Liang Chen reclined in his well-worn chair, his hand idly stroking Yue Ling, the snow-white fox curled up beside him. Her tail twitched slightly in her sleep, the soft fur warm under his fingers. The room was silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioner, the glow of the city outside muted by thick curtains.
At twenty years old, Liang Chen lived a comfortable life, free from the usual worries of his peers. As an orphan, he had inherited a significant fortune after his parents' untimely death, allowing him to live without the burden of work or financial struggles. Yet, despite his tranquil existence, there was a persistent unease in the back of his mind, one he couldn't ignore.
He remembered the day it had happened—the moment he awoke in this unfamiliar world. There was no dramatic accident, no vivid flash of light. One day, he simply realized that this Earth was not his own. The lack of cultivation novels was his first clue. In his past world, those tales of gods and immortals had filled the shelves of libraries and online forums. Here, they were nonexistent. Fiction here leaned on mundane topics—sci-fi, romance, crime dramas. Stories of cultivation, of gods, demons, and spiritual energy? Absent.
Even the myths were different. No celestial beings fought for supremacy, no ancient records of demon kings or immortal heroes. It was as if the very idea of spiritual power had never existed on this Earth.
It was strange, living in a world that felt both familiar and hollow. He didn't know why or how he had come here, and in the years since his realization, he had stopped trying to figure it out. Perhaps this was simply his life now. And yet, the gnawing feeling that he was meant for something greater never left him.
Liang Chen glanced at Yue Ling, who stretched lazily under his hand. She had been with him since his teenage years, a loyal companion who seemed oddly more intelligent than an ordinary fox. Her keen eyes often regarded him with a depth that sometimes made him wonder if she could understand his thoughts.
"If only cultivation were real," he muttered, glancing at the dim screen of his laptop. "At least then I could make sense of… whatever this is."
The room darkened unexpectedly, the power cutting out. Liang Chen frowned, but before he could move, a golden light bloomed in the center of the room, blinding and radiant. Yue Ling jolted awake with a soft growl, her fur bristling as the light condensed into a shimmering sphere.
Liang Chen froze, his pulse quickening. The sphere pulsed gently, its surface rippling with faint golden hues. A calm, resonant voice filled the room, echoing in his mind.
"Greetings, Liang Chen. I am the Dream Reincarnation System, and I have chosen you for a unique path."
"What the…?" he whispered, his hand instinctively covering Yue Ling as she let out a low, wary whine. "Who—what are you?"
"You need not fear me," the voice continued. "I have come to offer you the chance to tread the path of cultivation. However, this Earth is devoid of spiritual energy, making such a path impossible… for now."
Liang Chen's mind reeled. Cultivation? Spiritual energy? Was this a joke? A cruel twist of fate? Yet the golden sphere's presence was undeniable, the sheer weight of its voice pressing down on him.
"I will return in one year," the system said. "When I do, I shall provide you with a technique to form spiritual veins—an unprecedented path that will allow you to cultivate even in this barren world."
Before Liang Chen could respond, the sphere dimmed, its light fading until the room returned to its familiar shadows. Yue Ling relaxed under his hand, her fur settling as she let out a soft huff.
Liang Chen sat there in silence, his heart pounding. For the first time since he had awoken in this world, he felt the spark of something new: hope, fear, and a curiosity that burned brighter than ever.
The golden glow faded, leaving the room in near-darkness, lit only by the faint orange light of the city outside. Liang Chen stared at the spot where the sphere had floated moments ago, his thoughts racing.
"A technique to form spiritual veins…" he murmured. "Is that even possible?"
His mind turned to the novels of his previous world. Spiritual veins were foundational to cultivation—a gift one was born with or a trait so rare that stories treated them as miracles. Creating them from nothing? The concept defied every rule those tales had taught him, and yet the system's voice had left no room for doubt.
Yue Ling shifted on his lap, her ears twitching. She stared up at him with curious, intelligent eyes, as if sensing the shift in his thoughts. Her presence grounded him, pulling him back from the swirling chaos in his mind.
"It doesn't matter how ridiculous it sounds," Liang Chen muttered, his grip tightening on the fox's soft fur. "If it's real, it's the only chance I'll have."
Before he could reflect further, another strange event unfolded. The air in the room grew heavy, as if saturated with an invisible pressure. Liang Chen's breath hitched, and Yue Ling growled softly, her body stiffening.
A second presence descended—a vast, oppressive force that seemed to envelop the entire city. Unlike the Dream Reincarnation System, this presence carried a malevolent edge, as though it were prying into the deepest recesses of every soul it touched.
"Humanity…" a voice boomed, low and guttural, reverberating across the world. "I am the Past Life Cultivator System. Your reality shall merge with a dream. Prepare yourselves for a lifetime of cultivation."
Liang Chen's chest tightened. The words were ominous, yet the pressure in the room abruptly lifted. Yue Ling's fur flattened, though her wary gaze lingered on the darkened corners of the apartment.
Before he could fully process the words, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. His eyelids grew heavy, and his thoughts blurred. Yue Ling let out a small whine before curling up closer to him, her warmth a faint comfort as his consciousness slipped away.
Liang Chen opened his eyes, and the world was different.
He stood on a vast, barren plain, the air thick with energy that prickled his skin. Above, the sky swirled with chaotic hues of purple and gold, as though the heavens themselves were alive. All around him were others—men, women, children—all wearing expressions of shock and confusion.
He wasn't alone. Everyone had been brought here.
A booming voice echoed once more, now clear and unyielding.
"From this moment, you will live a lifetime as cultivators. Succeed or fail, fight or flee, your choices are your own. When death finds you, you will awaken… but only as shadows of what you could have been."
Liang Chen clenched his fists, his mind racing. He had read about scenarios like this in his past world's novels—mass reincarnations, forced cultivation trials. Yet this was no fiction. It was his reality.
The crowd around him erupted into chaos, voices rising in fear and anger. Some wept, others screamed, and a few stood silent, their gazes hardening as they assessed the situation. Liang Chen's instincts told him to remain calm, but his heart hammered in his chest.
A figure materialized in front of him, its body indistinct, like a shadow woven from threads of darkness.
"You, Liang Chen," the figure said, its voice emotionless yet heavy with authority. "You shall begin as a Qi Refining cultivator. Progress or perish. Your time begins now."
Before Liang Chen could reply, the shadow dissipated, leaving behind a faint hum in the air. He felt a strange warmth coursing through his body, and when he glanced down, he realized his hands glowed faintly with golden light. Energy—spiritual energy—flowed within him, a sensation so foreign yet natural that he nearly staggered.
This was real. Cultivation, the path he had only read about, was now his to walk. But what awaited him at the end of this trial? Would it truly be just a dream? Or something more?
Liang Chen jolted awake, his body drenched in cold sweat. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, the oppressive weight of failure still pressing against him. His trembling hands gripped the sides of his chair, his knuckles white from the strain. The faint hum of the air conditioner and Yue Ling's soft whimper were the only sounds grounding him in the present.
But in his mind, the echoes of agony lingered—an unbearable, searing pain that seemed to split his very existence apart.
The memory was too vivid to be a dream. He could still feel the energy coursing through his veins, the pressure of the tribulation storm that had towered above him. The moment he had failed to create an immortal world within his body replayed like a cruel specter, each detail etched with perfect clarity.
In that fleeting instant, he had felt his mind, body, and soul unravel. The immortal world he had painstakingly built—a foundation for ascension—had crumbled like sand under the relentless force of the tribulation. Its collapse had nearly obliterated him, dragging him to the edge of annihilation before a force greater than him had ripped him away.
He pressed a hand to his forehead, the dampness of his sweat cooling against his palm. The agony had been so real, so all-encompassing, that waking up here felt alien. His breath hitched as the realization struck him.
"That wasn't just a dream…" he murmured, his voice hoarse. "That was… me."
He clenched his teeth, the vivid memory of the towering celestial storm that had loomed over him still fresh. He had ascended to the pinnacle of the immortal realm, standing on the precipice of a breakthrough into the legendary next stage: creating a small immortal world within himself. It was a feat only the most extraordinary cultivators could attempt.
And he had failed.
The weight of the realization hit him like a boulder. His failure had been absolute. He hadn't just lost the tribulation; he had nearly lost himself. The shattering of his immortal foundation was a pain that no mortal could ever comprehend. His very essence had been torn apart, leaving him raw and broken. Only a sliver of his being had survived the catastrophe, pulled back to Earth.
But why? How?
Yue Ling nudged his hand with her nose, her soft whimper pulling him back to the present. He looked down at her, his racing thoughts slowing as he focused on her steady presence. She stared up at him, her golden eyes reflecting the dim light of the room. There was an intelligence in her gaze, a depth he hadn't noticed before.
"You… you remember something too, don't you?" he whispered, his voice steadier now. "You were there. In that other life."
The fox tilted her head slightly, her ears twitching, but she didn't look away. The unspoken understanding between them deepened, the bond they had shared in his past life stirring faintly in his heart. Yue Ling was more than she seemed—she had always been more. And now, she too was beginning to awaken.
Liang Chen leaned back in his chair, his thoughts racing. The memories of his life as an immortal emperor were clear now, no longer fragmented whispers at the edges of his consciousness. He had lived a lifetime of unparalleled power, standing at the summit of the cultivation world. And yet, he had failed at the critical moment.
The thought burned in his chest, a reminder of his weakness.
He exhaled slowly, forcing his mind to calm. What mattered now was that he had been given another chance. The Dream Reincarnation System's promise replayed in his mind: in one year, it would return with a technique to form spiritual veins. This barren Earth would no longer be a cage, and he would walk the path of cultivation once more.
But this time, he wouldn't allow himself to fail. The pain of that tribulation, the shattering of his immortal world—he would carry it as a reminder of the cost of arrogance and imperfection.
"I'll reach that realm again," he muttered, his resolve hardening. "And this time, I'll succeed. No matter what."
Yue Ling let out a soft huff, her tail curling around his wrist as if to reassure him. Liang Chen gave her a small, tired smile. He had been granted another chance, and he wasn't about to waste it.