Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 2: The Game-Changing Advantage Appears

What was going on? The voice that suddenly popped into his head left Liu Ji momentarily bewildered. What was the Chinese Generals Summoning System? “Young… Young Master Liu, how’s Old Xu doing?” Wang Jinfeng asked anxiously. “Oh, Aunt Wang, Old Xu the carpenter has passed away. Sigh—” Hearing Wang Jinfeng’s question, Liu Ji had no time to pay attention to the voice in his head and replied with a somber expression. No sooner had Liu Ji finished speaking than a hint of sadness crossed the faces of Wang Jinfeng and the other women nearby. Old Xu was the last elderly person remaining among their group of refugees. Old Mr. Xu, who was already in his sixties, had been a kind-hearted man. On their journey, he would often save the food allotted to him and give it to the children in the group. Now this gentle old man had passed away so suddenly, and his family had already perished in that skirmish with the marauding bandits. Liu Ji, Wang Jinfeng, and two other women then struggled to carry Old Mr. Xu’s body to a corner of the main hall, intending to wait for Liu Ji’s father to return with his men before burying him. At the moment, Liu Ji and the others were so starved that they couldn’t even manage to dig a grave. This group still maintained the most basic standards of decency—after all, some of the refugees had already begun resorting to cannibalism, and a deceased person like Old Xu might very well have ended up as food for others. Liu Ji walked back to his little sister, Liu Niuniu, and cradled her in his arms again. “Niuniu, take a nap for a while. When you’re asleep, you won’t feel hungry. By the time you wake up, Dad and Uncle Tie will be back, and they’ll bring you something delicious to eat.” “Brother, Niuniu doesn’t want to sleep. If I end up like Grandpa Xu and never wake up again, Niuniu won’t be able to see Brother, Dad, or Uncle Tie anymore!” The innocent Liu Niuniu said, pouting as she nestled against Liu Ji’s chest. Liu Ji couldn’t help but hold his little sister, Liu Niuniu, even tighter. Over the past half-month since he’d traveled through time, although Liu Ji had endured great hardship—often going hungry—he had rediscovered something incredibly precious: the familial love he had once lost. In his original timeline, Liu Ji had been practically alone. But after traveling to this new timeline, he immediately gained a father who seemed strict but was actually deeply caring, as well as an understanding and innocent younger sister. Add to that Uncle Tie, who doted on him, and Liu Ji couldn’t help but feel a warmth he hadn’t experienced in a long time. a warmth he had last felt in his original timeline, when his parents were still alive. Liu Niuniu’s innocent words made Liu Ji feel a twinge of anxiety. During their flight from danger, they could encounter anything. Although several days had passed since the skirmish with the marauding bandits when he first arrived, the memory of that encounter still sent a chill down his spine whenever he thought of it, making him acutely aware that this was a world where man was wolf to man. In this dog-eat-dog world, Liu Ji—a 16-year-old boy who had been sent to a private school by his father from a young age—was nothing more than a frail scholar, utterly helpless. Without his father’s care, he couldn’t even manage to give his younger sister a single satisfying meal. Even as a time-traveler, Liu Ji wasn’t much better off. The knowledge he’d acquired in his original timeline was practically useless during their flight. If it weren’t for his father, Liu Hao, there was a very high chance that Liu Ji would have starved to death on the road—let alone been able to take care of his younger sister, Liu Niuniu. What a failure he was as a time traveler! Wait—what exactly was that “Chinese General Summoning System”? Just as Liu Ji thought of the voice that had appeared in his mind earlier, it rang out again. “Hello, esteemed User. Welcome to the Chinese Martial Generals Summoning System. I am the system’s assistant, ID 9527. You may simply call me by my ID number! If you have any questions regarding the system in the future, feel free to ask 9527. Please note that you can communicate with me directly through your consciousness.” Liu Ji took a deep breath, suppressing the nervousness and surprise welling up inside him. He glanced at the crowd around him and realized that no one else seemed to have heard the voice. Without hesitation, he asked telepathically, “9527, how did you get into my mind? And what exactly is this ‘Chinese Martial General Summoning System’?” “User, I cannot answer your first question due to missing data. As for the Chinese Generals Summoning System, it allows the user to summon generals documented in Chinese history—from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods through the Qing Dynasty. All summoned generals are imbued with new memories of this world and will automatically become the user’s subordinates. Their abilities remain unchanged, and they will be 100 percent loyal to the user—they will never betray you! “Whatever the system produces is bound to be top-notch!” Could this be a perk for time travelers—the legendary “golden finger”? Liu Ji swallowed hard and asked in his mind, “So how do I summon these generals? Can I summon legends like Xiang Yu, Li Yuanba, Lü Bu, and Bai Qi to serve under me?” “No problem. As long as you, the user, collect enough Soul Points, you can even summon every general who has ever appeared in Chinese history. Of course, for a general to be included in the Chinese General Summoning System, their Martial Power must be 60 or higher.” “What is ‘soul value’? And what does ‘a combat rating of 60 or higher’ mean?” “Soul Points refer to a type of energy emitted by a person shortly after death. Using the system to summon a general requires Soul Points. There is only one way for you to actively collect Soul Points: within two hours of a person’s death, you must approach the deceased and absorb the energy that has not yet dissipated. Given your current Level 0 status, any part of your body must be within 2 centimeters of the deceased.” “As the user’s level increases, they’ll be able to collect Soul Points from a greater distance. Level progression is tied to the number of generals the user has summoned. It’s important to note that Soul Points do not refer to a person’s soul, so the user need not feel any guilt when absorbing them.” “Martial Power indicates the strength of a person’s martial prowess. The highest Martial Power value in the system is 100. The user’s current attributes are Martial Power 8, Intelligence 58, and Command 25. The generals the system can summon all have Martial Power values of 60 or higher. Additionally, the success of a summon depends on the user’s Martial Power; we encourage the user to work hard to improve their Martial Power.” “Intelligence reflects a person’s overall ability to handle matters, while Command reflects a person’s ability to lead subordinates.” Upon hearing his stats, Liu Ji couldn’t help but feel a bit disheartened—his Strength was actually in the single digits. “9527, ‘Summoning generals is related to my Strength’—what does that mean?” “Generals with a Martial Value between 60 and 70 are classified as third-rate generals; those with a Martial Value between 70 and 80 are second-rate generals;those with a Martial Ability between 80 and 90 are classified as first-rate generals, and those with a Martial Ability above 90 are all top-tier generals. If the user’s Martial Ability meets the standard for a third-rate general, the success rate for summoning a third-rate general is 100 percent; the success rate for summoning a second-rate general is halved; the success rate for summoning a first-rate general is one-quarter; and the success rate for summoning a top-tier general is one-eighth.” “So, given that my current martial arts rating is 8, what is the success rate for summoning a third-tier general?” “If the user’s Martial Prowess is between 40 and 50, the success rate for summoning a third-tier general is one in two; if it’s between 40 and 50, it’s one in four; and so on. Given your current Martial Prowess, the success rate for summoning a third-tier general is one in sixty-four.” “9527, based on the system’s rules, does that mean my current success rate for summoning a top-tier general is one in 512?” “Your calculation is correct. However, please note that each general summon requires Soul Points. Summoning a third-tier general costs 100 Soul Points, a second-tier general costs 400 Soul Points, a first-tier general costs 1,600 Soul Points, and a top-tier general costs 6,400 Soul Points. After the Chinese General Summoning System was successfully activated, the system granted the user 100 Soul Points. Your current Soul Points total is 101.” “So, does that mean I can use 100 Soul Points right now to summon a third-tier general?” “That’s correct. However, your current chance of successfully summoning a third-rate general is only one in sixty-four. If the summon fails, 100 Soul Points will be wasted. 9527 kindly advises you to increase your Martial Power before attempting a summon, otherwise you may very well waste 100 Soul Points. You can improve your three attributes through exercise and study in the real world.”