Chapter 1: Azure Water Star

Wang Jie was a recent university graduate who hadn’t yet found a job.

Taking advantage of his free time, he set off on a solo road trip — a personal reward before entering the working world.
He drove without a set destination, simply exploring wherever the road led.

On the third evening of his trip, while driving slowly down a nameless country road,
a young, energetic man was singing cheerfully behind the wheel.

“In your heart, I’ll fly freely—
Beneath the brilliant starlight, I’ll wander endlessly.
My path shines from deep within—
Through distant frontiers, I’ll journey far…”

“Whoa—damn!”
Suddenly, a blinding light shot straight at him. He couldn’t see anything.

BANG!
A deafening crash echoed as flames erupted into the sky…

—-

Azure Water Star — a parallel world similar to Earth.

In the coastal city of Yunlian, in Jiangnan Province of the Dragon Nation,
Wang Jie had been lying quietly in bed in a three-story house — in a coma for ten years.

For a decade, his parents never left his side, holding onto hope.

One day, as usual, Wang Jie’s mother sat beside him, gently stroking his hand.
Her eyes were filled with both love and sorrow.

Suddenly, she felt Wang Jie’s finger twitch.

“Old man, come quickly! I think our son’s finger just moved!” she cried in shock and joy.

His father rushed over immediately. Grabbing Wang Jie’s hand, his eyes filled with emotion.

“Son, can you hear us? If you can, move your finger again.”

Miraculously, the finger moved again.
Tears welled up in their eyes — Wang Jie was alive, reaching out to them.

“Son, stay strong. We’ll be here with you until you recover,” his mother said, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Yes, son. You are our hope. We believe you can overcome this,” his father added, his voice trembling.

Wang Jie felt confused. He tried to recall what had happened.
Gradually, he remembered the car accident — that terrifying moment.

“Did I die?” he thought.
“Am I hearing my late parents? Ten years… Could I finally see them again?”

A mix of joy and peace filled his heart.

He slowly opened his eyes. His head felt heavy, like waking from a long dream.
He tried to sit up but his body wouldn’t respond. It was soft and weak, completely powerless.

“Son, you’re finally awake!” his parents’ excited voices echoed.

Turning his head, he saw their familiar faces.
Their eyes were full of love and joy, tears glistening as they held back sobs.

“Dad… Mom…”
Wang Jie’s voice was raspy and faint. He tried to speak, but his throat was blocked, barely able to make a sound.

Looking at his familiar-yet-unfamiliar parents, Wang Jie felt overwhelmed with joy.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

Seeing this, his parents also began crying as they wiped away his tears on either side.

“It’s okay, it’s okay… Ten years… Heaven has finally opened its eyes. You’ve finally awakened. Let it out, cry all you want.”
His father, Wang Wenqiang, said, trembling with emotion.

As their hands touched Wang Jie’s cheeks, he felt it — warmth and a real, tangible sensation.

“Something’s not right… Why does it feel real? Their touch… It’s warm.”

The family of three cried together for five or six minutes before they finally calmed down.
Only then did something click in Wang Jie’s mind.

“Wait… Dad just said I’ve been in a coma for ten years??”

There really was a car accident ten years ago — a memory he never wanted to revisit.

Confused and overwhelmed, he wondered:

“Could I have crossed into that ‘parallel world’ those experts always talked about?”

Suppressing the emotions in his heart, Wang Jie asked weakly:

“Dad, Mom… What happened to me? Why does my body feel so weak?”

“I’m sorry, son. We couldn’t protect you ten years ago. That’s why you’ve been unconscious for so long,”
his mother, Song Yulian, said through tears.

“Sigh…” his father sighed, his face full of guilt.

“Don’t be like this, Mom, Dad. I just woke up and remember nothing —
I don’t even know what this world is called, what country we’re in, the history…
What year is it now? Can you tell me everything?” Wang Jie asked softly.

Seeing how weak their son was, Wang Wenqiang’s heart ached. He quickly replied:

“Yes, yes, just listen — don’t strain yourself.
Also, there’s something important… You’ve been in a coma for ten years.
You have no degree, no job… And about that engagement your grandfather arranged — there’s trouble.
The Ruan family girl keeps trying to back out of it.
She keeps saying it’s a modern world, and she believes in free love — there’s no way she’ll marry you.
If it weren’t for your coma dragging things out, they would’ve canceled it long ago.
Now that you’re awake, there’s no reason to delay.
What do we do? What if you can’t find a wife?”

Wang Jie thought back carefully:

“In my past life, when I was 15 and she was 11, both families tore up the engagement papers at a gathering.
Her family had moved to Tianfu Province because her parents were military officers stationed at the southern border.
That was 7 or 8 years ago — we haven’t seen each other since.”

Seeing his parents’ worried faces, Wang Jie smiled and reassured them:

“Dad, Mom, don’t worry. Your son will be fine.
Let’s talk about something else instead.”

As Wang Wenqiang explained, Wang Jie learned this world was called Azure Water Star.
The timeline matched Earth — it was also July 2024.
The people, events, and historical grievances were all surprisingly similar.

There were over 200 countries, some still deeply disliked —
but the names of nations and places were different.

Here, their homeland was called Dragon Nation,
while the rival nation Karami (Little Karami) was known as Wakoku — an age-old enemy.

In both parallel worlds, that same car accident had occurred.
In the previous world, Wang Jie was the sole survivor. The crash had taken his parents’ lives, leaving him to struggle alone.

But in this world, it was reversed. His parents were fine —
but he was the one who had been in a coma for ten years.

Luckily, they had cared for him daily, even giving him massages to prevent muscle decay.
By the second day, Wang Jie was able to stand briefly.

Feeling the love of his parents again was like a dream come true — an overwhelming, incomparable happiness.

Days passed with laughter and joy.
A week quickly went by, and Wang Jie could now walk slowly, though not very steadily.

—-

DING—

“Attention, all human residents of Azure Water Star.
The entire planet is about to enter the Era of Universal Lords.
The Lord Era will begin in four hours.
All citizens, please prepare for teleportation in advance.”

At 8 PM, just after finishing dinner and practicing walking,
a mechanical female voice suddenly echoed in Wang Jie’s ears —
and across the sky, loud and clear to all 8 billion humans of Azure Water Star.

Wang Jie was stunned:

“Damn it, are they messing with me? I just started enjoying life, and now this?
Seriously, fate always screws over the unlucky!”

He cursed silently:

“In my condition, how am I supposed to join the Universal Lord Era?
Am I just going in there to die?
Should I just wash my neck and wait for the axe?”

“Come on, are you kidding me? Ten years asleep, my body’s basically junk.
There’s no way I’ll recover in less than half a year. No way I’m going!”

But fate wasn’t done playing games yet.

Just as Wang Jie was angrily thinking this,
the mechanical voice returned — as if it already knew many people were unwilling to become Lords…