Chapter 2 – The First Breath of Eternity
I spent the first three days hiding inside the bamboo hut, trying to understand what kind of "system" I had just gotten.
Unlike the usual cheat systems from novels, mine didn't have flashy menus or daily quests.
It didn't hand me spirit stones or divine weapons.
It just gave me… stillness.
> [Technique: Breath of Stillness (Mortal Grade)]
Description: Slow down your breath until it merges with heaven and earth.
Each breath refined adds one trace of spiritual harmony.
That was it.
No explosion of energy.
No lightning tribulation.
Just quiet breathing.
I sighed. "So… basically meditation."
Still, I sat down cross-legged and began to practice.
At first, nothing happened.
The air was cold. My legs went numb. My stomach growled.
But after a few hours, I felt something like a thread of warmth rising through my spine. It was faint, but real.
The system chimed.
> [You have taken your first Breath of Stillness.]
[Comprehension +1]
[Longevity +1 year.]
My eyes widened.
"One breath… added a year of life?"
Suddenly, I wasn't complaining anymore.
I kept going slowly, steadily, quietly.
Days passed. Then weeks. Then months.
I didn't notice how time moved, but when I looked outside again, spring had turned to winter.
Snow blanketed the mountains. The sect had forgotten I even existed.
That's when the system spoke again.
> [You have cultivated in seclusion for one year.]
[Reward: Minor Spiritual Root awakened "Root of Serenity."]
[Hidden attribute unlocked: Dao of Patience.]
I could feel it the world's energy responding to me, wrapping around me like a gentle mist.
I could finally sense spiritual qi. It was faint, but it flowed into me naturally, without effort.
While others were out risking their lives for tiny gains, I was sitting in silence growing stronger by simply existing.
I smirked.
"I think I'm starting to understand Han Jue's mindset. Why fight for scraps when eternity is free if you just wait?"
That night, as moonlight filtered through the bamboo roof, I made a decision.
No matter what happened in the world outside wars, sect rivalries, demon invasions I would never leave this mountain.
I would hide, cultivate, and live long enough to see the rise and fall of empires.
The system responded as if it heard my resolve.
> [New Hidden Quest: "Live 1,000 Years Without Being Noticed."]
Reward: ???
Warning: Every decade of survival increases cosmic interest. Prepare accordingly.
A thousand years...
I smiled.
"Challenge accepted."