi-transparent panel unfolded before his eyes.

**Name: Jiang Haojie**

**Ability: Ancient Martial Artist**

**Realm: Tier Zero**

**Talent:** (God) Comprehension

**Internal Energy: None**

**Martial Arts: None**

His gaze fell on the "Talent" column, and Jiang Haojie's breathing paused slightly.

It had actually jumped from the lowest F-rank to... God-level.

Who would believe this if he told them?

Although he didn't know exactly how much stronger "God-level" was than the rumored SSS-rank, there was no doubt it must be a crushing gap.

After a dead end, there was indeed still a way.

At this moment, he just wanted to find a place where no one was as soon as possible to carefully examine this sudden power, and by the way, open that newbie gift pack—for the first gift given by the system, his heart was full of burning anticipation.

Jiang Haojie gave a simple salute to the Dean of Students and the others, then turned around and silently returned to the queue.

"Next, Xu Qing."

A lithe figure stepped out in response.

It was a girl with a bright face, overflowing with vigorous vitality.

Jiang Haojie looked up—Xu Qing, his lover.

With his original aptitude, he could have chosen a top-tier academy, but Xu Qing's academic performance was not outstanding, so he eventually came to this high school with her.

Under his gaze, Xu Qing slowly climbed onto the altar.

In an instant, a fierce white light completely swallowed her.

Immediately after, a surge of extreme cold burst from the center of the altar, frost spread to the surroundings at a speed visible to the naked eye, and bone-chilling cold shrouded the entire high platform, making even the scene within it become blurry.

"Roar—!"

Just at this moment, a roar that seemed to originate from ancient times exploded.

That roar carried an indescribable majesty, as if it were striking directly into the depths of the soul.

"Xu Qing, A-rank Combat Type Awakened... mutation direction: Three-clawed Ice Dragon."

The exclamation of the Dean of Students escaped his lips.

The whole venue suddenly boiled over.

A dragon!

Regardless of how many claws it had, regardless of whether its form leaned towards the East or the West, as long as it was connected to a "Dragon," it was already a synonym for power.

Even if the talent rating was only A, the existence of the "Three-clawed Ice Dragon" was enough to make her comparable to those S-rank Awakened.

It is foreseeable that with this talent, Xu Qing entering the top ten prestigious schools is almost a foregone conclusion.

Thinking of this, countless gazes were cast upon her, and the envy almost turned into substance.

On the podium, the teachers were unable to suppress their excitement.

The moment the Three-clawed Ice Dragon appeared, they understood—the high school would no longer be unknown from now on.

Jiang Haojie looked at the altar shrouded in cold mist, and a complex ripple flashed through his heart.

To say there was no envy would be a lie, but more than that, it was a heartfelt joy for Xu Qing.

The cold air quietly retreated from the edge of the altar, and when the ice-crystal-like mist dissipated, a slender shadow coiled on the stone platform.

It was a dragon with a body glowing in a deep blue, not more than three meters long, yet its posture was elegant to the point of being noble.

The scales shimmered with the warmth of porcelain in the remaining halo, and the dragon whiskers trembled slightly, as if carrying a certain innate arrogance.

The surroundings suddenly fell into silence, followed by an irrepressible gasp.

An Awakened who can transform into an Eastern Dragon descendant, even looking at the whole country, is a rare existence.

Xu Qing returned to human form amidst the scorching gazes of the crowd, the corners of her lips curling up unconsciously.

Even she herself had not expected that the talent sleeping deep in her bloodline would be so dazzling.

When her gaze swept across the crowd, she caught a glimpse of that familiar figure, and a subtle, elusive ripple flashed in the depths of her eyes.

Jiang Haojie turned and left the noisy plaza.

The awakening ceremonies of others could no longer arouse his interest; at this moment, he just wanted to find a quiet place to carefully examine the strange interface that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

Just as he stepped into the corridor shrouded in the shadow of the teaching building, a figure blocked his way.

A ponytail swayed gently with the movement, and the girl's face was still bright and beautiful in the dim light.

Jiang Haojie paused, his expression softened, and he took half a step forward: "Congratulations, Xu Qing."

He subconsciously reached out, but before his fingertips could touch her wrist, Xu Qing had already turned to avoid it.

The movement was so light it was almost indifferent.

"Let's end it here, Jiang Haojie."

Her voice was as calm as if she were stating the weather.

Jiang Haojie was stunned on the spot, as if he didn't understand the sentence.

Over three years, he saved every penny of his pocket money, even eating the cheapest food for days in a row, just to scrape together her tuition and living expenses.

The lights of late-night tutoring in his memory, the songs shared through the same pair of headphones, the vows to walk together—all of them now turned into ice picks, stabbing into his chest one by one.

They met in middle school, two people who were a bit lonely in their respective worlds naturally drew closer to each other.

He once thought that the warmth of relying on each other could withstand any changes, and even gave up a better opportunity for further education to come to this ordinary high school with her.

The fantasy of growing old together still carried the naive warmth unique to young people, but it shattered unexpectedly at this moment.

"What's the reason?"

He heard his own voice ring out, dry and hoarse.

"Don't you understand yet?"

A mocking male voice came from around the corner.

Bai Yang appeared at the junction of light and shadow, holding Xu Qing's waist, his gaze like he was examining an eyesore, "I can give her a future you can't—recommendation qualifications for top-tier academies, cultivation resources, everything. And you, apart from studying yourself to death, what else can you do?"