Somewhere in Zhonghai, behind a relatively small restaurant is a dumpster that reeks of garbage.
An old man stands in front of the dumpster, then swung his withered bone in an arc with ease — letting go of a black trash bag in the process which flew inside a small opening.
Rustle.
It hit a small cracked-statue, causing a bit of noise.
However, he couldn't care any less as he pulled out a lighter, which then lit up a blunt with a beautiful degree of mastery. Clearly, he has reached the apex in terms of the ancient "Smoking-A-Blunt" technique!
After ascending toward nine heavens and visiting Chang'e, he stumps the butt-ends and left in a hurry through the backdoor.
Just then, a bell-like sound struck the quiet alleyway.
[ Ding Dong!]
[After thousands of years of napping, Host has reached the requirement to bind the system!]
Inside the dumpster, the 'eyes' of the statue slowly open, adding more cracks to the already rugged figure which swiftly grew at an alarming rate.
Within a couple of minute, a figure was revealed after all the cracks fell off from the statue.
This statue is Yu Yan, who had entered a slumber state thousands of years ago!
He opens his eyes for the first time in a long time, staring blankly at the floating text with a dumbfounded look, twitches his nose, and moves his lustrous eyelashes with every confused blink that follows.
The stench of the horrible trash stung his sharp noise, countless ventilation fans from different restaurants blasted his sensitive ears, and more importantly his eyes — 'what the fuck is this black shit?'
It was the black plastic bag filled with food waste that the old man threw blocking his face!
The only three words that could describe his mental state at the moment would be — 'What the hell?!"
More accurately speaking, it would be — What the fuck!
"What the hell is that noise outside?!" The old man pops his head out of the door again through a small opening, prancing his bristle beard toward the dumpster.
His eyes jump, dancing about like a headless chicken would at the 'rare' sight in front of him," Old Ma come out and look at this!"
It's not every day that you see people climbing out of a dumpster.
Thump. Thump.
The trash bag fell one by one as Yu Yan stood up. With an irritated look, he grabbed the black bag on his face and threw it outside, which happens to land on Zhang Tuo's foot.
Slowly, his feature emerges with the help of a dimly lit lightbulb loosely dangling above the alley.
Zhang Tuo shakes his head profusely, looking stunned at the young man slowly crawling out of the dumpster.
His long, black hair flowed graciously along the drifting wind, together with a pair of eyes resembling the deep sea's darkest, like an abyss that shoots its gaze back at you in the dead of night.
"Did you throw that bag just now?" His voice, cold as the winter wind as it echoed in the alley.
At this moment, their gaze met, instantly, Zhang Tuo felt a paramount pressure pressing down on his body, threatened to crush not just his body, but soul altogether.
This caused him to retract his gaze, unable to look at the young man's delicate face which share a similar reflection to that of the moon hanging above tonight.
--
The young man walked closer, his steps were light yet firm, carrying an undeniable sense of confidence and authority that was impossible to ignore.
Zhang Tuo felt a chill down his spine as the young man continued to speak, "I asked you a question. Did you throw that bag just now?"
Zhang Tuo swallowed hard, feeling as though he was about to be swallowed by his intense gaze. He stumbled over his words before finally managing to stammer out a response, "Y-yes, I did."
His eyes narrowed, and for a moment, Zhang Tuo thought he saw a flash of anger cross his face. But just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, replaced by an unreadable expression.
"Why did you throw it here?" He asked, his voice even colder than before.
"I-I didn't mean to," Zhang Tuo stuttered, feeling increasingly nervous under the young man's penetrating gaze.
"Then where did you mean to throw it?" the young man pressed, his tone unrelenting.
Zhang Tuo shook his head, "I don't know, I was just trying to get rid of it."
His gaze bore into Zhang Tuo's, and for a moment, he was certain that the young man could see straight through him.
Then, another voice appeared behind the door.
"Who are you?" Old Ma came behind Zhang Tuo, looked at Yu Yan, and coldly asked, eying Yu Yan from bottom up, surprised by his stunning appearance as he was as tall as a telephone pole!
'What the hell was that? Did I smoke for too long to hallucinate?' Zhang Tuo shook his head, trying to off that strange sensation when he met that young man's gaze. Thankfully, Old Ma's voice slapped him out of that mysterious state.
"I don't know who you are but get the hell out of here! We don't allow homeless people to rummage through garbage for scraps!" Once again, Old Ma ruthlessly pointed toward the exit of the alleyway on their left, trying to swat Yu Yan away.
Yu Yan ignored the old man's shouting, took a shallow breath, then exhale," Where am I?"
What happens next made Old Ma rubs his eyes with his mouth wide open. 'Did I inhale for too long to hallucinate?'
To hell with inhaling! He doesn't even smoke!
A dim light caressed his body, it wove a cloak of shadow that enshrouded his nakedness. The silky darkness flowed over his shoulders, cascading down his form like a midnight waterfall, until it reached his ankles and pooled there in a seamless, all-encompassing blackness.
But there was more to his attire than met the eye.
An ethereal grey mist seemed to swirl and dance around the edges of his shadowy garb, coalescing into a ghostly sheath that draped over his shoulders like a mantle, yet clung to his form with the weight of a robe.
The combination of these two materials gave him an otherworldly allure that left those who gazed upon him feeling as if they were glimpsing a being from a realm beyond their own.
Ma Liang quickly wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead with his rough hand, internally cursing his misfortune, quickly bending his knees, "Great Immortal, this little one is called Ma Liang! Please don't take offense to this junior behavior!"
He stared at the floor, afraid of raising his head, but asked in a shaky voice, "S-Senior, did you just exit seclusion?"
Yu Yan nodded, not offering an explanation, nor revealing his intention.
The cultivator in modern days is rare but not without, it just so happens that Ma Liang is one of those few cultivators that still exist, and a vagrant one at that. Unfortunately, he is only a small-time 1st stage of opening his aperture, not worth mentioning at all.
However, against a dozen mortals, he could easily hold his ground.
But in front of Yu Yan who he assumed to be at the 5th stage, an earth immortal, he was nothing!
Such an existence was already beyond his realm of understanding. He have even heard of 'heaven immortal' of the 6th realm, which is a legend in itself!
To live a long life, one has to know when to bow their head, and when to raise one. Let alone a great earth immortal expert, even a 3rd stage true core expert would suffice for him to bow down!
Naturally, he knew what to do, "In this current day and age, we cultivators have changed our practice to adapt to modern society." Ma Liang respectfully looked at Yu Yan as he explained.
Usually, a senior who exits seclusion would want information on the current affairs of the cultivation world in order to adapt to the new changes. He guessed that Yu Yan is one of those seniors.
"For example, hundreds of years ago, we cultivators would roam the world and make a name for ourselves. It was truly the golden age for the world of cultivation. The Daoist and Buddhist sects are the most well-known and their name are still prominent to this day!"
"But… About a hundred years ago, many great cultivators started to recede and hid from society, turning their existence into legends. As for the reason, someone as lowly as myself does not know…"
Ma Liang paused, letting out a struggling expression, then organized his words before continuing, "I've heard rumors that a certain battle happened roughly eighty years ago, but there was only a small mention of it before the rumors completely disappeared… I feel a hint of conspiracy in this. For example, how could such heaven shattering battle that could change the landscape of the cultivation world be unmentioned? It's as if it was deliberately hidden…"
Yu Yan shook his head, then looked toward the moon, immersing in this new-found information.
This point made him suspicious and perplexed. How could ordinary mortals compare to cultivators who wield the power of heaven and earth?
'Back then, my divine sense covers the entire star system. But it got cut off by a foreign force about a hundred years ago… I was too lazy to figure out the cause. Is it related to this?'
If his divine sense didn't cut off— he wouldn't be as clueless as he is now.
Why would cultivators hide from mortals?
What sort of battle occurs back then for such major change to appear in the world?
Why would those great clans and families hide it?
More importantly, what connection does that battle have to do with the disappearance of his divine sense?
Countless questions appear as he tries to glue all the pieces together.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have all the details to completely put one and one together, leaving him stumped.
[Ding Dong!]
Then, a sound of bells rings through his ears.
[ Host, the cultivators are hiding due to an outside entity.]
Boom!
A sudden, intense chill permeated the air, swirling through the narrow alleyway like a ghostly whirlpool.
The icy breeze seemed to penetrate their very souls, causing Ma Liang and Zhang Tuo to tremble with an otherworldly fear.
As they stood before Yu Yan, his body seemed to emanate a frigid energy, threatening to freeze them to the core.
The pain was so intense that they felt as though their very souls were being crushed into oblivion.
Their faces contorted in agony as they struggled to withstand the piercing cold, desperately hoping for some respite.
'You can read my thoughts? Impossible!'
[ Host, please calm down. There is innocent bystander nearby!]
Immediately, his vision turns black.
Then came a stream of information flowed into his soul, reminding of the same feeling of receiving information through a jade talisman. However, he was unaware that jade talismans were considered ancient items in today's world and were almost nonexistent.
As he processed the information, he couldn't help but wonder about the technological advancements of modern society, "Cars, the internet, and what the hell is 'streaming'?" he thought to himself.
Within moments, he had caught up to the average citizen's knowledge in the present day.
Just as he was adjusting to this new world, another notification appeared, disrupting his thoughts.
[ Ding Dong! All-job experience system activated. A new job will be activated every month. Completing the given mission in the system will allow you to receive the ultimate reward, assisting the host in becoming powerful!]
[Job class: Streamer!]
[Please receive the Streamer Registration Gift Pack, 5 million low-grade spirit stones! Immortal-Grade Camera! Immortal-Grade Microphone! Special Bili account!]
[Mission: Gain your first follower!]
What shocked him more is the fact that this system easily transferred the information straight into his consciousness!
Yu Yan couldn't help but twitch his lip, releasing the pressure from Ma Liang and Zhang Tuo like the sun upon cloudy skies.
From the vast stream of information, he could more or less understand what a system is, after all, who in this star system is capable of affecting his consciousness directly in such an unhinged manner?
He could only guess that the system is truly like that described on the internet, truly an astonishing existence.
But what the hell is with becoming a streamer? It hasn't been long since he woke up!