The cold mist curled through the ancient courtyard of the Zhuo estate, drifting like restless spirits beneath moonlight. Amid the silent marble halls, a faint hum resonated—barely perceptible, as if a thousand distant gears had begun to turn.
A translucent window flickered into existence before the wide-eyed servant boy kneeling on the stone floor:
［SYSTEM ONLINE］
Welcome, Player.
Current Host: "Zhuo Fan," Family Servant, Age 8.
Level: 0｜EXP: 0/100
Quests Available: 1
⇢ Tutorial Mission: "Learn to Swallow Spiritual Power" (Reward: 50 EXP)
Toggle EXP Modifiers?
→ Double EXP Card: Unused
→ Tenfold EXP Card: Unused
The boy's lips parted in awe. A glowing numeral "0" hovered above his head, blinking like a distant star. He glanced down at his frail form—ragged clothes, thin arms, and eyes too old for his child's face. Something deep within him stirred, a memory too potent to be mere imagination.
――― "It was betrayal at the pinnacle," a voice echoed, rough as desert wind. "My students—my children—struck me down for the Book of Nine Secrets. They left my soul drifting in oblivion…"
Fragments of crimson battlefields flashed behind the system window: an emperor's robe scorched with demonfire, countless disciples converging with blades of heavenly light, the crack of shattering spells. He remembered agony, betrayal, and the final breath of the Magic Emperor Zhuo Yifan—now buried beneath layers of time.
But death was nothing against this new beginning.
With trembling fingers, Zhuo Fan reached out and tapped the "Accept" prompt.Quest "Learn to Swallow Spiritual Power" started.
Objective: Absorb 10 Units of Ambient Qi.
A surge of energy—cold and razor-sharp—coursed from the courtyard's ancient jade pillars straight into his trembling palms. His vision blurred as he gulped down the invisible lifeblood of the earth, each gulp feeding a hunger born not of a servant's soul but of a demon emperor's legacy.
――― Level Up!
Level: 1｜EXP: 100/100 → 0/200
Skill Unlocked: "Soul Remnant" (Passive)
Pain and power exploded in tandem. Memories flooded back: the Book of Nine Secrets, its vellum pages etched in runes older than the continent; the thunderous roar of conquest; the taste of ultimate magic. And then—the curse. A binding seal of demonic magic weaving itself into the boy's nascent soul, stifling the emperor's full might and chaining him to a life of servitude.
"How…? Why here?" Zhuo Fan gasped, collapsing to one knee. The system window shimmered, obscuring the moonlit garden.
Alert: Host's True Identity Detected.
Reincarnated Soul: "Zhuo Yifan," Title: Former Magic Emperor.
Conflict: Soul Remnant (Level 1) vs. Host Suppression Seal (Level 1).
Balance: 50/50.
Hint: Complete "Family Accord" Quests to weaken Seal.
A chill amused him. So even this Cosmic Mechanism, which granted power beyond imagination, mourned the cryptic bonds that still held him back. The same bonds that forced him to bow to his mistress, Lady Zhuo Qin, and tend to chores far beneath his former station.
Yet the system had promised limitless growth:
> *"No genius family scion, no empire emperor, no legendary talent—face the Crazy Leveling System and be trampled beneath its glory!"*
The words pulsed in his mind. He had once ruled continents; he had once bent the laws of magic to his will. Now, constrained by a child's frail body and bound to a clan on the brink of ruin, he would ascend again. Twice the speed, ten times the might, bursts of EXP, forge weapons, concoct pills, conquer monsters—he would devour every ounce of power until he eclipsed even the greatest prodigies.
A faint footstep echoed behind him. Lady Zhuo Qin, the family's eldest daughter, paused at the garden's threshold. "Zhuo Fan," she said softly, "the master awaits your report on the northern granary. Hurry now."
Her voice carried a subtle warmth—something he did not deserve. Memories of cold corridors and whispered insults flickered. Yet behind those gentle eyes lay the weight of a family's downfall: lands seized by rival clans, debts that starved the peasants, the Zhuo name on the verge of becoming nothing more than a legend.
He bowed his head. "Yes, my lady."
As he rose, the system window closed with a soft chime. The moon shone brighter, as if illuminating a path only he could walk. He clenched his fists, feeling the latent power coiling beneath his skin.
Tonight marked more than a servant's first mission—it was the birth of a new era. The ancient emperor's soul whispered promises of vengeance and conquest. The Crazy Leveling System beckoned with infinite growth. And the Zhuo family, descending into disgrace, would soon arise to claim the continent's throne once more.
With that thought, Zhuo Fan took his first steps toward destiny—unaware that every action, every EXP point gained, would inch him closer to transcending the Great Dao itself.
―――
**Quest Log Updated:**
① Learn to Swallow Spiritual Power (Complete)
② Family Accord: "Mend Relations with Zhuo Qin" (In Progress)
③ Hidden Quest Unlocks at Level 10
―――
And thus, under a sky silent with anticipation, the merged fates of a fallen Magic Emperor and a humble servant boy began to unfold.