Nation-Building from the Start, Destined to Become Emperor

Shen Yiqing transmigrated. The good news: he became emperor. The bad news: his country is on the verge of collapse.

After three generations of incompetent emperors, Great Liang fell from the status of a regional hegemon to a third-rate minor state. Even its neighbors bullied and targeted it at will.

To survive the chaos and save his country, Shen Yiqing had no choice but to grit his teeth and take on the monumental task of reviving the nation.

"Ding-dong! The Destiny System is now online. With this System, Host can view the destiny of anyone nearby!" Hearing the System's voice and looking at his weak, powerless country, Shen Yiqing smiled through his tears. "What's so hard about becoming the hegemon? I'll unify the realm!"

In the first month after getting the System, Shen Yiqing saw the destiny of his younger sister, the princess: [The Dark Bird of Heaven's Mandate, Rising on the Wind]. She was born with the destiny of an emperor, but being a woman kept her from the throne. Given the right opportunity, however, she could become an empress of her generation.

In the second month, Shen Yiqing saw the destiny of the Minister of Personnel's simple-minded son: [The Martial Star Descends, A Match for Ten Thousand]. He was a heaven-sent general, but a childhood bout of cold had left him foolish. If cured, he could dominate the battlefield and be invincible.

In the third month, while traveling incognito among the people, Shen Yiqing saw the destiny of a butcher's young daughter: [The Literary Star Descends, Twin Stars Shine Bright]. She was a peerless stateswoman, but her humble life would keep her from achieving anything. If she met a wise ruler, she could outwit every nation and make her country unmatched in the world.

As Shen Yiqing continued recruiting talent for Great Liang, the great powers that had once dismissed it as a weak minor state discovered that their own capable people and wise scholars were flocking to Great Liang in droves.

Right under the great powers' noses, Great Liang was also swallowing up its neighbors and steadily incorporating them into its territory.

When the great powers tried to destroy Great Liang and conquer it, they helplessly discovered that, with the aid of one gifted minister after another, Great Liang had become invincible. Their only fate was to be swallowed up by Great Liang.

Years later, looking out over the unified realm, the thriving people, and the many talented minds gathered around Great Liang, Shen Yiqing, seated high on the throne, simply smiled. At first, all he had wanted was to survive the chaos.

[Reader's Guide]

1. This is a male-lead story with no pairing and no romance. The protagonist's golden finger is extremely powerful, the kind that is very, very powerful. Please don't read if that bothers you.

2. This is a fictional world. A few elements of the official system are borrowed from history, but there are no historical models. Please don't compare it to history.

3. The writing style is colloquial and uses a lot of modern expressions, with a few archaic phrases. If that's not to your taste, leave via the top-left corner. Let's all get along.

4. See Chapter 1 for more content warnings.

Pre-release new title: Cultivation World: Rise Through Infrastructure Development. Add it to your reading list if you're interested~

Blurb: Shen Xiyan transmigrated.

The good news: he transmigrated into a cultivation world and became the sect master of an immortal sect. The bad news: his sect is on the verge of collapse.

After the sect lost its Nascent Soul ancestor, the Heavenly Derivation Sect's ranking among the sects steadily declined over the next three hundred years.

It fell all the way from a four-star hegemonic sect to a nine-star nobody.

And in the month before Shen Xiyan transmigrated, the Heavenly Derivation Sect failed to meet the basic requirements for a nine-star sect and was kicked out of the nine-star ranks altogether, becoming an unranked sect.

Shen Xiyan.jpg: Standing before a desolate sect, at a loss and dumbstruck.

To survive in this cultivation world overrun by immortals, gods, and demons, and to fulfill the former sect master's last wish, Shen Xiyan had no choice but to grit his teeth and take on the task of restoring the sect.

"Ding-dong! The Sect Infrastructure System has been bound. As the strength of the sect rises, Host will receive endless rewards from the System!" Hearing the System's words and looking at the ruined sect before him, Shen Xiyan couldn't help smiling brightly through his tears. "What's so hard about becoming a one-star sect? I'll take that title in no time!"

In the first month after binding the System, Shen Xiyan used its starter pack to recruit a sword prodigy abandoned by his family and left to wander the streets; a young prince dismissed as a foolish child, but actually born with a natural Dao body; and a noble family's son who people thought couldn't cultivate, but was in fact a body-cultivation prodigy.

In the second month after binding the System, Shen Xiyan used the System's super-incredible Spirit-Gathering Ring Array and the strongest trial platform for sect disciples across the nine heavens and ten lands to turn disciples scorned and mocked by the world into peerless prodigies who amazed everyone.

In the third month after binding the System, Shen Xiyan used the ranks of all the gods and Buddhas he'd received from the System to lead his entire sect, people and dogs alike, through their tribulations and into ascension.

As the Heavenly Derivation Sect's fame spread, Shen Xiyan, who had relied on the System and his disciples to break through the Tribulation Transcendence Stage and become the master of a one-star sect, watched prodigies and elders leave other sects, along with sect masters who disbanded their own sects and traveled thousands of miles to compete for a place in the Heavenly Derivation Sect.

Standing on the high platform, Shen Xiyan couldn't help raising an eyebrow. At the beginning, all he'd wanted was to survive in the cultivation world.

Theme: Live well.