No one knew how long had passed. While drifting in unconsciousness, Zhao Fei felt that the air around him had become exceptionally fresh, as if he had returned to the countryside where he grew up as a child. There was no pollution at all in the air—only an indescribable sense of comfort.
"Am I… in heaven?"
Zhao Fei muttered to himself as he opened his eyes, and immediately, a strong stench of blood rushed toward him.
A male lion's head appeared right before his eyes. When the lion saw Zhao Fei open his eyes, it bared its fangs and let out a furious roar at him, frightening Zhao Fei so badly that he sprang up from the ground at once.
"Holy shit!"
Seeing that gaping, blood-soaked maw, Zhao Fei instantly jumped to his feet and bolted far away.
That male lion was emitting a blue glow all over its body. It glared fiercely at Zhao Fei, roared again, and then charged straight at him.
Zhao Fei was so scared that he scrambled and crawled, running for his life.
"Am I dreaming? But this dream feels way too real!"
Zhao Fei thought to himself in confusion.
"Welcome to the Game of Kingship." A female voice with a broadcast-like tone sounded inside Zhao Fei's mind.
"Now beginning to implant the memories of this life!"
The voice continued. Then everything around Zhao Fei—including himself—froze in place, as if the world had been paused.
The blue-glowing lion was suspended midair, completely motionless.
"What kind of nonsense is this?" Zhao Fei said in bewilderment.
The moment his words fell, memories of a person's entire life—from childhood to adulthood—flooded into his mind all at once.
Everything, from the moment of first awareness to every major event in life, was stuffed wholesale into Zhao Fei's head. At the same time, he discovered that his body, appearance—everything—had changed completely.
This body now had golden hair, a high-bridged nose, and deep blue eyes. His entire presence carried an aristocratic aura, and he was far more handsome than before.
He also learned that this body's name was Jason Lane, and that his father was the King of the Southern Region of this continent.
The head of the Lane Family, one of the six great families of this new world—Dawn Lane.
As for Jason Lane, he was a complete and utter wastrel, someone who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun, with no ambition whatsoever—a genuine good-for-nothing.
Even though he was Dawn Lane's only son, he was still regarded by Dawn Lane as a disgrace.
"So this is… rebirth?"
Jason's entire life flashed through Zhao Fei's mind like a movie, deeply searing itself into his consciousness and becoming his own memories.
From Jason Lane's memories, Zhao Fei also learned that there existed a supreme power in this world.
That power was called Nuqi. Those who possessed Nuqi were known as Nuqi Masters.
Nuqi was divided into three forms. The first was Armament Nuqi, which could enhance physical abilities.
There was also Perception Nuqi and Intimidation Nuqi.
However, only Nuqi Masters with high innate talent could possess Perception Nuqi. No matter how strong a D-rank or C-rank Nuqi Master was, they could never obtain those two powers.
As for Intimidation Nuqi, it was something only S-rank monsters—once-in-a-century geniuses—could possess. Some people would never even see such a person in their entire lives.
Among the three, Armament Nuqi was the most common. As long as one possessed Nuqi, they had it.
The thicker one's Nuqi, the stronger their Armament Nuqi would be. At its weakest, it was no different from having none at all. At its strongest, one punch could kill a wild bull.
In this world, Nuqi was also divided into rigid hierarchies from birth.
Nuqi ranks were divided into five levels: D, C, B, A, and S.
A higher Nuqi rank provided a far greater boost. Even if a C-rank and a B-rank Nuqi Master had the same Nuqi thickness, the B-rank would still be far stronger than the C-rank.
Moreover, these ranks were innate and could not be upgraded. From the moment one was born, their Nuqi rank was already destined—there was no way to improve it through later effort.
Thus, in this world, one's fate was practically decided at birth.
And the Jason Lane that Zhao Fei had been reborn as just happened to be the most miserable kind—a D-rank Nuqi Master.
Barely stronger than an ordinary person.
"Sigh… what a Jason Lane. He's basically another Liu Adou—such an amazing family background, completely wasted," Zhao Fei sighed.
He also felt that his own luck was truly terrible. After finally being reborn into a great family, he turned out to be a useless cripple.
"Newbie guidance complete. Please prepare!"
"5… 4… 3…"
The system in Zhao Fei's mind began its countdown.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump…"
Looking at the lion in front of him, its bloody maw wide open, and hearing the countdown echo in his head, Zhao Fei's heartbeat skyrocketed.
"So this is it? You're throwing me straight into a life-or-death fight? Fine. I've already got nothing left anyway. No attachments, no regrets. Come on! Let me see if this guy's Nuqi is any good!"
Zhao Fei thought grimly, exerting strength with both hands as he released green-colored Nuqi.
Judging by the color alone, it was clearly much weaker than the blue Nuqi surrounding the lion.
But there was no better option now. Zhao Fei could only brace himself and go all in.
"1!"
As the system's countdown ended, everything around him resumed its normal flow.
With a furious roar, the lion pounced straight toward Zhao Fei.
Having never experienced such a scene before, Zhao Fei's legs went weak and he collapsed onto the ground.
But he didn't freeze. He hurriedly rolled several times to the side, barely dodging the lion's attack.
"Damn it! How useless can I be?!"
Zhao Fei slammed his fist heavily into the ground. He really couldn't overcome the cowardice buried deep in his heart.
From childhood to adulthood, Zhao Fei had always had a gentle personality. He disliked conflict and confrontation, always choosing endurance whenever possible—swallowing shattered teeth along with his blood.
The people around him all thought he was a good guy, and he himself believed that good people would eventually be rewarded.
But all these years, he had lived like a puppet, always putting others first no matter how much he suffered.
Now, after losing his wife, having his life's work stolen, and then being given this chance at rebirth, Zhao Fei no longer wanted to be a good man who lived to serve others.
Zhao Fei picked up a sharp stone from the ground, infused it with a trace of Nuqi, and slashed it hard across his left arm.
With Nuqi reinforcing it, the stone's edge became exceptionally sharp. With one fierce slash, it instantly cut through the skin of his left arm, leaving a long wound as fresh blood poured out rapidly.
The lion was stunned by Zhao Fei's action, standing in place and staring at him.
"From this day on—anyone who offends me shall be slain!"
Zhao Fei said viciously. Green Nuqi surged over his entire body as he hurled the blood-stained stone at the lion!
"Come on! You'll be the first soul to die by my hand!"
Zhao Fei shouted at the lion. At this moment, the ferocity of a man finally erupted from within him. This was the angriest moment of his entire life.
The lion was no pushover either. Being struck in the face by the stone enraged it completely.
"Ao—!"
With a furious roar, the lion charged at Zhao Fei at full speed.
Zhao Fei clenched his teeth and forced himself not to run. He tightened his fists, locked onto the timing, and threw a punch straight at the lion's head.