In a well-decorated room meant for a woman, she sat quietly, caressing her belly. She was Qin Lan, the mother of Gu Xue—a cultivator in the late stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Her face was as beautiful as a snowy peak, and her skin as clear as jade. Her emerald-green eyes gleamed in the sunlight, and dimples formed as she smiled down at her stomach, where her precious son awaited his birth.
She smiled as she said, "Xue'er, be good once you're out, ok?"
It had been exactly six months since Qin Lan and her husband, Gu Yin, discovered she was pregnant. In their twenty years of marriage, Qin Lan had yet to give birth to a child, and the two had long feared that one of them might be unable to conceive.
Although a cultivator, Qin Lan—an eighth-stage Foundation Establishment expert—could live up to two hundred years, she feared she might never be able to bear a child for her husband.
What's more, as a third-stage Golden Core cultivator, her husband spent more time cultivating and assisting his sect than he did with her.
And so, when the two discovered Qin Lan's pregnancy, the Gu clan rejoiced. Gu Yin was a genius of the clan, having reached the Golden Core Realm at the age of thirty-four. Surely, a Golden Core genius would produce another prodigy for the family.
One must know that the average Golden Core cultivator is already over a hundred years old. Many Core Formation cultivators do not dare take the final step into that legendary realm.
What's more, most Golden Core cultivators remain stuck at the first stage, requiring hundreds of years to advance, despite their lifespan reaching up to eight hundred years.
The moment Qin Lan's pregnancy was announced, even the ancestor of the Gu clan paid a visit and bestowed upon her a gift that could potentially help her step into the Core Formation Realm.
And now, that item—once stored in her storage ring—had suddenly disappeared.
"Ahhh!! My storage ring!!!" She yelled.
*Tud*
*Tud*
*Tud*
A man suddenly burst into the room. "What happened?!"
The man was tall and lean. Though his build was not particularly imposing, there was an oppressive aura about him, as if he could kill with a single finger.
He wore a traditional black-and-white hanfu, with a sword strapped to his waist. His long hair was tied into a ponytail, and his eyes—dark as the void—matched his hair and sharp brows.
Qin Lan stood up, concern etched across her face. "Husband, my storage ring—it suddenly disappeared!" She paused, biting her nail in distress. "The Qi Condensation Pill the ancestor gave me was inside!"
Gu Yin held his wife, gently comforting her. "It's alright, dear. I'm sure the Ancestor won't be angered…" He paused, glancing toward the open window. "I'll have everyone search for the culprit. They must have used a space-time technique."
Hearing that the Ancestor would most likely not be angered by the loss of the pill, she sighed in relief and said, "Thank you, Yin'er, but I don't think we should mobilize more than two men."
Confused, Gu Yin asked, "But why? If someone really did steal the storage ring, we could get it back and have you ascend to Core Formation."
Qin Lan showed a reluctant smile, "You're already at the Golden Core, yet you won't use that little brain of yours…"
She continued, teasing her husband, "Who in the world would have the ability to sneak into the Gu clan manor just to steal a few Qi Condensation Pills? If someone had that kind of power, they would surely be above the Golden Core Realm. And I highly doubt a Golden Core cultivator would bother stealing something like that."
She let out a final sigh, "Although I really wanted those pills, I can make do without them. It's just that it'll take me another 15 years to break through." She looked at her husband and smiled, "After all, I'm not as good as you."
Gu Yin's heart melted at the scene, and he grew more determined to catch the bastard who had stolen his wife's storage ring.
Even if he couldn't catch the bastard, he vowed that he would get enough sect contribution points to buy a batch of pills for his wife.
As the two continued to flirt, the irritated Gu Xue, still within Qin Lan's womb, muttered inwardly, "You old geezers, go be lovey-dovey after I'm born and can leave you two alone!"
He entered his consciousness once again and opened the system. Without thinking twice, he clicked on the Avatar and purchased it for 10,000 points, leaving him with only 5,000 points remaining.
After he bought the avatar, a new tab opened where he could create it.
The name was randomly generated, though it could be changed at any time. However, the avatar's age, gender, and personality were fixed and could not be altered.
The one he had purchased was a twenty-year-old male—energetic, righteous, and easygoing—someone who wouldn't be easily offended.
To Gu Xue, gender and age didn't matter, but the personality was something he disliked. He wasn't righteous by nature, and if he were to inhabit the avatar one day, he wouldn't want its personality to influence him.
But alas, it was a built-in aspect of the system, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He opened the avatar and saw the information on the avatar:
[Name: Shi Hao]
[Age: 20]
[Sex: Male]
[Cultivation: 1st Stage Qi Refinement]
[Limit: 9th Stage Golden Core]
[Unique Skills: Commander, Unyielding, Raise the Banner.]
[Description: Shi Hao, an unyielding hero who can command hundreds of thousands of soldiers. His martial arts skills are unparalleled, and his body is as strong as the mountains. He has incredible instincts like that of a lion! However, he lacks intelligence in anything unrelated to combat!]
Gu Xue was pleased with Shi Hao's status window, but he was puzzled by one of the skills: Raise the Banner.
The other two skills were straightforward and self-explanatory, but the third—and final—skill was different from the rest.
The two skills, Commander and Unyielding, allowed Shi Hao to command troops with exceptional loyalty and granted him an unyielding heart, ideal for cultivation.
However, the final skill, Raise the Banner, according to its description, granted special effects if he served under someone.
Should Shi Hao accept someone as his liege, his army-commanding stats would soar, and he would earn the full trust of his liege. Moreover, every soldier under his command—and anyone trained by him—would be unwaveringly loyal to both him and the liege.
Once Gu Xue finished reading all the skills, he created the appearance of Shi Hao.
Shi Hao stood tall at 6'7". He was burly and manly—not handsome, but someone whose presence commanded authority. His face was stern, yet when he smiled, it became the softest smile a man could give.
His hair was black, and his facial features were sharp. His most striking feature was his golden, lion-like eyes—a single glance from them could strike fear into a man. As for his voice, Gu Xue made it deep enough to command authority, yet gentle enough to inspire respect.
When Gu Xue finished and clicked "Done" on the Avatar interface, a map suddenly appeared in its place. The map was massive, spanning over ten kingdoms. The moment it appeared, Gu Xue knew its purpose: spawning.
According to the avatar's description before he purchased it, he could spawn the avatar anywhere within ten thousand miles in every direction from his location.
Gu Xue stared at the map, feeling overwhelmed. He had no idea where he was—there was no indicator on the map, and he knew nothing about this world. He was certain this was neither his original world nor a parallel one, as the geography bore no resemblance to Earth from his previous life.
With no other choice, he selected a random location in a kingdom called the Red Dragon Kingdom. Gu Xue had made sure not to spawn Shi Hao in any city; instead, he spawned him in a forest near a town.
The Red Dragon Kingdom was a small nation on the very outskirts of the map he was observing. Its size was at most comparable to France from his previous life. Although France hadn't been tiny, it was small compared to the other kingdoms on the current map.
"This should do."
Gu Xue thought to himself as he pressed "Done." Once the system confirmed that the avatar had spawned, he opened Shi Hao's menu and pressed the button to take control of the avatar's body.
In the next moment, he finally opened his eyes for the very first time, unsure how long he had been in darkness inside his mother, and a smile spread across his face.