Rylan's eyes snapped open. The world was still blurry, but the biting cold of the alley rain was gone. Instead, a dull ache throbbed through his head, and his body felt... different. Not the familiar weakness, not the agonizing pain of the cultivation crystal, but a heavy, almost unfamiliar sensation, like waking from a very long, deep sleep.
He was no longer in the alley. He lay on a crude, straw mat in a small, dilapidated room. The air was stale, smelling faintly of damp earth and something acrid, like cheap incense. Moonlight filtered through a single, grimy window, casting long shadows across the uneven floor.
He pushed himself up, wincing as his muscles protested. His hands, though thin, felt stronger, his movements less clumsy than he remembered. He looked down at himself. His clothes were ragged, but beneath them, his skin was no longer pale and sickly. A faint, almost imperceptible warmth hummed just beneath his skin, a sensation utterly new to him.
"This body..." he whispered, his voice hoarse. It wasn't quite his old body, but it was his. He felt a profound sense of connection to it, a strange blend of familiarity and novelty. He quickly realized the gaping wound from the cultivation crystal was gone, replaced by smooth, unblemished skin.
As he stood, the blue screen from the void flickered back into his vision, overlaid on his surroundings.
[Name: Rylan Sterling][Cultivation Level: Mortal][Harem: 0/1][Power Level: Pathetic]
The word "Pathetic" still stung, but now, it also spurred him. He was alive. He had a system. He had a path.
He began to examine the room. It was bare save for the straw mat, a chipped ceramic pot in one corner, and a rickety wooden stool. On the stool lay a single, tattered scroll. He picked it up. It felt rough, ancient.
He unrolled it carefully. The characters were faded, but as he focused, the Harem System's voice echoed in his mind, translating the archaic script.
[Basic Cultivation Manual: The Art of Veiled Desire. (Entry Level)]
The Art of Veiled Desire? Rylan felt a flicker of intrigue mixed with a grim amusement. Of course. His path to power literally began with desire. The manual described rudimentary breathing techniques and visualizations, methods to gather the faint ambient spiritual energy of the world and guide it through the body's meridians. What was unique was the emphasis on sensory focus and emotional arousal as catalysts for energy absorption.
As he read, he felt the faint warmth within him intensify. It was as if the System was priming him, making him receptive.
He sat back on the mat, crossing his legs as the manual instructed, and closed his eyes. He focused on his breath, drawing in the air, imagining it carrying faint wisps of energy. He tried to recall the warmth he had felt when the System bonded with him, that surge of life.
Minutes turned into what felt like hours. He felt the tiniest trickle of energy, like cool water, flowing into his Dantian—the energy core located just below the navel. It was infinitesimally small, barely perceptible, but it was there. And it was his.
[Ding! Host has successfully performed first cultivation cycle!][Cultivation Level: Mortal (Initialized)]
A faint, almost mocking sense of progress. But it was progress nonetheless. The system flickered, displaying a new, brief message.
[Hint: The fastest path to power requires a partner. Your first conquest awaits.]
Rylan opened his eyes. A partner. The rules were clear: Every woman he conquers fuels his rise.
He stood up, feeling a renewed surge of determination. He wasn't sure where he was, or who he was in this new life, but one thing was certain: he was no longer the weak, mocked virgin. The Lustful Emperor was a title he had to earn, and the path began now.
He walked to the rickety door and pushed it open, peering out into the moonlit night. He needed to find his first conquest. And he needed to learn. Learn about this world, about his new abilities, and about the true potential of the Harem System. The humiliation and betrayal were fresh wounds, but they were also a burning fuel, pushing him forward into a future forged by desire and ambition.
End of chapter 2