Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 3: The First General

Although Liu Ji had obtained the “golden finger” essential for anyone who’s traveled through time, there were quite a few restrictions on using it. In particular, summoning a general required Soul Points—even summoning the lowest-tier third-rate general cost 100 Soul Points per attempt. This meant Liu Ji would have to come into contact with 100 people who had recently died just to collect 100 Soul Points. The problem was that even with 100 Soul Points, given Liu Ji’s current Martial Ability, the chances of a successful summoning were extremely low. This so-called “Chinese General Summoning System” was nothing but a huge scam! Liu Ji looked down at his younger sister, who was already fast asleep in his arms, and his eyes filled with doting affection. In this chaotic era, with his pitiful Martial Power of only 8, protecting his family’s safety was nothing short of a pipe dream. Yet this Chinese General Summoning System that had suddenly appeared gave Liu Ji a glimmer of hope. Even if the system was a massive trap, Liu Ji was determined to jump in without hesitation. Now that the system had given him 100 Soul Points for free, Liu Ji decided to immediately summon a third-rate general. His father, Liu Hao, and Uncle Tie hadn’t returned yet with their men, leaving Liu Ji with a deep sense of unease. But given his current circumstances, there was nothing he could do. In fact, if anything happened to Liu Hao and Liu Tie, it was uncertain whether he and his little sister would even survive. But if Liu Ji had the protection of a third-rate general summoned through the Chinese General Summoning System, even if his father and Uncle Tie really did meet with misfortune, he and his sister would still have a chance to survive. Liu Ji placed his younger sister, Liu Niuniu, on a haystack, told her he was going outside to relieve himself, and then hurried out of the temple’s main hall. This group of refugees were all fellow villagers who knew each other inside and out, so Liu Ji wasn’t worried that anyone would harm his sister, Liu Niuniu. Otherwise, in the presence of a starving crowd, a child like Liu Niuniu could very well have been secretly slaughtered and eaten—cannibalism had become a common occurrence in Wan Prefecture within the Great Jin realm at that time. The abandoned temple where Liu Ji and the others were temporarily staying was built halfway up the mountainside; the entire mountain was a parched, yellow landscape, devoid of any sign of life. Liu Ji walked to the side of the temple. Seeing that no one was around, he spoke with his mind, his heart pounding with anxiety: “9527, consume 100 Soul Points to summon a third-rate general once!” “Understood, User! You will expend 100 Soul Points to summon a third-rate general once. The success rate is one in sixty-four. Do you confirm?” “Confirm! I confirm! May the gods protect me!” “Congratulations, User. You have successfully summoned Liu Pi, a third-rate general from the Three Kingdoms period, with a Martial Value of 64, an Intelligence Value of 57, and a Command Value of 58. Liu Pi, whose courtesy name is Taichu, was a Yellow Turban general in his early years. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Pi and another Yellow Turban commander, Gong Du, led a remnant force of Yellow Turban rebels and held out in Runan. Later, Liu Pi and Gong Du defected to Liu Bei and surrendered Runan to him. Eventually, Liu Pi died in battle while protecting Liu Bei during a clash with Cao Cao’s general Gao Luan!” “Liu Pi’s implanted identity is that of a warrior the user once saved in his hometown!” Upon hearing System 9527’s words, Liu Ji immediately jumped up in delight. There’s always a way out—he’d actually succeeded in summoning him despite a one-in-sixty-four chance of success. That was truly amazing! In fact, Liu Pi doesn’t appear in the official history of the Three Kingdoms; he’s only a character from *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, but Liu Ji had no idea about any of this. Liu Ji immediately turned his head excitedly, looking around. “9527, where is Liu Bi?” “User, Liu Pi is nearby and will join you shortly.” No sooner had System 9527 finished speaking than a fully armed warrior emerged from the mountain path. Clad in iron armor and wearing an iron helmet, he held a long-handled broadsword in his right hand and carried a quiver of arrows on his back. Liu Ji immediately gripped the short dagger at his waist and watched nervously as the warrior strode toward him. Was this the general summoned by the system? Liu Ji soon let out a sigh of relief, and a look of surprise and delight returned to his face. The warrior strode up to Liu Pi, suddenly dropped to one knee, and said excitedly to Liu Ji, “My benefactor, it really is you! Liu Pi has finally found you. If you hadn’t saved my life last year, I would have long since died of illness in a foreign land and become a wandering ghost. Liu Pi promised you that once he returned home to settle his personal affairs, his life would belong to you. But when Liu Pi returned to Pingyuan County to find your home, he learned that you and your family had already gone to Yongzhou to stay with relatives. So Liu Pi chased after you all the way and has finally found you. From this day forward, Liu Pi vows to serve you as his lord and follow you to the death, remaining loyal until the very end!” Upon hearing Liu Pi’s explanation, Liu Ji couldn’t help but feel that the “Chinese General Summoning System”—this implanted memory—was quite thorough. It also provided a reasonable explanation for Liu Pi’s sudden appearance, even if it was just a bit far-fetched. “User, your identity is truly rather lame. This is the best the system can do when implanting identities for generals. Please forgive any inconvenience this may cause you!” Liu Ji didn’t mind the system’s teasing tone in the least; right now, all his attention was focused on the suddenly appearing Liu Pi. “Brother Liu, please stand up at once! Since… since you’ve taken a liking to me, from now on… from now on, Liu Ji will certainly not let you down!” Liu Ji said, sounding both nervous and excited. He’d never encountered a situation like this before, and his speech came out a bit stammering. “My Lord, there is a distinction between superiors and inferiors. In the future, please just call me by my name; please, under no circumstances call me ‘Brother Liu.’ If you did, I would be utterly mortified!” Liu Pi said, still kneeling on one knee. People of the Great Jin Dynasty, including scholars, had only one name and no courtesy name; the system had not included Liu Pi’s courtesy name in his memories. “Oh! All right, all right, all right. Liu Pi, you may rise for now!” “Yes, my lord!” “Liu Da… no, Liu Pi, my father took some men to look for food, and they haven’t returned yet. There are still more than twenty people in the main hall of the temple—all women and children—and they’re all starving. What do you think we should do next?” “My Lord, how long has Master Liu been gone?” “It’s been two hours already. I’m worried something might have happened to them.” “My Lord, we’re short-handed right now, so we’ll just have to wait here for Master Liu and his men. The most urgent task is to find some food. I happen to know a little about hunting—I’ll see if I can find anything nearby.” “Then please, Liu Pi, go look around the area. The people in the main hall are truly starving.” Watching Liu Pi set off in search of game, Liu Ji asked the system, “9527, if my martial prowess can be improved through training, can Liu Pi’s martial prowess also be improved?” “User, the generals summoned by the system are already at their peak historical strength. It’s extremely difficult to increase their combat power, though it’s not entirely impossible! 9527 would like to remind you that summoned generals are no different from ordinary people—they are subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death. As a general ages, their combat power will decrease. However, for every summoned general, combat power generally won’t decrease within the first fifteen years, barring special circumstances.” “What are these special circumstances?” “For example, if a summoned general is missing an arm or a leg, their combat strength will decrease significantly.” Seeing that Liu Pi had walked away, Liu Ji finally entered the main hall of the temple. Then, looking at the women in the crowd, he said excitedly, “An old friend of mine has come looking for me. He knows a thing or two about hunting and has already gone out to find food for everyone!” Aside from the 11 women, the other 12 were all children under the age of 10. Counting Liu Ji and Liu Niuniu, there were only 25 survivors left here. “Really? That’s wonderful—the children are starving!” “Will Young Master Liu’s friend be able to catch any game?” “I wonder why Mr. Liu and the others haven’t come back yet?” “I hope God will watch over the children’s father and bring him home safely!” Liu Ji’s words breathed some life back into the women, who had been listless. Just then, Liu Niuniu saw Liu Ji return and immediately threw herself into his arms; only in her older brother’s embrace could she feel safe. “Niuniu, we’ll have something to eat very soon!” “Brother, have Dad and Uncle Tie come back?” “Dad and Uncle Tie aren’t back yet. It’s your brother’s… a friend of mine found us here. He’s gone hunting now, and in a little while, Niuniu will get to eat some grilled meat!” “Brother, is there really going to be grilled meat? Then you have to save some for Dad and Uncle Tie. I’ll just eat a little less!”