Nine Star Burden

The sun was shining brightly in the sky and casting its golden rays down onto the ground below. Although it was already the end of August, the hot summer temperatures had yet to cool down.

Although it was breezy, the wind did not do anything to cool the weather down. It swept through the bustling Jiangbin City and into a residential building in Dongcheng District.

“Ah…” The youth rubbed his head while laying in front of the computer desk. Feeling sleepy, he opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.

At this moment, the three standard philosophical questions emerged in his mind.

Who am I? 

Where am I? 

What do I want to do? 

Oh, right, my name is Jiang Xiao. 

Jiang Xiao rubbed his head and felt a splitting headache that caused him excruciating pain…

He looked around and thought, Whose room is this? 

Is this a pigsty? 

Why are there clothes strewn everywhere messily? 

Why are there… balls of paper everywhere? 

Impressive. 

He could see a pile of paper balls in the wastepaper basket at the side.

However, Jiang Xiao’s contemptuous thoughts vanished immediately, because he unintentionally noticed the flickering silhouette on the computer screen.

The silhouette reflected in the black screen was, of course, Jiang Xiao.

Jiang Xiao also knew that he was the virtual figure on the screen, but… why did he seem to be a kid?

Jiang Xiao pressed his face towards the computer screen in disbelief and the virtual figure mimicked his actions.

Jiang Xiao’s Adam’s apple moved and he swallowed his saliva before touching the mouse carefully.

The computer screen suddenly vanished and the scene of a flabbergasted young man staring at the screen appeared. It was Jiang Xiao’s reflection.

What video software is this? 

Jiang Xiao blinked and thought, This doesn’t seem like a video chat at all. It looks like it’s recording.

Jiang Xiao looked up, only to realize that there was a camera lens. What was the owner of this body doing just now?

Recording a video?

Clearly, the video was still in the process of recording, which made Jiang Xiao feel a little agitated.

If the owner of this body has been recording the video, will the entire process of me traveling through be recorded?

There’s such a benefit too?

Jiang Xiao hastily pressed the button to stop recording and selected a file to play.

After waiting for a few seconds, a puerile and youthful face appeared on the computer screen in front of Jiang Xiao.

He was wearing a checkered shirt, had a buzzcut and seemed to be about 15 or 16 years old.

This neat and clean-looking guy doesn’t look like the guy who threw the paper balls all over the ground. 

“Hello, everyone. I’m Jiang Xiaopi.” The boy in the video began to speak. “It’s a pity that I’ve got a cold recently, so you guys can’t hear my godly and alluring voice.”

Jiang Xiao was dumbfounded.

In the video, Jiang Xiaopi pulled out a facial tissue and blew his nose into it before rolling it into a ball and throwing it onto the ground.

So that’s how the balls of tissue came about. 

Jiang Xiao stretched a hand out to pull some tissue paper from the box on the table because he finally realized that “he” had caught a cold.

In the video, the young man who claimed to be Jiang Xiaopi continued speaking.

“I repeat, my name is Jiang Xiaopi! Remember this name that you will admire for the rest of your life!

“This is the first time I’ve ever opened a Weibo account because I discovered that my formidable power doesn’t allow me to keep a low profile anymore.”

Jiang Xiao hastily pressed the pause button and looked at “himself” on the screen. Jiang Xiao felt a sudden urge to kill himself.

How did this kid grow up?

How did he live for so many years?

Jiang Xiao recovered from the shock and got a grip on himself for a while before pressing the play button.

Jiang Xiaopi did not continue bragging and instead said, “I shall introduce myself simply.

“Well, children always ask their parents where they come from, and the answers tend to be very diverse. Some would say that their children have been picked up from the trash can, some would say that the children were given to them for free, while others would say that the children were gifts.”

Jiang Xiaopi suddenly looked at the camera solemnly and said, “My story is really amazing. I was really picked up from the garbage can.

“My mother is a ravishing beauty who’s pretty and gorgeous. Her name is Jiang Hongye. Isn’t that a beautiful name? Unlike mine, ah…”

On the screen, Jiang Xiaopi pursed his lips and muttered in displeasure, “On the day that my mother found me, my mother’s dog died. The dog’s name was Xiaopi, and I was then named… mhm.”

Jiang Xiaopi looked visibly upset, but his eyes lit up all of a sudden and he looked at the camera. “Fortunately, the dog was rather cute. It was a golden retriever that liked smiling.”

Jiang Xiao was speechless.

In the video, Jiang Xiaopi rested his chin in his hand and remained silent for a while. “Okay, I think you have remembered my name, so it’s time I expressed my stand. I’m about to start studying at Bincheng High School. Now, this is dedicated to all my classmates in high school!”

Jiang Xiao looked at the screen with anticipation, wondering what Jiang Xiaopi would say next.

In the video, Jiang Xiaopi said, “From today onwards, I’ll be the leader of Year One! Those who oppose may meet me in the woods after school! I’m telling you, I call the shots in Year One!”

“And!” Jiang Xiaopi pointed at the camera and continued, “Those high school seniors out there, don’t think that you can do anything you want just because you’re older. I’ve set my sights on that belle whose last name is Xia. No one is to vie with me! Likewise, if you disagree, meet me in the field after school. I, Jiang Xiaopi, have never been afraid of anyone!”

Jiang Xiaopi looked at the camera fiercely and barked menacingly. “I want to let all of you know, that I’m the only one who can have beautiful girls!”

Jiang Xiao looked at his childish and ignorant “self” in bewilderment.

Ka-cha!

In the video, the door behind Jiang Xiaopi suddenly opened, and a figure entered.

Jiang Xiao raised his eyebrows and thought, Ah, this girl is really beautiful.

She was clad in a white nightdress, which was obviously meant to be worn at home. Jiang Xiao reckoned that she probably lived in the house too.

She was about 17 or 18 years old and was tall and slender. At this moment, her beautiful and exquisite face was icy cold, and her long, black tresses were swaying together with her angry footsteps.

In the screen, the girl kicked the balls of tissues on the ground with a sullen expression and strode towards Jiang Xiaopi’s back. However, Jiang Xiaopi had yet to realize her presence and was still whistling and bragging.

All of a sudden, she raised her hand and smacked the back of Jiang Xiaopi’s head.

What a thrill!

Jiang Xiaopi almost burst into tears and he put a hand on the back of his head while turning around to look at the girl.

The aloof-looking girl had yet to simmer down and she glowered at Jiang Xiaopi before hollering. “Do something proper and productive! Cultivate your star power or clean the house! Stop filming such disgusting videos.”

Jiang Xiaopi shouted, “You don’t need to worry about me! Go away! Scram!”

“You can forget about dinner then!” The girl barked coldly before turning around while her white nightdress fluttered lightly with her movement. She kicked the balls of tissues away and walked out of the room before slamming the door shut forcefully.

On the screen, Jiang Xiaopi turned around angrily and slammed his hand against the computer desk fiercely. He then laid on the table while his body quivered. He then started sobbing.

Is he that emotional? 

He got scolded so he started crying? His stress threshold is a little low, huh? 

Jiang Xiao sat by the computer desk and watched as Jiang Xiaopi’s shoulders relaxed. Did he fall asleep while crying?

20 minutes later, Jiang Xiaopi rubbed his head and looked around in confusion.

Did Jiang Xiao time-travel during this time?

Wow! 

Impressive! 

Jiang Xiaopi fell asleep while crying so I’m here?

Did he meet the Magic Dragon in his dream and made a wish to go to another world?

Jiang Xiao rubbed his head and tried his best to recall everything while in Jiang Xiaopi’s body.

This girl seems to be Jiang Xiaopi’s sister.

Is she Han Jiangxue?

Since her father’s surname is Han, of course her surname would be Han too.

Since Jiang Xiaopi was adopted by his mother, Jiang Hongye, he took her last name at her request. 

In Jiang Xiaopi’s memory, his parents seemed to have gone for a mission three years ago and never returned. 

Huh? 

So the siblings are depending on each other for life? 

The sister is extremely gorgeous? 

The two of them are not biologically related?

Ah, it’s time to point out the keywords. 

At this point, Jiang Xiao was completely baffled and dumbfounded. He was no longer in the mood to find the main point of this.

The point was, Jiang Xiao switched from a 25-year-old youth to a 16-year-old teenager and went from a society newbie into a high school student.

And this world…

Jiang Xiao moved the cursor to the lower-left corner of the computer screen and looked at the date which read: August 20, 2015.

Well, there was no difference in time with the world that Jiang Xiao was from.

But what did the siblings mean when they said “Awakening” and “Star Power”?

Jiang Xiao frowned and tried to recall some things from Jiang Xiaopi’s memory, only to be surprised to find that this world was not Earth where he had come from.

–

A world full of magical abilities, magical awakeners, and a space filled with different dimensions.

Due to the existence of different dimensions, this world is vastly different from Earth where Jiang Xiao came from.

Behind the countless dimensional portals, laid a plethora of strange and absurd worlds with peculiar creatures.

Unfortunately, most creatures in the portals are hostile.

In the rough history of human beings, human beings have not only faced civil wars, but also the invasion and intrusion of creatures from different dimensions.

Star Power is a kind of mystical energy that arose together with the appearance of the different dimensional gateways and has the ability to alter the physical attributes of humans as well as their lifestyles.

With the advent of the first batch of Star Power awakeners, human beings who were once only able to use ships and cannons to battle the creatures of different dimensions finally have new options.

Of course, although new energy was introduced to Earth and changed the destiny of mankind, it did not change anything at all.

In fact, most people were still ordinary, because their bodies cannot carry the power. They end up damaging their bodies physically if they insisted on cultivating and practicing it.

With the passage of time, the human beings’ awakening of Star Power continued to deepen, and after continuous trial-and-error, the age of 16 became the globally recognized age of Awakening.

The age of 16 years old is a gateway, and humans have the greatest chance of Awakening at this age. It is also the best time for the human-intervention of Awakening. If performed too early or too late, there may be physical damage to the experimenter.

Of course, there will always be some minorities! They tend to do outrageous things that give them the label of “geniuses”.

They don’t need to do anything at all, but one day, they will detect the ubiquitous Star Power on earth. This process is called Natural Awakening. They will then have a bright future.

They may even have started the road to awakening at the age of 10, 8 or even 6 years old, thus giving them the chance to practice way earlier compared to normal Awakening.

Of course, how can there be so-called fairness in this world?

Except for a small number of gifted prodigies, the majority can only be awakened by external intervention, and most of the Awakened awaken in such a manner. Jiang Xiaopi obviously belongs to this category.

After the age of 16, the Star Power was inducted into his body, thus activating the career of the Awakened.

However, this has to be done in a rigorous and strict process where appropriate measures must be taken.

There are plenty of people who cannot be awakened and are indignant and unwilling to accept such an outcome. They even try to find ways to achieve their own goals, though the outcome is always undesirable.

Such stubborn people often end up getting injured or dying in the process. More often, they will not only slip into unconsciousness but also suffer huge trauma to their bodies and become weak, sickly and frail.

Just two months ago, at the final graduation ceremony of the Year 3 high school students, dozens of the Awakened stood in a square and helped them complete the final graduation assessment.

The headmaster has long got used to enjoying the cheers during his speeches. Of course, even a fool would know that they did not cheer for the headmaster’s lengthy speech, but for the awakened ones, one after another.

–

That graduation ceremony finally kickstarted Jiang Xiaopi’s career.

Jiang Xiaopi’s body was suitable for the cultivation and practicing of Star Power.

He had successfully activated the Star Map!