The streets, slick and cold after the rain, overflowed with dampness as Le Yuxin walked through the silent night.
Though there was no one around, the dim streetlights cast their glow into every corner, and the omnipresent light made Le Yuxin feel less like he was heading home, and more like he was returning to his palace.
Even though the technology in Luminous Empire was quite similar to his previous world, with Everlasting Lamps and four-wheel cars, limited production capabilities meant the nightlife offered little in terms of entertainment. Most people stayed quietly at home, the wealthy might go dancing or get up to something indecent; ordinary people, too broke to listen to the radio, turned to more illicit amusements.
The streetlights were sparse, but at least lit up the main roads. This world also had energy lamps, in fact, they had them long ago—solar lamps powered by Luminous Stones.
Luminous technology developed in peculiar ways, largely because Luminous Stones were incredibly sensitive to Light Energy, so ancient people had already started making all kinds of solar gadgets: Luminous lighters, lamps, heating stones, and so on. All worked by storing sunlight and releasing it as needed.
Compared to Earth, people here had been enjoying a nightlife centuries earlier—main town roads were always aglow with Luminous Lamps, which shone all night long, needing repairs only once every few decades and normally requiring no maintenance at all. As long as there was sun, they'd charge up automatically; once dark, they'd light up. Even cloudy, rainy weather didn't matter, since Luminous Lamps were so sensitive to any light source.
Le Yuxin touched the back of his neck; inside his spine was the "Luminous Charter"—that is, a Luminous Stone. He hadn't understood at first why humans would implant stones into their bodies, but then thought, "This isn't all that different from getting a vaccine back on Earth—Earthlings get vaccinated to build resistance to disease, but here, people implant Luminous Stones to develop new abilities."
He left the main road, turning into a narrow street where the lights dwindled even more. "A place's wealth is easy to judge—the brighter it is at night, the richer it is."
In Qian Yuliu's memories, the upper-class neighborhoods of Star Engraving Commandery glowed as bright as daytime at night. "If Le Yuxin stood just a bit higher and gazed northeast, he could see the warm golden lights of the wealthy area and the Star Engraving Dance Hall, clustered together like stars fallen to earth."
But the brightest of all was the Glorious Clock Tower at the commandery's center. Standing as the tallest building in each commandery, it not only marked the hour but guided any lost traveler—so long as you moved towards the orange glow of the Glorious Clock Tower, you'd find your way safely to the central plaza.
Though Qian Yuliu held a position of importance, his background was average, so of course he couldn't afford a mansion in the wealthy districts. The street Le Yuxin now walked was just wide enough for four people to walk side by side; now and then, you'd hear kids arguing or catch a whiff of cooking in the air.
Le Yuxin couldn't help but quicken his steps, "yet his heart only grew more anxious."
Finally, Le Yuxin stopped in front of a two-story house. Beside the door hung a platinum plaque: "Rongfang Street, Block B 23." Below it, a little wooden sign read: "Qian Family."
Le Yuxin took a deep breath, fished out his key, and unlocked the door. There were ten wooden bars inside, forming a barrier just before the inner door—each slat about a palm's width apart, allowing the owner to reach through and open the outer door, but keeping out anyone else unless allowed inside, a neat trick for fending off thieves and scammers.
Le Yuxin gave the barrier a little tug—no padlock; it opened easily. Following Qian Yuliu's habit, he closed it behind himself, then noticed a towel waiting on the entryway table.
Shedding his damp coat, Le Yuxin took off his boots, changed into wooden sandals, dried his hair with the towel, and strode into the living room.
"I'm home."
He said this while looking at the girl sitting on the redwood bench in the living room.
Le Yuxin had no choice.
He simply had to come here.
In this world, he was a stranger; without taking on Qian Yuliu's identity, he had no other options.
Awakeners might be able to channel Spiritual Power and call the wind or stir the clouds, but "living on air and sunlight, like a plant"—that was flat-out impossible, unless humans here suddenly evolved chloroplasts.
The girl turned toward him, deep brown eyes locking on Le Yuxin. She was wearing a uniform in white, purple, and blue: the one for Star Engraving National High School.
Luminous Empire had schools, of course, even compulsory education—Luminous Lectures. The city center always had a lecture square where anyone could listen to instructors. They repeated the same lessons every year: basic math, practical writing, life hacks, medical common sense. The instructors were paid by the Imperial Court, and all you needed was time and commitment.
This compulsory "Mongolian Studies" system was set up at the founding of Luminous and still continued to this day. "On top of that, there was the National Academy: each district had one, focused on teaching the governing arts and Light Channeling. Only National Academy students could take the imperial exam or hold government jobs."
Qian Yuliu had graduated from Star Engraving Military College, itself a kind of National Academy—only such institutions taught Combat Technique. Over time, their names and curriculum broadened, so that now National Academies included Cultural Colleges and Military Colleges.
As for high school, it was a relatively new thing, founded in just the last century, after tech boomed and the court needed more skilled workers and National Academy admits. "Before, almost no one could get into the National Academy, and common folk—even after finishing Mongolian Studies—stood no chance at entrance. High schools changed that, letting ordinary people climb from elementary to high school to National Academy. As admissions grew, even kids from humble backgrounds could get their shot."
The Qian family was no clan of great fortune, so for Qian Yuliu to land such an important job so young, he needed not only talent, but to ride the tides of history—a beneficiary of changing times.
Since Qian Yuliu had found success this way, of course, he would want his family to follow the same path.
The girl before him was Qian Yuliu's younger sister, Qian Yuya.
Qian Yuya was sixteen this year, preparing for the entrance exam to Star Engraving Cultural College. There weren't nationwide entrance exams in this world; every National Academy recruited independently.
"So my little sister is a beautiful high schooler…" Le Yuxin suddenly thought of some anime he'd seen in his previous life, and couldn't help grinning a little.
Qian Yuya lifted her head, blinked, and eyed Le Yuxin suspiciously, "What's up with you?"
Why did he suddenly drift off and start grinning like an idiot? Did he hit his head on a mission?
"Nothing." Le Yuxin sat in a rattan chair, poured himself a cup of hot water, and drank it slowly, sip by sip.
Qian Yuya glanced over, then went back to her book. Le Yuxin snuck a peek; it looked like clinical pathology, complete with illustrations.
Qian Yuya wanted to get into the medical division of the Cultural College, and after graduating, become a Medical Officer. The Luminous Empire had official positions for doctors; each city's Medical Bureau was its largest public hospital.
Female Medical Officers were common. Thanks to Luminous Stones, women in this world were no less fierce than men, so their job choices were unhindered—there were female agents in the Statistical Department, even women in high government office.
Le Yuxin finished his water, and since Qian Yuya stayed silent, he had to come up with something to say: "Have you eaten yet?"
Qian Yuya gave him a look. "I put your dinner in your room."
Le Yuxin blinked, replaying Qian Yuliu's memories. He did have a habit of eating alone—come home, head straight to the bedroom, eat and train, rarely talk with his sister.
"That's good," Le Yuxin breathed out in relief. He was nervous about interacting with Qian Yuya—not just because he feared she'd suspect him, but because he was afraid of her, plain and simple.
"He might not have done anything wrong, but ultimately, he'd killed Qian Yuliu and taken his place. In a way, Qian Yuya was 'the victim's family.' Standing before her always left Le Yuxin feeling an awkward, tangled guilt he could barely put into words."
Maybe it was pointless moral fastidiousness, but Le Yuxin sincerely hoped to keep his distance from Qian Yuya. "Abandoning the advantages of his assumed identity might double the challenges ahead, but he'd rather up the difficulty than break his own moral code."
"For Le Yuxin, this kind of morality from his past life might be the last solid bit of self-identity he had left. Keeping that naive conscience was the thing that meant he was Le Yuxin, not Qian Yuliu, nor anyone else."
Le Yuxin stood and prepared to head upstairs, but just then, a burst of information surfaced in his mind: every five days, Qian Yuliu would eat dinner with his little sister.
Along with it came another bit of intel,
"So far, there is neither a unified, systematic, nor effective method for cultivating Spiritual Power, no trick everyone can use to strengthen their Spirit. But Spirit can still be strengthened, and these four methods work—"
"① Growth: Human Spiritual Power develops steadily, peaking at about forty, then staying level until sixty-five before declining."
"② Career: Taking on greater responsibility and power significantly boosts Spirit. But lose those things, and the gain disappears—or even turns pathological if forced out of your job."
"③ Ideals: Having a lifelong goal to fight for can also enhance Spiritual Power, relative to your effort and sacrifices."
"④ Crossing the Tribulation: A tribulation is something you want to do but are afraid to try. Every time you face one, your Spirit gets a small boost."
"Of the four, the first three take a long time, but only the fourth can be done quickly. To encourage Spirit cultivation, the Luminous Imperial Court has constantly updated the Charter, and finally gave it a new function: the Tribulation."
"The Tribulation makes Awakeners aware of what challenges to tackle for Spirit improvement, making growth easier. But since so many people avoid challenges out of fear or dislike, the Charter has a side-effect: if you ignore your Tribulation after learning about it, your Spirit will slowly decline, and might even disappear completely."
"Each Tribulation emerges from an Awakeners' own mind and can always be done. Most have a time limit; miss it and suffer the consequences."
Tribulation…
Le Yuxin stared for a second, then reopened his virtual panel and found the Tribulation line,
"Qian Yuliu's Tribulation: have dinner with Qian Yuya. Maximum interval: 120 hours. (29 hours left)"
Le Yuxin sat down again, poured himself another glass of water, and tried to sort things out while he drank.
He never expected Spirit could be boosted in such an odd way. He'd thought there'd be some energy manipulation or meditation techniques, but this was delightfully down-to-earth.
"Growth" made sense—the older, the wiser.
"Rise to office and wealth" made sense too. "As the sayings go, where you sit changes how you think, and environment molds the soul; with more power comes more spirit. But as they also say, a fallen phoenix can't beat a chicken—spirit built on resources fades once those resources are lost."
"Ideals," even more obvious—only those with unshakable will can fight for their ideals, and such willpower surely feeds the Spirit.
"Crossing the Tribulation" was normal too, just like beating a brutally hard game—afterward, you feel absolutely refreshed, as if you could hear yourself "level up in action game skills."
But for the Imperial Court to turn Tribulation into a system function—now that was ace. It was like adding a personalized questline to real life—tailored for every person.
"Maybe in a few decades, the entire society's Tribulation will be 'study.' Fail to study, lose Spirit; study more, gain Spirit. Straight to the stars and seas."
"But did Tribulation even work for Le Yuxin, an outsider and transmigrator?"
"He wasn't sure. He definitely had a Spirit stat, but was that something inherited from Qian Yuliu, or was it fused from his soul swapping into this body? Or both?"
Now, though, the panel insisted: "You've got Tribulation too; do it or lose Spirit, finish it to gain Spirit."
The contents of the Tribulation, though, had nothing to do with Le Yuxin; it was clearly Qian Yuliu's leftover baggage—who the hell considered "eating dinner with your sister" a challenge?
Still, it was a damn good deal for Le Yuxin—eat dinner and get a power-up? Where else would he find such luck?
"Yuya, let's eat dinner together tonight!" Le Yuxin said this in all seriousness after finishing his drink.
Even if he wanted to avoid getting tangled up with Qian Yuliu's sister, he really couldn't ignore the lure of Spirit points.
"I'll eat ten dinners!"
Qian Yuya shook her head. "No."
"Why not?" Le Yuxin blurted out.
"Why did she turn him down? Did she notice something off? Was he missing Qian Yuliu's catchphrase? Did Qian Yuliu never drink two glasses of water in a row? Or maybe he always showered first after getting home…?"
Qian Yuya glanced at him.
Her look held a mix of confusion, resignation, and deep exasperation.
"Because I already ate."
"Sorry, Qian Yuliu; your glorious, heroic reputation probably just died in your sister's mind."