On a desolate, barren hill stood a dilapidated thatched hut.
A boy, merely sixteen, sat on a small wooden stool. Though dressed in rags, he bore the look of a young noble—his eyes bright as stars, nose straight, and features delicately handsome.
Before him lay an old man on the brink of death, skin clinging to bone, barely alive.
"Hey, old man, are you just going to die like that? No inheritance? Not even a single treasure left for me? I'm only at Body Refining Level One—practically a weakling!"
Ye Chen grasped the old man's shoulders, his expression one of utter exasperation.
It had been five years since he transmigrated into this fantastical world. He had wandered alone until meeting this beggar of an old man, who had taken him in. The two had since depended on each other for survival.
The old man always bragged about being a mighty cultivator, yet hadn't even lasted a few years before keeling over?
"Cough… I raised you with my own hands… and now that I'm dying, all you care about is inheritance? You ungrateful brat…"
The old man scolded weakly. His breath was faint—barely audible unless one pressed an ear to his lips.
Ye Chen exploded: "What nonsense! I never ate whatever weird things you claim you fed me!"
"You said you were a great cultivator! How can a great cultivator just die like this?!"
His voice trembled with suppressed emotion, tears welling up in his eyes. He was angry, not at the old man—but at the world, at fate, for taking him away too soon.
"You little rascal… our sect… I'm entrusting it to you… you must restore it to greatness…"
The old man's voice grew thinner, fainter.
Ye Chen sighed, "At least tell me what this lousy sect is called?"
All he had received from the old man was a basic body refining technique. Now he was supposed to revive a sect? On a nameless hill, with a thatched hut for headquarters?
The old man suddenly lifted his head in realization. "Ah! I… I forgot to name the sect!"
With that, his head lolled to the side. He was gone.
Ye Chen could only stare, dumbfounded.
So all these years, you never even gave the sect a name? And you still had the audacity to call yourself a founder? Where did you get that kind of confidence?!
After burying the old man with a heavy heart, Ye Chen sat in front of the basic cultivation scroll, utterly desolate.
In this vast world where peerless masters roamed, his measly Body Refining Level One wasn't even worth mentioning.
He had long since learned that this world was called the Desolate Immortal Realm, one of the famed Three Thousand Great Realms, home to countless cultivators.
This realm was divided into five great continents: the Eastern Victory, Western Paradise, Southern Expansion, Northern Darkness, and the Central Divine Province.
He currently resided in a territory of the Eastern Victory Continent—Cangtian Domain.
Though only one of the many domains in the East, it was said to be countless times larger than Blue Star, his home world. And there were eighteen such domains in the Eastern Victory Continent alone.
One could only imagine how vast the entire Desolate Immortal Realm truly was.
"One step at a time, I guess."
Ye Chen sighed. Why couldn't he have some heaven-defying physique? The kind that lets you break through with every breath?
He was ashamed of being such a mediocre transmigrator.
Just as he prepared to resume cultivating his meager body refining method, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Host has inherited the title of Sect Master. The Supreme Sect System has awakened and successfully bound to the host!]
"What?! I awakened a system?!"
Ye Chen jolted as every pore on his body opened in excitement.
[Newbie gift pack: One set of Great Ascension Realm cultivation. Claim now?]
Delight surged through him. He knew it! He wasn't some forgotten transmigrator after all—it was finally his time to shine!
Five years!
Five long years!
Did anyone truly know how he'd endured all this time?
But he quickly calmed down, analyzing the logic behind the system's activation.
"System, you said I awakened you because I inherited the title of Sect Master. What if I hadn't? Would you have just stayed silent forever?"
He asked, wary.
[System: In theory, yes.]
Ye Chen instantly exploded with rage: "You son of a—! So this was all up to chance?! What if I never inherited anything? Were you planning to let me rot in obscurity?!"
[System: Would you like to claim your Newbie Gift Pack?]
Ye Chen refused to let it go. He lashed out, "Claim? That little bit of reward is supposed to make up for five years of suffering? What about compensation? Mental anguish? Lost wages? Hormonal imbalance?!"
[System: Zzzz… system error… unable to fulfill host's demands…]
[Zzzz… evaluating damages due to flawed activation criteria…]
[Newbie Gift Pack upgraded!]
[Reward: Great Ascension Realm upgraded to… Immortal Emperor Realm! Claim now?]
Ye Chen's eyes went wide. Immortal Emperor? That was the pinnacle of all cultivation!
The path of cultivation:
Body Refining → Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Core Formation → Nascent Soul → Soul Transformation → Void Refinement → Unity → Great Ascension → Tribulation → True Immortal → Earth Immortal → Celestial Immortal → Profound Immortal → Immortal Lord → Immortal King → Immortal Emperor.
With such power, the entire Desolate Immortal Realm would be his playground. He could traverse the void, roam across all three thousand realms!
He could wipe out entire worlds with the flick of a wrist!
To leap from a bottom-tier cultivator to the very peak… he could hardly believe it.
Just as he was basking in this fantasy, the system—seeing that he still hadn't claimed the reward—added another surprise.
[Host appears dissatisfied with the upgraded reward. Additional compensation: Boundless Immortal Bell acquired. Claim now?]
Gulp.
Ye Chen swallowed hard. Good thing he hadn't accepted too soon—he would've missed out on this bonus! This system… it only gave in after being scolded? How shameless!
He deliberately waited a few more minutes, hoping for yet another reward. But when none came, he finally raised his hand with a cold snort.
"Hmph. Count yourself lucky. I, your master, shall reluctantly accept!"
The moment he did, an overwhelming, boundless power descended upon him. It was a force beyond mortal comprehension—an authority that symbolized the apex of existence in the Desolate Immortal Realm.
Above the skies, laws of the universe took form, and countless divine phenomena erupted.
A golden lotus bloomed atop a sea of bitterness; celestial kings descended from the Ninth Heaven; a moon rose from the ocean; the diagram of Yin and Yang rotated in silence; three thousand gods and demons knelt in unison; purple energy surged across ninety thousand miles…
The entire sky above Cangtian Domain was engulfed in these divine visions—an awe-inspiring spectacle witnessed by all its inhabitants.