Chapter 1 : The System Arrived Late, and Even Bound the Wrong Person
Chapter 1: The System Arrived Late, and Even Bound the Wrong Person
It had been nearly eighteen years since he transmigrated into this world, and five years since he entered this sect.
Just yesterday, Long Tao had finally endured his way up from a menial disciple to an outer sect disciple, so he was rather excited.
Over all these years, he had encountered no fortuitous opportunities, no System golden finger, no senior expert imparting cultivation, and he had even practiced the lowest-grade Qi-Guiding Art with constant difficulty.
To this day, he was still hovering at the Qi-Refining Fifth Layer.
“Sure enough, transmigrators aren’t necessarily protagonists……”
He had once fantasized that perhaps he was the reincarnation of some great power, or that he possessed a peerless spiritual treasure that had yet to awaken.
But reality quickly slapped him in the face.
He was just an ordinary person.
The only thing slightly better than most ordinary people was that his parents in this world had considerable assets, and had forcibly relied on money and old connections to get him into the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect, a top-tier major sect.
Actually, he was quite satisfied with the current situation.
One had to know...
an outer sect disciple of a major sect already possessed considerable status in the mortal world.
Though he would not be treated as an honored guest by ordinary families, no one would dare to slight him lightly.
He had even already made plans for his life in this world.
In the future, he would slowly endure his way to Foundation Establishment, then apply to the sect for an external posting, return to his hometown, find a small family close to home and serve as an elder or guest elder.
After saving up enough, he would find a pretty Qi Refining–stage girl and spend his life with her.
It could be called perfect.
Just as he had changed into the newly issued outer sect disciple attire and was preparing to head to the Scripture Pavilion to take a look, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
“Favored by the destiny of the cosmos, Child of Destiny selected.
Compatible Host detected.
Destiny Luck Auxiliary System bound.”
That voice was vast and solemn, as if it had descended from the Nine Heavens, carrying an unquestionable, almost law-like pressure of fate, and abruptly pierced into his sea of consciousness.
Long Tao’s body stiffened violently, and the step he was about to take froze in midair.
Auditory hallucination?
No......
This voice was far too clear and real.
It was absolutely not imagination.
Could it be that five years of bitter cultivation had finally produced a heart demon? Impossible.
A trash Qi Refining cultivator like himself wasn’t even worth a heart demon’s attention.
His heart tightened sharply as he subconsciously glanced around.
He confirmed that the voice did not come from outside, but sounded directly within his mind.
Could it really be...
a System?!
Or to put it another way...
a golden finger! A cheat!?
An immense sense of absurdity and ecstasy, like ice and fire colliding, crashed violently within his heart.
His fingertips trembled uncontrollably, and he almost suspected that he was trapped in some long dream and had yet to wake.
It had finally come!!
Could he really be the protagonist?!!
Five years! A full five years! Just as he had been preparing to honestly save money and return home to marry a girl and live a small life, he had finally waited for his cheat!!!
Beautiful master, sect saintess, imperial princess—wash yourselves clean and wait for me!!
“I knew it! How could a transmigrator be an ordinary person!” Long Tao was so excited that his words came out jumbled.
“System! You’re the System, right? Quick! Tell me—do I have some hidden spiritual root? Or am I the reincarnation of some great power? Or do I have a special constitution?”
The System did not reply immediately.
Whether it had been startled or something else, it remained silent for quite a while.
And in that brief silence, Long Tao had already chosen candidates for his future beautiful master—would it be the charming and alluring True Person Mingzhu, or the cold and aloof True Person Zhiying?
“Detecting Host aptitude......”
“Comprehension: ordinary.”
“Spiritual root attributes: mixed spiritual roots, complete five elements, low grade.”
“Physique: none special.”
What the hell!
Long Tao looked at the strange panel before him, thinking that this System had to have made some kind of mistake.
“So I don’t have any advantages at all? You’ve got it wrong, right.”
He was clearly unwilling to give up.
“The System does indeed have an error.”
That solemn and grand voice sounded again, admitting the mistake in a tone like announcing the end of the world.
It felt extremely out of place.
But Long Tao didn’t care about that.
Since an error had been detected, he relaxed a little and asked again,
“Then what is my true aptitude?”
“Please do not misunderstand, Host. The aptitude detection is correct. The System error lies in...... binding the wrong target. This System’s designated Host was Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect disciple Nan Yuchen, the Child of Destiny of this generation.”
“......???”
Nan Yuchen!
That name instantly made Long Tao’s face collapse.
That guy who had stunned everyone at the disciple recruitment ceremony two and a half years ago—a menial who had accompanied his young lady to participate, yet had been detected with a Heaven-grade spiritual root unseen in a hundred years.
The scene of three Golden Core True Persons scrambling to take him as a disciple was still a topic of after-meal conversation within the sect.
Now, he was the sole personally transmitted male disciple under the great beauty True Person Mingzhu, enjoying boundless favor.
Having entered the sect for just over two years, he had already successfully established his foundation.
And then looking at himself... five years, and only Qi-Refining Fifth Layer.
Back then, he had already felt that the gap between people could sometimes be even greater than that between people and dogs.
And today... this System that had bound the wrong person personally told him that the other party truly was a Child of Destiny.
The difference in status between himself and that person—using people and dogs to describe it would be an insult to the dog.
“Then what benefits does your System give me? Some kind of shop, exchanges, that sort of thing.”
“Functions are complete, but all are exclusive to the Child of Destiny. Host Destiny Luck value insufficient. Permissions not unlocked.”
Long Tao’s mood was like riding a roller coaster that had derailed—not slowly coming to a stop, but directly crashing into the bottom of a cliff.
This could no longer be described as mere disappointment.
But he lacked both the courage and the mood to argue with this mysterious System.
Suppressing his anger, he took several deep breaths before barely calming himself and said,
“Since you bound the wrong person, hurry up and leave. Go to your Child of Destiny or whatever. Don’t stay here getting in my way!”
“Locked. Unable to unbind.”
“......What do you mean?”
“Please rest assured, Host. Although you have no authority to use the System Shop Exchange rewards, the System will still open task-location sign-in and guidance for you.”
“Rest assured my ass?! Didn’t you say you bound the wrong person?!”
The System ignored his furious outburst, and unfolded the task panel on its own.
【Please have the Host go to ‘Windless Cliff’ to sign in before midnight tonight, and ensure that the Child of Destiny Nan Yuchen obtains the ‘Nine-Leaf Ganoderma’.】
【Task Reward: none】
【Failure Penalty: Soul Lamp value reduced by 20 points.】
Long Tao couldn’t believe his eyes.
Go to Windless Cliff? That hellhole was guarded by demon beasts.
Even Foundation Establishment disciples generally wouldn’t enter it casually.
Sending a Qi-Refining Fifth Layer cultivator like him there was asking him to die!
And what did it mean to ensure that Nan Yuchen obtained the Nine-Leaf Ganoderma? So he would work his ass off running over there just to sign in, get no benefits at all, and still have to leave the item to the Child of Destiny?
And there was no task reward, but there was a failure penalty—what kind of nonsense was that!
Very soon, a number appeared on the panel, with a cluster of deep, shadowy dark flames beside it.
He immediately recognized it as the fire of the Soul Lamp, and the number next to it was 15.
After thinking for just a few seconds, he almost spat blood.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this 15 was his so-called Soul Lamp value.
That meant the 20-point failure penalty would imply......
“So if I don’t go, I’ll just die directly, right?!”
“Yes. Therefore, please work hard, Host. The initial task difficulty is not high. Any Foundation Establishment–stage disciple may apply to go to Windless Cliff for trial. The strongest guarding demon beast is only at Foundation Establishment Third Layer. With the Destiny Luck and strength of the Child of Destiny, it can be easily completed.”
“I’ll go fuck your mother! Didn’t you say you bound the wrong person?! I’m not some Child of Destiny! I’m only Qi-Refining Fifth Layer! I don’t even qualify to go to Windless Cliff! Hey! I’m telling you, hurry up and leave my body and go to the real Child of Destiny!”
As he shouted this, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
This so-called System hadn’t actually displayed any might up to now.
It hadn’t given him any benefits at all, not even a shop or anything.
Aside from talking in his head and presenting a panel, it had shown no power whatsoever.
Why was he so afraid of it? What if it was a scam?
However, just as he thought this, the value 15 representing the Soul Lamp attribute on the panel began to slowly decrease, bit by bit.
When the value dropped to 9, Long Tao suddenly felt an intense chill sweep through his entire body.
His legs went weak and he dropped straight to his knees.
When it dropped to 6, his consciousness had already begun to blur, his face turning dark, looking as if his oil was exhausted and his lamp was dry.
“I... I understand. I’ll go complete that sign-in task. Don’t... don’t really kill me......”
After instantly surrendering, the Soul Lamp value returned to 15.
That bone-chilling cold sensation receded like a tide.
Long Tao collapsed onto the ground, the clothes on his back already soaked through with cold sweat.
This truly scared him.
Whether it was real or fake, at the very least, this System possessed the ability to kill him, and it could not be casually defied.
......
After several long, deep breaths, Long Tao more or less sorted out his absurd predicament.
Under normal circumstances, this System should have directly bound to that dog-fucking Child of Destiny Nan Yuchen, then periodically issued tasks, going to designated locations to sign in, incidentally obtaining fortuitous opportunities and treasures.
And relying on the Child of Destiny’s Destiny Luck, he would definitely complete the tasks without danger, obtain treasures, unlock the System Shop, exchange all kinds of heaven-defying techniques and pills, and enjoy a smooth, wish-fulfillment ride all the way to becoming a great power.
But now something had gone wrong.
The System got stuck on him, this unlucky bastard.
Stubborn as a mule, it refused to unbind no matter what.
That would be one thing, but it insisted on continuing the process anyway.
Fine, continue it—but all the benefits, including the shop and such, couldn’t be opened at all because he wasn’t the Child of Destiny.
Thus, the situation became:
1.
He had to go to the plot locations to sign in on behalf of the Child of Destiny.
2.
After signing in, those fortuitous opportunity rewards couldn’t be taken by himself; he had to ensure they were delivered to Nan Yuchen.
3.
He worked for free the entire time, and if he failed, he would die.
This couldn’t even be called bullying an honest person.
It was bullying you, then cutting open your stomach to take a look, afraid that you might have eaten too well before dying.