Chapter 1: Joining the Army Issues Wives—I Have a System, Why Run?

Tianxing, the conscription office again came to send wives with conscription—quickly open the door and run!

The loud knocking mixed with urgent shouts woke the dazed Shen Tianxing.

Who is it? Making a racket this early? Is our country really so rich that joining the army gets you a wife? I've been waiting for this!

The dazed Shen Tianxing complained while wiping the sleep from his eyes, then froze upon seeing the scene.

A thatched hut, broken tables and chairs, old farm tools, bare walls, a moldy steamed bun in a broken bowl on the broken table, surrounded by several flies.

What the hell, what godforsaken place? I've transmigrated—farm tools? Thatched hut? Poor peasant masses? Fine! Hellish start!

Having reacted, Shen Tianxing slapped his forehead and muttered, thinking that the conscription office outside said they were sending wives with conscription—must have transmigrated to an ancient wartime era; there's definitely no such benefit now.

The conscription folks are coming soon—I'll run first.

The knocking stopped abruptly; Shen Tianxing opened the door to see a bunch of ragged young men running toward the distant mountains, while the village's old, weak, women and children stood at the doorway seeing them off.

They run fast—getting a wife for joining the army isn't that a great blessing?

In his previous life, Shen Tianxing had spent thirty-odd years as a poor, single wage slave; his dream was for the state to issue wives, but all he got was Ma Laoban's female robot, which he couldn't afford.

"Host detected about to enlist; the Beheading-Gets-Stronger System activates, sending the Newbie Grand Gift Pack—open it?"

"As expected, the system may be late but never absent—open the Newbie Grand Gift Pack."

Shen Tianxing excitedly opened the Newbie Grand Gift Pack; the system's voice sounded again in his ear.

"Congratulations, Host, for opening the Newbie Grand Gift Pack: you've obtained an upgradable divine weapon, the Beginner Slayer Dragon Blade; an upgradable divine armor, the Beginner Xuanwu Armor; one Zongshi Peak Experience Card; two taels of silver—all deposited in your System Package; please check."

"Holy crap, this system is awesome—right off the bat we get divine weapons and armor, plus a Zongshi Peak Experience Card; it's hard not to reach the pinnacle of life, just that the silver is too little."

Shen Tianxing, delighted, added a complaint, then immediately opened the System Package to look.

"Beginner Slayer Dragon Blade: +100 martial power; primary skill Broken Blade ignores weapon level to cut it, 10% trigger chance (weapon level upgrades raise chance); additional skill Armor Break ignores any defense for 100% defense break, 5% trigger chance. Equippable."

"Beginner Xuanwu Armor: +100 defense; primary skill Invincible ignores any attack for 100% invincible defense, 5% trigger chance (armor level upgrades raise chance); additional skill Counter reflects 100% attack damage, 5% trigger chance. Equippable."

"Zongshi Peak Experience Card: use to gain Zongshi Peak combat power for fifteen minutes, three uses!"

Shen Tianxing's mouth almost watered—opening hand is a bomb; setting aside the Zongshi Peak card, just this blade and armor make slaughtering enemies on the battlefield as easy as chopping vegetables.

Just as Shen Tianxing was wildly excited, about to equip the Slayer Dragon Blade and Xuanwu Armor, then check his Character Attribute Panel, a sudden voice sounded, forcing him to pause.

"Get back here, you lot, or I'll slaughter your village."

A burly man in red uniform led over a dozen soldiers, with ten ragged women chained behind him, as they entered the village.

Hearing the captain's words, the over‑dozen young men halted their steps and reluctantly ran back.

Everyone knew slaughtering the village was impossible, but killing a few was doable; nobody wanted their family killed, so they had to obediently return.

Shen Tianxing was looking at the ten women, the captain at Shen Tianxing—one seriously choosing a woman, the other's eyes full of amusement.

"They all ran—why aren't you running?"

The captain stared at Shen Tianxing and asked; Shen Tianxing then withdrew his gaze and said:

"If the army gives wives, why run? Besides, you can't get away."

Mainly because Shen Tianxing has a system—why run? First pick a wife, settle life's big matter, then rely on the system to slay foes, grow strong, earn merit, and from then on stride to the peak of life.

The captain froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Haha… good lad, a real man—go ahead and pick one!"

Shen Tianxing hadn't expected that not running would still let him pick first, but he didn't notice the over‑dozen young men looking at him like he was an idiot.

"Thanks, Commander—I won't stand on ceremony."

After giving thanks, Shen Tianxing stepped forward and examined each one carefully.

"Too ugly, too skinny, too flat, too dark—each one's looks are meh. No wonder they're given away as wives; cheap goods are no good, and the free ones are outright traps."

He critiqued while choosing.

"Look, kid, you're a real man—I'll pick one for you. This lass may look weak, but her face is pitch‑black from hunger, smeared with soot; she's still a maiden. Take her home, wash her up, feed her a few days, and she'll be ready for the bridal chamber and bear you big, fat kids."

The captain looked at Shen Tianxing, chuckled again, grabbed a skinny, soot‑smeared girl from the bunch, unlocked her chain, and shoved her into Shen Tianxing's arms.

Shen Tianxing instinctively reached out and held her; the girl frightened, her face losing color, struggled a moment as the soot on her face rubbed onto Shen Tianxing's clothes.

"Don't want to die? Behave."

The captain barked coldly; the girl trembled all over, then went limp, letting Shen Tianxing hold her awkwardly.

"Stop spacing out—pick partners, one each, and take them back!"

The captain's remark was to his underlings; the soldiers immediately stepped forward, picked nine of the young men whose builds barely qualified, paired each with a woman, and chained the remaining nine women to them.

"Enough hugging—take the people and come back with us!"

The captain turned to Shen Tianxing and said, two soldiers stood behind him—yet they didn't chain him and the girl, perhaps because he hadn't run, or perhaps the captain had helped him pick a woman.

Shen Tianxing felt a bit awkward, released her hand, took her by the hand, and followed the captain's mounted party toward the southeast.

"What's your name? How'd they drag you here to be issued as a wife?"

Having left the village and walked the mountain trail, with the two rearmost soldiers now farther from him, Shen Tianxing finally asked the girl.

The girl lowered her head; hearing the question, she lifted her eyes to glance at Shen Tianxing, her expression somewhat complex, then softly replied:

"I'm Mingyue, a person of Nanhe City in the state of Da Wu. Half a month ago the Da Zhou army sacked the city, burning, killing, looting; I was captured then and used as a prisoner to reward the troops."

Shen Tianxing stroked his chin, recalling the history he'd studied—he'd never heard of Da Wu and Da Zhou coexisting; evidently this wasn't the ancient era of his own world.

"Kill!"

Just as Shen Tianxing was about to ask more, suddenly shouts of killing erupted from the woods, and twenty‑odd black‑uniformed soldiers burst out.

"Damn it, the Da Wu dogs have slipped in again—brothers, follow me and kill!"

The captain roared, leading his troops forward in a charge; the shackled young men and the nine women panicked and fled back.

Mingyue instinctively grabbed Shen Tianxing's hand, also wanting to run, but a system prompt sounded in Shen Tianxing's ear.

"Host detected in a minor skirmish; issuing Newbie Beheading Mission: slay Da Wu's Ten‑Soldier Captain Wu Tao. Completion rewards 100 Killing Points, Martial Dao Realm rises to First Rank Sixth Layer, one beginner random draw, twenty taels of silver."