Pain comes before consciousness.
It wasn't a bursting pain, but a heavy pressure, as if her body were being squeezed from all sides. The air felt strange. Cold. Damp. The smell of earth and blood mingled.
Lin Yan opened her eyes.
A gray sky stretched overhead, shrouded in a thin mist. The cold, rocky ground clung to his back. In the distance, rickety wooden buildings stood crooked, a village that looked as if awaiting its own destruction.
"Where is this?"
Her voice was hoarse. Not just from exhaustion, but because this body wasn't hers.
She tried to get up. Her knees were shaking, her stomach empty as if she hadn't eaten in days. Looking down, Lin Yan saw that her own hands were thin, covered in small cuts and calluses. The rough cloth clothing wrapped around her body was torn here and there.
Then, strange memories flooded in.
A village youth.
Seventeen years old.
Name: Lin Yan.
A poor, talentless child.
Failed to join a sect.
Forced to work as a porter.
Beaten for being slow.
Abandoned outside the village when he had a high fever.
Died from exhaustion...
Lin Yan fell silent.
The last memory of his previous life was still clear: the streetlights at night, the sound of horns, and the bright lights of trucks speeding by.
"So I… reincarnated?"
Before he could gather his thoughts, the sound of footsteps pierced the fog. Several men in rough clothing emerged from the direction of the village. Their wooden sticks and cold expressions told the story.
"Hey, he's still alive?"
"Damn, should have died last night."
"No problem," one of them said, raising his stick. "Let's finish him off."
Instinct screamed.
This body was too weak.
He had no weapons.
There was no escape.
So this is the world of cultivation? A world that doesn't give second chances?
As the stick swung, Time seemed to stop.
A foreign, flat, and emotionless voice echoed inside his head.
[DAO REPLICATION SYSTEM]
Soul synchronization complete. Consciousness fragment available.
Her eyes widened.
The voice wasn't an illusion. It wasn't a dream.
[SYSTEM]
Body condition: Critical. Survival rate: Low. Initializing basic functions.
The stick almost touched his head.
[SYSTEM]
Available options: Initial replication.
Without thinking twice, he chose.
Activate.
The world shook.
The air around him distorted, like glass being forcibly twisted. From that empty space, a figure slowly emerged, rough and imperfect.
A young man who looked exactly like him was standing there.
Her face was blank. Her eyes were emotionless.
The men stopped.
"What is this?!"
The clone moved.
Not fast. Not strong. But enough.
It took the blow that should have hit the original's head. The clone's body was sent flying, hitting a large rock, and fell silent.
Silence.
Blood seeped from the clone's head. Then
[SYSTEM]
Replica entity no. 1 has been destroyed. Soul fragments are returning.
Pain struck her head. It wasn't physical, but something deeper. Like losing a small part of herself.
The attackers retreated, their faces pale. "Monster…!"
They ran, leaving behind the fog and silence.
He fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
The clone… died. And the pain… was real.
[SYSTEM]
Initial replication successful. Mortality data stored. Evaluation: Appropriate.
He stared at his own hands, trembling.
"So… I'm alive," he murmured softly. "Because he's dead."
In this world of cultivation, he finally understood one thing.
He won't fight alone.
And he won't survive in a humane way.