Chapter One: A Family of Generals

“God created virgins, men created women. So what if she's an ice-cold beauty? So what if she's a counselor? In the end, didn't I, Xiao Fei, conquer them all the same? Give me a girl, and I can create a nation; give me a beautiful teacher, and I can found a school. Just wait and see! Let's see if Feifei the beauty will still dare to let me fail my classes!”

In Room 501 of the boys’ dormitory at Huaxia University, several buddies had Xiao Fei surrounded, each one egging him on.

“Keep bragging, why don’t you. What if we gave you a pig? I bet within a few months, the price of pork would plummet,” shouted the brother on the top bunk, drawing a chorus of laughter from everyone.

“Screw you!” Xiao Fei hurled a pillow upwards.

“Fei, you’re something else! The rumor that you and our beautiful mentor, Ouyang Feifei, are having an affair has already spread all over Huaxia University. Is it true? Come on, tell us!”

Xiao Fei shot a disdainful glance at his brothers around him. “No wonder you lot, grown as you are, still haven’t liberated your little brothers. An affair? Why not say I have a hand in it? Please, the bond between men and women isn’t built on a leg or a hand, but on the treasure you keep inside your pants.”

Such was the way of the men's dorm, where the conversation never strayed far from women. As the only one who'd had a girlfriend, the only one who claimed to have lost his virginity at age ten, Xiao Fei was naturally the ringleader, always able to whip the topic up to ever-greater heights.

“I, Xiao Fei, know men like the back of my hand. If a man wants to embroider four characters on his underwear, I can offer different advice for each type. For the open-minded: ‘Adaptable and enduring.’ For the playboy: ‘Rising and falling.’ For the strong: ‘Breaking and entering.’ For the eunuch: ‘Once had it.’ For the gay: ‘Thinking back and forth.’ For the martial artist: ‘Divine marksmanship.’ For the military buff: ‘Sweeping the enemy.’ And for someone as handsome, suave, and imposing as myself? It can only be ‘Golden spear, never falls.’ Wahaha...”

His words set off another round of uproarious laughter.

As he spoke, Xiao Fei seated himself at his computer and resumed his favorite game—"Empire Rising." As a typical disaffected youth born in the '80s, he could only realize his grand ambitions of “slaughtering the Americans and defeating the Japanese” within the virtual world.

Among men, the only subjects besides women were games.

Soon, even the brothers on the top bunks couldn’t resist jumping down to crowd behind Xiao Fei.

Xiao Fei was in the midst of exchanging game coins for a super-intelligent system from the alien Mayan planet. With this system, not only could he copy all the world’s advanced technologies and military equipment, but he could also independently develop advanced weapons and automatically produce strategic materials.

But just then, the dormitory door was kicked open with a bang. In the doorway stood a beautiful young woman in blue capri jeans and a tight white T-shirt, her long hair braided, cheeks puffed in anger, clutching a police baton she’d procured from somewhere.

The brothers turned around in shock, for this little beauty was none other than Xiao Fei’s official girlfriend: Lin Siyu, only daughter of the Lin Group’s president, and reigning “Spicy Campus Belle” of Huaxia University for two years running.

Though Lin Siyu was notoriously headstrong, she was utterly devoted and obedient to Xiao Fei, loving him with unyielding loyalty. But the one thing she could not tolerate was Xiao Fei’s playboy ways. The recent rumors about him and the beautiful teacher Ouyang Feifei had long left Lin Siyu simmering with resentment, though she could never find any proof.

Unexpectedly, today Lin Siyu had hidden outside Xiao Fei’s dorm room and overheard the truth from his own lips. Her fury was instantly ignited.

The brothers, of course, knew why Lin Siyu was there, but Xiao Fei, engrossed in his game, was oblivious. As he was feverishly constructing his military base, a blow landed on the back of his head.

“Who... who the hell... hit me...?”

Xiao Fei was furious, but seeing stars and reeling with dizziness, he turned to see his roommates’ astonished faces and Lin Siyu’s furious glare. With a thud, he collapsed face-first onto the keyboard.

At the very instant Xiao Fei’s forehead struck the “Enter” key, sparks erupted between the keyboard, the computer, and Xiao Fei. In a flash of crackling electricity, Xiao Fei vanished, along with the computer and the keyboard.

Everyone else stood frozen in shock, eyes wide, unable to utter a word.

Especially Lin Siyu—she had only wanted to punish her unfaithful boyfriend, never imagining things would turn out like this.

A whirlwind of shock, regret, and chagrin filled her mind as she stood there, dumbfounded.

Soon after, explosive news spread across the world: The campus belle of Huaxia University had “beaten her cheating boyfriend out of existence,” not merely “to death.” Later, Lin Siyu, in pursuit of true love, spent her days immersed in “Empire Rising,” trying to traverse worlds and bring Xiao Fei back, but never succeeded. After that, Ouyang Feifei fell hopelessly in love, vowing to remain chaste for the man who moved her heart, never to marry. And so, “Brother Fei” became a legend...

Everything felt dreamlike, as if Xiao Fei were a lonely boat adrift on a vast sea, his body and mind beyond his own control, as if he were traveling through a tunnel in time and space. Though he’d never experienced such sensations before, one thing was certain: it seemed he was not dead.

Xiao Fei tried to open his eyes, but couldn’t. He felt himself wrapped in something like gusts of wind or waves of water. He wasn’t sure if he was lying down or standing. Just then, a melodious voice sounded by his ear: “Master, please don’t move. The development and energy systems haven’t been fully established yet. If you move, the alien magnetic field may be disrupted.”

Master? Development system? Energy system? Alien magnetic field?

What a mess. Why were all these terms from “Empire Rising” appearing in his mind?

Am I alive or dead?

Where am I now?

A flurry of questions plagued Xiao Fei.

But to be safe, he obeyed the lovely voice and didn’t dare move a muscle.

He didn’t know how much time passed. His mind whirred at high speed, and gradually, his consciousness cleared.

But as his awareness sharpened, things only grew more bewildering.

Suddenly, Xiao Fei realized he was now another Xiao Fei, living in 1914, just after the fall of the Qing dynasty, at a time when the Chinese people faced warlord chaos, foreign invasion, industries in ruin, and the people in dire straits. It was the year the First World War broke out.

He was Xiao Fei, the fourth young master of the Xiao family in Yutian County—a family renowned for three generations of soldiers.

The Xiao patriarch, Xiao Yuanshan, was the last Han Eight Banners expeditionary general of the Qing dynasty, famed for campaigns in Korea, the conquest of Vietnam, and the suppression of the Ili rebellion in Xinjiang. His exploits were legendary; he was known as “Lord Xiao the General.” He had assisted three emperors—Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng. To honor his achievements, the Tongzhi Emperor himself inscribed “Residence of Lord Xiao the General,” which hung at the entrance to Yutian County, and bestowed a “Dismount Stone” to be placed three miles from the Xiao mansion. All passers-by, including officials below third rank, were required to dismount and proceed on foot, as a mark of respect.

Xiao Yuanshan had three sons. The eldest, Xiao Anguo, died at the hands of Vietnamese rebels. The second, Xiao Dingguo, perished on an expedition to Burma. The third, Xiao Fuguo, fell to the blade of a Japanese warrior.

Xiao Fei was the son of Xiao Anguo by a concubine and had three elder brothers.

His eldest brother, Xiao Zhong, died heroically in the inferno of the Old Summer Palace, resisting the Eight-Nation Alliance. The second, Xiao Hua, gave his life resisting the Japanese massacre at Lushun in the northeast. The third, Xiao Teng, died fighting German and Japanese aggression in the northeast and Shandong's Jiaodong Bay, sacrificing himself valiantly.

For three generations, the Xiao family was renowned for loyalty and valor—except for Xiao Fei, the black sheep.

Though born of a concubine, Xiao Fei’s status in the family was unmatched, for his three brothers were all soldiers of noble character, uninterested in the feuding of their feudal clan. Everyone indulged the youngest’s arrogance, so the “Little Tyrant of Yutian,” Young Master Xiao Fei, became a notorious figure.

Unlike his illustrious forebears, Xiao Fei was infamous. Sickly from birth and addicted to wine, women, and gambling, he was less than a good-for-nothing.

Now, with all these memories, Xiao Fei had no choice but to accept the reality of his transmigration, though he was frustrated to find himself in the body of a wastrel.

As Xiao Fei wallowed in his misery, he heard soft sobs beside him: “Uncle, please wake up, please wake up... Could it be that I am truly a jinx? First my husband died, and now I have cost Uncle his life, leaving the Xiao family with no heir. I have failed Old Lord Xiao...”

A few warm, faintly fragrant tears fell onto Xiao Fei’s cheek. He couldn’t help but slowly open his eyes—and was left utterly stunned. He sighed to himself: Such beauty can only belong to the heavens.

Before him sat a young woman in the prime of her youth, gently dabbing at her tears with a silk handkerchief, her voice soft and mournful, her shoulders trembling, tears glistening like rain on a pear blossom. Her delicate red lips were enchantingly seductive, and the gentle rise and fall of her chest was truly captivating.

Her skin was as soft as snow, her fingers slender as scallion shoots, her lips like glossy pearls—enough to drive a man’s soul from his body.

Wipe your tears, little sister—this time, brother’s transmigration was worth it!

PS: Brothers, the new book is hot off the presses! This one continues my usual soul-stirring style—endless passion, boundless soul, blood-pumping excitement. I promise: no dropped updates, no abandonment, no lame endings; three days of minor explosions, five days of major ones. This novel is entered in the “Military Essay” contest, so I need your support more than ever—collect, click, subscribe, don’t miss a thing.

Come on, brothers, stand tall!