"Then... I wish you the best." With a sigh, an old man in his seventies gently waved his hand, and with it, the dense array on the ground began to shine.
"Hold on.. Hold on... I think there is some misunderstanding." Yang Ze, who was standing in the middle of the array, was frantically trying to reason with the old man. He even wanted to rush out of this damned array, but, unfortunately for him, his entire body was restricted. Forget about escaping; he couldn't even lift a muscle. The only thing he could do was to plead with the old man.
"Please, young master... Do not embarrass the family anymore." With the shake of his head, the old man just increased the input of spiritual energy as a blinding light engulfed the figure of the boy in the middle before everything returned to calm.
"Finally..." The old man looked at the place where the boy had disappeared before letting out a relieved sigh.
----------------
The last thing Yang Ze saw was the blinding light before everything turned dark. He didn't know where he was. It was a dark space where his body was floating aimlessly. He couldn't move, he couldn't see, he couldn't smell... The only thing he could do was to wait for something to happen.
While waiting, his mind couldn't help but think about events that led him to this state.
Just a week ago, he was still living in the comfort of the twenty-first century. But who would have thought that fate would play such a cruel joke on him? One day, he woke up only to find himself in a completely new world in a completely different body.
Initially, he was filled with panic, but as he digested the memories of the previous body owner, he was filled with excitement.
He had transmigrated to a cultivation world. A world where powerhouses could move mountains and seas. Not only that, but his starting point was simply perfect. He was the young master of one of the strongest families of the continent.
But who would have thought that his happiness would be so short-lived?
The previous body owner drugged the saint of the Duality Sect and was about to defile her. Unfortunately for him, he was caught before he could do anything by the saint's protector and then thrown into a cellar.
This caused great turmoil in the Yang family. After all, even though they were strong, they couldn't compare to the mighty sects that ruled over them.
In haste, a decision was made to punish Yang Ze by throwing him into the wilderness. A forbidden place that was basically a death zone. A place where even cultivators didn't dare to step in.
They didn't abolish his cultivation, as this little bastard was completely talentless and couldn't even cultivate in the first place.
To throw an ordinary person like him into the wilderness was simply an execution with extra steps.
After Yang Ze digested all the memories and realised his situation, he couldn't help but curse loudly at the previously good-for-nothing bastard. Not only did he create a mess, but he also left the world early.
"Good thing you died early, otherwise..." Thinking about it, Yang Ze couldn't help but grit his teeth in anger.
Just when he was wondering if he was going to die in this space, floating aimlessly, he suddenly felt the ground underneath him.
"This?" Yang Ze could finally see the world around him.
Unknowingly, he was already lying on a patch of grass. Feeling the gentle breeze around him, he couldn't help but take a deep breath. He tried to move, and to his surprise, the restrictions were actually gone.
"Huh!" Hurriedly standing up, he first observed the world around him.
At the moment, he was standing on a mountain that seemed to be missing its peak. It was as if someone cut off this mountain in half, leaving behind this part.
The entire place was smooth and felt more like a grassland rather than a mountain.
"What... What am I supposed to do now?" Yang Ze didn't believe that he could survive in a place where even the immortals couldn't take a step forward. It was just a matter of time before he died, too.
"Damn it, what a hellish start." Yang Ze couldn't help but curse loudly before looking at the back of his hand, where a black tattoo was printed.
"And this useless thing.."
From the previous owner's memories, he knew that this tattoo only came into existence after he occupied this body. His first thought was that perhaps it was his golden finger, but even after seven days, there were no changes to this thing.
Just when he was wondering if he should jump from the mountains for an easier death, he felt an intense pain in the back of his hand.
"This!?" Looking at the tattoo that was glowing red, he narrowed his eyes. But before he could understand what was going on, the tattoo suddenly shot towards his head and with it, Yang Ze lost consciousness.
---------
Yang Ze didn't know exactly how long he had been unconscious for. By the time he opened his eyes, it was already night. Looking at the sky full of stars, he let out a cold breath while slowly massaging the corner of his head.
"Ugh!" It took a moment for that intense pain to subside when he felt an extra set of memories in his mind.
"This..." This new set of memories that was forcefully stuffed in his mind contained the basic information about the mark in his hand.
According to the memories, the mark on the back of his hand was called 'Mark Of Fate'. It could let him summon people from different places and create a set of rules for them. Once summoned, those people would not be affected by the rules of his world, but by the rules he set.
"This... this..." Suppressing his excitement, Yang Ze looked further into those memories as some new information poured in.
He could set up the rules, but they couldn't differ too much from the original rules. He also couldn't directly modify the rules to benefit his summoned people or himself. In simpler words, he couldn't summon people, then set rules that dictate their complete obedience to him, or just straight up make them gods.
Though he could bend the rules for his benefit.
The one thing that excited him the most was that the progress his summoned people make will be fed back to him.
The more Yang Ze looked through those memories, the brighter his expression got. In his mind, he already knew what he wanted to do.
Without wasting another second, he immediately lifted his hand up and spoke in a soft voice.
"Set up the rules."
The moment he finished speaking, he felt the world around him change as he arrived in an empty space. The only thing beside him was an old book gently floating in the air before him.
Without any hesitation, Yang Ze grabbed it, placed it on his forehead and began to set rules for his summons.
"The first rule is that after death, they will revive after a set amount of time."
"The second rule is that they will have a gaming interference, displaying everything."
"The third rule is that...."
Within five minutes, Yang Ze set up as many rules as he thought were possible. Though some of the rules disappeared the moment he set them up, displaying failure. There were still more than half the rules that were accepted.
"And the last rule is that they will be able to do any profession as well as create new things."
The moment he finished speaking, the entire space began to tremble as if it were about to be destroyed. Thankfully, other than a few cracks, nothing else happened.
When the space finally calmed down, a message popped into Yang Ze's head.
[Please select the world to summon from.]
Looking at the message, Yang Ze let out a hearty smile before speaking with a heart full of excitement.
"My previous world... EARTH."
[Connecting to the world]
[Adjusting the rules accordingly]
[Binding successful]
[Host can now summon 'Players' from Earth]
With these messages, the space that was full of cracks finally shattered as Yang Ze found himself back on top of the mountain.
Without wasting another second, he immediately raised his hand and spoke in a soft voice.
"Summon."
----------------------
On Earth, in one of the rooms of a dilapidated building that was almost forty years old, a man in his early thirties was sitting on his bed with an expression of boredom on his face while looking at the phone screen in front of him.
"Why is there another woman again? What the hell happened to the previous girls? What a dogshit story."
Looking at the newly released chapter of his favourite novel, Gust was almost going crazy. He worked as a security guard in a supermarket, and after a tiring day, his favourite thing to do was to just lie on his bed to read cultivation novels.
He had gone through so much in his life that he had no interest in making any new friends or dating. He just wanted to be left alone and live peacefully without anyone's interference.
He even loved to play games, unfortunately for him, it wasn't possible with his meagre salary. So, he could only do the next easiest thing... Read novels and lose himself in that mysterious world.
Unfortunately, every single novel nowadays follows the exact same pattern. There would be a main character who will face-slap people left and right, woo the beautiful girls, offend the new young master and then repeat the process over and over again.
He didn't understand why garbage like that was so popular, whereas good stories were always buried under obscurity.
"Maybe because I am old." Thinking about his life, he couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Forget it. Let's just read another novel." Thinking about it, he began to search for another novel when he saw a sudden pop-up on his screen.
[Congratulations, you have been selected to experience the first virtual reality cultivation game. Please click to receive your headset.]
"Eh! No more hot babes in my area or a Nigerian prince lottery?" Looking at the new type of Pop-up in front of him, he shook his head with a smile before pressing the back button. These ads nowadays are getting more and more ridiculous. Earlier, they were all about meeting hot women in your area, and now they have even begun to do targeted ads.
"Why isn't it closing?" Gust kept pressing the back button, but the screen didn't show any changes. He tried to find a close button on the ad, but there was none.
Helplessly, he could only click on the ad itself, and the moment he did, the pop-up disappeared automatically.
"Strange." With a shrug, he was about to continue his search for the next novel when he heard someone knocking on his door.
*knock... knock... knock
With a frown, Gust opened the door, only to see an exquisite wooden crate on the ground with a small letter that seemed to be made out of real gold.
[Congratulations on becoming the first player to enter the world of cultivation. Wish you a smooth journey.]
Looking at the card, Gust's mind almost stopped working. He didn't even know when he brought the wooden crate inside his room and took out an exquisite helmet from it.
"Gulp." Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he hesitated for a long time. He didn't know what it was or where it came from. One moment, he clicked on the pop-up ad, and the next moment, this thing was already outside.
He didn't want to do anything with it and even wanted to throw it out. But at the moment, he seemed to be in a trance... unable to suppress his curiosity that was magnified a thousand times.
With some hesitation, he finally put it on his head before everything went dark.
It wasn't until he felt the touch of grass and a gentle breeze on his face that he woke up, only to be stunned by the scenery around him.
In front of him was a boy who seemed barely sixteen, observing him with a curious expression. He was wearing a long grey robe with his hair tied up. At a single glance, he looked like a scholar from a wealthy family. The most striking thing about him was his blue eyes that seemed to contain an ocean.
"Wha... WHAT THE HELL?" With a loud shriek, Gust jumped up before discovering that he was stark naked. The only thing on his body was an underwear.
"Where... where am I?" His mind began to race as he tried to remember what had just happened, but before he could think further, he heard a soft voice.
"Dear player, welcome to the world of cultivation." Yang Ze displayed his brightest smile as he spoke further.
"This is a world filled with all types of mystery and adventure. Please check your property panel for more information."
"...."
"...."
"...."
"HUUUUUUHHHHHH!?"