A cool, crisp breeze washed over him. Wan Ze gazed out the window at the tree-lined asphalt path between two residential buildings, watching the figure of a morning runner gradually recede into the distance.

WHOOSH. A bird with a reddish tail flashed past his eyes, weaving swiftly between the buildings a few times before vanishing from sight.

Wan Ze took a deep breath.

He had thought he’d been transported to another world, but it turned out he had just awakened the memories of his past life.

He didn’t know how he had suddenly awakened them, but there was no doubt that the world before him was quite different from the one in his memories.

To be more precise, while this world had cars, planes, and some simple firearms and cannons, it had yet to develop weapons of mass destruction. It was more like Europe in the early 19th century from his memories, in the nascent stages of a transition between old and new.

He was no longer that washed-up author of hot-blooded web novels from Earth. Now, he was just an ordinary sixteen-year-old boy, a first-year high school student at the prestigious Saint City Noble Academy.

His parents worked at a local textile factory, and he had a younger sister who had just started the sixth grade this year.

He tried to recall the trigger for awakening his past-life memories.

It might have been related to the thunderstorm three nights ago.

That night, he’d suddenly developed a high fever and almost died. It was followed by a very, very long dream, after which he began to recall the details of his past life.

’But... what good are the memories of a washed-up web novel author?!’

’I could’ve done anything in my past life, but no, I just had to be a damn author!’

Wan Ze sighed. Suddenly, he heard a door open in another room behind him.

"Mom! Mom? MOOOM!!!" a girl’s loud voice shouted from the south bedroom.

"Alright, alright, stop shouting. Your mom left for work early. Breakfast is in the kitchen for you two, remember to eat... I can’t talk, I’m gonna be late... Keys, where are my keys? Be good at school..." a familiar middle-aged man’s voice replied hastily.

BANG!

The front door slammed shut, and silence fell upon the apartment once more.

"Bro? Bro! Wan—Ze!!!"

The girl’s loud voice rang out again.

Standing by the windowsill holding a thermos and gazing into the distance, Wan Ze felt a vein pop on his forehead. "..."

This was his younger sister, Wan Xiaoyu.

Like him, she also attended Saint City Noble Academy, though she was in the elementary school division.

Though the siblings attended a "noble academy," it was only because their parents worked overtime and pinched every penny. The family’s finances were quite tight.

Unfortunately, neither of them seemed to have much of an academic talent, and their performance at the academy was consistently in the lower-middle tier.

But unlike Wan Ze’s quiet and introverted nature, Wan Xiaoyu was completely oblivious to the class differences between her and her wealthy classmates, remaining as boisterous as ever.

Wan Ze ignored his sister’s calls and walked into the kitchen. He lifted the lid of the insulated container, and a cloud of white steam billowed out. Just as he was about to take it out, he heard his sister’s soft, sweet voice from behind him. "Bro, why are you up so early today?!"

"The early bird gets the worm. And I’m the worm, rushing to be eaten."

"...Haha, you’re so hilarious."

"Less talk. Go wash up and come eat."

After speaking, Wan Ze took a bite of a steamed bun. It was his favorite cabbage and vermicelli filling. He finished it in two or three bites and placed the insulated container on the dining table.

A moment later, Wan Xiaoyu bounced over and sat down to his right. She was wearing her exquisite school uniform: an off-white blouse paired with a black pleated skirt and thick black tights, humming a cheerful little tune.

The siblings had inherited the best features of their parents; they wouldn’t look out of place even in a crowd of handsome men and beautiful women.

However, the two didn’t look much like biological siblings.

Wan Ze’s features were more rugged, with yellowish pupils and often messy hair. His sister, Wan Xiaoyu, had blue pupils. Although she wore her hair in a simple ponytail, her look was much sweeter.

"Steamed buns again?" Wan Xiaoyu sighed. ’This is exhausting.’

"Stop complaining and eat," Wan Ze urged.

In less than five minutes, they had hastily cleared the table and returned to their respective rooms to pack their school bags.

"Bro! Have you seen my book? The one where I drew a stick figure on the cover? I swear I took it out last night, how is it gone..."

"Haven’t seen it."

Wan Ze replied casually, glancing at the class schedule taped to the wall beside his desk before digging the necessary textbooks out of a pile.

Compared to his previous life, this world had many additional basic courses in the Martial Dao, such as Swordsmanship and Equestrianism.

As he packed, he pondered what he could possibly do with the memories of his past life.

’Should I go back to my old profession?’

’It’s not like anyone in this world has ever been exposed to the classic "scorned protagonist makes a comeback" plot!’

’But do I really want to write novels?’

’Failing is just too painful!’

Wan Ze was lost in thought.

After awakening his memories, he was first bewildered, then hopeful.

But after some careful consideration, he felt a bit overwhelmed by this clearly less advanced world.

Other than the Martial Dao, he couldn’t find any real evidence of Magic Fighting Qi, or even the slightest sign of any Extraordinary Power.

’Is it just hidden too well, or...’

’Oh well, I’ll just take it one step at a time.’

He picked up a basic equestrianism textbook and casually flipped through a couple of pages. But as he did, a line of small text, text that was all too familiar, slowly materialized in his vision!

Wan Ze’s heart skipped a beat.

He quickly glanced around, and after confirming his sister wasn’t there, he focused his attention back on the two lines of small text before him.

...

[Illustrated Guide: Basic Equestrianism]

[Skill Beginner Level Requirement: Ride a horse for 10 seconds]

...

’Illustrated Guide?’

’Isn’t this the golden finger from my novel that had thirty thousand subscribers?’

’Is this for real? An awakening bonus?’

Wan Ze took a deep breath, suppressing the thrill in his heart. He put down the "Basic Equestrianism" textbook and picked up another book.

The two lines of text in his vision flickered and new content appeared.

...

[Illustrated Guide: Basic Swordsmanship]

[Skill Beginner Level Requirement: Perform 10 sword swings]

...

He switched to another book.

[Illustrated Guide: High School Math]

[Skill Basic Requirement: Transcribe 50 math problems]

...

[Illustrated Guide: High School Language Arts]

[Skill Basic Requirement: Read 10,000 characters]

...

[Illustrated Guide: High School History]

[Skill Basic Requirement: Read 10,000 characters of historical material]

...

Only now was Wan Ze completely sure that this was not a hallucination.

He suddenly closed his eyes, remaining perfectly still.

After a moment, he slowly opened them again, a strange expression on his face. ’It really is the same as the golden finger I wrote back then. I guess the only good news is that the world I’m in now is relatively normal, without any Extraordinary Power...’

’But is there really no Extraordinary Power?’

’Maybe...’

Wan Ze lowered his head, deep in thought.

’It presents all knowledge in the form of Skills within the Illustrated Guide. As long as I meet the conditions, I can master a Skill to a certain level of proficiency, all the way up to a Divine Skill!’

He clearly recalled all the information about the "Illustrated Guide" and finally felt a little at ease.

After all, in a world where wars were still mostly fought with cold weapons, having his own unique Superpower was enough to give him the ability to protect himself.

And simple Skills were not part of his plan.

’The one thing in this world that I can truly devote myself to...’

’...is probably the Martial Dao!’