In the dead of night, Mi Yue had fallen into a deep sleep, yet her body still trembled uncontrollably from the bitter cold.
At that moment, Ying Ji, who should have been asleep too, suddenly opened his eyes. Looking at his beautiful and gentle mother, shivering so severely from the cold yet still pulling most of the quilt toward him, fearing that her precious son might freeze—truly, a mother's love is as heavy as a mountain, a debt that can never be repaid!
Overwhelmed with compassion, Ying Ji covered Mi Yue with all the quilt that had been on his body, then carefully got out of bed.
After getting up, he looked around the barren, dilapidated hut and couldn't help sighing inwardly. The quilt was stiff with cold, the room cramped, and the weather was so harsh that he and Mi Yue had to huddle together in a single bed.
But as the saying goes, only great hardship and suffering can forge extraordinary heroes. Ying Ji's eyes turned firm, and he swore that he would one day rise to prominence, repay his mother's kindness, and ensure that no one would ever dare harm them again.
"All-Heaven Empire System, my golden finger—show yourself now, or never! I've had enough of being at the mercy of others, like fish on a chopping board!" Ying Ji roared silently in his heart, his resolve burning like fire.
In fact, earlier that day, a massive surge of information had suddenly flooded Ying Ji's mind. It turned out that the ancient, weathered dragon-shaped jade pendant that had accidentally killed him in his previous life was actually the carrier of a system—the essential golden finger for all transmigrators.
Moreover, this dragon jade pendant had perfectly fused with Ying Ji's body, its pattern etched firmly on his chest—and the system within this pattern was far from ordinary. It was the very first system ever born in the boundless void of time and space, a supreme existence above all others.
The pattern on the pendant was extremely sacred: a coiled, hovering divine dragon. Just like the dragons in myths and legends, it had a serpent's body, eagle's claws, fish scales, deer antlers, and tiger's eyes.
The biggest difference, however, was that this divine dragon had 108 pairs of antlers and 365 pairs of claws—far more powerful than the Ancestral Dragon of the Primordial Era, which he had learned about as a web novelist in his previous life, who merely had nine pairs of claws. This was a divine dragon beyond legend, a symbol of unparalleled power.
Of course, Ying Ji couldn't possibly see the pattern on his chest clearly; after all, it was so small that he couldn't count the details. All this information came from the inherited knowledge in his mind.
"Ding! System hibernation complete, energy accumulation finished. All-Heaven Empire System activating... Scanning host's world... Scanning host's physical condition... Scanning host's identity..."
"Ding! Scan complete. Host is located in the historical Warring States Period. Identity: Ying Ji, son of King Huiwen of Qin (Ying Si), future King Zhaoxiang of Qin, deposed crown prince of Qin. Host's physical condition detected: Dying!"
A cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in Ying Ji's mind, devoid of any emotion.
Ying Ji froze for a moment, then asked silently in his heart: "You're the system? You've finally appeared! What functions do you have? How can you help me?"
To the ancient people, a system would definitely be regarded as evil spirits stirring up trouble. But Ying Ji, a man from the information explosion era of the 21st century, who had even been a web novelist and already received the inherited information, was quite familiar with such overpowered cheats as systems, and his ability to accept them was much stronger.
Generally speaking, obtaining such an overpowered cheat as a system meant an inevitable, unstoppable rise to power. So Ying Ji was not just a little "slightly" excited—his body trembled violently with excitement, his face flushed scarlet, and his blood surged like a roaring river, burning with the desire to take back what was his!
"Reply to host: The All-Heaven Empire System was born in the primordial void. During its natural gestation, it drained all the energy of the primordial void, causing the void to shatter. It was forced to drift across endless time and space, worlds, universes, and eras to find a host to restart the system. After endless years, it accidentally fused with the host's soul, and the All-Heaven Empire System was thus activated."
"The All-Heaven Empire System will assist the host in conquering countless worlds, universes, and planes, forging an invincible empire that spans all heavens, and tempering the host into a supreme powerhouse who stands above all creation!"
"Boom!"
Ying Ji was struck dumb, as if hit by a bolt of divine lightning. He stood rooted to the spot, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word. After a long, stunned silence, he let out a roar of excitement: "Incredible! This is absolutely incredible!"
Awesome didn't even begin to describe it. Originally, based on his experience and the rules of web novels, Ying Ji had thought that this system, following the laws of development, would allow him to summon civil and military officials from history to unify the land of China.
He would invent epoch-making technologies like gunpowder, the compass, papermaking, and printing, eventually building the country he created into an extremely powerful empire that would sweep across Eurasia, colonize the Americas, and be praised for eternity.
But now, Ying Ji realized how narrow his vision had been. His golden finger was far more powerful, far more terrifying than he could have ever imagined. Compared to the system's grand goals, his once-ambitious dream of dominating only Earth was nothing but a joke!
Just look at the system's goal: forging an invincible empire that spans all heavens, and shaping him into an unparalleled supreme powerhouse who can overwhelm all ages and shake the very foundations of the cosmos. This was beyond anything Ying Ji had ever dared to dream of.
At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed in Ying Ji's mind: "System, when you say conquering the vast worlds and fusing endless planes, is it like in web novels—traveling to all kinds of martial arts worlds, sci-fi worlds, immortal cultivation worlds, even mythical worlds?"
"Like worlds such as *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, *Wind and Cloud*, or even the Primordial Era, where you complete tasks to get rewards?"
The golden finger system replied in its cold, mechanical voice, devoid of any emotion: "It is similar to what the host described, but fundamentally different. Born in the primordial void—the origin of all existence—the All-Heaven Empire System ignores all universal laws and constraints. Furthermore, it does not bind the host to the cliché of traveling to a world and completing trivial tasks for rewards."
"Instead, a permanent Plane Gate will open once every ten years. The host may lead the full force of their empire to invade the target plane. When the host occupies 80% of that plane, the All-Heaven Empire System will ignore all universal laws and directly fuse the host's historical plane with the conquered one, expanding the empire's territory infinitely!"
Even though Ying Ji had already braced himself for an overpowered golden finger, he was still stunned to his core. Ignoring all universal laws, a permanent Plane Gate, and even crossing time and space to fuse worlds after partial occupation—this was not just cool; it was godlike, earth-shattering power!
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for activating the All-Heaven Empire System. Open the personal panel?"
"Open!" Ying Ji replied curiously in his heart; after all, he wanted to know his current specific information.
"As you wish, host. Opening the personal panel!"
A golden virtual screen, visible only to Ying Ji, slowly unfolded in front of him.
Name: Ying Ji
Physical Status: Dying (Physical status levels: Dying, Weak, Healthy, Peak!)
Age: 17
Cultivation: None
Talent: Spirit Grade (Talent levels: Mortal, Spirit, Lesser Thousand, Middle Thousand, Greater Thousand, Legendary, Immortal, God-Demon, Chaos, Eternal!)
Lifespan: Less than 100 years
Innate Divine Ability: None
Status: Deposed Crown Prince of Qin
National Fortune: Century Dynasty
Plane Gates: None
Bloodline: Pure Human Bloodline
Physique: None
Weapons: None
Martial Arts: None
Cultivation Techniques: None
Companion: None
Pet: None
Value Points: None
After reading his personal information, Ying Ji couldn't help but snort in frustration. Apart from his youth and his top-tier Spirit Grade talent, everything else was abysmal—and the label "Deposed Crown Prince of Qin" stabbed at his eyes like a sharp blade, fueling his resolve to rise again.
"Host, do not be discouraged. The host's Spirit Grade talent is the top among all mortal planes, because the strongest talent that can be born in a mortal plane is Spirit Grade. As for higher grades such as Lesser Thousand, Middle Thousand, or even Greater Thousand and above, they can only be found in those advanced cultivation civilizations or planes!" The system comforted him, as if not wanting Ying Ji to be too hit.
"Phew!" Ying Ji let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed that he still had his merits.
"Ding! To assist the host in growing quickly, a special Beginner's Gift Pack is presented to the host. Open it now?"
Huh, there's even a Beginner's Gift Pack! Ying Ji couldn't help but feel happy. Although the items in the Beginner's Gift Pack might not be extremely rare, they would definitely be important capital for his early rise. So he ordered the system to open the Beginner's Gift Pack.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for opening the Beginner's Gift Pack!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: 1 × *Princess Agents* Plane Gate!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining two martial arts cultivation techniques from the Yang Shen World: *Bull Demon Strength Fist* and *Tiger Demon Bone Tempering Fist*!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: 1 × Character Gift Pack!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: 1000 Value Points!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Supreme Innate Divine Ability—Unyielding Golden Spear!"
Staring at this bizarre Beginner's Gift Pack, Ying Ji was left dumbfounded. Damn it! The first few items were exactly what he needed, but what the hell were the Character Gift Pack and Unyielding Golden Spear?
System Introduction: The Character Gift Pack contains two characters from the martial arts world of *The Legend of Qin*!
System Introduction: Unyielding Golden Spear is a special skill of the Dragon Race. Dragons are inherently lustful; possessing this innate divine ability allows the host to maintain dominance in the harem and satisfy hundreds of concubines every night!
Looking at the system's introduction, Ying Ji thought that he was in urgent need of people, so he didn't resist much. As for the innate divine ability Unyielding Golden Spear, Ying Ji liked it very much.
Don't mistake Ying Ji for a saint. Who among those who could climb to the top as the richest man in a province was ever simple? As the richest man in Province Z, Ying Ji had a heart as sharp as a blade and methods as ruthless as a tiger—he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.