Li Yao died, as most modern humans do, in a profoundly undignified way.
He wasn't fighting a demonic beast or defending his sect from a heavenly tribulation. He was simply crossing the street, his eyes glued to his phone, reading the latest chapter of a cultivation novel called "Venerable Sovereign of the Nine Heavens." He was so engrossed in the protagonist's earth-shattering breakthrough that he failed to notice the earth-shattering reality of a delivery truck.
The last thing he saw wasn't a tunnel of light or his life flashing before his eyes. It was a single line of text on his screen: "Young Master Feng, with a heaven-defying will, endured the pain of his bones being shattered and remade, finally condensing his Golden Core!"
So cool, was his final, pathetic thought.
Then, nothing.
And then… something.
Awareness returned not to a body, but to a formless consciousness adrift in a sea of chaotic colors and whispers of ancient power. A voice, devoid of emotion and yet echoing with the weight of countless epochs, spoke directly into his soul.
"Candidate from a world without Qi, your spirit possesses a unique… flexibility. You have been selected for the Eternal Ascension Path."
Is this the underworld? System? What's going on? Li Yao's thoughts were a frantic jumble.
"The Path is not a gift. It is a trial. A methodology. A map of the impossible. I am the System, your guide and chronicler. I will not grant you power. I will not bestow treasures. I will illuminate the Way. The effort, the suffering, the comprehension… that is yours alone to endure."
A vast, intricate diagram seared itself into Li Yao's consciousness. It was a pyramid of realms so immense it defied comprehension. He saw the Energy Path with its 9 realms and 36 sub-realms, each a mountain to be climbed. He glimpsed the Law Path, where one commanded the fabric of reality, and the World Path, where one became a creator of universes. And finally, the dizzying heights of the Faith Path, where one became a god sustained by belief itself.
It was terrifying. It was magnificent.
"Your journey begins at the beginning. The first step is the hardest. Do not disappoint the void."
Before he could even form a question, a tremendous force pulled at his consciousness. He was flung through layers of reality, the diagram of the Eternal Ascension Path burning like a brand in his mind.
He landed.
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