1998, Malibu, California, USA.
The first rays of morning sunlight refracted off the Pacific Ocean and streamed into the master bedroom of Luke Qin's 270° ocean-view villa.
Waking up, Luke looked around with satisfaction. Waking up in a thousand-square-meter mansion... felt amazing.
He glanced out at the unbeatable ocean view, then got up and headed to the washroom.
Looking into the mirror, he saw a face nearly as handsome as Keanu Reeves and muscles sculpted more perfectly than Michelangelo's David.
Luke couldn't help but sigh inwardly: 'Damn, I'm hot…'
At that moment, a girl's voice drifted up from downstairs.
"Luke, are you up yet? Breakfast's ready, hurry up, we've got a schedule to keep!"
"I'm up, just washing up. I'll be right there."
It was his younger sister Angela.
Three days ago, Luke had just graduated from Stanford University in California.
After the graduation ceremony, he and his classmates and teammates had a wild graduation party, then returned to this oceanfront mansion in Malibu.
A gift from his grandparents.
Luke was a third-generation rich kid — but also a transmigrator.
His past life had been full of drama.
Originally, he was a carefree second-generation heir.
But his greedy uncle and his family set their sights on the family fortune.
The entire family was murdered, and only Luke, who was studying abroad, survived.
Driven by revenge, he studied hard and joined a U.S. weapons research institute, secretly providing classified intel to his homeland.
The state ensured justice was done for his family.
But just when he was about to return home a hero, his identity was exposed.
He was poisoned, and his death was imminent.
After handing off the secret documents to his comrades, he stayed behind to cover their retreat — triggering the lab's self-destruct system and perishing alongside the enemy.
When he awoke again, he was an infant.
His grandfather was an immigrant who had come to America to seek fortune before World War II.
His grandmother was an Italian-American.
His mother was the eldest daughter of the Dutton family — the twin sister of John Dutton, heir to the Yellowstone Ranch.
Luke thought he'd live an easy, comfortable life this time as a well-off young master.
But at age six, he saw a newspaper headline about Stark Industries.
Luke's heart nearly stopped.
After reading the article, cold sweat ran down his back.
How could he lie flat in a world this dangerous?
Just when he was debating whether to emigrate, a man appeared — out of nowhere.
Luke was still wondering who this striking middle-aged man was when the man snapped his fingers, and the surrounding environment instantly changed.
One look around, and Luke realized he'd entered some kind of pocket dimension.
It had over 300 square meters of land, a fruit tree, a spiritual spring in the center, and a wooden hut.
The man touched Luke's forehead with a glowing finger before Luke could dodge — and he passed out.
When Luke woke again, the man said:
"I've left a message for your family. Stay here and cultivate. When you master the technique, you'll know who I am."
Then he vanished.
Luke tried calling for help, but to no avail.
He had no choice but to begin cultivating using the technique implanted in his mind.
When thirsty, he drank from the spring.
When hungry, he ate the spirit fruit.
When Luke reached the second layer of the technique, the space kicked him out — right back to his bedroom.
His family was stunned — an entire year had passed.
At first, they thought he'd been kidnapped, but no clues ever turned up.
Eventually, they had to believe that he'd been taken away by a mysterious master.
Since he disappeared from Yellowstone Ranch, both sides of his family gathered quickly.
Once they confirmed Luke was unharmed, they questioned him.
Luke told the truth — mostly. He described the space as a "hidden valley" instead.
It all sounded unbelievable — until Luke demonstrated a martial arts routine and punched clean through a one-inch-thick oak desk in the Dutton study.
After that, no one doubted him anymore.
So Luke attended school while also helping the family expand their business.
After all, he was a transmigrator — copying things from the future was second nature.
Thanks to the first stage of his technique, "Clarity of Mind," Luke had exceptional memory and analytical abilities.
In three years at Stanford, he earned three PhDs — in chemistry, physics, and biology — subjects he had already studied in his previous life, so it was almost effortless.
The technique he cultivated was called [Ninefold Great Sun Ascension Technique] — the name alone screamed intense Yang energy.
He had already completed six layers, but couldn't break through to the seventh.
The six completed stages were:
[Clarity of Mind
Body Breathing Qi
Tempering Muscles and Marrow
Refining Qi into Essence
Circulation of Yin and Yang
Controlling Objects with Qi]
In addition to the core technique, there were four combat-based skills:
[Dragon-Phoenix Playful Hand
Mountain-Shaking Strike
Auspicious Movement Technique
Eye of Insight]
These were martial arts moves, while the core technique was an internal cultivation method.
Before reaching the fifth layer, Circulation of Yin and Yang, Luke couldn't even "rise" normally — leading his high school girlfriend to think he had some secret condition.
Even after Luke explained it was because of "cultivating martial arts," the girl broke up with him in heartbreak and transferred out of Hellgate High School (Missoula, Montana — the closest school to Yellowstone Ranch).