Chapter One: Transcendence

Hearing the rumbling in his stomach and looking at the pair of misty, blinking eyes before him, Chu Tian let out a long sigh. He silently cursed his own inability to harden his heart.

He had been in this damned place for over a month now. Gazing at the blood-red moon above, Chu Tian once again confirmed the truth—he had crossed into another world.

Ever since waking up in that thunderstorm, everything had changed. Gone was the lightning bolt that had struck him, gone were the towering city buildings. Instead, he found himself surrounded by endless mountains. Lush plants dotted the landscape—towering trees, low shrubs, all kinds of vegetation, much like Earth. The only discordant element was the crimson moon hanging in the sky.

Thinking back on these days, Chu Tian felt as though he were steadily regressing back to a primitive state. In this wretched place, he hadn’t seen a single living soul for all this time, forcing him to survive on nothing but wild plants. His mouth had long since lost the taste of meat. Even his clothes were now in tatters, unable to cover him after so long spent in the wilderness.

Wherever Chu Tian had passed, the fruit trees and vines bore the marks of his desperate scavenging, most of them now transformed into the meager nutrients in his belly and makeshift coverings for his body.

After a month, Chu Tian had finally come to accept his fate as a transmigrant—and had begun cursing the gods and heavens! Damn it! Other transmigrators arrived in new worlds with unrivaled martial arts, strange and powerful abilities, and soon found themselves surrounded by gold and beauties. Yet he, an ordinary soon-to-graduate university student, had nothing but a degree in veterinary medicine—in other words, he was a vet!

Perhaps his curses had finally moved the heavens, for after a month of vegetarian living, today Chu Tian finally laid eyes on some meat. Looking at the scene before him, he inwardly praised whoever had invented the phrase “waiting by the tree for a rabbit.” At the foot of a cliff lay a snow-white puppy, no larger than a palm, whimpering softly. Its hind leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken from a fall.

A mountain breeze rustled the surrounding grass and trees, and Chu Tian’s stomach growled in sympathy. For someone who had eaten nothing but roots and wild fruit for a month, this free offering of fresh meat was nothing short of a lavish banquet.

Grinning, Chu Tian seemed to smell the aroma of roast meat. He wiped a hand across his mouth, thanked the heavens, and grabbed a sturdy stick, ready to prepare his feast. There wasn’t much meat there, but meat was meat!

The little thing seemed to sense its impending fate. It trembled all over, staring at Chu Tian with those watery, pleading eyes.

Exhaling heavily, Chu Tian hesitated for a long time before finally letting out a long breath. Gritting his teeth, he threw the stick to the ground—he wasn’t starving to death yet.

As a veterinarian, Chu Tian had done his share of “hurting” small animals in lab classes, even dissecting cats and dogs with his own hands. But today was different—the little creature’s eyes were filled with a sorrowful intelligence, its face bearing an expression of utter despair—expressions unique to humans. For a moment, Chu Tian felt that what he was about to eat was not a mere dog…

“Consider yourself lucky, running into someone as kind as me,” Chu Tian muttered, gently patting its head. He never thought that he, once nicknamed “the Butcher of the Veterinary Department,” would have a day of such compassion. In his very first dissection class, he’d disassembled a specimen right on the lab table while the rest of the class was recoiling in horror and retching—earning him the “Butcher” title from the professor.

The little thing inched closer, nuzzling his palm and licking his fingers with a pink, nimble tongue. Chu Tian laughed. “Well, aren’t you something? Looks like you’re in luck today, meeting a vet like me.”

Gathering a few sticks and a sturdy vine, Chu Tian said, “I might as well help you to the end. I’ll set your leg now—it’ll hurt, so try not to move!” He couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Talking to a dog like this? Ridiculous.

The puppy whimpered and nodded its head up and down. Chu Tian felt dizzy. “Did you understand me?” The big, watery eyes blinked rapidly and it whimpered again.

What kind of dogs did this world have, with such intelligence?

Without wasting more words, Chu Tian swiftly set the broken bone, then splinted and secured it with sticks and vines. The whole process took less than three minutes. Looking at his handiwork, Chu Tian felt a surge of pride. He hadn’t wasted his four years at university—even if he hadn’t managed to get a girlfriend, his veterinary skills could put any professor to shame.

Thinking again of his identity as a vet, Chu Tian couldn’t help but sigh. Compared to other transmigrators with their wealth and beauties, he seemed further than ever from such things. Standing out in this world was a lost dream—if people here kept pets, maybe he could open a clinic and at least have enough to eat.

The puppy, now recovering, lay comfortably on the ground, wagging its little tail. Squinting at the adorable creature, an evil grin crept onto Chu Tian’s lips. “Little one, you don’t have any family, do you?”

It nodded. Chu Tian’s smile grew even wider.

“How about sticking with me from now on?” After a moment’s hesitation, it nodded.

“From today, we’ll depend on each other!” Chu Tian said pitifully. The puppy nodded enthusiastically.

“Let’s name you… Snowy!” The puppy shook its head wildly in protest.

Chu Tian burst out laughing, ignoring its objections. The plan to recruit a juvenile canine companion was a success! Depending on each other, sure—but in reality, it was Chu Tian depending on Snowy. In this vast, unknown mountain wilderness, who could say what dangers lay ahead? With Snowy as a shield, he could escape his lonely predicament, use the pup as bait for monsters, as a bribe for bandits, and, most importantly, if starvation loomed, as a last-resort meal.

Completely unaware of the tragic future Chu Tian had planned for it, Snowy placed a plump little paw on its head and shook its white, chubby face, still whimpering over its new name.

“Hey, brother!” Suddenly, a deep voice pulled Chu Tian out of his fantasies and sent a thrill of excitement through him. The words “brother” brought immense joy: First, he was finally seeing another human being—no more struggling in the mountains alone. Second, the newcomer spoke Chinese. Third, the polite address suggested no ill intentions.

Understanding all this, Chu Tian quickly gathered his thoughts and prepared for his first conversation in this strange world.

“Oh, hello! And you are?” Chu Tian replied, sizing up the burly man before him. The stranger wore ornate armor reminiscent of medieval European knights, a massive, ancient sword nearly two meters long strapped to his back, short hair of a dark purple-black, and a stern face touched with fatigue.

“I am Canas of the Caesar Empire. May I ask your name, brother? And how did you end up in the Sunset Mountains?” Canas asked, pausing to appraise Chu Tian’s “fur coat” with interest.

So this place was called the Sunset Mountains. Feeling awkward, Chu Tian straightened his makeshift fur clothing, finally learning the name of the mountains that had tormented him for weeks.

“So you’re Mister Canas,” Chu Tian nodded, putting on a friendly smile.

“You haven’t heard of me?” Canas looked surprised at Chu Tian’s calm demeanor, then smiled awkwardly. “Forgive me, not everyone on the continent would know my name.”

Was this guy really that famous? Did everyone know him? Chu Tian weighed the situation carefully, but kept his words flowing. “My name is Chu Tian. I lived in a small village far from here, but a while ago, our village was raided by bandits. I escaped alone and got lost when I reached these mountains…”

Chu Tian almost admired his own acting skills as he watched the apparently famous Canas sigh repeatedly at his tale.

“My village was remote, I haven’t seen much of the world. From what you said, you must be very well known?”

“Ah, you come from an out-of-the-way place, no wonder you haven’t heard of me.” Canas smiled, unoffended by Chu Tian’s question. “Allow me to introduce myself properly: Canas, commander of the Fire Dragon Legion of the Caesar Empire, Dragon Knight, and Marquis Canas.”

Dragon Knight? Chu Tian’s eyes nearly popped out—like catching a giant fish on his line.