"Actually, it doesn't matter whether my memory has recovered or not. What matters is that you and my parents are still here. But I would like to recover my memories, so could you take me for a walk around? That's supposed to be very important for getting my memory back."
Was Xiaotian saying this just to recover his memories? No, he purely wanted to spend time with Kaguya while also trying to piece together the memories of his predecessor.
In Xiaotian's mind, he had definitely transmigrated here as a soul and possessed this body, so he needed to figure out his predecessor's past to fill in the blanks.
Kaguya nodded gently and said, "Alright, since you say so, let's go for a walk. But where do you want to go first?"
Xiaotian thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to your favorite places first. I'm a simple guy—I just like being with you."
Kaguya blushed again. She took Xiaotian's hand and said, "Okay, let's go."
That day, the two of them visited many places—all the spots they used to play at together.
As for Xiaotian, upon seeing these familiar sights, a strange sense of familiarity washed over him for no apparent reason, and just like that, his memories came flooding back.
"What the hell? I didn't transmigrate as a soul after all!"
Xiaotian was stunned. After days of careful deduction, he had completely outsmarted himself.
Xiaotian had originally thought he was a soul transmigrator who had hijacked this body. But now that his memory was restored, he realized how utterly ridiculous the whole thing was.
Standing high upon a terrace, looking out at the city that had transformed because of him, a profound sense of pride welled up in Xiaotian's chest.
"Because of you, the entire Tang Kingdom has undergone tremendous changes, and our territory has expanded. All of this is thanks to you."
With that, Kaguya leaned against Xiaotian and said, "So I'm very proud, because you are truly amazing."
"This... is hardly worth mentioning."
Xiaotian gave an embarrassed chuckle while shaking his head internally, thinking to himself: *No way. I can't possibly become the Lord Ruler.*
Actually, Xiaotian had thought of this plan long ago; he had no desire to be the Lord Ruler.
What was a Lord Ruler? Essentially an emperor, which was even more exhausting than a regular job.
As soon as he woke up in the morning, the Lord Ruler had to figure out how to make the country stronger, and before going to sleep at night, he had to ponder how to bring happiness to the common people.
Xiaotian certainly didn't want to manage money and people, let alone deal with the lingering headaches of future development.
Being a transmigrator, becoming an emperor was completely out of the question—even ruling a tiny nation was impossible.
So Xiaotian had prepared a contingency plan, one he had designed back when he first considered being ruler, and he called it the "Republican Plan."
Xiaotian had it all figured out: once he became Lord Ruler, he would implement a republican system and then become the Prime Minister. He would serve as the first premier, and for the second term, he would let someone capable take over.
Of course, Xiaotian also had a Plan B: the moment Kaguya and their children grew up, he would immediately abdicate, and the two of them would go traveling—going wherever they wanted and doing whatever they pleased.
"Brother, how on earth do you come up with all these ideas? Are you really, as they say, a heavenly god descended to earth?"
Kaguya looked at Xiaotian, who hurriedly shook his head and said, "A heavenly god descended? Forget it. I just happen to come up with solutions to things. By the way, little sis, once we grow up, where do you want to go?"
Kaguya pondered for a moment and said, "Hmm... I don't know, but the outside world must be wonderful."
"It's definitely wonderful, certainly better than this place. Plus, we can get a little car and travel together."
Now that Xiaotian had the system, he was practically invincible, and the system store even contained manufacturing blueprints for automobiles. When the time came, he could build a car and travel everywhere with Kaguya.
"Oh, that's right."
Xiaotian suddenly remembered something. Kaguya looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, "What is it?"
"Come on, Kaguya, repeat after me: All things in the universe divide into Yin and Yang..."
Xiaotian recited the lines. Although Kaguya didn't understand them, she sensed it must be something good. This passage was the introductory mental cultivation method for the Yin-Yang True Formula.
The Yin-Yang True Formula was a cultivation technique. Once practiced, two types of energy—one Yin and one Yang—would form inside the body. This energy was insanely powerful because it could mimic any other kind of energy.
For instance, if someone possessed battle qi, a practitioner of the Yin-Yang True Formula could imitate that battle qi, and even generate an enhanced version far superior to the original.
At the same time, the Yin-Yang True Formula had a protective mechanism: upon the practitioner's death, it would reshape their body, reverting them to infancy to save their life.
Of course, the Yin-Yang True Formula also periodically reshaped the physical body once every eighty years, but Xiaotian didn't want Kaguya to become a child again, so he only taught her the introductory basics.
Yet, despite how immensely powerful this cultivation technique was, it couldn't grant eternal life. But was Xiaotian worried about longevity? Naturally not; an elixir of immortality was sitting right there in the store for a mere 100,000 Stamina Value.
After Xiaotian finished teaching the basics, Kaguya memorized it and asked, "What is this?"
"An introductory cultivation technique. Practice it a bit, and once you get the hang of it, you'll definitely become stronger."
Xiaotian pulled Kaguya into his embrace and said, "Then the two of us can grow stronger together, and later on, we can even practice dual cultivation."
"Dual cultivation?"
Having been nurtured by the culture of the Tang Kingdom, Kaguya naturally understood what that meant. Her pretty face flushed red, and she gave him a playful scold, saying, "You're so bad."
"Hehe, alright, let's keep playing. We should head back soon to have dinner with our parents."
Xiaotian took Kaguya by the hand and walked back toward the palace. That night, the two of them slept in the same bed, but they were still too young to do anything of that sort.
***
"Sigh... Even though I possess an ultimate weapon of mass destruction, I can't even use it. Who could possibly understand this feeling?"
Xiaotian shook his head and sighed. Eight days had passed, and while he had successfully mastered the basics of the Yin-Yang True Formula, he still couldn't use the Rinnegan because his Yin and Yang energy levels were insufficient.
"System, is there any way for me to use the Rinnegan?"
Having no other choice, Xiaotian began seeking help from the system.
"Ding. If the host wishes to use the Rinnegan, you can acquire the Fruit of Chakra, otherwise the host must simply wait."
The system's response left Xiaotian deeply depressed. He hadn't even finished watching Hokage, so how could he possibly know about the Fruit of Chakra? He didn't even know where Chakra came from in the first place.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Xiaotian. "Right! The complete collection of Hokage! System, do you have it?"
"It requires 3,000 Stamina Value."
Hearing the system's reply, Xiaotian felt even gloomier. He could only redeem 15 points of Stamina Value a day right now. Three thousand points? How long would that take? Two hundred days!
Besides, that required spending all his mental energy. If he exchanged all of it, Xiaotian would have to sleep, wake up just to eat and recover his energy, and then go right back to sleep. What difference would that kind of life be from being a pig?
"What about the Fruit of Chakra?" Xiaotian asked again.
The system replied once more, "It requires 50,000 Stamina Value."
"Damn it... Why is it so expensive?"
Xiaotian slammed his hand down on the table, startling the guards outside.
"No way, I need to rethink this. Right now, it's just a matter of time. I'm going to achieve immortality with Kaguya, after all."
Xiaotian began formulating a plan. First of all, a single immortality pill could only grant eternal life to one person, so he needed to redeem two of them—meaning 200,000 Stamina Value.
By the time Xiaotian grew up, assuming his daily energy cap reached 20 points, it would still take him about thirty years. Therefore, he needed to boost his energy capacity so he could redeem more Stamina Value.
"Wait a second..."
A thought suddenly crossed Xiaotian's mind, and a weird, cunning smile spread across his face. "System, if I kick the bucket, you won't have a host anymore, right?"
"That is correct," the system replied honestly.
Xiaotian continued, "Then you wouldn't want me to die so early either, right? Even though the Yin-Yang True Formula prolongs life, if I actually die, what are you going to do?"
The system replied indifferently, "Host, please rest assured. Since you have bound yourself to this system, the system altered you the moment you transmigrated. Currently, the host exists in an immortal and indestructible state."
Xiaotian wanted to curse out loud, but he couldn't even find the words. "You're... surprisingly nice."
"Don't mention it."
The system's tone sounded almost like mockery, leaving Xiaotian thoroughly depressed.
Immortal and indestructible—that was something countless people dreamed of. Rounding it up, wasn't that basically eternal life?
"Fine, then I'll just redeem one pill and have Kaguya take it."
Xiaotian made up his mind. That was the way to go: make Kaguya immortal first, and then the two of them could spend eternity together.
"Brother, I'm here!"
Kaguya's voice echoed from a distance. A second later, the door swung open, and she poked her head in. Seeing Xiaotian sitting by the table, she trotted inside and said, "Let's go."
"Alright, let's go."
Xiaotian pushed those other thoughts aside, grabbed Kaguya's hand, and walked outside.
When the two of them reached the city outskirts, they happened to see a group of prisoners walking past. Xiaotian asked, "These people... why do they look so weird?"
A guard cupped his fists in salute and said, "Young master, these people all come from the Liu Kingdom."
"Then why do they have that haircut?"
Xiaotian pointed at one of them. The man's hairstyle was bizarre—shaved on top like a Mediterranean monk, though it was clearly done with a razor. This exact hairstyle was only worn by people from the island nation in his past life, known as a chonmage.
"Young master, that is their custom, but we don't do that here. We only keep our hair short."
As soon as the guard finished speaking, Xiaotian's brow furrowed.
"Looks like I'll have to emulate Emperor Zulong."
With that thought in mind, it wasn't that Xiaotian just disliked this hairstyle—he utterly loathed it. He also knew that people around these parts indeed spoke gibberish, which was basically the language of the island nation. Therefore, he needed to follow the example of Emperor Zulong: unify the realm under a single governance, standardize writing across all domains, and align all cart axles to a uniform gauge.
The next moment, Xiaotian held out his hand and said, "Bring me brush and paper. I'm going to start creating."
"Understood, young master."
The guard's eyes lit up. He knew that whenever Xiaotian asked for writing materials, something brilliant was about to emerge.
As the brush, paper, desk, and chair were prepared, Kaguya stood by to grind the ink. Xiaotian picked up the writing brush and began sketching. This time, he was going to draw firearms and ammunition.
With steel production and electricity fully established, the Tang Kingdom already possessed the embryonic form of industrialization. All that remained was development, but Xiaotian wanted to fast-track the process. He needed to unite this world sooner rather than later and fulfill his dream of standardized writing and unified transport gauges—because only then, when he and Kaguya went traveling, would they never be constrained by language barriers.
Of course, the most important factor was national sentiment. As someone from Huaxia who had traveled back to ancient times, and with Xiaotian being the future Lord Ruler to boot, he was definitely going to wipe out these states that resembled the island nation.