Pursued by the Heavenly Dao, first level up in the courtyard.

This is a parallel world, unrelated to reality. The content of this book is entirely fictional and should not be taken too seriously!

This is a lighthearted, brainless, and easy-to-read novel. The plot becomes relatively logical after the system is introduced. Please be gentle if you don't like it!

In the autumn of 2030, along the Yangtze River in Chongqing, the autumn wind swept across the riverbank with mist, whistling and swirling up a few withered yellow leaves.

Qi Bing sat on a smooth rock that had been washed by the river, holding a rebar fishing rod in his hand. Having fished many times, he had only one principle: small fish were not to be caught, and big fish could not be allowed to escape.

The fishing rod is made of rebar, the fishing line is three plus two, and all sorts of small hooks and thin lines are, in his opinion, only useful in winter, otherwise it's all nonsense.

The rod bag next to him was open, containing several fishing rods, various accessories, and bait. The fish basket was not yet in the water, clearly indicating that he had not yet made a sale today.

He had studied and practiced martial arts in his life, but his hard work over the past twenty years was in vain. He then wasted more than ten years and is now over forty, having accomplished nothing. He wandered around for a while before returning to his hometown a few years ago.

He's unmarried, has no family ties, and his biggest hobby is fishing by the river.

For him, fishing is both one of his few hobbies and a way to supplement his livelihood.

Besides eating the fish we catch ourselves, we can also sell the rest for money.

Qi Bing gazed at the surging river flowing eastward, his expression as calm as a deep pool.

Having lived alone for many years, he had long been accustomed to this lonely and mundane life, but deep in his eyes, there was a trace of barely perceptible resentment—a resentment of living a mediocre life.

Just then, the fishing float on the river surface suddenly plunged into the water, the fishing line taut and slightly pulled. Qi Bing's eyes lit up, his spirits lifted, and he instinctively raised his hand to lift the rod.

Before he could even muster any strength, a blinding white light suddenly pierced through the sky. It was a fist-sized ball of light, enveloped in a faint warmth, which swiftly pierced his chest like lightning.

Immediately afterwards, a sudden voice rang in his mind: "Human bloodline is abundant, meeting the conditions for recognition as a master. The Human System is initiating the recognition process..."

Qi Bing was startled, and the fishing rod in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

Having read countless online novels, he was all too familiar with this kind of plot—having a system by your side meant that prosperity was just around the corner, and luxury cars, beautiful women, wealth and glory would no longer be an unattainable dream!

Although he is 45 years old, he has lived a carefree life since his parents passed away many years ago. In addition, he has been in good physical and mental health for many years, so he looks like he is only in his thirties.

Qi Bing was immersed in the joy of the system recognizing him as its master and his daydreams about the future. Before he could even figure out the system's functions, the once clear sky suddenly turned gloomy.

Dark clouds spread rapidly like spilled ink, covering the entire river surface. The wind howled, thunder rumbled, and thick, powerful lightning bolts roared and tumbled within the clouds, creating a terrifying spectacle.

The next second, a bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket, carrying a devastating force, crashed down and struck the Qi soldiers.

The blinding white light instantly engulfed everything. When the light faded, Qi Bing was nowhere to be seen on the reef. All that remained were broken fishing rods, overturned rod bags, and a messy beach, as if he had never been there.

Perhaps when a fellow angler comes here to fish and sees the traces left behind, he might suspect that one of the anglers fed the fish or that one of the anglers was dragged away by a tigress.

In a certain small world, in the early 1950s, in the northern city of Xia Kingdom on Blue Star, at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, a courtyard house.

In the dimly lit master bedroom of the east courtyard, a kang (a heated brick bed) was placed against a blue brick wall, covered with a worn-out coarse cloth quilt. A sixteen-year-old boy suddenly opened his eyes.

Qi Bing felt weak and sore all over, his body felt light and weightless, as if he had no bones, and he almost didn't have the strength to lift his hand.

He calmed himself down and slowly opened his eyes. What came into view was not the rocks and river water along the Yangtze River in Chongqing, but a mottled blue brick wall.

Several faded old New Year pictures were still pasted on the wall, and the ground beneath him was a hard earthen bed. A faint musty smell permeated the air, mixed with the smell of cooking smoke drifting in from outside the window, making it feel strange and unfamiliar.

He struggled to raise his hand, and what came into view was a pair of boyish hands!

Qi Bing gritted his teeth and slowly sat up. A wave of dizziness washed over him as countless unfamiliar memories flooded his mind like a tide, rushing into his consciousness and causing him to furrow his brow and close his eyes in pain.

A moment later, he opened his eyes again, his confusion lessened and replaced by a clearer understanding.

"I got caught in the rain yesterday, developed a fever last night, and then had an incredible stroke of luck by awakening my past life memories?"

"His surname is Qi, his given name is Bing, and his courtesy name is Jianfeng. His surname, given name, and courtesy name remain unchanged."

"How did I die in my past life? I can't remember."

After sorting through his memories of his past and present lives, Qi Bing felt much more at ease, yet also somewhat amused and exasperated.

"The Moral Celestial Venerable Yi Zhonghai, the ambitious official Liu Haizhong, the shrewd and calculating Yan Bugui, the bloodthirsty expert Xu Damao, the elderly, gluttonous, and deaf old woman, the wealthy and powerful Jia Zhangshi..."

Qi Bing felt somewhat worried about being in the infamous Poison Academy.

"Ghosts are scary, but not scary. People are scary, and that's terrifying. These monsters and demons in the academy are nothing to me, someone who knows the plot."

He Daqing hasn't run away yet, the street office hasn't been established, the steward hasn't been born, and the thief saint's mother hasn't married into the Jia family yet. The brothel is currently peaceful.

Even if He Daqing escapes, the Qi soldiers are not worried. They will report He Daqing for abandoning his underage children. As long as He Daqing does not escape from the Xia Kingdom, he will be brought back.

Realizing he was fearless against anyone in the courtyard, Qi Bing breathed a sigh of relief.

"Orphaned yet owning the entire east wing, soon the countryside will be divided into rich peasants, middle peasants, poor peasants, and landlords; sooner or later the city will also be divided into capitalists, small business owners, and workers..."

Qi Bing frowned as he thought about the matter of classifying people in the city.

The east courtyard is about 20 meters wide and 50 meters long, with a total area of ​​about 1,000 square meters.

The east courtyard is not only large, but also has a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a bathroom/toilet, and a storage room...

When Qi Bing thought about where the house came from, he began to think back to his parents.

"I've been an orphan since I was a child. The house was given to me by my master, who went out and never came back."

Qi Bing, increasingly feeling something was amiss, silently recited the system's name more than ten times, but received no response.

"Isn't a system a standard feature for transmigrators? Why don't I have one?"

Various doubts arose in Qi Bing's mind, and unable to find a solution, he gave up on wasting any more brain cells.

"In this day and age, graduating from junior high school is considered being educated."

"Without a job and almost no money left, how will I live?"

"In an environment where big fish eat small fish, if you don't want to be eaten, you have to become a big fish."

As ideas kept flashing through his mind, Qi Bing, recalling his mediocre past life, decided to take a gamble.

He had lived a mediocre life for decades, only to turn to dust in the end. He didn't want to continue such a life.

"To live a life of only a few decades without leaving a trace is tantamount to living in vain!"

"Going out to find a job normally doesn't seem too difficult for me. Being an ordinary worker is dispensable in Xia Country. Since I've been given a second chance at life, I have to do something so as not to regret it when I'm old."

Thinking that it was early 1950, Qi Bing suddenly remembered the Battle of Lidao.

"Having wasted decades, if I'm lucky, I can live a comfortable but modest life; if I'm unlucky, I might become someone else's prey. Relying on others is unreliable; a person can only rely on themselves!"

"If I could join the army, I might stand out during the Battle of Lidao, fight on the battlefield and kill the enemy. Even if my performance was mediocre, I would still have comrades and leaders."

"I can time travel once, and maybe even a second time. Even if I lose my head, I'll only have a big scar. I should give it my all while I'm young, so that when I want to, I won't be too old to do it anymore."

Qi Bing, talking to himself, finally decided to enlist in the army.

To protect the East Wing, one must have a strong identity.

Not wanting to continue living an ordinary life, joining the army was one of his few options.