In the silent room, beneath the bright lights, Shen Hex gradually woke up, a trace of confusion in his eyes. A vast amount of information converged in his mind, unable to settle for a long time.
"Human Empire..."
"Cosmic Evil God..."
"Yunlan Star..."
"Tianbei City..."
"Shen Martial Arts Hall..."
"High School... University... Summer Vacation..."
After a storm, Shen Hex finally organized the information in his mind, sitting up from the bed, his brows furrowed, suspicion written all over his face.
Did he... transmigrate?
Or was it reincarnation and revival of memories?
He couldn't say for sure.
But no matter what, he had arrived in this world, a world he didn't know whether to call a future development or a parallel cosmos.
Here, the origin of human civilization is also Earth, but that's already a matter of hundreds of thousands of years ago.
According to the information of this life received by "Shen Hex," Earth's humans entered the interstellar era in the year 4000 AD, successively landing on the moon, transforming Mars, and ultimately breaking free from the solar system, embarking on vast interstellar colonization.
Thus, after hundreds of thousands of years of development, an empire was established centered on Earth, with humanity as its main force, governing countless planets and ruling billions of races, a top-tier power within the universe.
And the Yunlan Star where he resided was a colonial star newly cultivated on the border of the Human Empire two hundred years ago, currently still in the mid-colonial phase, with indigenous beings stubbornly resisting, Evil God's minions causing chaos everywhere, coupled with certain internal power struggles within the Empire, keeping this planet in a state of frequent warfare and turmoil.
Fortunately, Shen Hex's father was a formidable Tier Four Professional, who established a martial arts hall in Tianbei City, one of Yunlan Star's three major cities. Not only did they avoid the ravages of war, but life was quite prosperous, already stepping into the middle class.
Professional!
This is the core force with which Earth's humans conquered space and built the cosmic empire.
Every citizen of the Human Empire can unlock extraordinary power upon reaching adulthood, known as "Profession," generating various professions and acquiring various abilities through different methods.
Shen Hex's father was a Tier Four Martial Arts Professional. Although he followed the mainstream path within the martial arts system, not a rare or special profession, reaching Tier Four was quite impressive, being able to train Tier One to Tier Three Martial Arts Professionals through teaching and other methods, making a name for himself in Tianbei City.
With this, Shen Hex's parents not only purchased property in Tianbei City and established the Shen Martial Arts Hall, but they also made a name for themselves and attracted many disciples, allowing Shen Hex, who was a humble worker in his previous life, to experience the life of a wealthy heir.
Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances occur, calamity strikes unexpectedly, and three years ago, Shen Hex's parents disappeared in an accident during interstellar travel, causing Shen Hex, the wealthy second generation, to fall directly from the clouds into the abyss.
Due to the special nature of Professionals, martial arts halls and similar enterprises are not entirely private. They must fulfill certain social responsibilities, such as training disciples and providing talents. If they fail to meet standards for a long time, they must pay substantial industry taxes to the Empire.
Besides, martial arts halls can engage in challenge battles, where one martial artist challenges another of the same level. If they win a certain number of times and meet specific conditions, they can forcibly acquire the opponent's martial arts hall at the market's lowest price.
Thus, after Shen Hex's parents went missing, the Shen Martial Arts Hall's situation immediately became precarious, and many people set their sights on this juicy target, initiating challenge battles once various conditions were met six months ago.
Without Father Shen's presence, how could the Shen Martial Arts Hall resist those hungry predators? In six months, they lost two matches in a row. If they lose another match three months later, the martial arts hall must be transferred at a low price.
As such, Shen Hex's situation is predictable. He had just turned eighteen a month ago. Even if he transitions immediately, he is just a First-tier Martial Disciple, unable to protect this family inheritance.
Although, besides him, the Shen Martial Arts Hall has accepted many disciples, and a few direct disciples have reached Tier Three. If they worked together and fully utilized the advantages of being the defending side, there might be hope for victory. But...
The human heart is deceitful, and the social climate is cold!
Some people and some matters cannot be relied upon.
After all, with him as the Young Hall Master, even if those elder brothers and sisters defended the Shen Martial Arts Hall with all their might, this foundation would not fall to them. It can only be inherited by Shen Hex.
So, who would risk their lives?
Perhaps there are some selfless individuals and grateful ones in the world, but most of the disciples in the Shen Martial Arts Hall are not of that kind.
Shen Hex summarized the memories, using his lifelong experience as a humble worker in the workplace to analyze, and found that the internal relationships of the Shen Martial Arts Hall could be summarized as follows.
A seemingly honest senior apprentice brother, a pure-hearted second apprentice sister.
A third apprentice brother unwilling to accept mediocrity, a fourth apprentice sister with layered schemes.
An ambitious fifth apprentice brother, lackey juniors six, seven, and eight.
Call me junior pup, ninth apprentice puppy, tenth apprentice sister lovesick.
Just a bunch like this, playing romantic liner connections, engaging in palace intrigue within the residence, he pursues her to no avail, she regards him with indifference, you act the simp, he plays the fool, some are pristine white lotus, others filled with schemes...
Shen Hex always wondered where his parents found such a group of outstanding bastards.
Angry words aside, Shen Hex knew well that in the face of adversity, a couple, once like birds sharing the same forest, would each fly their own way. The Shen Martial Arts Hall has fallen to such a state, coupled with the presence of himself, the inconvenient Young Hall Master. It is only logical for the disciples to lose faith and turn to other opportunities.
Such is human nature, which is understandable.
Not only this set of the finest people, but even he, the Young Hall Master, could also not be relied upon—too young to have started a profession, and usually idling away, lacking ambition. Even without indulging in vices like debauchery, he was nonetheless absorbed in pleasures, looking much like a lazy fool beyond rescue.
Hence, the Shen Martial Arts Hall was beyond saving.
Even Shen Hex's own situation was quite dangerous.
After all, according to Imperial law, even if someone successfully overtakes a hall, the victor cannot possess the defeated hall without compensation and must purchase it at the lowest market price.
Given the scale of the Shen Martial Arts Hall, even at the lowest price, it represents a considerable sum, at least to mid-to-low tier professionals.
As a developing colonized planet, Yunlan Star has always had poor public safety, with various forces intricately interwoven inside and out, big to small, shades of white mixing into black, with a refined streak of gray in the middle.
In such an environment, a high school student without family protection, whose parents are missing, yet holding a fortune—his situation is obvious to imagine.
Now, overtly and covertly, who knows how many eyes are staring at him, simply waiting for the moment to devour him whole, leaving no trace behind.
Fortunately, Shen Hex's parents anticipated this long ago, making numerous arrangements before their departure. Though they couldn't save the Martial Arts Hall, protecting him was no issue.
This is also the reason he is lying here.
Sell the hall, go to high school, apply for university!
This is Father Shen and Mother Shen's arrangement.
Though Yunlan Star's security is bad, it mainly applies to the lower city districts; the upper city district and the academy district are exceptions.
This is due to the backing of the two major forces of the Empire—Noble Faction and Academy Faction.
After hundreds of thousands of years of development, the Human Empire, this enormous entity, has a highly complex internal structure—not only the Imperial Family and Cabinet but also nobles, noble families, military, academies, various factions all require maintaining checks and balances.
Thus, Yunlan Star, albeit nominally belongs to the Governor, has mixed influence from various factions in reality, like the Academy Faction here having established nearly a hundred high schools, drawing talent yearly through college entrance exams.
Being one of the main factions of the Empire, the Academy Faction's strength is formidable—even the planet's governor dares not openly challenge it, thus making the academy district a piece of pure land, uninfluenced by others.
Those coveting the Shen Martial Arts Hall are mostly the stubborn rats from lower city districts. Provided Shen Hex is in the upper city district or academy district, they will never dare act. After school starts, not even a pair of guts would tempt them to kidnap from the school grounds.
Hence, Shen Hex's parents arranged for him to sell the hall and immediately reside temporarily in the upper city district, wait for school to start for accommodation procedures, then attend high school and apply for university, thereby ensuring peace of mind.
But this is premised on Shen Hex's ability to gain admission to university.
The teaching method of the Human Empire is vastly different from the world he transmigrated from, with masses of cultural and elective courses in elementary and middle school, stretching the graduation age to eighteen. Only after employment at eighteen can one enter high school.
This process is unrestricted; as long as you are an Empire citizen, regardless of family background or status, you can complete six years of high school education.
However, university differs greatly—with exceedingly high thresholds, to gain admission to various academies requires either excellent grades or special professions. Or being wealthy enough to pay exorbitant tuition; in short, one must excel in some facet.
If unable to attend university, one must heed the Empire's conscription post high school, regaining freedom only after completing military service.
In light of Yunlan Star's current situation, without certain background or power, military service equates to cannon fodder, especially in frontline units where the death rate remains perilously high.
Therefore, for Shen Hex to ensure peace of mind, attending university is imperative.
However, given his learning capacity and the current financial state, there's essentially only one pathway to university—professional specialty admission!
Father Shen and Mother Shen had similar thoughts; thus, before departing, they bestowed upon him a Jade Pendant, reputed to be an exceptionally rare professional item, claiming it had a high probability of enabling him to become a Cultivator if used alongside the Shen family's inheritance martial art "Yuan-Devouring Skill."
If successful, not only could he receive focused cultivation in high school, post-graduation the major cultivation academies would specially recruit him, exempting military service while promising a bright future.
However, now an unexpected little mishap occurred.
He did not become a Cultivator.
Instead...
Shen Hex
Occupation: Transmigrator
Professional Rank: Tier One Level One (Transmigrators can obtain professional experience through influencing the world—the greater the influence, the more experience gained. Each rank advancement slightly enhances spiritual power, and slightly improves the cultivation/use effects of space-time techniques/items.)
Professional Talent: Zhuang Zhou's Dream of the Butterfly (Zhuang Zhou's Dream of the Butterfly. Butterfly Dream of Zhuang Zhou, transferring consciousness to another world, replacing the existence of another life, this talent requires professional experience for charging before usage. Current usage limit: 1/1.)
Professional Skills: None
Professional Items: None
Common Skills: Yuan-Devouring Skill, Xingyi Fist.