Great Ming: It All Began with Stopping Liu Bowen from Severing the Dragon Vein

Shen Yan, a professor of materials and manufacturing engineering, is surveying unusual minerals in the Greater Khingan Mountains when he transmigrates to an alternate Ming dynasty. He stops Liu Bowen from slaying the dragon and accidentally cuts off the dragon energy being sent to the Outer Continents. Using industry and an army of martial artists, he wins independence and promotes contact between the continents. After an extraterrestrial expeditionary force invades, he personally slays the dragon and seals the realm, buying future generations time to develop. But in doing so, he returns to the modern era.