Year 2024, September 25th, Tuesday afternoon. Beside a wide road.
Renjou Kael looked at the buses passing by, took a deep breath, and asked himself: "Is this really okay?"
At the same time, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.[Trust me, it's fine]
This sudden voice was none other than the golden finger Kael had recently acquired—a cultivation system with artificial intelligence.
About a month ago, one night while Kael was working, this cultivation system suddenly bound itself to him. At first, Kael thought he was under too much stress and had lost his mind. But after going to the hospital the next day, he found his brain was perfectly normal. He really had been bound to a cultivation system, becoming its host.
That was something extraordinary.
Kael originally thought he could soar immediately, but he quickly realized he was overthinking. Flying was impossible, because this world was not suitable for cultivation.
According to the system, the world he lived in was actually a low-magic world, with thin spiritual energy. In such a world, cultivating for a lifetime would never lead to great achievements. At most, one could live without illness or disaster, wasting away the years.
The system, afraid Kael wouldn't believe it, even handed him a cultivation method, asking him to try it out.
According to the system's explanation, this method required breathing in and out nine times, allowing one to absorb the primordial energy of heaven and earth, transform it into mana, then disperse it back into primordial energy to merge with heaven and earth, returning to an infant state and uniting with the Dao. When gathered, it formed substance; when dispersed, it became energy.
Hearing this, Kael immediately reacted. Good grief, wasn't this the Nine Breaths Ingestion from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Techniques?
Following the system's guidance, Kael practiced the Nine Breaths Ingestion, and indeed refined a trace of mana. But it was truly just a trace.
That trace of mana was as thin as a strand of hair. According to the system, it wasn't enough to cast even the simplest spell, let alone any of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Techniques. After all, each of those techniques required a vast amount of mana.
Unwilling to give up, Kael trained diligently for a month, finally increasing the mana in his body from one hair-thin strand to three strands' thickness. But even that amount could only cast a minor spell. To rely on it for immortality was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Kael couldn't help but feel dejected. He had finally obtained a system, was about to take off, yet the world itself restricted him. Anyone in his position would find it unbearable.
Just then, the system told Kael:[This world won't work. We can switch to another world]
Kael was stunned.
The system seized the chance to explain that it could take him to a cultivation world, one with abundant primordial energy and flourishing spiritual qi. With hard work and its assistance, immortality would no longer be a dream. With more effort, transcending mortality and joining the ranks of immortals was not impossible.
Kael was immediately tempted. But he didn't agree right away, because he wasn't an orphan—he still had parents to care for.
The system kept persuading him:
[Host, you still have an older brother. You don't need to worry. Even without you, your brother can take care of your parents]
[More importantly, that world's primordial energy is truly abundant. If you work hard, becoming immortal in twenty years is no dream]
[By then, with your strength, you can return to this world]
[Then you can bring your parents, brother, and friends to ascend together. Wouldn't that be wonderful?]
The system's words swayed Kael. "I can bring my family to ascend with me?"
[Of course. Haven't you heard the saying, 'When one attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven'?]
Kael had indeed heard of it, and precisely because he had, he was moved. "I can really come back from that world?"
[Since I can take you there, of course I can bring you back. Trust me]
The system spoke with absolute confidence.
So Kael decided to trust it once, and under its guidance, he came to the roadside. According to the system, it could take him to a cultivation world.
But the problem was that physical transmigration and soul transmigration were different—the former consumed several times more energy than the latter. So, to be safe, it decided to take Kael through soul transmigration.
Honestly, if Kael hadn't cultivated mana and clearly felt the changes it brought, he might have thought the system was just a hallucination born from suicidal thoughts. But Kael knew the system was real, and the mana was real. He wasn't hallucinating.
So he left a letter behind, deciding to commit suicide and soul-transmigrate to the cultivation world.
[Remember to find a big truck]
"Actually, I've always had a question," Kael said, watching the cars passing by.
[Go ahead]
"Since it's suicide, why does it have to be a truck? Wouldn't sleeping pills work?"
[You've at least cultivated some mana now. Ordinary sleeping pills won't affect you, and even common poisons won't work either]
[More importantly, transmigration usually involves car accidents or lightning strikes]
[Go out and hit the jackpot—how auspicious is that]
"…Fine."
Though he knew this was just the system's twisted logic, Kael still nodded. Mainly, he felt the system had no reason to deceive him.
So he took a few deep breaths, locked onto a speeding truck, and charged straight at it.
With a dull bang, Kael felt his body lifted into the air, pain surging through every nerve. The next second, his mind plunged into endless darkness.
…
He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally regained consciousness. He felt alive again. The agony from the collision had vanished without a trace, replaced by a sense of lightness.
The system really hadn't lied—I've truly transmigrated.
Excited, Kael sat up abruptly, realizing he now had a completely new body. He got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and looked into the mirror above the sink. A new face stared back at him—young, with a hint of gloom, belonging to a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy.
He hadn't expected that soul transmigration would also make him younger. From a twenty-something office worker nearing thirty, he had become a high school student. He was more than ten years younger.
Quite the bargain.
"Well done, system."
He praised his cultivation system, then asked the question weighing on his mind: "Have we arrived at the cultivation world you mentioned? Why don't I feel the rich spiritual energy you promised?"
"And isn't this cultivation world a bit too modern?"
The room's layout was completely different from his old home, yet it was filled with modern items—sink, mirror, toilet, electric lights, shower, coffee table, sofa, television.
Was the cultivation world really this advanced?
Kael had thought cultivation worlds were all backward, ancient-like realms.
"System? System?"
He waited, but no response came. He called out several more times.
…
Still, the system remained endlessly silent.
After a long silence, Kael began to panic. Something wasn't right.
"System, system, system…!"
He tried again, but there was no reply. Just as he focused his mind to sense the system, a message suddenly appeared:
[Sorry, Host. During transmigration, we encountered a rare temporal ripple]
[Because of this small issue, I may not be able to bring you to the world we agreed upon]
[I don't know exactly what kind of world you've entered]
[If it turns out to be another no-magic or low-magic world, with your temperament, achieving immortality would be far too difficult]
[So I can only abandon you and go to a cultivation world to find a new host]
[I truly apologize. No one wants this kind of situation, but I have no choice]
[For the sake of performance, I can only do this]
Kael was dumbfounded. Damn it, the system had tricked him into suicide to reach a cultivation world, and now, halfway through, it had run off.
Damn…
At that moment, Kael admitted he cursed viciously, because he was truly furious. This system was utterly inhuman.
[I know you're cursing me right now, but it doesn't matter. I don't mind. After all, what I did wasn't exactly honorable]
["If a man does not act for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him"—you understand this saying]
[But I've left you a backup plan]
[As long as you're willing to abandon morality, achieving immortality won't be a problem]
[It all depends on your choice. Goodbye—or rather, I hope we meet again, Host]
With that, the system's message ended.
Kael was trembling with rage. What a fine "if a man does not act for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him." What a fine system indeed.
He took several deep breaths to calm himself. To be saddled with such a selfish, self-serving system—he must have been cursed for eight lifetimes.
Still, he had to see what backup plan the system had left him.
Kael focused his mind, probing his brain—an ability he had gained after learning the Nine Breaths Ingestion.
At that moment, it was as if he had flipped a switch.
A terrifying flood of information surged into his mind like a bursting dam.
Asura Killing Sutra, White Bone Codex, Blood River Divine Art, Bone Dao Soldiers, Flesh Pill, Purple River Chariot, Yin-Yang Reversal Technique, Blood Pool Secret Method, Myriad Souls Banner, Spirit-Devouring Demonic Art…
One after another, cruel and inhumane cultivation methods poured into Kael's mind, absorbed, understood, mastered.
Each method grew more extreme, from weak to strong, shattering Kael's understanding again and again. The torrent of information was vast and overwhelming, forcing its way into his consciousness.
He didn't know how long it lasted before he could no longer endure it. With a heavy thud, Kael collapsed to the floor, unconscious.