He woke up.
Dim light filtered through the thin bamboo slats. The ceiling was made of rough wood, the crossbeams riddled with woodworm and draped with cobwebs. The smell of earth, rice straw ash, and dry grass permeated the air, lingering like the musty scent of a forgotten rural place.
The small room was cramped, with mud-and-straw walls and a cracked brick floor. In the corner stood an earthenware water jug, next to a straw basket used as a bed. He was lying there, a thin blanket covering his chest, his arms bony, his hands dry and frail, with prominent blue veins. His body felt weightless, as if a mere gust of wind would be enough to carry him away.
He sat up. His head felt dizzy, his vital energy depleted. His limbs were unsteady, every joint aching as if he had just recovered from a prolonged, feverish delirium.
As he slowly regulated his breathing, a beam of light materialized in mid-air. From within the light, a small maidenappeared, her body only the size of a human hand, her white hair flowing long. She wore ancient ivory-colored robes with red embroidered trimming.
She opened her eyes, which were as clear as droplets of glazed jade. Her voice resonated directly into his Consciousness Sea, not through his ears:
"You are currently on the Cultivation Star Planet."
He turned his head to look at her.
The small maiden continued, her tone composed, neither rushed nor slow:
"I am the System Spirit of the Dragon-Fairy Lineage System, created to guide the one who carries the Dragon's bloodline. From this moment forth, I will exist within your Consciousness Sea and cannot be separated."
She slowly waved her hand. A three-dimensional diagram appeared in mid-air, displaying layer upon layer of Energy Meridians and Cultivation Realms.
"Your current body belonged to a mortal. His name was A Long, eighteen years old, orphaned, and lived in Chao An Village, working as a hired hand for the Ma family, a minor landlord in the area. He possessed no Spirit Roots and had never cultivated. His physique is weak, his natural talent is ordinary, and his life, spent as a farm laborer, was little different from the dirt."
She pointed to the very bottom of the diagram.
"On the Cultivation Star Planet, cultivators are divided into nine major realms: Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refinement, Integration, and Tribulation Crossing. Each major realm is further divided into four minor stages: Initial, Middle, Late, and Perfection."
She drew her hand back; her gaze remained steady.
"You currently have no cultivation base. You cannot absorb spiritual energy, and your meridians are unopen. This body is merely a mortal shell. But in this world, there is more than one path."
She drew auxiliary branches onto the cultivation map, each luminous path clearly separated.
"Aside from the main path which relies on spiritual power, there are countless other cultivation branches. Some cultivate the body, taking muscles as their foundation; these are known as Body Cultivators. Some cultivate the Divine Soul, refining their Consciousness Sea; these are called Soul Cultivators. Some refine pills and elixirs, mastering herbs and possessing resilient inner energy; these are known as Alchemists. Others refine minerals and forge Dharma Treasures; these are called Artifact Forgers. There are also Talisman Cultivators, Formation Cultivators, Gu Cultivators, and a myriad of other paths, depending on one's innate talent and destiny."
She folded her hand, and the diagram vanished, leaving no trace of light.
"The Cultivation Star Planet is a low-level planet within the world system; spiritual energy is thin, and mortals far outnumber cultivators. The cultivator class holds all the resources. Those without talent can only become slaves, hired laborers, or starve to death in remote mountain villages."
She paused, saying nothing further.
After listening to Jade's entire explanation, Lin Ming quietly leaned back against the earthen wall, his eyes clouded by a faint darkness. The words he had just heard were like a torrent of cold water rushing over his mind, leaving him temporarily unable to process everything that was happening.
After a long while, he spoke:
"Why me? What did the System base its choice on? I am but a mortal, without power or influence, lacking talent or virtue, and possess no Spirit Roots for cultivation."
His eyes were cold and calm, carrying the quiet skepticism hidden beneath his long silence.
Jade sat on the floating spot of light, her tiny hands folded over her abdomen. She watched him for a moment before replying steadily:
"You were chosen because the remnants of the Dragon's bloodline flow in your veins. Though diluted to the extreme, it has not yet been extinguished. The Dragon-Fairy Lineage System does not choose a mortal, but the ancient bloodline within your body."
He narrowed his eyes. The Dragon's bloodline? A concept utterly foreign to his previous understanding. It felt as if he were dreaming a nightmare with no escape.
He said:
"The Dragon's bloodline... what kind of monster is that?"
Jade did not answer immediately. She looked directly at him, a faint light reflecting in the depths of her eyes:
"For now, you do not need to understand. You only need to know that the System chose you because you meet the conditions. You have two choices. One is to accept the System and continue living in this world. The other is to refuse and return to the moment you rushed out to save the child, only to die beneath the oncoming wheels."
Her words carried no emotion, yet they cut through his thoughts like a blade.
He was silent, deep in contemplation.
He remembered his deceased grandparents, the leaky, tin-roofed old house, the days he was drenched in rain while running delivery errands, and the nights he spent unloading cargo until his fingernails broke. His life on Earth held nothing but loneliness and poverty; there was nothing to hold onto.
After a moment, he spoke softly:
"I accept."
The air in the room seemed to still for half a beat. Jade said nothing more, merely flicked her sleeve. A circular runeappeared in mid-air, spinning slowly like the wheel of samsara.
He continued:
"But I am only a mortal, without Spirit Roots. How am I supposed to cultivate?"
Jade pointed her hand at the empty space.
A luminous screen appeared, seemingly etched from thin metal, with blood-red ancient characters manifesting line by line.
[Dragon-Fairy Lineage System: Welcome New Host]
Activating Initial Gift:
System Cultivation Technique x1
System Dharma Treasure x1
Beginning Summoning Process… [Summoning Time: 4,000 seconds]
Jade explained:
"This is the basic reward when the System accepts a Host. Everyone chosen by the System receives a Destiny Cultivation Technique and a Destiny Dharma Treasure, based on the nature of their bloodline."
"4,000 seconds?" He looked at the number.
"The higher the item's grade, the longer the summoning time," Jade replied. "These two items belong to the Forbiddengrade."
Lin Ming's eyes widened:
"Forbidden? What kind of existence is that?"
"It is something you, or anyone on this planet, are not yet qualified to imagine. You only need to know that it is Forbidden," Jade replied indifferently.
He said nothing. His dark eyes revealed nothing distinct. Only his gaze slowed down, becoming deep and calm, as if he were meditating.
In the depths of his heart, a thin ripple of change was silently spreading.
The System clock counted down: 3999… 3998…