The moon hung low over Silverleaf City, casting a pale glow over the crumbling manor at the edge of town. Lin Xuan sat cross-legged on the floor of his room, his robes neat despite the disrepair surrounding him. His breathing was steady, the rhythm of a cultivator practicing meditation. Yet his thoughts were far from tranquil.
Before him hovered the faint, translucent projection of the Heavenly Dao System, its progress bar ticking ever so slowly toward completion.
[Heavenly Dao System Installation: 99.97% Complete…]
"Almost there," Lin Xuan murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. Despite his composure, his heart raced with anticipation. For over a month, he had been waiting for this mysterious system to activate. It had appeared within him the moment he awoke in this world, a strange entity that seemed both foreign and yet perfectly aligned with the laws of cultivation.
"Once this system is fully operational, I'll no longer have to live like this," he thought, clenching his fists. He looked around at the dilapidated room, the peeling walls, the cracked beams, the faint scent of mildew. He had endured humiliation, isolation, and poverty for too long. The system was his key to rising above it all.
Lady Hua, meanwhile, was still asleep in the adjacent room, her snores echoing faintly through the manor. Lin Xuan had cleaned up after her earlier, placing a bowl of rice porridge and some pickled vegetables on the table for when she woke. It was a mundane task, yet Lin Xuan found comfort in the routine.
"Master," Lin Xuan muttered under his breath, "you saved my life, but you've done little else for yourself. If this system truly grants me power, I'll drag you out of this pit of misery along with me."
The soft chime of the system interrupted his thoughts.
[Heavenly Dao System Installation: 100%. Activation Initiated.]
A surge of energy rippled through Lin Xuan's body as the projection flared to life, flooding his mind with a series of glowing characters. It was as though the laws of the world had momentarily bent around him, his very existence becoming attuned to something far greater than himself.
[Welcome to the Heavenly Dao System.]
[You have been selected as the system's sole administrator in this realm.]
[Functionality unlocked: Summoning Array.]
[Administrator Quest 1: Perform your first summoning and begin the test phase.]
[Reward: Access to basic system features.]
Lin Xuan's eyes widened as the words appeared before him.
"Summoning array?" he muttered. He had read about summoning in the ancient texts of cultivation, rituals that allowed one to call forth spirit beasts or even allies from distant realms. However, such techniques were typically reserved for Nascent Soul cultivators or higher, far beyond his current level.
Yet the system seemed confident. Lin Xuan took a deep breath, steadying himself.
"If the system believes I can do it, then I have no reason to doubt," he reasoned.
Following the instructions now etched into his mind, Lin Xuan drew a simple array on the floor using chalk infused with a trace of his spiritual energy. The lines glowed faintly in the moonlight, forming an intricate pattern of overlapping circles and symbols.
"Here goes nothing," Lin Xuan muttered, extending his hand toward the center of the array. He focused his spiritual energy, channeling it into the summoning formation. The air around him began to hum with power, the faint scent of ozone filling the room.
The array flared to life, its symbols glowing bright gold. A swirling vortex of light appeared above the array, growing larger with each passing second. Lin Xuan gritted his teeth, the strain of maintaining the summoning process taxing his meager reserves of spiritual qi.
Finally, with a brilliant flash, the summoning was complete. Two figures stood before him, their forms slowly solidifying from the shimmering vortex.
Lin Xuan blinked, his heart pounding as he took in the sight of the beings he had summoned. They were humanoid, yet strangely unfamiliar. Their clothes were odd, simple and unadorned, yet crafted from a material Lin Xuan couldn't identify. Both figures appeared bewildered, their gazes darting around the room.
The taller of the two was a young man with an athletic build, his short hair disheveled as though he had just rolled out of bed. The shorter one, a woman with sharp eyes and an air of mischief, was poking at the array on the floor with unabashed curiosity.
"Wow, this is insane!" the woman exclaimed, her voice carrying a strange accent. "The detail in this game is incredible! Look at the texture of these walls, it's like I'm really here!"
The man nodded, his expression filled with awe. "Yeah, this definitely feels like full-immersion VR. They weren't kidding about how realistic this is."
Lin Xuan froze. Their words made no sense to him, yet their meaning was clear, they didn't see this as reality. To them, this was some sort of illusion or… game?
Before Lin Xuan could speak, the woman turned to him, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Hey, are you an NPC?" she asked, grinning. "You look awesome! What's your quest for us? Is it a dungeon? A boss fight? Oh, please tell me it's something epic."
"NPC…?" Lin Xuan's lips twitched, his expression caught between confusion and disbelief. These beings clearly possessed intelligence, yet their perspective on this world was utterly foreign.
But Lin Xuan was no fool. His sharp mind quickly pieced together the situation. To these summoned beings, this was not a real world but a fabricated one. If he could maintain this illusion, he could turn their misunderstanding into a powerful advantage.
Clearing his throat, Lin Xuan stepped forward, his expression calm and authoritative.
"Welcome, Otherworldly heroes," he said, his voice carrying the weight of a seasoned cultivator. "You have been chosen to aid me in a great endeavor. This realm faces grave danger, and I require your assistance to restore balance to the Heavenly Dao."
The two figures exchanged glances, their faces lighting up with excitement.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" the woman exclaimed. "I'm Li Mei, by the way. And this is Shen Jun. We're ready for anything you throw at us!"
"Li Mei and Shen Jun," Lin Xuan repeated, committing their names to memory. "Very well. Your first task is to explore this manor. It is ancient and holds many secrets. Bring me anything of value you find."
Li Mei saluted playfully.
"Got it, boss!" she said before dashing off toward a nearby corridor. Shen Jun followed, his expression a mix of determination and curiosity.
As the two summoned beings began their exploration, Lin Xuan sat back, his mind racing. Though the situation was bizarre, one thing was clear: these beings, these "players," as they called themselves, were unlike anything this world had ever seen. If used wisely, they could become his greatest asset.
[Administrator Quest 1: First Summoning (Completed)]
[Reward: Access to basic system features unlocked.]
[New Quest: Train the summoned heroes in combat. Duration: 30 minutes.]