Chapter 1: Transcendence

Night.

In the study, a boy of sixteen or seventeen lay asleep at his desk, sprawled over a large, thick parchment scroll. Books were piled high upon the table before him, many of them battered and worn, as if they had been left untouched for decades.

Knock, knock, knock!

Suddenly, the door was rapped upon, and a slightly androgynous female voice called from outside, “Charles, are you in there?”

When no answer came, the visitor simply pushed the door open. She was a striking woman, exuding an aura of martial prowess, like a general returning from the battlefield. Yet, upon seeing the sleeping youth, a gentle expression softened her features. She walked over and gently shook him. “Charles, don’t sleep here. Go to bed, or you’ll catch a chill.”

She shook him several times, but he remained unresponsive, frightening her into hastily pulling him upright from the desk.

“Ugh, my head hurts!” The boy murmured, rubbing his messy wine-red hair with his right hand, which now tumbled down to his shoulders.

“You startled me—I thought something happened to you.” The woman patted her chest in relief, causing a wave that made the boy’s dazed eyes widen with surprise.

She didn’t notice, though; instead, she reached out to tousle his hair, turning it into a bird’s nest. “I’ll be leaving early tomorrow. While I’m gone, you must take care of yourself.”

“You—” Charles barely managed a word before she pulled him into her arms. The softness pressed against his chest made his nose tingle, and he quickly relaxed, afraid he might embarrass himself.

“Ah, I don’t want to go either, but those marauders have grown too bold, causing dozens of deaths. The authorities have issued orders, and I am to lead the campaign to eradicate them.”

She held him close, gently patting his back, then suddenly paused in confusion. “Hm? You’ve changed. You used to shy away whenever I hugged you.”

She released him, and upon seeing a faint blush on his face, broke into a radiant smile. “Good brother, I never thought you’d finally care for me! Don’t worry, when I return from this battle, I’ll spend lots of time with you!”

“Heh heh, heh heh…” The expression on her face was that of a classic lovestruck woman, causing the boy to instinctively shudder. She chuckled as she turned and left the study.

Once she was gone, the boy stared at the door, bewildered. What she didn’t know was that this body had quietly gained a new master.

A surge of information flooded his mind, causing a splitting headache.

The woman who had just left was named Leah Maesterlin, eldest daughter of the Maesterlin family, renowned for her martial prowess and serving in the army. She had countless admirers she secretly pursued, yet at home, she was an annoying sister who loved to treat “me” as her plaything.

He looked around the room. There was no trace of modern technology; the lighting came from an oil lamp, its subtle fragrance spreading throughout the chamber as the flame flickered.

Wooden shutters were inset with cloudy glass, and the bare walls revealed the dark gray stone bricks from which they were built.

He paid little attention to these details, walking to the door to gaze into the vast night, then raised his hands before his eyes.

These hands were pale, delicate, and slender—enough to make any girl envious. They had never known hard labor, pampered since childhood like those of a young master.

“Who am I?” he whispered to himself, lost in confusion as the cool night breeze drifted in.

“I am Charles. Charles Maesterlin, sole direct heir of the Maesterlin family, only son of Baron Buyano…”

“No, I am Su Hao, from the Flowering Nation!”

Two streams of consciousness collided in his mind, making his head pound so violently he slammed it against the wall, the sound echoing sharply.

Finally, the confusion faded from his eyes, replaced by endless astonishment.

Originally, he had been frustrated at work, scolded by his boss and then gone out drinking to relieve his mood. When he next opened his eyes, he found himself transported to another world!

He had no time to lament his twisted fate, but instead began to sift through the unfamiliar memories in his mind.

The youth whose body he now possessed was only sixteen, and in a month’s time was to celebrate his coming-of-age ceremony, marking his entry into adulthood. Sadly, he would never see that day.

The human brain is a wondrous thing; even things you think you’ve forgotten linger deep within, ready to resurface when memories merge.

After reviewing the memories, he realized this world resembled Europe during the first Industrial Revolution—machines rapidly replaced manual labor.

Steam trains and steamships appeared in droves, the burgeoning bourgeoisie eager to claim their own voice, and simmering crises began to emerge.

Yet he found himself in an imperial nation—the Harrison Empire.

This ancient, colossal state once ruled the entire human continent a thousand years ago, only fracturing as its power waned, but it remained the strongest empire in the world.

Harrison’s territory spanned half the continent, divided into thirty-six counties. His location was in the western part of the empire, in Faen County’s Shining Gold Town, a settlement formed around a gold mine.

Shining Gold Town was the Maesterlin family’s fief. Their ancestors had made great contributions expanding the empire’s borders, earning the right of perpetual inheritance and establishing their rule over the surrounding lands.

“Hm, not bad. I’ve become a noble heir—much better than my starting point back on Azure Star. But…”

He looked up at the twin moons hanging side by side in the sky, sighing quietly with a sense of melancholy. “In the end, I’ve left my family behind. Even though Dad and Mom nagged me day and night to get married, which annoyed me no end, I still miss them now that I’m gone!”

He shook his head, dispelling the sadness, and began to carefully examine the memories, searching for clues about how the body’s original owner had died.

From his experience reading novels in his previous life, he knew that possession only worked at the moment when the target was weak enough to die.

How could the sole heir of a baron die so mysteriously? Clearly, there was a hidden secret!

Yet, the memories contained no clues. The original owner had spent his days quietly at home reading, never leaving the estate.

He had little contact with anyone; apart from greeting his father each morning, only his half-sister and the servants saw him.

Wait—there was someone else!

A figure appeared in his mind—a man in flamboyant robes, a mysterious merchant from another region who had sold the original owner a variety of oddities.

Most crucially, this man had spoken of strange things, reminiscent of the sages in novels.

Soulkeeper.

That was the term he’d used, vaguely mentioning “totems” and even examining the original owner, claiming he possessed a certain “aptitude.”

When he spoke of Soulkeepers, his eyes shone with longing, as if glimpsing an unattainable dream.

The previous youth hadn’t noticed this, having been enthralled by the merchant’s fascinating tales, but after years of navigating society, Su Hao had learned to read people’s eyes.

“It’s this thing.” He reached to remove the item hanging from his neck.

It was a grayish-brown little stone, containing a tiny patch of white within. It looked utterly unremarkable—if dropped by the roadside, no one would bother to pick it up.

Yet this was the “treasure” the merchant had sold him. The original owner had seen him use it to perform miraculous “magic,” conjuring fire from thin air.

“What is this?” Su Hao carefully inspected the stone, tempted to crack it open and see what secrets it held.

Without hesitation, he placed the stone on the floor, grabbed a chair, and smashed it down. He already suspected the merchant, and would not let this clue slip away.

Bang!

The stone broke in two. Su Hao picked up the halves, astonished as the white stone inside liquefied, seeping into his palm.

“Welcome to the Totem Evolution Assistant Modulator!”

A strange message appeared in his mind, leaving him stunned as a familiar, translucent interface surfaced before his eyes. He muttered,

“My goodness, isn’t this the interface of that little game I played before?!”