Chapter 1: The Time Modulation System

Chu Province, Haonan Sub Province, Drifting Clouds Sect.

Inside a small wooden hut belonging to an outer disciple.

Gu Yang sat cross-legged on his bed, an innocent expression on his face.

"I never thought I'd transmigrate to such a dangerous world…"

He whispered, shaking his head in lament.

Just a short while ago, he was still playing games in his room. Unexpectedly, the screen went black, and when he woke up, he had transmigrated, becoming an outer disciple of the Drifting Clouds Sect.

His cultivation base was extremely ordinary, only at the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm. Even among the outer disciples, he was considered one of the weakest.

One must know that in this fantasy world, strength reigns supreme. The strong are revered, while the weak are like ants, not even worth mentioning.

And in this world, talent was even more important. Those with high talent cultivated smoothly, advancing rapidly without obstacles. Those with low talent, even if they spent all day cultivating, might not compare to others who cultivate for only an hour.

Cruel.

Merciless.

That was the norm of this world.

Unfortunately, his current body possessed low talent. His cultivation talent was incredibly mediocre. While not so bad that he couldn't progress, his advancement was incredibly slow. He was one of the most common types.

Thinking of this, Gu Yang couldn't help but shake his head again.

"Damn it! Unlucky in games, unlucky in transmigration too!"

Gu Yang felt exasperated. Before transmigrating, he was unlucky in games, often defeated due to his outdated equipment. He felt extremely frustrated.

So, being a programmer, he wrote a program to cheat. But even if he could cheat in games, he couldn't cheat in real life.

Thinking of this, Gu Yang clenched his fists.

[Ding! The Time Modulation System is binding.]

[Binding successful. Welcome, User.]

Suddenly, a notification sound rang in Gu Yang's ears. Listening to this familiar yet foreign voice, Gu Yang's eyes widened in surprise.

Could this be the system often mentioned in online novels? It actually existed?

As a fan of novels, Gu Yang immediately understood. This was his "opportunity."

He felt incredibly excited. Immediately, he asked the system,

"System, what are your functions?"

[This system is called the "Time Modulation System." The user can manipulate the time of objects. However, please note the following:

The maximum time manipulation is dependent on the user's cultivation base. For example, at the Body Tempering Realm, you can manipulate up to 10 years. At the Qi Condensation Realm, you can manipulate up to 100 years. This increases tenfold with each major realm breakthrough.

The same object can only be manipulated once. The cooldown resets after a major realm breakthrough.

For other functions, please explore them yourself.]

After hearing the system's abilities, Gu Yang was stunned. Being able to manipulate the age of objects was already amazing, but this function seemed a bit too incredible.

Simply put, it was time control, able to make new things old and old things new.

Gu Yang took a deep breath. This system seemed extremely powerful.

However, such free manipulation of time was incredibly rare in the fantasy world, and there were also limitations to consider. It could be said to be an extremely abnormal ability.

Gu Yang felt an indescribable excitement. Then he thought, "That's right, if I can manipulate the time of objects, that means I can manipulate my own cultivation base as well, right?"

With this thought, Gu Yang decided to manipulate his own cultivation base ten years into the future.

Then, he discovered that his cultivation base had soared, reaching the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm!

Feeling the clear improvement within himself, Gu Yang couldn't help but smile, clenching his fists. "Unbelievable! I can actually manipulate my own cultivation base, advancing it ten years! This is too awesome!"

"So, this is the power of the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm?"

Then, Gu Yang clenched his fists, feeling the power surging within him, and felt extremely satisfied. Compared to before, his previous strength seemed incredibly weak. This was the power a strong person should possess!

"But, the same thing can only be manipulated once. Furthermore, I have to wait until I break through to the next major realm for the cooldown to reset before I can manipulate it again. This is a bit of a pity. Otherwise, if I could manipulate without limits, I could become immortal in an instant."

Gu Yang thought of this and felt a little regretful, but then he relaxed.

"Alright, I'm being too greedy. Before having the system, I was just struggling to survive. Now it's much better."

"But, my talent is still so weak."

Then, Gu Yang thought about how he had manipulated his cultivation by ten years, yet he was still only at the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm. His face twitched slightly.

Ten years of cultivation, and still only at the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm. This body's talent was truly too weak. Ordinary disciples of the Drifting Clouds Sect were certainly not this weak. He was able to join the Drifting Clouds Sect because of some backdoor dealings.

"Alright, if I can manipulate my cultivation base, that means I should be able to manipulate the time spent practicing sword techniques as well, right?"

With this thought, Gu Yang decided to manipulate the time spent practicing his Basic Sword Technique ten years into the future.

As soon as he did, Gu Yang discovered that his comprehension of the sword technique in his mind had greatly increased.

"Excellent! It really worked!"

Gu Yang was overjoyed.

After experimenting and feeling the results, Gu Yang wanted to try manipulating the time spent practicing the Basic Fist Technique and other techniques he had never trained in before. But when he tried to manipulate them, he found that nothing changed.

"I understand. If I haven't cultivated a technique before, I can't manipulate its time. That makes sense."

Gu Yang thought and understood the cause and effect.

"However, I've studied the Cloudsoaring Sword Technique. I should be able to manipulate that."

Then, Gu Yang decided to manipulate the time spent cultivating the Cloudsoaring Sword Technique. Soon, his understanding of the sword technique in his mind greatly increased.

His Cloudsoaring Sword Technique had been cultivated to the Perfect Realm. The sword seemed to soar through the clouds, each movement ethereal and flawless.

"The improvement in sword techniques and other skills is very clear. It seems that cultivation base is related to the body's talent and potential, which I can't change. But learning techniques depends on comprehension and perception, and it seems my talent in this area is not bad at all."

Gu Yang was slightly surprised, but he was also satisfied with this discovery.

Next… he had to find a way to further improve his cultivation base.