Chapter 1 Verification Complete—So It Wasn't a Dream After All

“Lin Xiao, stop playing these tricks. Why are you pretending to be dead now? We’ve already broken up! Someone like you isn’t worthy of me anymore!”

The cold words pierced the air as Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes.

What greeted him was a young woman who, even to Lin Xiao’s discerning eyes, could easily score an eight out of ten. Her face was delicately shaped, with arched brows and gentle features—though none of her facial traits stood out individually, together they formed a harmony that was pleasing to the eye. The only jarring aspect was her thin lips, which gave her a touch of coldness.

Her pretty face was frosted over with disdain as she looked at him with utter contempt.

Lin Xiao was utterly bewildered. Miss, who are you?

And where was he?

Wasn’t he on his way home, when he saw some thugs harassing an innocent woman and stepped in to help? His last memory was of a baseball bat swinging closer and closer—so he must have been knocked out.

And who was this woman before him? He didn’t recognize her at all, yet she seemed to know his name.

A thousand questions filled Lin Xiao’s mind. Just as he was about to speak, a wave of dizziness overcame him, and a torrent of unfamiliar memories flooded into his consciousness.

His head throbbed with such pain that he couldn’t help but clutch it tightly.

“Lin Xiao, stop pretending! Get up! No matter what, there’s no way we can ever be together again!”

Right then, Lin Xiao couldn’t hear a word from the outside world. His mind was being assaulted by a flood of memories that weren’t his own, and the sheer volume of them caused him unbearable agony.

After several minutes, as the pain finally receded, Lin Xiao understood his new reality.

He had transmigrated.

He now inhabited the body of another Lin Xiao, in a parallel world where spiritual energy had been awakened.

As Lin Xiao sorted through the memories, he grasped his predicament. This new Lin Xiao was also an orphan, just like himself, and a student at Xuncheng First High School.

Though he was an orphan, Lin Xiao had been incredibly diligent, mastering all three years’ worth of high school content in just eighteen months. He consistently ranked first in the entire school in academic exams.

Because of this, the teachers trusted Lin Xiao completely and didn’t require him to attend school every day, giving him ample time to work odd jobs to support himself.

Lin Xiao could hardly believe he had transmigrated. Wasn’t this just a dream?

“Lin Xiao, I’ve made myself clear. Stop pestering me from now on!”

Lin Xiao finally snapped back to reality. Instantly, memories of the woman before him surfaced in his mind.

Liu Ruyan! The very person responsible for the original Lin Xiao’s untimely death!

Liu Ruyan had grown up with Lin Xiao in the same orphanage. Though people said they depended on each other, it was Lin Xiao who did most of the giving.

Whenever he earned money from part-time work, he gave most of it to Liu Ruyan, keeping only enough to barely feed himself.

In his memories, Liu Ruyan was never kind to the original Lin Xiao. Though they were nominally a couple, she treated him more like a cash machine. Only when she needed money would she show him a softer side. If he came up short, she’d berate him mercilessly.

Alas, the original Lin Xiao was the quintessential doormat. No matter how Liu Ruyan treated him, the moment she offered a kind word, he’d be overjoyed.

It’s often said that a sycophant ends up with nothing, and nothing could be more true. After Liu Ruyan heartlessly dumped him, the original Lin Xiao refused to give up, clinging to her relentlessly.

In the end, he couldn’t endure her coldness and died of heartbreak.

That was how Lin Xiao came to inhabit this body.

Though the original Lin Xiao had excellent grades, in this newly awakened world of supernatural abilities, academic performance meant little. Everything changed three days earlier at the Awakening Ceremony.

In this world, supernatural abilities ranged from the lowest, F-rank, to the supreme SSS-rank.

At the Awakening Ceremony, Liu Ruyan awakened an A-rank fire ability, instantly making her a star at school.

The original Lin Xiao was genuinely happy for her. Unfortunately, his own luck was poor; he awakened the lowest F-rank ability, shattering Liu Ruyan’s last bit of hope in him.

He had thought that after all his devotion, even if his power was the weakest, Liu Ruyan wouldn’t leave him. But right after the ceremony, she broke up with him and started dating the school’s only S-rank awakener, Ji Boxiao.

The original Lin Xiao simply couldn’t accept this. For three days, he sought out Liu Ruyan again and again, only to be rejected each time.

Today, after yet another heartless refusal, the original Lin Xiao finally realized there was no turning back. Consumed by despair, he breathed his last.

Knowing this, Lin Xiao couldn’t help but curse his luck. How did he end up reborn as such a spineless wretch?

He loathed sycophants above all.

Now that he had become the master of this body, he would change everything.

And speaking of transmigration—where was his golden finger? Where was the system?

Hurry up and give him one—he was ready to slap this woman in the face.

He was even prepared to declare, “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never underestimate a youth in poverty!”

But no matter how he called out, there was no answer. Instead, Liu Ruyan’s voice cut in again.

“Lin Xiao, stop pretending to be mute. Brother Boxiao and I will definitely be admitted to the nation’s top Spirit Martial University. You and I are now parallel lines that will never cross. I hope you recognize reality and stop pestering me.”

Liu Ruyan’s words jolted Lin Xiao out of his search for a golden finger.

He looked at Liu Ruyan and sneered.

The ancients were right: “If Heaven had not given birth to Liu Ruyan, the world of scoundrels would be shrouded in endless night.”

Brother, since I now inhabit your body, let me help you reclaim what you deserve!

But first, there was one thing he needed to confirm.

Lin Xiao got up from the ground, dusted off his clothes, and silently walked over to Liu Ruyan.

At six feet tall, he towered over her by a head. Seeing him stand up, Liu Ruyan involuntarily took a step back, but quickly regained her composure and stared at him stubbornly.

Lin Xiao touched his nose, then looked down at Liu Ruyan.

“Homewrecker, have you overdosed on fake sausage? Enough with the nonsense. I have something to test first.”

Liu Ruyan was stunned. In her mind, Lin Xiao had always been her number one lapdog; when had he ever spoken to her like this?

And what did he just call her?

Homewrecker?

How dare he!

Just as Liu Ruyan was about to retort, Lin Xiao raised his hand and slapped her squarely across the face.

The slap rang out sharp and clear—Lin Xiao hadn’t held back in the slightest. His own hand was left tingling from the impact.

If his hand felt like this, Liu Ruyan fared much worse. Half her face instantly swelled, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Fury blazed in her eyes.

“Lin Xiao! You actually hit me? How dare you!”

Lin Xiao shrugged, shaking the numbness from his hand, and said quietly,

“Test complete. I really am not dreaming.”

Even without a golden finger, I can still deal with you, homewrecker.