Pain came first.
Sharp, crushing, drowning pain—like his body was being torn apart and stitched back together by hands that didn't care if he survived.
Lin Xuan gasped and opened his eyes.
Cold stone. A leaking roof. The stench of mold and blood.
"…Where am I?"
Memories flooded in violently, almost knocking him unconscious again.
This body belonged to Lin Xuan, outer sect disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect—the single most useless cultivator in the entire mountain. Broken meridians. Third-rate spiritual roots. A walking joke who existed only to be bullied, exploited, and eventually discarded.
And just hours ago…
He had been beaten half to death.
"For stealing pills," Lin Xuan muttered hoarsely, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.
Except he hadn't stolen anything. A senior disciple needed a scapegoat, and trash was convenient.
As the memories settled, another truth became clear.
He wasn't this Lin Xuan.
He was a man from another world—one who had died abruptly, without warning, without meaning. And now, somehow, he had been reborn into this miserable body in an even more miserable world.
"A cultivation world…" he whispered.
Outside the broken wooden door, voices drifted in.
"Still alive?""Tch. He's stubborn. But with those meridians, he'll never cultivate again.""Doesn't matter. Tomorrow he's assigned to corpse-cleaning duty. If he dies there, even better."
Footsteps faded, laughter echoing down the corridor.
Silence returned.
Lin Xuan lay there, staring at the cracked ceiling.
So this was his second life.
Weak. Powerless. Disposable.
In this world, the strong ruled everything. Cultivators soared above mortals like gods, while the weak existed only to be stepped on. There were no laws for trash disciples. No justice. No mercy.
"If this is how it ends again…" he murmured, fingers slowly curling, "…then reincarnation is a joke."
Something stirred deep within his chest.
A strange warmth—unnatural, foreign—spread through his shattered meridians.
Suddenly—
[Ding.]
A clear, emotionless voice echoed in his mind.
[Heavenly Desire System detected.][Host soul compatibility confirmed.][System awakening… 10%… 50%… 100%.]
Lin Xuan froze.
"…A system?"
His breath quickened.
He had read enough webnovels in his previous life to know exactly what that meant.
A translucent panel unfolded before his eyes, glowing faintly gold.
[Heavenly Desire System]Host: Lin XuanCultivation: NoneSpiritual Roots: Damaged (repair possible)
Core Law:Desire is power. Emotion is cultivation.
Current Desire Energy: 0Linked Companions: None
Lin Xuan's heart slammed against his ribs.
Desire… cultivation?
Before he could think further, another message appeared.
[Scanning recent emotional imprints…][Detecting lingering emotional resonance.][Source: Qing Yue — intensity: suppressed affection.]
A memory surfaced unbidden.
Qing Yue.
A cold, aloof outer sect fairy. Ice-blue robes. Distant eyes. Someone who had once silently placed healing powder by his door after he'd been beaten—then left without a word.
At the time, Lin Xuan had thought nothing of it.
Now—
[Desire Energy +3.]
Warmth surged through his body.
Not violent. Not painful.
Gentle. Nourishing.
Cracks in his meridians itched as if something long dead had begun to breathe again.
Lin Xuan sucked in a sharp breath.
"…So that's how it works."
Not lust alone.
Attraction. Care. Jealousy. Longing. Devotion.
All the emotions cultivators were taught to sever to avoid "heart demons"…
This system thrived on them.
A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips.
"In that case…" he whispered, eyes darkening, "…this world is about to regret how it treats desire."
He pushed himself up with trembling arms.
For the first time since reincarnating, his body responded—weakly, but it responded. The crushing heaviness was gone. In its place was a faint current, warm and alive, flowing through pathways that had once been broken beyond repair.
Footsteps echoed outside again.
The door creaked open.
A senior disciple stood there, tall and sneering, eyes full of contempt.
"Still breathing, trash?" the man scoffed. "Get up. Corpse duty starts now. If you collapse halfway, don't bother crawling back."
Lin Xuan lifted his gaze slowly.
Their eyes met.
For just a moment, something unsettled flickered across the senior disciple's face.
Lin Xuan's expression was calm.
Too calm.
"…Understood," Lin Xuan replied softly.
He stood.
His legs shook—but he did not fall.
As he walked past the stunned senior disciple, a new notification flashed quietly before his eyes.
[First step taken.][Weak to strong path initiated.]
Outside, the clouds drifted over the towering sect peaks, ignorant of the change that had just occurred in a forgotten corner of the mountain.
A heretical cultivator had been born.
And desire—
Was about to shake the heavens.
The air outside the infirmary hut was thin and cold, carrying the faint scent of medicinal herbs and damp stone.
Lin Xuan followed behind the senior disciple in silence.
Each step down the mountain path sent a dull ache through his body, but compared to the agony from before, it was almost… tolerable. The warmth flowing through his meridians hadn't disappeared. It lingered like embers beneath ash—weak, but undeniably real.
"So you really didn't die," the senior disciple sneered without turning back. "Lucky trash."
His name was Zhao Feng, a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator. In the outer sect, that was enough to lord over disciples like Lin Xuan.
"Don't misunderstand," Zhao Feng continued. "Corpse duty isn't mercy. It's where useless things go to rot."
Lin Xuan lowered his gaze obediently.
Inside, his thoughts were anything but.
Corpse duty.
A place where failed disciples, beasts, and unlucky mortals were dumped after training accidents or sect missions. Yin energy pooled there. Spiritual filth lingered. Even cultivators avoided it unless ordered.
For trash disciples, it was a slow death sentence.
Perfect, Lin Xuan thought calmly.
The path wound downward until the air grew heavier, darker. A massive stone pit came into view, ringed with crude formation flags that barely suppressed the rotting spiritual energy inside.
Two figures were already there.
One was a skinny male disciple gagging as he dragged a corpse toward a stone slab.
The other—
Lin Xuan's steps slowed almost imperceptibly.
She stood near the edge of the pit, sleeves rolled slightly, long dark hair tied back in a practical braid. Her robes were plain outer sect attire, but she carried herself with quiet composure.
Su Mei.
A low-ranked female disciple, same as him. No background. No powerful master.
And yet, in Lin Xuan's memories, she was one of the few who had never mocked him.
She noticed him.
Their eyes met.
For just a heartbeat, surprise flickered across her face… followed quickly by concern.
"You're hurt," she said softly, walking over before Zhao Feng could speak. "You shouldn't be here."
Zhao Feng snorted. "Concern yourself with your own job. This trash was assigned here by the elders."
Su Mei clenched her fists.
"But his meridians—"
"Not my problem." Zhao Feng waved dismissively. "If he dies, drag him into the pit too."
He turned and left, laughter echoing faintly as his footsteps faded uphill.
Silence returned.
The oppressive kind.
Su Mei looked at Lin Xuan again, eyes lingering on the dried blood at his collar, the faint tremor in his hands.
"…You should rest," she said quietly. "At least sit for a while before working."
Before Lin Xuan could respond—
[Emotional fluctuation detected.][Source: Su Mei.][Emotion: concern mixed with guilt.]
[Desire Energy +2.]
The warmth inside him pulsed.
Lin Xuan's breath steadied.
So it really worked—even something this subtle.
He met Su Mei's gaze and gave a faint smile. "I'll be fine."
She froze.
That smile—calm, gentle, unresentful—felt strangely out of place on his face.
"…You're different," she murmured before she could stop herself.
Lin Xuan tilted his head. "Different how?"
She looked away quickly, ears tinged red. "N-Never mind. Just… don't push yourself."
She handed him a pair of gloves and gestured toward a nearby slab.
"Start with that one. Slowly."
Lin Xuan nodded and moved as instructed.
The corpse was a male disciple, face twisted in fear. Spiritual backlash—likely forced a breakthrough and failed.
As Lin Xuan touched the cold skin, a wave of yin energy rushed toward him instinctively.
His body reacted.
But instead of pain—
[System interaction detected.][Low-grade Yin Energy absorbed.][Converted to neutral Desire Energy.]
[Desire Energy +1.]
Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly.
So even this could be turned into fuel.
Hours passed.
The work was grim, exhausting, and monotonous. Yet with every small interaction—Su Mei quietly handing him water, glancing at him when she thought he wasn't looking, hesitating before speaking—his internal warmth grew.
Not much.
But enough.
Enough to matter.
As dusk approached, Su Mei finally broke the silence.
"Why didn't you leave the sect?" she asked softly. "After what they did to you… most would have run."
Lin Xuan paused.
The old Lin Xuan's answer surfaced in his mind.
No place to go. No strength. No future.
But that answer no longer fit.
"…Because," he said slowly, "if I leave, they win."
She looked at him again—really looked this time.
Something flickered behind her eyes.
[Desire Energy +3.]
Lin Xuan felt it clearly now.
The system wasn't just collecting numbers.
It was responding to moments.
Connection.
Resolve.
When night fell, Zhao Feng returned briefly, sneered at the lack of corpses piling up, then left again, clearly uninterested.
Su Mei gathered her things.
"I'll bring you food tomorrow," she said, hesitating. "Corpse duty meals are… bad."
Lin Xuan chuckled softly. "Thank you."
She nodded and turned away—but after a few steps, she stopped.
"…Lin Xuan," she said without looking back. "Don't die."
Then she left.
As her figure disappeared up the path—
[Emotional imprint stabilized.][Potential Companion detected: Su Mei.][Bond progress: 12%.]
Lin Xuan exhaled slowly.
The pit was silent again.
He sat on the cold stone and closed his eyes.
"Status," he whispered.
The panel appeared.
[Heavenly Desire System]Desire Energy: 9Meridian Damage: Minor (repair possible)
Available Action:– Repair 1 minor meridian (Cost: 5 Desire Energy)
Lin Xuan didn't hesitate.
"Repair."
Warmth surged like liquid gold.
Pain followed—but it was the good kind. The kind that meant something was being rebuilt instead of destroyed.
When it ended, he opened his eyes.
The world felt… clearer.
His breathing was smoother. His limbs lighter.
He clenched his fist.
A faint thread of spiritual energy responded.
Not much.
But enough.
Lin Xuan smiled in the darkness.
"Corpse duty, huh…"
Above him, the sect lights glowed proudly, unaware that down below, among the dead and discarded—
A path had begun.
Not through talent.
Not through luck.
But through something the heavens had never accounted for.
Human desire.