THE SYSTEM IS NOT MINE

Several hours passed.

The sun shifted slowly across the yard and the shadows from the wooden wall crept toward the shallow pit where Yan remained buried.

Only his head remained above the soil.

The ground pressed tightly against his body.

Yan’s eyes were closed.

His breathing had slowed into a steady rhythm as he focused on the sensation beneath him.

Tiny movements.

Pressure spreading through loose grains.

He followed each subtle change carefully.

Then the smell arrived.

Yan’s nose twitched slightly.

Footsteps approached. Then Tan Suzi walked slowly across the yard, a chicken leg in her hand, She bit into it loudly.

The sound of tearing meat was unmistakable.

Crunch.

She walked directly in front of Yan, chewing thoughtfully.

“Mm.”

She spoke while chewing.

“This is good.”

Yan did not open his eyes but She continued and stopped beside the pit.

The smell of the chicken drifted downward towards Yan's nose making it twitch.

Tan Suzi took another bite, the sound reached his ears as well.

Juice ran along her fingers.

Crunch.

Another sound reached him.

Yan’s stomach responded immediately but still he kept his eyes closed.

Tan Suzi looked crouched in front of him“Hungry?”, Yan kept his eyes closed.

Tan Suzi then stood up, and said “Suit yourself.”

She finished the chicken leg slowly.

When only the bone remained, she tossed it aside and wiped her fingers on a cloth.

Then she spoke again.

“That mysterious general who bought the green liquid…”

Yan finally opened his eyes and looked at her.

Tan Suzi leaned casually against the wall, “It might be harder to reach him than we thought.”

Yan remained silent.

“You failed the recruitment test today,” she continued.

“And I have the literary examination next year.”

She folded her arms.

“Also, Noble Han Defu will probably recruit again by then.”

Yan’s gaze returned to the ground before him.

Tan Suzi sighed.

“So we wait and you will try for it again while I try for the exam".

“Don’t worry about earning silver,” she added.

“We still have enough.”

She pushed herself away from the wall.

“And enjoy your burial, and die like that if possible"

She turned and walked toward the house.

Yan stared at her and thought it was over but a moment later she returned with another chicken leg piece in her hands.

She tore off a new piece and took a bite while walking past him again.

Crunch.

Yan got annoyed but closed his eyes once more.

Another month passed.

Yan remained buried.

Only his head remained above the ground.

The soil pressed tightly around his body. Packed earth filled every space between his limbs and ribs. Even breathing felt heavier beneath the weight.

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Tan Suzi had not expected him to last this long.

His face had grown thinner, the jaw sharper and

The skin beneath his eyes was slightly hollow.

One afternoon, Yan opened his eyes, and he looked around.

“My body is weak,” he said quietly.

Tan Suzi who sat nearby beneath the shade while reading a book looked at him.

“That is obvious,” she said.

“I need to cultivate the body.” Yan said.

That made her pause.

She closed the book slowly.

“You’re already training the Ground Letter like a madman,” she said.

“And now you want body cultivation as well?”

Yan did not respond.

“How is it done?” he asked.

Tan Suzi let out a small breath.

“I will make an exception and explain to you this time"

"Normally, qi flows through the spiritual line and gathers in the soul.”

Yan nodded slightly.

“But if you want to strengthen the body,” she continued, “you interrupt the process.”

""Interrupt? Like when you interrupted my training with that chicken?"" Yan said.

She stared at him.

“Just listen, else I will stop here." She glared.

Before the soul stores the qi,”

“you redirect it.”

“Into the body.”

Yan remained silent.

“How do I reverse it?” he asked.

Tan Suzi lifted it slightly.

“You have to read the cultivation pattern in reverse.”

Yan frowned faintly.

“Reverse?”

“The letters remain the same,” she said.

“But the direction of flow changes.”

Yan understood.

“The qi strengthens flesh instead of leaving it.”

“Yes.”

She studied him for a moment.

“Almost no one does this.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a hard path.”

She paused briefly.

“Normally, when a cultivator breaks through, the body improves along with it. But at the Foundation Realm, that improvement is limited.”

Yan remained still.

“A peak Foundation cultivator… at best, reaches the equivalent of the fourth layer of body tempering.”

“A major realm breakthrough changes that. The body leaps forward.”

Her gaze settled on him.

“But cultivating the body separately… has its own advantages.”

Yan did not react.

She continued.

“Every time qi enters the muscles… they tear.”

“Then rebuild.”

“Then tear again.”

Silence settled in the yard.

Yan closed his eyes.

“I understand.”

Tan Suzi shook her head.

“No,” she said quietly.

“You don’t.”

But Yan had already begun. Qi gathered faintly around him and the spiritual line stirred.

Energy flowed inward and towards the soul.

But before the soul absorbed it, Yan redirected the current.

Into muscle.

Into bone.

Pain erupted instantly.

His fingers tightened in the dirt.

The muscles along his chest felt as if they were splitting apart.

The soil around him trembled slightly.

Tan Suzi watched carefully.

After a few seconds, Yan's face lost its color, "Pull me out" Yan said in a weak voice.

When he came out, he was covered with dirt and blood all over his body,

“See, you can't do it either.” Tan Suzi mocked and pulled Yan out.

Yan shook his head.

The pain slowly faded.

About a few minutes later, Yan jumped "Bury me again", Yan said.

"Mm..just give up "

"Bury me" Yan said.

"As you wish, die in the pit" Tan Suzi said as she poured the rough sand back into the pit.

Yan redirected the qi again, pain erupted, his face turned pale..but he did not stop.

The muscles tore and then rebuilt.

Stronger.

Denser.

Then after sometime he stopped and exhaled.

Yan smiled and resumed..

Sometimes he halted the process and sometimes he continued with his will.

The Next day arrived.

"Yan"

"Yan"

"Yan"

He heard a voice, "A weird bird" Yan said with his half open eyes.

"Snap out of it" Then he saw the bird raise its feather and hit him..

Yan opened his eyes completely.

"A talking bird?" He said while looking at Tan Suzi.

"You are the bird, your family is the bird" Tan Suzi released his collar from her arms and pushed his head away.

Yan came back to senses, he was still buried.

Then took a deep breath.

"Did I pass out? "

"Yes"

"Here, eat food at least, don't die in the pit too soon"

"You have to join the military" Tan Suzi stuffed his mouth with a chicken leg that she grabbed from the plate that rested not too far.

Months passed.

Yan remained buried.

Day after day.

The soil pressed constantly against his skin and as wells his body tore and rebuilt many times.

Every tiny movement of the earth reached him clearly.

Every vibration.

Every shift.

Every grain.

Every three days, Tan Suzi dug him out and he bathed.

The water washed away dirt and sweat.

Sometimes faint traces of blood followed.

His breathing had grown unevenly.

After eating, he returned to the pit.

She buried him again, Tan Suzi asked him to stop it, but Yan persisted.

Slowly, his body changed.

The muscles beneath his thin frame became dense.

The bones hardened.

And the soil accepted.