—[Tutorial Begin]—
With the system display appearing, Hengsheng regained control over his body. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, testing his strength.
All his cultivation, all his strength—gone.
Everything returned to the state before he began his cultivation path.
He was nothing more than an ordinary mortal now.
As he came to terms with his weak mortal state, another system display appeared before him.
—[Select Weapon]—
Unarmed – No weapon. *Selecting this option grants a bonus reward at the end of the Tutorial.
Basic Sword [Level 1, Common] – Balanced for offense and defense.
Basic Spear [Level 1, Common] – Longer reach, better for thrusting attacks.
Basic Bow [Level 1, Common] – Ranged, moderate draw strength.
Basic Dagger [Level 1, Common] – Short-ranged, fast, and precise but low impact.
Basic Mace [Level 1, Common] – Heavy strikes.
Basic Gauntlets [Level 1, Common] – Focused on close combat.
…
Hengsheng scanned the list of numerous weapons displayed on the system screen. Knowing how things would progress, he didn't hesitate and immediately selected the first option.
After that, the translucent screen disappeared, and the sound of movement echoed from the other side of the dungeon corridor.
Hengsheng's eyes narrowed, trying to focus on the creature's shadow on the other side of the corridor.
Losing the Cultivation and the Divine Sense made his perception worse. Even though he knew what was coming toward him, he still could only see its shadow from a distance.
He wasn't waiting for the creature to come at him—he wasn't its prey, after all. Stepping forward into the dim corridor, he closed the distance.
When he was about ten meters away, he could finally see it clearly: a small humanoid with green skin—a typical goblin, like those commonly found in fantasy novels.
The goblin's wicked grin widened as it licked its rusty knife, screaming to intimidate him before lunging forward.
If he were five years old, he might have flinched at its aggression, but he had long since become a big, bad boss cultivator. The goblin's pitiful attempt at intimidation made him smirk.
Even in his weak, mortal body, he struck the goblin's head with a precise fist right at its weak spot, shattering its skull and ending its life in a single blow.
"Ow! F*CK!" Hengsheng cried, rubbing his fist in pain. The punch hadn't only shattered the goblin's skull—it had also broken some of his own finger bones. His technique had been precise and powerful, but his weak mortal body couldn't withstand the backlash.
"It seems like I'll have to be more careful," Hengsheng murmured.
'Fortunate that I was injured in the tutorial,' he thought.
The next moment, a system notice appeared, announcing:
[Congratulations, you have completed the mission.]
[Chapter 1 — Kill or Be Killed] [Complete]
[Complete 5 chapters to finish the tutorial]
As the last system notice appeared, his entire body glowed with white light, healing his injuries. The pain in his fist faded.
Then—
—[Collect Item]—
The new notice appeared as the white healing light faded. Hengsheng read it and shifted his gaze to the goblin's corpse. Before his eyes, the corpse glowed faint blue, slowly disintegrating until it evaporated. In its place lay two colorless spherical crystals.
He picked it up.
[You have acquired: Colorless Exp Stone x2]
[Congratulations, you have completed the mission.]
[Chapter 2 — Exp Stone] [Complete]
Hengsheng examined the Exp Stone intently. This item functioned similarly to a spirit stone in the cultivation world—a resource meant to be consumed to raise one's cultivation.
The Exp Stone was different. A spirit stone could be used in many ways—crafting, alchemy, formations, and even cultivation—the Exp Stone served a single purpose: to increase the level of Trial Tower challengers.
While Hengsheng was turning the stone in his hand, another notice appeared before him, instructing him to use the Exp Stone.
While looking at the system notice, his brows furrowed.
The notice's instructions were always vague, and as the challenger himself, he found it quite annoying. Still, it was understandable—after all, the Trial Tower wasn't created as a VR game meant for enjoyment but as a training facility. The vague guidance was intentional, forcing challengers to explore and figure things out for themselves.
Anyway, though it was quite annoying, as the creator of this Trial Tower, he knew exactly what to do. Without hesitation, he tossed the Exp Stone into his mouth and swallowed it.
[DING!]
[You have gained EXP.]
[EXP Limit Reached]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up.]
[Level: 1] [New!]
[Congratulations, you have completed the mission.]
[Chapter 3 — Leveled Up] [Complete]
As he leveled up and became a level 1 challenger, he sensed his strength had instantly doubled. What's more, he had regained his Spiritual Qi and also his Divine Sense. Though the spiritual sense was very weak, it was enough for him to sense his own Spirit Ring System within his lower dantian.
—[Check Status Window]—
The fourth notice appeared immediately after he finished examining the results of his level-up. Hengsheng was getting bored with the tutorial; he wanted to get out of this dirty dungeon already. With a mental command, he opened the status window.
…
—[Status Window]—
Name: Lan Hengsheng
Level: 1
Race: Human [Hyperhuman: Sealed]
Spirit Foundation: Spirit Ring System [Divine] [7 Rings: Water, Wood, Fire, Metal, Earth, Five Element, Chaos]
—[Special Achievement]—
Title: The System Maker, Heavenly Craftsman of the Heavenly Court [Rank-6], Trial Tower Conqueror [100F – Towers 1, 2, 3, 4]
Cultivation Understanding: Dao Heart, Martial Intent [Lv. 4 - Flawless]
Law Mastery: Fire, Gold, Wood, Water, Earth, Metal, Balance,…(1,4xx)…, Chaos
Dao Comprehension: —
—[Inventory]—
Colorless Exp Stone x0
Red Exp Stone x0
Orange Exp Stone x0
…
The status window of the Trial Tower was similar to his main system but much simpler. It didn't enhance anything for the user—its sole purpose was to allow challengers to check their progress within the trial tower.
What made this status window different was the Level. In a sense, the entire status window functioned as a Power System framework. But unlike the Ultimate Leveling System, which leaned toward a fantasy genre, this Power System was deliberately aligned with cultivation rules.
To spread the Trial Tower across all the infinite worlds within the Heavenly Dao World—which contained countless cultivation systems and realms—he had to generalize them, making it easier to compare progress between challengers.
Thus, the Level was created. Regardless of cultivation method, Spirit Foundation, or race, all cultivation progress in the Trial Tower would be measured by a single rule: the Level.
Level 0 exists solely in the weak mortal tutorial, like a human tutorial that he was currently in, representing an ordinary human with little to no spiritual power.
Level 1 was the realm of a strong Tier 1 being. In terms of cultivation, it corresponded to a cultivator in the Body Awakening Realm of the Cultivation System: The Path of Dao Attainment.
Level 2 marked the realm of a Tier 2 being, corresponding to the True Cultivator, the Qi Gathering Realm cultivator.
Levels 3 to 10 represented Tier 3 through Tier 10 beings, covering cultivators from the Spiritual Foundation stage all the way to the True Immortal Realm.
Though the Trial Tower had 10 levels, levels 7 to 10 applied only to NPCs. No challenger would reach Level 8, as they were forced to leave the tower once they stepped onto their Dao Path with their real body or at Level 7 in this trial tower.
This was because the Trial Tower was designed as a place for young cultivators who were just at the start point of the cultivation path to compete with the geniuses of other worlds and to discover their path. They didn't need to remain in the tower once they had chosen their path and attained Dao-path cultivation.
[Congratulations, you have completed the mission.]
[Chapter 4 — Status Window] [Complete]
This time, the mission-complete notice took longer to appear, giving the challenger a chance to study their status window.
—[The Last Chapter: Survive & Escape]—
The instructions for the last chapter were clear and straightforward.
"OH…" A soft exclamation of excitement escaped Hengsheng—he knew the best part of the tutorial was about to begin.
—[BEGIN]—
As the system notice faded, the underground dungeon immediately trembled with the sound of countless footsteps.
Hengsheng's eyes narrowed as he focused on the source of the sound. Countless shadows loomed at the end of the corridor. Ignoring the system's warning to flee, he prepared to fight, aiming for the hidden reward.
Soon, an army of goblins emerged from the shadows before his eyes. Their wicked grins widened in excitement as they spotted their prey. They roared and rushed forward faster.
Unshaken, Hengsheng took a fighting stance. Judging by what he saw, he estimated there were more than a hundred of them.
"GARRR!" The first goblin to reach him leapt from the ground, knife raised, intent on stabbing his head.
Hengsheng responded quickly, kicking it in the chest precisely. The kick was so powerful its chest collapsed inward, and it fell to the ground—instantly dead.
He stepped back, checking for injuries. There were none this time. As a Level 1 being, his durability had increased; he became harder to injure.
The goblins slowed their advance when they saw one of their kin instantly killed.
"KaKaKa!"
Hengsheng smirked.
'If you won't come, then I will!'
With that thought, he dashed toward the goblin army.