After completing the admission registration, An Lin arrived at the residence assigned to him.
This time, he was genuinely stunned once again.
Worthy of being the No.1 Immortal Academy of the Nine Provinces—the benefits were insane. Every new student was actually given a two-story standalone house!
The little house was made of wood, fully furnished inside.
Of course, things like computers, TVs, air-conditioners, or washing machines were out of the question. Most of the furniture consisted of simple wooden pieces.
But An Lin felt this was perfectly in line with the immortal-cultivation world he used to read about back on Earth.
Even without any modern appliances, starting school with his own personal villa still made him feel incredibly satisfied.
The dorms were arranged by class, and Xu Xiaolan's house happened to be right next to An Lin's.
As the saying goes: "Close to water, you get the moon first."An Lin knew this and secretly celebrated in his heart.
After all, Xu Xiaolan was kind, warm-hearted, extremely beautiful, and didn't look down on him even though he was a total weakling. Where else could he find such a perfect companion?
Hmph! He had the War God System—he was destined to dominate the cultivation world.
Xu Xiaolan, he would prove himself and make her look at him in a new light!
A fiery determination burned in An Lin's eyes; a heroic spirit surged inside him.
So what if he was at Body of Dao Stage Zero? If Xiao Yan could become the Emperor of Fighting, why couldn't he become an Immortal Emperor?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help lifting the corners of his lips in confidence.
He sat on his bed and opened the War God System in his mind, officially beginning his heaven-defying cultivation journey.
The War God System
The system interface was extremely simple, consisting of three main sections: Realm, Techniques, and Skills.
Oh, and a strange section called "Special Missions."
The Techniques, Skills, and Special Missions sections were all grayed out. Techniques and Skills required reaching Body of Dao Stage Seven before they could be used.
With slight helplessness, An Lin focused on the Realm section.
"Body of Dao – Stage One. Requirement: Ten push-ups."
"My god!"An Lin gaped, utterly dumbfounded."This task… is it giving me free points?"
Half-believing, he did ten push-ups on the bed.
Immediately afterward, his bones crackled loudly, and every muscle in his body burst into intense pain.
It took him a while before he finally stood up, drenched in sweat and panting heavily.
"I… got stronger…"
He could clearly feel the change in his strength—it was the first time he felt true power flow inside his body.
And there was this… energy. The qi wandering in the world—he could sense it now.
"So this is vital energy? Wonderful."
From this moment on, An Lin had officially become a cultivator!
Suppressing his excitement, he checked the system again.
"Body of Dao – Stage Two. Requirement: Ten plus ten push-ups."
"You've got to be kidding…"Though he said that, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Damn, at this rate, he'd be the number one student in the entire academy by tomorrow!
He let out what he believed to be a powerful laugh—though it actually sounded quite pervy.
After finishing twenty push-ups, drenched in sweat again, he felt himself grow even stronger!
He clenched his fists and slammed them onto the table beside him—The entire table shattered under the force.
"Hahaha! I'm invincible! As expected of the War God System—I love you!"
He checked the system again:
"Body of Dao – Stage Three. Requirement: Ten times ten push-ups."
A slight increase in difficulty, huh.
An Lin was now doing push-ups while laughing.
Soon, he finished one hundred push-ups, and his realm upgraded to Stage Three.
This system was totally a cheat. If others knew he could level up like this, they'd die from sheer anger.
He gleefully opened the system again to check the next requirement, and upon seeing that it was still push-ups, he nearly jumped with joy.
"Body of Dao – Stage Four. Requirement: 10¹⁰ push-ups."
10… to the power of 10?
An Lin froze for ten whole seconds.
Let's see… how many is that again…?
After a long moment, he finally calculated it.
10¹⁰ = 10 billion.Ten. Billion. Push-ups.
Even if he pushed himself to the limit and did a hundred thousand per day…He'd need over two hundred seventy years…
"This…"An Lin stared blankly, as if his soul had left his body.
He flipped through the system again—everything except the realm page was completely gray.
Meaning… he really had to do centuries of push-ups to upgrade?
No. He wouldn't even live to two hundred…
Tears welled up in his eyes.What kind of system was this? Was it trying to kill him?
Just as he fell into utter despair, he suddenly realized something.
Wait!He didn't necessarily have to rely on the system to cultivate! He could cultivate on his own!
He had been too terrified by the system's demands to think clearly. Now he finally remembered that once he raised his realm with his own strength, the system's requirement would reset.
Meaning—if he manually upgraded once, maybe the next system task would become easier!
An Lin sighed deeply.Hopefully that was the case…Otherwise, what use was this system?
But then a new problem appeared—How did one actually cultivate again?
A knock sounded at the door.
"Dong, dong, dong."
With nervous anticipation, An Lin knocked on the wooden door.
The door opened, revealing a graceful silhouette.
Xu Xiaolan stood there with her long black hair draped over her shoulders, still damp as though she had just taken a bath. A faint, refreshing fragrance drifted toward him.
"An Lin? What brings you here?"Clearly, she hadn't expected him to show up so late.
Feeling embarrassed, An Lin scratched his face."Uh… Xu Xiaolan, sorry to bother you at this hour, but I actually have something very important I want to talk to you about."
"Oh? Something important? Is it secret? Should we talk about it inside?"Her lively eyes sparkled with interest.
"N-no, that's okay."Instinctively, he waved his hands in refusal.
And immediately regretted it.
Damn it! A girl just invited you into her room—why did you refuse!?
"Ahh…"An involuntary sigh escaped him.
"What's wrong?"Seeing his expression suddenly turn dejected, Xu Xiaolan instantly thought of what had happened earlier during the test. Sympathy rose in her heart.
"You should come in. Take your time. If I can help, I will."
"Eh? Sure!"He had been mourning the lost opportunity, only to have Xu Xiaolan offer it again.
He wasn't going to mess up twice.
Inside the room, Xu Xiaolan brewed a pot of tea.
He didn't know its name, but its aroma alone refreshed his mind.
They sat facing each other, sipping tea.
"Now," Xu Xiaolan said gently, "you can tell me what this important thing is."
An Lin nodded solemnly.
The atmosphere suddenly grew tense without reason, making Xu Xiaolan subconsciously focus.
An Lin said, "I've run into a bottleneck."
Xu Xiaolan nodded seriously. "Go on."
"That is… I have absolutely no idea how to cultivate. Can you teach me?"
"Pfff—!"
The tea that Xu Xiaolan had just sipped sprayed directly onto An Lin's face.