The last thing Lin Feng remembered was the blinding headlights and the strangely polite notification from his phone: "Your food delivery has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances."
He hadn't foreseen a ten-ton truck, that was for sure.
He did not expect to wake up.
But he did. To the scent of damp earth and rotting wood. To the feeling of rough canvas against his skin. To the sound of a young, panicked voice.
"Young master! Young master, please wake up!"
Lin Feng's eyes snapped open. He was lying on a simple pallet in a rustic, wooden-walled room. A boy, no older than fifteen, with a shaved head and wearing simple grey robes, was shaking his shoulder, his face pale with terror.
Where... what?...
[ Ding! ]
A sound, crisp and clear, echoed not in the room, but directly inside his skull. A semi-transparent blue screen materialized before his eyes, hovering in the air like a hologram.
[ Host consciousness detected. Soul compatibility confirmed. ]
[ The Hero's System is now online! ]
[ Greetings, Host Lin Feng! Welcome to the world of Profound Sky! Your journey to become the ultimate hero begins now! ]
Lin Feng blinked, then blinked again. The screen remained. The boy in grey robes was still staring at him, now with a mixture of relief and confusion.
"Y-Young master? Are you alright? You've been unconscious since the fall from the Spirit Crane..."
System? Hero? Profound Sky? The terms slammed into his mind, each one more absurd than the last. He was a 28-year-old office worker, not some... young master. He pushed himself up, his body aching in unfamiliar ways. It felt... lighter, stronger.
"Fall?" Lin Feng managed, his voice a dry croak.
"Yes! During the initiation flight to the Azure Cloud Sect! Don't you remember? You took a nasty tumble. The elders said your spiritual roots were... fragile." The boy looked down, embarrassed.
[ Initializing Diagnostic Scan... ]
[ Host Body Status: Minor Contusions. Spiritual Root: Mortal Grade (Low). ]
[ Analysis: Starting parameters sub-optimal. Commencing Hero Development Protocol. ]
"Who are you?" Lin Feng asked the boy, ignoring the screen for a moment.
"This one is Xiao Hai, assigned as your attendant," the boy said, bowing deeply. "We are at the Azure Cloud Sect's outer disciple quarters. The entrance ceremony is in one hour. If we are late, Elder Zhang will be most displeased!"
Sect. Disciple. Elder. The words painted a terrifyingly clear picture. He'd read enough webnovels during his lunch breaks to understand. Transmigration. Cultivation world.
And he had a System.
A slow grin spread across Lin Feng's face. The fear and confusion began to be washed away by a tidal wave of exhilaration. This wasn't a tragedy; this was a cheat code! A golden finger! He was the main character!
[ Newbie Quest Generated! ]
[ Quest: Attend the Azure Cloud Sect Entrance Ceremony. ]
[ Objective: Arrive at the Main Assembly Hall within one hour. ]
[ Reward: 100 System Points, Foundation Establishment Pill x1. ]
[ Failure: Public humiliation, potential expulsion from the sect. ]
"Don't worry, Xiao Hai," Lin Feng said, his voice now firm with a newfound purpose. He swung his legs off the pallet, his movements feeling more fluid by the second. "We won't be late."
He stood up, his gaze fixed on the shimmering blue screen. This "Mortal Grade" spiritual root was a problem, but the System was clearly the solution. It was his key to power, to survival, to maybe even becoming a legend in this strange new world.
He, Lin Feng, a cog in the corporate machine, was now a cultivator with a System. How bad could it be?
"Let's go," he said to Xiao Hai, a spark of ambition igniting in his eyes. "My journey is just beginning."
He followed the flustered boy out of the room, the System's interface glowing reassuringly in his vision. He didn't see the small, almost imperceptible flicker in the corner of the screen, a glitch that lasted a nanosecond, nor the strange, glyph-like symbol that flashed and vanished where the system's logo was.
He was too busy dreaming of becoming a hero.