Chapter 2: A Glimpse of the Rules
The wild laughter died in Su Ron's throat. His wide, triumphant grin vanished, replaced by a deep-seated vigilance. The euphoria of the system's arrival was potent, but it was quickly overshadowed by a cold, sharp rationality. He had read enough novels in his past life to know that a "golden finger" was rarely a free lunch. Systems were often a double-edged sword, a path to power that demanded a price, and many a protagonist had met a gruesome end despite having one.
He pushed down the frantic beat of his heart and focused. He didn't shout at the air or plead for answers. He simply focused his mind, sending a silent, pointed question into the void.
What are you? And what is your purpose?
There was no sound, no friendly voice. Instead, a torrent of information, cold and precise, flooded his mind. It bypassed his senses, flowing directly into his consciousness, like a data stream from an ancient supercomputer. It took him a full minute to process the sheer volume of data, to sort through the complex parameters and protocols.
When he finally understood, a chill ran down his spine that had nothing to do with his cultivation art. This wasn't a cheat system for a main character. It was a tool, a chance, but a chance wrapped in a ruthless set of rules.
The system's primary function was to send him to a "Trial World"—a completely different reality—where he would have to survive for a predetermined period of time. His rewards would be directly proportional to his performance and his duration of survival. The system was not a guardian; it was a test master. He would be transported as a soul, his current body left in stasis.
A critical detail stood out from the others: He could not die in the Trial World. While he could still suffer injuries and pain, his life force would be protected. He would be returned to the Dou Qi Continent after the trial, his rewards calculated upon his return. This wasn't a risk to his existence; it was a risk to his sanity and physical well-being in the other world, with a guaranteed return.
Another protocol made his heart leap: Time Dilution. One day in the Trial World was equal to just one minute in the Dou Qi Continent. This was an astronomical advantage. He could spend months or even a year in another reality, mastering skills and gathering resources, while only a few hours passed in his own world.
Then came the final, most restrictive rule: He had only one chance to enter a Trial World at a time. This chance would refresh once every two years, and the world he was sent to would be completely random.
Su Ron closed his eyes, his mind racing. He was a Level 4 Battle Practitioner with meager funds and a body still mending from a near-fatal injury. His current path was a dead end. But with this system, he had a chance—one single, random chance every two years—to go to a different world and come back stronger. He could use it to gain cultivation resources, powerful techniques, or even new knowledge.
He was no longer a side character; he was a silent anomaly, a variable. He had to plan meticulously. He had only one shot, and he knew it was a decision that would determine the rest of his life.