"What… happened?" I whispered to myself.
Slowly, I opened my eyes. A bright light shone above me. I raised my hands to block it, but then realized it was sunlight.
"How am I here? Where are the elder and the soldier?" I thought. Then I remembered, I saw my master… and then nothing.
"Master…" I called several times, but there was no answer. Still, I remembered my master saving me. Even though he didn't reply, I whispered, "Thank you, Master."
I sat up. I was on a wide, open ground with no trees in sight.
"What about the boy and his grandfather?" I thought. "They deserve a proper funeral. I need to go back to Pine Valley."
"Don't. Don't you dare," master's voice. "If you go back, you'll be killed. Luckily the High Elder wasn't there that day, or even I couldn't have saved you."
"But Master… what about them?" I asked.
"Grow stronger," my master replied. "Then you can give them a proper burial. If you go now, you'll just end up buried with them."
I remembered the boy's face, calling me "big brother," and how I couldn't save them.
"What a waste… what a waste I am," I muttered crying to myself.
"Don't think too much," my master said.
"What's gone is gone. You can't bring them back, no matter how much you think about it. Train yourself harder, and hope that if you ever meet someone you care about in the future, you'll be strong enough to save them then."
What the master said was true. But it's easy to say "let go." It's much harder to forget someone you cared about especially when you couldn't even give them a proper burial.
"Master, how come I'm here? I thought you can't do anything without a body!" I said.
The master smiled, "I used my energy. If I didn't, you'd be here breathing."
I scratched my head, "But Master, how can you use energy without a solid body?"
The master chuckled, "You silly boy! Energy is the reason I'm still hanging around. But if I use too much, I will disappear from this world."
I grinned, "So, if you had more energy, could you send me back home?"
The master wagged his finger, "Nope, it doesn't work like that."
"Then how does it work?" I asked, a bit frustrated.
The master sighed, "You talk too much. Just train hard, and one day you'll figure it out."
"Wait… what was that power? Can I bring it back now? Do I really have some special ability?
"Sword," I whispered, but nothing appeared. Again I called, "Come, sword," but my hands were still empty.
I remember my wounds regenerating themselves. Excited, I looked for a stone, picked up a sharp one, and cut my hand. But why wasn't it healing? Damn... why did I do that? I tore some cloth and wrapped it around my hand.
To unlock that power, how does it work? What did I do back then? I remember I was angrier maybe that's how it works
I forced myself to remember everyone who had died, which made me sad and angry as I thought about revenge. Then I focused on the sword again. Slowly, I opened my eyes to nothing. My hands were still empty. I looked around, hoping it had fallen nearby, but there was nothing.
Maybe that power was only given by God for a short time, I thought,
"Damn stone," I muttered. It appeared like some system and then disappeared. I kept cursing at it, "Stone... system, no help at all."
"What… what is that?" I asked myself.
Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of me.
[Host Information]
Host: Xie Zhong
Cultivation: Qi Condensation (Last Stage)
Martial Arts: None
Spirit Roots: Divine
Special Skill: Unknown
"Master… Master, can you see this?" I whispered. Then louder, "Master, can you see this?"
"Yes," the master replied. "I see a beautiful, vast ground without a single tree."
"No, Master, I mean this screen!" I pointed at it.
"What screen? There's nothing there," Master said.
"Ohhhhh… so only I can see it."
What did I say to make it appear? Now it was blocking my view. How do I get rid of it?
I waved my hand. Still there. "Go away," I muttered. Still there. Should I say "system close?" Still there.
In a doubtful tone, I tried, "Stone system close." The screen disappeared.
I laughed in disbelief. Again, I said "Stone system," and it appeared.
I thought, How can it say I have no martial arts? I defeated the Pine Valley army and even an early-stage Skystep Swordmaster! And how do I have divine roots? This system must be glitched or corrupted.
"Stone system close," I said again, and it vanished.
What is happening to me? First, I was sent to another world full of cultivators, and now this system… What am I really? A cultivator? A system user? Or something else entirely?"
Something inside me still felt unsatisfied. "Stone system," I said again. The screen reappeared but the same information about me was still there.
Looking closer, I noticed a button labeled [Store].
"Wow… there's even a store!" I muttered. "Let's see what's inside." I tapped the button.
And there it was, the sword I had used back in Pine Valley. But how could I take it out? I reached my hand toward the screen. I could actually feel the sword lying there on the screen. I grabbed it and pulled, and suddenly it was in my hand. This sword…it's different, I muttered myself.
But how did I even manage to use it back in Pine Valley? I hadn't seen anything, I hadn't done anything, yet it appeared in my hand without effort. Now my head was spinning, confusion flooding my thoughts. How? Why?
I hadn't even figured out how I ended up in this world, and now a whole new mystery had appeared. "Great," I muttered to myself, half teasing. "Another headache. Maybe I need a therapist now…"
If this screen is real, then all the information about me might also be true. But how can I have divine roots? I'm from Earth. Did Jesus come in another body and marry my mom, like some Percy Jackson half-blood story? No, that's just a myth… or maybe it's not me, but this body that has divine roots or a powerful bloodline.
Still, how do I even explain my situation?
"Anyway, I guess having divine roots is a good thing, even if I don't understand how. And I have a master to teach me cultivation, plus the sword from the Stone System to protect myself. And I also have the ability to see in slow motion."
Alright then… "let's see what else is inside this Stone System."