"EVERYONE, RUN!"
A panicked shout from a field worker shattered the morning silence on the mountain slope. Ten farmers, most of them already elderly, scattered in terror, abandoning their bamboo baskets and harvesting tools strewn across the ground.
I, Ling Tian, paused for a moment amid the chaos. My breath came in ragged gasps, chest heaving rapidly, hands still gripping tightly to the basket full of this morning's harvest. The scent of damp earth mixed with the sweet fragrance of spiritual plants stung my nose. Behind us, emerging from behind the row of violently swaying green bamboo, a monstrous figure appeared, like a living nightmare.
Its body was the size of a giant snow bear, its black fur soaked with morning dew and blood. Its long, flexible trunk resembled an elephant's, but the tip was lined with rows of razor-sharp fangs dripping fresh blood that sizzled as it hit the ground, burning the grass into thin black smoke.
Its tattered wings flapped powerfully, sending gusts of foul wind mixed with the stench of sulfur and rotting flesh. Its eyes glowed crimson like the coals of hell, filled with uncontrollable madness. This wasn't an ordinary mountain beast that occasionally appeared in search of food; something had driven it completely berserk, perhaps injury or provocation by wild qi.
"Uaaaah! Help!"
A young woman, probably only around twenty, tripped over a bamboo root and fell flat on her back. She scrambled backward, face deathly pale, eyes wide with terror. The others glanced back briefly, but their feet kept moving forward. No one dared stop.
In this world of cultivation, ordinary humans without spiritual roots were nothing more than prey or slaves to cultivators who viewed our lives as worth less than wild grass.
'I want to help. I really do. But my legs are shaking so badly, like roots torn from the earth. I'm just a powerless laborer without qi. What can I do except die pointlessly?'
"RUN! CALL THE SECT GUARDS!"
Old Man Zhang Li's voice thundered behind me, louder than the monster's roar. He stopped abruptly, calmly set down his basket, then stood to face the beast with his frail yet upright body, steady as an ancient tree that refused to sway.
"Stay calm, kid," he said without turning, his voice steady even as the monster's foul wind blasted his face. "Let this old man buy you some time. You all run first. Go!"
I swallowed bitterly. His old eyes were filled with the calm of someone who had stared death in the face for decades working these fields. The other workers nodded quickly, eyes glistening, then ran faster.
I ran too. Every step felt heavy, as if my feet were chained to stones. I kept glancing back, heart pounding wildly.
The monster lunged. Its trunk lashed out, blood spraying like a red fountain. The woman's scream cut off instantly, her body vanished beneath those terrifying jaws.
Old Man Zhang Li charged forward unarmed, throwing rocks and shouting to draw its attention. His small frame looked utterly insignificant before the beast… yet he didn't retreat. His final roar echoed: "Run! Don't stop!"
I kept running, hot tears streaming down my face without me realizing. 'I have no power. If only I had spiritual roots… if only I could be like those sect disciples…'
Half an hour later, I reached the sect's guard post, gasping for air, clothes soaked in sweat and mud.
"There's a rampaging mountain monster in the level-one spiritual field!" I shouted at the guard lounging casually under a tree.
He nodded coldly, expression blank. "Understood. It will be dealt with soon. Thanks for the report, laborer. Go back to your hut and continue work tomorrow."
I handed over the basket with trembling hands, then trudged wearily toward my straw hut at the foot of the hill.
The Blue Cloud Heaven Sect stood majestic atop shimmering crystal towers, qi mist drifting around it, cultivators soaring on flying swords with flowing robes.
We laborers lived below, in rows of dilapidated shacks like rat nests at the feet of giants. This hierarchy had long become normal, but today it hurt more than ever.
As I passed the lower gate, several surviving workers gathered, whispering, faces pale.
"That monster… it must have been provoked by wild qi from the upper mountain," a middle-aged man said. "Old Man Zhang Li… he said 'let me handle it'."
I couldn't speak. I just nodded weakly and slipped into my hut.
The familiar smell of damp earth and musty straw greeted me. I collapsed onto the rickety wooden chair and closed my eyes.
One month.
It had been one month since I got trapped in this world.
Back on Earth, I was just an ordinary high school student. That day, during math class, my chest suddenly tightened. A sudden heart attack took my life right in front of my classmates.
Then… I woke up in an unfamiliar forest, chased by a ferocious monster just like this one. Fortunately, some sect disciples found me while traveling to another sect. They saved me and made me a contract laborer with barely enough pay for daily meals.
I had high hopes at first.
Maybe there would be a system like in the xianxia novels I read every night. Golden finger, hidden talent, heavenly spiritual roots that instantly make you OP.
But reality? Zero. Nothing. Just back-breaking work from dawn to dusk, harvesting spiritual plants, and a faint hope of not getting kicked out by the sect.
I let out a long sigh. "I thought transmigrating meant becoming a hero… turns out I'm just a useless slave laborer."
Physical and emotional exhaustion made my eyelids heavy. I fell asleep right there in the chair, haunted by nightmares of blood and screams.
I woke up drenched in cold sweat.
As evening approached, news spread quickly among the workers. The monster had been slain by the sect disciples. But Old Man Zhang Li… couldn't be saved. His body was torn apart, his blood soaking the spiritual field like crimson fertilizer.
I heard the full story from a worker who had watched from afar, voice trembling:
"The sky suddenly darkened when thirty sect disciples descended like falling stars. Their blue robes fluttered, flying swords streaked with qi light. A young man in deep blue robes, supposedly core disciple Lin Feng, leaped into the air, hands forming intricate seals.
'Cloud Heaven Sword, Soul Severing Strike!' A massive silver blade of light slashed down, severing the monster's wings. Black blood sprayed like heavy rain.
The monster went berserk, its trunk smashing the ground until it cracked, sending rocks flying. But the disciples didn't flinch.
They formed a grand formation, qi shaping into a blue dragon and a fire phoenix that circled the creature. The formation became a giant net, binding the thrashing beast. Its roar shook the mountain, fierce winds blasting our hiding faces.
Finally, the beautiful Senior Sister Yue Lian, wielding a long sword, thrust straight into the monster's red eye.
Her sword blazed white, pure qi piercing through its head. The monster let out one final roar, then collapsed with a thunderous crash, blood flowing into smoldering little rivers. The air reeked of charred flesh and residual qi. The disciples landed, expressions cold, as if this was just routine work."
Hearing it, my chest tightened. Old Man Zhang Li died buying time… while we survivors could only hide like rats.
Outside the hut, the night wind blew gently, carrying a faint scent of blood from the mountain slope. But something felt… different. Strange.
Suddenly, the air in front of me shimmered. A translucent panel glowing faintly blue appeared, floating like a hologram from the RPG games I used to play on Earth.
'What is this…? A system? Finally… the system from those novels?!'
The panel solidified, golden letters rapidly forming. I grinned wide, eyes bulging, jumping up from the chair. Speechless, I could only stare in awe.
Name: Ling Tian
Level: 1/100
Race: Human
Attributes:
STR: 0/10
AGI: 0/10
INT: 1/10
VIT: 0/10
QI: 0/10
LCK: 2/10
Storage: None
"This… This is it! Haha!"
I laughed softly, almost in disbelief. In an instant, visions flashed through my mind: me standing atop a mountain peak, surrounded by beautiful fairies in sheer robes, disciples kneeling and calling me "Senior Brother!", enemies trembling on their knees. Ruler of the cultivation world… at last!
But then reality hit. I sat back down, rubbed my chin, and studied the panel more seriously.
"Hmm… Why no voice like normal systems? No 'Ding!' or 'Welcome, Host'? And this… why no cultivation realm status? Isn't this a cultivation world? Just 'Race: Human' and basic game-like attributes? How do I even level up? My INT is only 1… does that mean low intelligence? Or am I just a slow learner?"
A small guide appeared on the panel: Swipe right.
I immediately did so with a trembling finger.
A new panel appeared. EXP was clearly displayed.
Leveling Method: Daily Attendance = +10 EXP/day. Initial EXP cap: 1000.
"That's going to take forever! A hundred days just to reach level 2? Isn't there any other way?"
An idea struck me. In the games I used to play, EXP usually came from killing monsters. Full bar = level up, EXP cap increases to thousands.
'Probably the same. But my STR and AGI are zero… how do I kill anything? Maybe there are quests that give attribute points first?'
I swiped again, tapped the arrow. Menus appeared: Daily Quests and Tiered Quests (Low, Medium, High).
Daily Quests: Normal everyday activities like planting, bathing, eating.
Reward: 0.1 fragment per activity. 10 fragments = 1 attribute point.
One month already = I should have 30 points accumulated!
Tiered Quests: Dangerous missions. Higher tier = higher risk… and higher reward.
Low: +2 attribute points
Medium: +4
High: +6
'Whoa… let's check the details later. First, claim the dailies!'
I claimed them all. The panel vibrated softly.
Attribute points available to allocate: 30
Ten minutes later, after careful thought…
I looked at the panel again. My heart was still racing.
Name: Ling Tian
Level: 1/100
Race: Human
Attributes:
STR: 10/10
AGI: 10/10
INT: 1/10
VIT: 5/10
QI: 5/10
LCK: 2/10
Storage: None
"Looks good for now. Just eat, bathe, sleep… hehe, wait for my fairy girls~"
My face flushed at my own imagination, adult fantasies flashing again.
After extinguishing the dim oil lamp, I moved to the straw bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Unbeknownst to me, my body began to change.
A faint golden light, almost invisible, shimmered faintly around my skin, like the first trace of qi aura awakening from long-dormant meridians.
My breathing deepened, a warm flow of energy slowly circulated in my dantian, unnoticed.
This wasn't a normal breakthrough from spiritual roots.
This was… something forced by the system itself after my QI attribute increased.
Foreign energy, yet it felt real, like a seed of qi forcibly planted into a body that was never meant to accept it.
That night, unknown to anyone, Ling Tian began to touch the world of cultivation… in a way that had never existed before.