Chapter 8
The Jin Dynasty.
A dynasty built upon order, status, wealth, and hidden corruption.
In the outer region of Qinming Town, under the dim moonlight of late night, a lone young man staggered across a dirt road.
He looked around eighteen years old.
Thin.
Too thin.
His face was pale from hunger, his cheeks slightly sunken, and his scholar robe looked so worn out that even beggars might hesitate to steal it.
The cold night wind blew against him, causing his already unstable body to tremble.
Step.
Step.
Step—
Then—
thud.
The young man collapsed face-first onto the ground.
He didn't even have the strength to put his hands forward while falling.
The road remained silent.
After all, it was the middle of the night, far from the crowded parts of town. No one came here unless they had business… or bad luck.
And tonight—
this scholar clearly had both.
Ryo's Perspective
Inside the hidden cave back in the ninja world, Ryo's original body lay motionless.
At the same time—
his soul was experiencing something completely different.
The moment the system activated Soul Travel, Ryo felt an indescribable pulling force.
His soul detached from his body and entered a black portal.
There was no pain.
Only weightlessness.
Then—
he entered a strange spiral passage.
It was endless.
Dark.
Silent.
Yet beautiful.
Countless colorful dots floated within the darkness like stars painted on a black canvas.
Some glowed brightly.
Some flickered weakly.
Some were massive.
Others were tiny.
Ryo instinctively understood—
those dots were worlds.
Or perhaps fragments of worlds.
"A multiverse highway…" he muttered inwardly.
The system immediately replied proudly,
"Correct, Host."
"…You sound way too happy about traffic."
The system ignored that comment.
Soon, the spiral began slowing down.
One of the countless colorful dots rapidly expanded before him.
Then—
everything went black.
...
Pain.
Weakness.
Hunger.
Those were the first things Ryo felt after opening his eyes.
His new body was in terrible condition.
His stomach burned with hunger.
His muscles were weak.
There were bruises across his body.
Even breathing felt tiring.
Ryo frowned.
"…This body is trash."
Before he could properly inspect himself—
a flood of fragmented memories entered his mind.
Memory Fragments
Born in Black Mountain Village of Qinming Town during the Jin Dynasty.
Name: An Jin.
A poor scholar from a commoner family.
Ten years ago, during the rebellion war against remnants of the fallen Qin Dynasty, his father was conscripted as a soldier by force.
And like countless nameless men—
he died on the battlefield.
No glory.
No recognition.
Only a notice stating:
"Died serving the dynasty."
After hearing the news, An Jin's mother fell seriously ill.
But despite her worsening condition, she hid it from her son and continued working day and night to support his education.
Because in the Jin Dynasty—
a scholar's success could change the fate of an entire family.
An Jin understood his mother's sacrifices.
So he studied desperately.
He learned whatever he could.
Read whatever books he could borrow.
And eventually traveled to Qinming Town to participate in the Imperial Examination.
If he passed—
even with the lowest grade—
he could still gain a government position.
Enough to support his mother.
Enough to let her finally rest.
But fate clearly disliked him.
Three days ago, An Jin accidentally offended the grandson of Marquis Dong during a street incident.
The rich young master didn't even bother dealing with him personally.
A single sentence from the Marquis household was enough.
No inn dared to let An Jin stay.
No shop dared to sell him food.
No one dared to help him.
A poor scholar with no background simply couldn't resist a Marquis family.
For three full days—
An Jin wandered hungry and exhausted.
And now—
seven days before the Imperial Examination—
his body finally collapsed.
The memories ended.
Ryo slowly opened his eyes again.
"…So that's the situation."
His expression remained calm.
There was no emotional attachment to An Jin's life.
Only understanding.
Then he asked directly:
"System. Mission."
The familiar panel appeared.
[Host: Uchiha Ryo]
[Current World: 1-Star World]
Main Mission: Fulfill An Jin's wish.
Pass the Imperial Examination.
Obtain an official government position.
Heal An Jin's mother.
Mission Reward:
10 kilograms of pure gold.
Side Missions:
None.
Ryo stared silently for a few seconds.
Then—
"…So you're telling me…"
"…I have to take an exam?"
The system quickly replied:
"Host, that is not the main mission. Your main mission is actua—"
"I know."
Ryo interrupted with a tired expression.
"I understand the mission."
He sighed lightly.
"It's just… the exam part irritates me."
The system stayed quiet.
"Getting a position is easy."
"Healing the mother is easy."
"Even killing everyone from the Marquis Dong household isn't difficult."
Ryo paused slightly.
"But exams…"
His face became unusually serious.
"…I hate exams."
After a moment, Ryo asked:
"By the way… are these soul-travel missions always related to the host body's wishes?"
The system explained carefully this time.
"Not always, Host."
"The body's remaining wishes influence mission generation."
"If the desire is extremely strong, even death cannot erase it completely."
"Only then can it affect the Main Mission."
Ryo listened quietly.
"The stronger the world," the system continued, "the harder it becomes for a body's remaining will to affect mission generation."
"As for this world…"
A brief pause.
"…I thought his wish was fairly reasonable."
"So I simply copied and pasted it."
Ryo: "…😮💨"
"You copy-pasted a dying student's homework into my mission list."
"…When you put it like that, it sounds unprofessional."
"It IS unprofessional."
Ryo rubbed his forehead.
"Can I at least skip the exam part?"
"I can easily use illusions to create connections and make An Jin a low-ranking official."
"Eighth rank. Ninth rank. Something small."
"Denied."
"…You answered too fast."
"Because the answer is absolute."
"Even if you complete every other objective…"
"You 'MUST' pass the Imperial Examination."
Ryo looked toward the night sky.
After so much time in years—
he felt true annoyance.
"…Why does fate keep sending me to school-related suffering?"
The system wisely chose not to answer.
After calming himself slightly, Ryo focused inward.
Even in this weak body—
he could still feel it.
The familiar power of his Rinnegan.
Weaker due to the vessel, but still present.
Ryo focused on awakening the Rinnegan and then -
"Temporal Domain."
A faint ripple spread silently.
Time around his body twisted slightly.
Ryo pushed the body's condition backward by six hours.
Bruises faded slightly.
Weakness reduced a little.
His condition improved—
but not by much.
Ryo frowned.
"…This body is too weak."
"I could only reverse six hours."
Then his stomach growled violently.
"…And now I'm even hungrier."
The system immediately commented:
"Congratulations, Host. You traded severe weakness for advanced starvation."
"…Thank you for your wisdom."
Just then—
Ryo's eyes narrowed.
Far away in the darkness—
a pair of glowing eyes stared at him.
An old wolf slowly emerged from the bushes.
Thin.
Hungry.
Cautious.
The wolf stared at Ryo.
Ryo stared at the wolf.
The night became quiet.
Then—
a devilish smile slowly appeared on Ryo's face.
"Well…"
He cracked his neck lightly.
"…looks like dinner came to me."
The wolf suddenly felt an unknown danger.
And under the cold moonlight—
man and beast continued staring at each other.
Both hungry. Both are predators.
But only one of them…was smiling.
Chapter End