"Master, it's time to wake up and have breakfast."

An elderly but stern voice echoed in Ash's ears, but he didn't pay much attention. He had a terrible headache and thought his computer wasn't turned off, with a TV show playing in the background.

However, the voice continued, "Master, it's time to get up. Punctuality is a good habit for a nobleman." 

Ash paused, realizing that this voice didn't seem to come from his computer. It felt as if it was right beside him, incredibly real, definitely not from his cheap speakers.

Despite the throbbing pain in his head, Ash forced his eyes open. Instead of his usual white ceiling at home, he found himself under a canopy.

He stared in bewilderment, turned his head, and saw an old man in his fifties with meticulously groomed gray hair, wearing a serious expression, calmly looking at him.

Ash stared blankly at this stern-faced old man, then shifted his gaze around. He was in a stone-made room, very plain. Besides the large bed he was lying on, there was only a desk and a chair, which qualified as furniture. The floor and walls appeared freshly cleaned, and the window had wooden frames with paper covering them. There was a shiny stone on the ceiling for illumination, but there was nothing else in the room.

At that moment, the old man said again, "Master, you are alright now. Please get up quickly. As a nobleman, it's important to maintain a regular lifestyle. It's breakfast time, and I urge you to get up."

Ash looked at the old man, and a sudden thought crossed his mind: "Am I... transported?" He felt a sharp pain in his head and fainted.

Upon seeing Ash faint, the old man, James, hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly walked outside. Four people were waiting outside: two men and two women. The two men were young, seemingly in their teens, with short black hair, muscular bodies, and dark skin. They were both under two meters tall and had nearly identical appearances, clearly twins, though they looked somewhat vacant.

The older woman, in her forties, was a beautiful lady wearing a loose dress that hid her figure, but her plump breasts were tightly wrapped around her chest. The beautiful older lady's face had traces of aging and grey hairs, but she still remained beautiful, attracting attention. However, right now, her beautiful face was full of worries and anxiety.

Beside her was the younger girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, had long green hair, a delicate oval face, petite stature, and fair skin, a rare beauty. She was currently lowering her head, looking somewhat numb.

Seeing James coming out, the older woman immediately asked, "How is he? Is the master awake?"

James nodded, then shook his head, saying, "He woke up briefly but fainted again. Elsie, is your magic not effective, or is there something wrong with the medicine? Did someone tamper with it?"

Elsie's face turned cold. "I go and check again, if anything happens to master then I don't mind killing the king."

James frowned but he didn't spoke anything as he saw Elsie entering the room but she turned her cold face as she spoke, "If the master recovers, you better not impose any noble's demands on him otherwise I also don't mind teaching you a lesson."

James mouth twitch, as he was going to speak Elsie closed the door and entered the room.

James shook his head and sighed, "Yeah, those noble etiquettes were useless right now."

---

As Ash regained consciousness, a set of memories that did not belong to him suddenly appeared in his mind. It was as if an unfamiliar program had been installed in his brain, almost causing it to crash.

Although it didn't completely malfunction, his mind was processing this new information bit by bit.

After an uncertain period, Ash woke up. He felt that his mind now contained a set of memories that didn't belong to him.

In these memories, his name was Yarlow Whitewood, born into a martial aristocratic family in the Nor Empire on the Boundless Continent. His family had served the Nor Empire for three generations, holding the position of Viscount. However, his generation experienced a decline. Yarlow was a notorious playboy. He behaved recklessly, bullying others, and committing various misdeeds. However, his father was a protective figure who held significant military power, which kept others from taking action against him.

Yet, his father made a crucial mistake during the transition of power between the old and new kings of the Nor Empire. He chose the wrong side.

Yarlow's father was a supporter of the Crown Prince. This was a logical choice at the time, as the Crown Prince had the highest chances of ascending to the throne. The reason he supported the crown prince was because Yarlow's father wanted to integrated into upper nobility. He believed that if Crown Prince became a king then Whitewood family would become upper nobility, the core power of empire.

On the continent, any noble under a king's rule was categorized into two distinct groups: the old-established upper nobility and the newly risen nobility.

The newly risen nobility like Whitewood Family didn't had much influence while older established novel have powers that influence many small nations, millions of people and even king of empires wouldn't dare to touch this noble.

The Whitewood family had risen too rapidly, a method devised by several previous Nor kings to counterbalance the old-established nobles. However, Whitewood Family's fortunes changed after the death of the forty-sixth king. While the new king wished to promote them, the old nobility aimed to suppress them. Therefore, Whitewood Family's had no choice but to continuously support the new king to ensure their family's survival.

However, Yarlow's father chose the wrong side. He supported the Crown Prince, but he didn't ascend to the throne. Instead, the least conspicuous and seemingly weakest Thirteenth Prince became the king.

The Crown Prince was executed, and those aligned with him met grim fates. Yarlow's father was falsely accused, imprisoned, and died mysteriously in jail. Yarlow's past wrongdoings were exposed, but due to the presence of powerful people like James and Elsie, who were eighth-level individuals, the empire was wary of provoking them. However he still got punished.

His original position of Viscount was reduced to a Baron, and their once fertile land was exchanged for the desolate Black Soil Wasteland. To make matters worse, Yarlow was force-fed the Water of Void, which made him unable to learn magic or battle qi, and there was no cure for Water of Void.

Not only that but after being ordered to leave the capital within three days of the land exchange, he was forbidden from leaving the new territory for the next three years. Such restrictions were unprecedented among all the noble families.

However, it's wasn't strange that such restrictions posed on him as older established nobility didn't wanted to Whitehood family rise.

The reason Yarlow was forced to drink the Water of Void was due to a specific inherited martial cultivation technique of the Whitewood family called the "Raging Dragon Qi." This martial technique was renowned across the continent for its incredible speed of cultivation, which was three times faster than conventional Qi techniques, and its formidable combat power. It had always been a top-tier martial cultivation method coveted by major noble families in the empire. If Yarlow were to continue learning this technique and also harbored grudges from his past, it would pose a threat to the high-ranking nobles and the royal family. Hence, new king, Rune Nor forced Yarlow to drink the Water of Void.

The reason Rune didn't outright kill Yarlow was because James offered the Raging Dragon Qi technique to Rune and swore an oath that the Whitewood family members would never practice this martial art again. Consequently, Rune spared Yarlow.

Of course, James didn't openly give this technique to Rune. He clandestinely infiltrated the palace and presented it to Rune. This act served two purposes: first, to plead for Yarlow's life, and second, to demonstrate James's capabilities, making Rune think twice about harming Yarlow.

Rune was indeed fearful of powerful individuals like James and Elsie causing him trouble. Therefore, he agreed to James request, only demoting Yarlow's noble rank and exchanging their fertile land for the desolate Black Soil Wasteland, but spared Yarlow's life.

James had a clear understanding of his own strength. While he was formidable, the royal family also possessed significant power. He could kill Rune but he and Yarlow wouldn't able to live well in this world. Otherwise he might had killed Rune long time ago.

The reason James wanted to kill Rune was because he killed his master, Yarlow's father. 

He would had rescued Yarlow's father but he assumed that Rune wouldn't kill him. After all, Yarlow's father was a pawn used by the royal family to deal with the old-established nobility. The royal family was unlikely to easily discard him.

However, he didn't anticipate that Rune became king with the support of the old-established nobles, which led him to seek favor with them after ascending to the throne. Consequently, Yarlow's father died mysterious in jail. By the time James learned of this, it was too late, and he had to find a way to protect Yarlow, the last surviving member of the Whitewood family.

Regarding the decision to hand over the Raging Dragon Qi martial technique, it was tied to the effects of the Water of Void. The Water of Void was considered an unparalleled treasure on the continent because it not only prevented individuals from practicing magic and Qi, but this condition also extended to their descendants. This meant that anyone who consumed the Water of Void, as well as their descendants for ten generations, would be unable to learn magic or Qi.

This situation posed significant unknowns for the family's future. What would happen to a family that couldn't practice magic or Qi for ten generations? Would the family even survive to the tenth generation? These were the terrifying implications of the Water of Void and the reason James willingly handed over the Raging Dragon Qi technique.

Yarlow and the next ten generations of the Whitewood family would be unable to learn the Raging Dragon Qi technique. In light of this, there was no point in keeping the technique. Thus, James didn't hesitate to hand it over in exchange for Yarlow's life. This decision proved to be the correct one, as without it, Yarlow might not have left the capital alive.

However, he didn't know that Yarlow soul disappeared and from modern world, Ash named teenager took over Yarlow's body.