Li Mingfu died the way he least expected.
At a shooting range.
At forty-five years old, Li Mingfu had lived a quiet but enjoyable life on Earth. He wasn't married, had no children, and spent most of his free time indulging in his favorite hobby, guns.
He loved them all.
Handguns. Rifles. Sniper rifles.
But his favorites were always dual pistols. Something about the symmetry felt satisfying.
When he wanted peace, he preferred long-range shooting. Lying prone, breathing slowly, lining up the scope, and squeezing the trigger.
The day Li Minfu died had been no different from any other range day.
The range was crowded. He was busy inspecting his pistols and his area.
When two people entered the lane beside him.
Li Minfu took a step back and looked at them.
The man held his assault rifle awkwardly, his stance terrible, and his grip worse. His friend had stepped away momentarily, leaving the guy alone.
Li Mingfu frowned slightly and thought.
What an amateur. He should put his rifle down and wait for his friend to teach him.
Before he could say anything—
BANG!
The rifle kicked violently.
The amateur hadn't expected the recoil. His finger stayed on the trigger.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The muzzle jerked wildly.
The amateur fell backwards with finger still on the trigger.
One bullet went straight into Li Mingfu's chest.
For a moment, everything slowed.
He looked down at the spreading red stain on his shirt.
His last thought was simple.
I should have worn my bulletproof vest.
Darkness swallowed him.
After some time, Li Mingfu opened his eyes, and he jerked upright in shock.
His heart pounded.
Didn't I die?!
He quickly looked around.
The world rocked slightly.
Wooden walls.
Narrow windows.
The sound of wheels grinding against dirt.
He realized he was inside some sort of carriage.
"...Where the hell am I?"
His voice sounded strange.
Higher and younger.
Li Mingfu frowned and looked down at his hands.
Tiny hands with tiny little fingers.
His pupils shrank.
"What the—"
Before he could finish the sentence—
Pain exploded in his head.
"AAAAHHH!"
Memories that weren't his flooded into his mind like a raging river.
Images.
Voices.
Faces.
A poor village.
A skinny boy.
Parents arguing.
An old man had arrived wearing long robes and carrying an orb that glowed with faint light.
Had arrived in the village.
He tested every child in the village.
When it was the boy's turn, the orb glowed brightly.
The cultivator smiled.
"You possess a spiritual root."
The parents were overjoyed.
But not because of pride.
Because of money.
The old man offered a pouch of silver coins.
Without hesitation, they agreed.
Their five-year-old son was sold.
The boy believed he was going to become a powerful cultivator.
Before leaving, the old man had given him a necklace.
"This charm will bring you good luck."
The boy treasured it.
But during the journey.
The necklace activated.
Inside was a cultivator's soul.
It had one simple goal.
Possession.
The spirit attempted to devour the boy's soul and take over the body.
But something went wrong.
The boy resisted somehow.
The invading soul underestimated him.
Their souls clashed violently inside the tiny body.
Both perished.
And somehow Li Mingfu's wandering soul from Earth slipped in and occupied the empty vessel.
Not only that, the remnants of both souls had merged with his.
Strengthening it far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Only the memories of the boy merged with his.
The cultivators' memories seemed to be locked away.
Once the memories finished merging, the pain went away.
Li Mingfu sat silently inside the shaking carriage.
"...Well."
He rubbed his temples.
"So I got isekai'd?"
He had read enough novels online to understand what happened.
Transmigration.
New world.
New body.
He sighed.
"Too bad it's not a magical world."
From the boy's memories, this place wasn't about magic.
It was a cultivation world.
A brutal one.
And more importantly, there were no guns.
Li Mingfu clicked his tongue.
"Cold weapons everywhere… swords, sabers, spears…"
He leaned back against the carriage wall.
"…Maybe I'll just make my own guns."
The idea immediately excited him.
A cultivator sniper rifle.
Spirit-powered bullets.
Dual pistols infused with Qi.
His imagination ran wild.
The carriage continued traveling for days.
Li Mingfu observed quietly.
His new body was extremely skinny.
The ribs on his chest were visible.
Definitely malnourished, he thought.
At first, he was the only child in the carriage, but as time went on, other children joined him in the carriage.
The other children chatted nervously, but he sat quietly and was lost in thought.
System, where is it?
He waited.
Five minutes passed.
Ten minutes.
An hour.
Nothing happened.
For the past few hours, he has been constantly asking questions.
"Golden finger, show up."
Silence.
"Give me a system."
Nothing.
"Give me the cheat I deserve!"
Still nothing.
The other children looked at him like he had gone crazy.
Li Mingfu sighed.
"So much for believing in the novels online…"
Eventually, the caravan arrived at a small town.
The children were unloaded and brought into a large, warehouse-looking building.
A tall, scar-faced man glared at them.
"Stay inside."
His voice was cold.
"No leaving."
Naturally, no one dared disobey.
Li Mingfu sat in a corner and observed.
There were around thirty children, all between five and eight years old.
They all looked scared.
Days passed.
More carriages arrived.
More children joined them.
Soon—
Two hundred.
Three hundred.
Four hundred.
Eventually, the total reached around five hundred children.
One evening, the scar-faced man arrived with several older people, who looked like cultivators.
They spoke among themselves.
"This should be all this year."
"We just need to wait for the ship."
Li Mingfu listening frowned.
Ship?
Before entering the warehouse, he did not see any water nearby.
Why would we need a ship?
The answer came the next day.
The sky darkened.
A massive shadow covered the town.
Children screamed.
The scar-faced man shouted.
"Shut up! Line up and get ready to go outside!"
Li Mingfu and the other children stepped outside, and he looked up.
His jaw dropped.
A gigantic flying ship descended from the sky.
"Holy…"
The ship hovered like a floating fortress.
Wooden decks.
Massive sails.
Runes glowing across its hull.
Once the flying ship landed.
The scar-faced man shouted.
"Everyone! Move!"
The children quickly boarded the flying ship.
Li Mingfu stepped onto the deck, looking around like a tourist.
This world is insane… He thought.
After boarding, the children were handed over to another man.
He looked to be in his early thirties.
Sharp eyes.
Cold expression.
He spoke calmly.
"I am Outer Sect Elder Mo Shou."
"I will be responsible for transporting you to the sect."
The journey lasted one month.
During that time, the ship flew across endless mountains and clouds.
But the real shock came when they finally arrived.
The ship descended slowly.
Everyone rushed to the deck of the ship.
And what they saw left them speechless.
Floating mountains.
Ancient palaces resting on cliffs.
A massive forest filled with roaring beasts.
Cultivators flying through the sky on swords.
It looked like a scene from a fantasy movie.
Li Mingfu's eyes shone.
This world…
This world is amazing.
The flying ship landed before a massive gate.
The stone gate towered over them like a mountain.
Carved into it were enormous characters:
Shadow Gate Sect
Li Mingfu thought.
Yeah… that's definitely intimidating.
The gates slowly opened.
The children walked for about one hour and were led into a gigantic courtyard.
Outer Sect Elder Mo Shou stood before them.
"Everyone."
"Welcome to Shadow Gate Sect."
His tone was calm but chilling.
"We are a neutral sect."
"We do not belong to the righteous path."
"Nor the demonic path."
"We belong…To the highest bidder."
The children trembled.
Mo Shou continued.
"You will learn to kill."
"You will repay the sect for raising and training you."
"The more contracts you complete, the more contributions you earn."
"Contributions can be exchanged for money, spirit stones, cultivation techniques, and other resources."
"Anything you desire… the sect provides."
He waved his hand.
Hundreds of small bags appeared in the air.
Each one floated toward a child.
While the children were focused on the small bags.
Li Mingfu's eyes were focused on Mo Shou's finger.
"Spatial storage ring?" He whispered.
His eyes lit up.
"Awesome, I want one."
Mo Shou continued.
"Inside are ten spirit stones."
"A basic cultivation manual."
"And one month's worth of ration pills."
"Cultivate well."
Next came the spiritual root test.
A glowing white orb was placed before them.
The children lined up one by one.
Each child placed their hand on the orb.
Mo Shou called out the results.
"Low grade."
"Medium grade."
"Low grade."
"High grade."
"Low grade."
Most were low grades.
Only a few reached medium.
When it was Li Mingfu's turn, he calmly stepped forward.
He placed his hand on the orb.
The sphere lit up brightly.
Brighter than most of the children before him.
Mo Shou nodded slightly.
"High grade."
Li Mingfu raised an eyebrow.
Nice.
After everyone finished, the results were announced.
Five top-grade spiritual roots.
Twenty high-grade.
The rest were medium or low.
Mo Shou spoke again.
"You have one month."
"If you cannot draw Qi within that time."
"You will become servants."
"Everything else is explained in the manual."
He turned around and flew away.
Servants began leading the children away.
Each child was given a small room.
Simple and quiet.
Perfect for cultivation.
Li Mingfu sat cross-legged on the floor.
He opened the manual.
"Alright… let's see how this works."
He followed the instructions carefully.
Breathing.
Meditation.
Sensing Qi.
Hours passed.
Days passed.
Nothing.
"...This is harder than I thought."
But he kept trying.
Finally, on the sixth day.
A tiny strand of Qi entered his body.
Li Mingfu's eyes snapped open.
"I did it!"
And at that exact moment. A mechanical sound echoed in his mind.
DING!