Ancient Sword Continent, Kingdom of Divine Wind.

In the western reaches of Qingyun Province stood a majestic mountain range perpetually shrouded in mist. Towering peaks pierced the heavens, and among them lay the Qingfeng Sword Sect.

Atop the sect's rear mountain peak, a fifteen-year-old youth clad in black robes sat in silence. His deep, contemplative gaze swept over the entire Qingfeng Sword Sect below.

"Three days already," Fang Chen murmured to himself.

Just three days ago, he had been an ordinary university student back on Earth. But on that fateful night, the unexpected had happened—he had crossed over into this world.

He remembered it vividly: a pitch-black evening when he had left his friends early to return to campus alone. As he neared the school, thunder suddenly split the sky, and dark clouds rolled in. Within moments, a torrential downpour began.

Then, whether illusion or reality, his vision blurred. The heavens seemed to tear apart, and a golden sword streaked toward him like lightning. He tried to dodge, but his body refused to move. Frozen in terror, he watched as the blade plunged straight into his chest.

Darkness swallowed him.

When he awoke, he found himself in an unfamiliar world—alive once more. It was then he realized he had crossed over, his soul inhabiting the body of a deceased Qingfeng Sword Sect disciple who, strangely enough, shared his name.

The original Fang Chen had been an outer disciple of the sect, scorned as a "good-for-nothing" due to his poor talent and sluggish progress in cultivation. His death had come three days prior, after a violent clash with another outer disciple. Outmatched and overwhelmed, he had fallen unconscious—never to wake again.

When Fang Chen woke up in an unfamiliar place, he was naturally startled. But after three days, he had come to accept this reality.

He stopped dwelling on his past life on Earth. Since fate had brought him here, he resolved to survive and thrive—perhaps one day, he might even find a way back home.

Over those three days, Fang Chen had managed to learn about the Qingfeng Sword Sect.

The sect was located in Qingyun County, one of the many territories under the Divine Wind Kingdom.

Qingyun County housed numerous martial sects, and the Qingfeng Sword Sect was among them—though its overall strength was pitifully weak, ranking near the bottom in the region.

The sect had many disciples, divided into outer and inner disciples. The original Fang Chen had been killed after offending an outer disciple named Liang Yong.

"Since I've taken over your body and been given a second chance, I swear I’ll avenge you," Fang Chen muttered through gritted teeth, his fists clenched.

This world was nothing like Earth. Here, martial prowess reigned supreme, and warriors dedicated their lives to cultivation.

By absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they tempered their bodies, growing stronger until they could achieve feats like overturning rivers and splitting seas.

Fang Chen had also familiarized himself with this world’s martial hierarchy.

The initial stage of cultivation was the Qi Refining Realm, followed by the Qi Transformation Realm—each major realm consisting of nine minor levels.

At present, Fang Chen was merely a first-level Qi Refining warrior, the weakest disciple in the Qingfeng Sword Sect.

Every other outer disciple, aside from him, had at least reached the second level of Qi Refining.

In the three days since his arrival, Fang Chen had gradually begun learning cultivation techniques. The first step for any warrior was to absorb spiritual energy to temper the body.

A first-level Qi Refining warrior possessed the strength of one ox, while a second-level warrior wielded the power of two—a staggering difference in might.

"Right now, I need to strengthen my power." Fang Chen made a firm decision.

Among the outer sect disciples, he was known as the "good-for-nothing." At fifteen years old, he had only reached the first level of Qi Refinement. If he wanted revenge, the only way was to grow stronger.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Fang Chen slowly rose to his feet and began his training. He closed his eyes slightly, clenched his fists, and threw punch after punch into the air. The surrounding spiritual energy gradually seeped into his body, tempering his muscles and bones.

Hah...

Grunts of exertion echoed as sweat soon drenched Fang Chen's forehead, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"This body is truly weak," Fang Chen muttered in frustration. "Just a short session and I'm already exhausted." No wonder this body had been labeled a failure.

It was pitiful—less than fifteen minutes of training had left him completely drained.

No, he had to strengthen his physique first. Only with a sturdy body could he endure rigorous cultivation.

Determined, Fang Chen continued to push himself, refining his body with relentless effort.

Just as he threw another punch and paused to catch his breath, a series of mocking voices cut through the air from a distance.

"Look, isn’t that the trash, Fang Chen? He’s still alive?"

"Lucky bastard. Beaten half to death by Senior Brother Liang and yet he’s still kicking. Must’ve stepped in dog crap."

"Knocked unconscious three days ago, and now he’s bouncing around like nothing happened. Seems Senior Brother Liang went too easy on him."

Up on the mountainside, three outer sect disciples had spotted Fang Chen, their faces twisted in sneers.

Upon hearing this, a flicker of anger flashed imperceptibly in Fang Chen's eyes before he quickly regained his composure and resumed his focused training.

Seeing that Fang Chen ignored them, the three grew visibly irritated.

"Fang Chen, you good-for-nothing, just wait till Senior Brother Liang deals with you," one of them sneered before the trio stormed off.

"Strength is what truly matters."

Fang Chen felt it deeply—his desperate need to grow stronger. Only then could he avoid being trampled upon.

That so-called Senior Brother Liang had clearly intended to kill him. Now that he had survived, Liang would undoubtedly strike again.

Liang Yong, a second-level Qi Refinement martial artist, possessed the strength of two oxen. In Fang Chen's current state, he wouldn't stand a chance against even a single punch from him.

"Keep training." Gritting his teeth, Fang Chen pushed himself harder.

Time slipped away minute by minute, and before he knew it, an hour had passed.

Throughout that hour, Fang Chen had teetered on the brink of collapse multiple times, but his unyielding determination had carried him through.

Yet, by the hour's end, his body finally gave out.

Huff... Huff...

Gasping for breath, sweat drenched his face.

"I can't go on," Fang Chen muttered with a bitter smile.

He was ready to collapse onto the ground and rest, but just then—his heart suddenly pounded violently in his chest.

In the next moment, Fang Chen was astonished to discover a refreshing current flowing from his heart, spreading rapidly throughout his entire body.

To his amazement, the exhaustion that had weighed him down vanished in an instant, replaced by an overwhelming surge of energy.

"What... what just happened? What is this strange current?" Fang Chen muttered, utterly bewildered by the phenomenon.

Though he could sense the energy emanating from his heart, as a mere Qi Refining Realm martial artist—just beginning to commune with and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper his body—he lacked the ability to peer inward and observe his own organs.

The presence of this mysterious energy was undeniable, yet its source remained elusive, leaving Fang Chen deeply perplexed.

But what happened next made him gasp in disbelief.

His gaze inadvertently swept over his own body—and to his shock, he realized he could see *everything* inside himself, even his own heart.

Yet that wasn’t the most startling revelation.

What truly stunned him was…

His heart had turned *golden*.

"How… how is my heart gold now?" Fang Chen blurted out, his mind reeling.

A human heart shouldn’t be gold. It made no sense.

"Could it be… that golden sword?"

In a flash, he recalled the very reason he had crossed into this world—the golden blade that had pierced his chest.

And now, the color of his heart matched that sword *exactly*.

What on earth is going on? Did that golden longsword cause my transmigration? But why has it disappeared now?

"Why has my heart turned gold?"

After the initial shock, Fang Chen took a deep breath to steady himself and began carefully examining his heart for any other changes. But after a thorough inspection, he found nothing unusual—aside from its golden hue.

By now, Ye Xingchen was certain that his newfound ability to observe his body internally was directly linked to this golden heart.

"When I was panting earlier, my heart raced, and then that refreshing energy appeared?" Fang Chen murmured to himself.

Determined to understand more, he resumed his training.

Thanks to that mysterious energy, Fang Chen felt unusually vigorous this time. He trained relentlessly for two full hours before exhaustion finally crept in.

"It's happening again..."

As his heart began pounding faster, Fang Chen immediately focused inward, determined to witness the phenomenon firsthand.

After a few rapid beats, a surge of that same refreshing energy suddenly flowed out from the golden heart, spreading through every limb and vessel in his body. In an instant, his fatigue vanished, replaced by renewed strength.

"It really is the heart!" Ye Xingchen gasped in realization.

Over the next few trials, Fang Chen repeated the process three or four times, confirming that whenever his body weakened, the golden heart would release that revitalizing energy, restoring his stamina in moments.

With this discovery, a broad smile spread across Fang Chen's face. Maybe the old saying was true—after surviving a great calamity, fortune was bound to follow.

Since he couldn’t figure out the connection between the golden sword and his golden heart, he decided not to dwell on it. For now, at least, the heart showed no signs of harm—on the contrary, it was empowering him.

"This pure energy will greatly accelerate my cultivation." Fang Chen clenched his fists with a confident smile.

He then began practicing his fist techniques—the most fundamental body-strengthening martial art of the Qingfeng Sword Sect, accessible to all disciples.

The Body Tempering Fist consisted of nine levels. Mastering the first three granted the strength of one ox, equivalent to a first-level Qi Refinement disciple.

Completing the middle three levels bestowed the power of two oxen, matching a second-level Qi Refinement disciple. The final three levels unlocked the might of three oxen, comparable to a third-level Qi Refinement disciple.

Even among the entire outer sect of Qingfeng Sword Sect, few had ever reached the advanced stages of this technique.

Fang Chen had previously mastered the first three levels, possessing single-ox strength at the first level of Qi Refinement.

"Body Tempering Fist!"

With a fierce shout, he threw a powerful punch.

Crack! A distant boulder shattered instantly, leaving even Fang Chen stunned.

"How is this possible?"

Unbeknownst to him, his Body Tempering Fist had already broken through to the fourth level.