The last thing I saw before I died was a bag of Hot Cheetos.
Not my family. Not my dreams. Not some beautiful sunset. Just a red bag of chips stuck in a vending machine at 2 AM.
I was shaking the machine, trying to get my snack free, when the whole thing tipped forward and crushed me. Twenty-three years of life, ended by my own stupidity and cheap engineering.
The pain lasted maybe three seconds. Then nothing.
I expected darkness. Maybe some light at the end of a tunnel. Instead, I got the worst headache of my life and someone yelling in my ear.
"Young Master! Young Master Chen! Please wake up!"
I opened my eyes. A girl's face hovered above me. She was pretty, maybe eighteen, wearing what looked like a maid outfit from a historical drama. Her eyes were red from crying.
"Thank the heavens! You're awake!"
I tried to sit up. My head pounded. "Where... what..."
"Don't move too fast! The doctor said you hit your head badly during sword practice.
You've been unconscious for three days!"
Sword practice? Doctor? I looked down at my hands. They weren't my hands. Too pale, too smooth, with long fingers like someone who'd never worked a day in their life.
"What the hell?"
"Young Master, please don't curse! Your father will be angry if he hears!"
The room came into focus. It was huge, decorated with fancy wooden furniture and silk curtains. Paintings of mountains and warriors hung on the walls. This wasn't a hospital. This wasn't anywhere I recognized.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The maid looked hurt. "Young Master, it's me, Xiao Lan! I've served you for five years! Did you lose your memory?"
Before I could answer, something appeared in front of my face.
A blue screen. Floating in the air. Like something from a video game.
[CELESTIAL FATE SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[Synchronization Complete]
[Welcome, Host]
I stared at it. The maid didn't seem to see it. She just kept fussing over me, adjusting my pillows.
"Xiao Lan," I said slowly. "I need some time alone."
"But Young Master"
"Please."
She looked worried but bowed and left the room. The moment the door closed, I focused on the floating screen.
[HOST INFORMATION]
[Name: Chen Feng]
[Age: 18]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Layer 3]
[Providence: 50 (Normal)]
[Identity: First Young Master of Chen Family, Azure River City]
[Status: Considered trash by family and peers]
"Cultivation? Providence? What is this, a Chinese web novel?"
The screen flickered.
[Correct. Host has transmigrated into a cultivation world.]
[Original Chen Feng died from head trauma. Host's soul has replaced him.]
[This system will help Host survive and thrive in this world.]
I laughed. It came out shaky and a little hysterical. "I died and got isekai'd. This is actually happening."
[Yes.]
"And you're some kind of cheat system?"
[Correct. This is the Celestial Fate System.]
[Primary Function: Locate individuals with high Providence (main characters) and steal their opportunities.]
[Secondary Function: Convert stolen Providence into power, items, and abilities.]
I rubbed my face. My new face. Younger, smoother. I walked to a mirror on the wall. The reflection showed a handsome teenager with sharp features and cold eyes. Like some anime pretty boy.
"Okay. Okay. So I'm in a cultivation world. With a system. That steals luck from main characters."
[Providence, not luck. But essentially correct.]
"And what happens if I don't use this system?"
[Original Chen Feng was destined to die within six months.]
[He would offend a Son of Destiny, get crippled, and be killed by his own family for bringing shame to their name.]
The words hung in the air. Cold and certain.
"Six months."
[Yes.]
"And if I use the system?"
[You can change your fate. Become stronger. Survive. Perhaps even rule this world.]
I sat on the bed. My heart was pounding. Fear, excitement, confusion, all mixed together.
Memories started flooding in. Not mine. Chen Feng's. The original owner of this body.
He was the first son of the Chen Family, a wealthy merchant clan. But in a world where strength mattered most, wealth meant nothing if you were weak. Chen Feng had poor cultivation talent. He was stuck at Layer 3 while kids younger than him reached Layer 7 or 8.
His father was disappointed. His younger brother mocked him. The servants whispered behind his back. He had everything except the one thing that mattered, power.
"What a sad life," I muttered.
[Will Host accept the system?]
I thought about my old life. Dead end job. No girlfriend. Student debt. Died alone in a parking lot because I was too cheap to buy chips at a real store.
Here, I had a second chance. A cheat system. A young body. And apparently, a world full of "main characters" I could rob blind.
"Hell yes, I accept."
[Contract established.]
[Host is now bound to the Celestial Fate System.]
[Tutorial quest available. Would you like to begin?]
"Hit me."
The screen changed.
[TUTORIAL QUEST: STEAL YOUR FIRST PROVIDENCE]
[Scanning area...]
[Target Located!]
[Name: Lin Tian]
[Age: 17]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Layer 5]
[Providence: 12,000 (Godlike - Son of Destiny)]
[Background: Reincarnated Sword Emperor, killed by betrayal 1,000 years ago, reborn in this era with complete memories]
[Current Location: Dragon Peak Mountain, 50 miles east]
[Fated Opportunity: Ancient Sword Inheritance in hidden cave]
[Time Until Discovery: 6 hours, 23 minutes]
My jaw dropped. "A reincarnated sword emperor? Are you serious?"
[This world contains multiple Sons of Destiny.]
[Lin Tian is merely one of them.]
[His Providence level indicates he is a primary protagonist.]
"And you want me to steal his inheritance? In six hours? I'm at Layer 3! I can barely fight a chicken!"
[Host has 50 Providence Points available.]
[Recommended purchase: Swift Steps Technique (50 points)]
[This will allow Host to travel quickly and reach the inheritance before Lin Tian.]
I thought about it. If this Lin Tian guy was a reincarnated emperor, he probably had cheat-level skills. But he didn't know about the inheritance yet. If I got there first...
"What happens after I take it?"
[You will gain the inheritance and absorb Lin Tian's Providence.]
[He will arrive to find nothing, causing his first major setback.]
[Sons of Destiny are protected by fate, but stealing their opportunities before they claim them transfers that fate to you.]
It was sneaky. Underhanded. The kind of thing a villain would do.
I grinned. "I love it. Buy the technique."
[Purchase confirmed.]
[Swift Steps Technique acquired.]
[Remaining Providence: 0]
Knowledge slammed into my brain. How to channel qi into my legs. How to move faster than normal humans. How to reduce air resistance and glide short distances.
It hurt like hell, like someone was stuffing information directly into my skull. But when it stopped, I knew the technique like I'd practiced it for years.
I stood up and tested it. One step forward. I blurred across the room, nearly crashing into the wall.
"Whoa."
[Host must leave immediately to reach Dragon Peak Mountain in time.]
I looked down at my robes. Fancy silk, probably expensive. Not great for mountain climbing, but I didn't have time to change.
I opened the door carefully. The hallway was empty. Most of the servants were probably preparing dinner. I used Swift Steps to race through the mansion, avoiding the main areas.
Getting out was easier than expected. The guards at the gate barely glanced at me. Why would they? The useless young master going for a walk wasn't worth their attention.
As soon as I was outside the city, I ran.
The Swift Steps technique made me fast. Not superhuman, but way faster than any normal person. Trees blurred past. The wind whipped my face. My legs burned but I pushed through.
This body was weak from lack of training. Every minute felt like torture. But I kept going.
Because six hours wasn't much time.
And somewhere ahead, a reincarnated sword emperor was about to lose his cheat before he even knew he had it.
I laughed as I ran. This world had no idea what was coming.
[4 hours, 15 minutes remaining]
The mountain loomed ahead, covered in mist and glowing with faint spiritual energy.
"Let's go steal some destiny."
[SYSTEM STATUS]
[Host: Chen Feng]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Layer 3]
[Providence: 0]
[Techniques: Swift Steps (Basic)]
[Quest Progress: In Progress]