1. The Invitation of the Lotus
The world had not yet settled from the echoes of ascension. Li Wei's hand trembled slightly as the dark lotus faded into his palm, its heartbeat still pulsing in his veins. Across the sky terrace, the girls gathered one by one, drawn to the silent pressure that had awakened them all.
Lotus stood at the center, her eyes closed, her hands folded before her. Threads of silver floated around her like whispers of fate.
"The flower you summoned," she said without opening her eyes, "is a gateway."
"To where?" Lana asked, the fire in her eyes subdued for once.
Lotus finally opened her gaze. "To the Timelocked Zone. A dimension sealed outside of time—where the first system user sleeps. Where answers lie. Where danger breeds."
Li Wei exhaled. "Then we go."
A chime rang.
System Quest: Travel to the Timelocked Zone. Objective: Discover the origin of the Martial Arts System. Reward: ???
Yue grabbed her twin blades. Scarlet adjusted the sheath at her hip. Meiyu conjured light illusions into armor. Shen Ruo inscribed binding runes across her sleeves. Lana ignited her flames into a controlled flicker. And Lotus simply turned, gesturing.
A spiral of cosmic lotus petals swirled before them, creating a circular gate of violet light.
"Let's go ruin fate," Li Wei whispered, stepping forward.
2. The World Outside Time
The Timelocked Zone was not a place.
It was an echo.
They emerged into a shattered realm, where everything stood still. Raindrops hung in midair. Fallen swords hovered mid-crash. Shards of moons spun in perfect silence.
Time had no breath here.
The moment they arrived, the system flickered.
Caution: Unknown Anomalies Detected. System Interference Probability: 82%
Li Wei could feel it—a silence so loud it pressed against the bones. The air was thick with memories, as though forgotten dreams cried beneath their feet.
"We shouldn't split up," Shen Ruo warned.
"Agreed," Yue said. "I don't trust this sky."
Lana pointed at a massive stone temple floating in the void. "Looks like the story wants us to knock on that door."
The group advanced, slowly. As they walked, frozen figures stood like statues across the ruins—warriors, beasts, even what looked like system windows suspended in air, endlessly repeating the last thing they showed.
Meiyu touched one.
It blinked.
SYSTEM LOCKED: USER #000001 - STATUS: UNKNOWN
Li Wei clenched his fists. The first user really was here.
But where?
3. The Prison of Echoes
The temple pulsed.
As they entered, they felt time compress and stretch around them like breathing walls. Voices echoed—their own voices. Regrets. Fears. Things they never said.
Li Wei heard his own doubt:
*"Maybe martial arts just isn't for me..."
"Ignore it," Lotus whispered. "It's a test."
In the heart of the temple, an orb of silver-blue floated, chained in lotus roots.
Inside it—a boy.
He looked no older than Li Wei, but older in soul. His hair was white. His eyes were closed. His system window blinked endlessly above him.
USER #000001: SYSTEM FOUNDER Status: LOCKED IN TIME
"That's him," Meiyu breathed.
Suddenly, shadows erupted.
Entities of fractured code, broken faces, glitching limbs—they lunged from the walls, screeching with binary noise.
"Protect him!" Li Wei roared.
The battle was chaos. Lana bathed the shadows in flame. Yue's blades sang through corrupted data. Scarlet fought hand-to-hand, ripping through lines of code. Shen Ruo sealed breach points. Meiyu cast shields and illusions, blinding the horrors.
Lotus reached into the chains and whispered, "Come back to the flow."
Li Wei struck the orb with his palm, flooding it with cosmic lotus energy.
The boy inside opened his eyes.
White. Glowing. Timeless.
The temple shook.
4. The First User Speaks
Time rushed in.
The shadows vanished. The orb cracked. The boy hovered, now awake.
He spoke softly. "You came. Finally."
Li Wei nodded. "You created the system?"
The boy smiled. "I was the system."
Everyone froze.
"My name is Jin Ren," he said. "The 999-Level Martial Arts System was never a tool. It was my soul, broken into code. I created it to fight something beyond our worlds. But I failed. And I was sealed here."
Li Wei stepped forward. "What are we fighting?"
Jin Ren's gaze turned grave. "Not what. Who. A being known as the Null King. And now that I'm awake..."
SYSTEM NOTICE:
TIMELINE INSTABILITY DETECTED
THE NULL KING HAS TAKEN NOTICE
Li Wei's system screen began to crack.
Jin Ren looked at him with sorrow. "You're the next me. But better. I saw your path."
He placed his hand on Li Wei's chest.
SYSTEM UPGRADE COMMENCING: GODSOUL MERGE INITIATED
"Good luck," Jin Ren whispered.
And vanished.
5. A Flower Opens
Li Wei collapsed as his body burned with light. Lotus caught him, her fingers weaving calming threads. The girls gathered around him, shielding him as his aura spiraled out of control.
Then—a chime.
NEW LEVEL REACHED: LEVEL 921 SYSTEM PATH UNLOCKED: GODSOUL LOTUS TREE ACTIVE SKILL GAINED: LOTUS ASCENSION TECHNIQUE
Li Wei opened his eyes. They glowed violet.
The system wasn't just a guide now.
It was part of him.
The sky of the Timelocked Zone cracked open.
And the Null King's voice boomed:
"I SEE YOU."