The Underworld—Palace of King Yama.
"Xiao Tian. Male. Born in 2025. Fated to die in 2073."
King Yama frowned as he looked at the Book of Life and Death in his hands.
"This is wrong," he muttered. "It's only 2045. Why has this soul arrived early?"
Xiao Tian knelt silently below the throne, his expression empty.
He had already lost the will to live.
Death… was simply death.
When he was still very young, his parents had died in a car accident. His elderly grandmother had raised him with great difficulty, scraping by day after day.
Then, when Xiao Tian was fifteen, illness took her as well.
Alone, penniless, and powerless, Xiao Tian truly tasted the cruelty of reality. When creditors seized the house, he became homeless overnight.
Fantasy novels became his only escape.
He immersed himself in worlds of cultivation and martial arts, dreaming that one day he might become a protagonist—commanding the heavens, trampling fate beneath his feet.
But dreams were only dreams.
"How did you capture this soul?"
King Yama suddenly slammed the table and pointed furiously at Black and White Impermanence, who immediately trembled.
"How did you dare seize someone whose lifespan hasn't ended?!"
Terrified, the two Impermanence officials dropped to their knees, repeatedly begging for forgiveness.
"This… this subordinate begs Your Majesty's mercy. He will immediately be returned to the cycle of reincarnation!"
King Yama sighed heavily.
After a moment, he nodded.
He took out another bamboo slip and spoke coldly:
"Next—Tang Yun, from Dou Po…"
Before Xiao Tian could hear anything more,
he was dragged away like a dead dog.
A bowl of bitter Meng Po Soup was forced into his mouth.
His consciousness faded instantly.
Time passed—slowly.
When Xiao Tian finally regained consciousness, he found himself lying in a damp room overgrown with weeds. The air was stale, moisture clung to the walls, and insects crawled over his filthy clothes.
He jolted upright, frantically brushing his body.
"Where… where am I?" he croaked, his throat painfully dry.
Before he could think further, a torrent of memories crashed into his mind. The pain was intense—far worse than any physical injury.
After a long time, Xiao Tian collapsed weakly into the weeds.
"So… this is the Dou Qi Continent."
"I've been reborn."
He stared blankly at his surroundings.
This world was one of battle qi, where strength was law and the weak existed only to serve. His current identity was painfully clear—
A servant of the once-declining Xiao Clan.
Every day, he cleaned the training grounds. He possessed no strength, no status, and was bullied endlessly.
The worst of them was Xiao Shi, the leader of the servants. Xiao Shi dared act arrogantly only because his master was Xiao Shuo, a rising young talent of the Xiao Clan with Fourth Stage Dou Qi cultivation.
Among this generation, aside from Xiao Yan, who once reached Dou Zhe at twelve, and Xiao Xun'er, who possessed terrifying talent, Xiao Shuo was already considered outstanding.
This made Xiao Tian despair even more.
He was born unfit for cultivation.
His meridians were narrow and blocked.
Forcing battle qi circulation would cause them to rupture—leading to instant death.
"Sigh…"
"Escaping suffering in one world, only to fall into another where the strong prey on the weak."
"It seems fate will never loosen its grip on me."
Xiao Tian knew this world too well.
It was a novel.
He knew the entire plot.
But what use was knowledge without strength?
Knowing the future meant nothing if he couldn't survive long enough to reach it.
Just then—
A voice echoed in his mind.
A semi-transparent panel appeared before his eyes.
"Hello, Host. Little Ling'er greets you."
A small girl in a white dress appeared on the panel, smiling sweetly and waving.
Xiao Tian froze.
Then his eyes lit up.
"A cheat system?! I knew it! Other transmigrators all get one—how could I be left out?!"
His excitement soared.
"Quick, Ling'er! Give me Heaven-rank techniques! Heaven-rank Dou Skills! I want to become a Dou Di! I want to refine tenth-grade pills!"
Xiao Ling'er's smile twitched.
"What kind of host did I end up with…?"
"What did you say?" Xiao Tian snapped back to reality.
"Nothing," Xiao Ling'er replied coldly. "But I can promise you this—you will become the strongest on the Dou Qi Continent."
Xiao Tian nearly burst into tears.
"Then hurry! Give me the cheats!"
"Sorry. I don't have those."
Her tone was merciless.
"These items unlock only when your strength reaches the required level. Right now, even if I gave you powerful techniques, you couldn't cultivate them."
Xiao Tian fell silent.
He knew she was right.
If his meridians weren't blocked, even with mediocre talent, he could still reach the second stage of Dou Qi.
"So… you're useless?" he muttered.
"The system recommends opening the Newbie Gift Pack," Xiao Ling'er said calmly.
"It contains a Spirit Connection Pill, which can open the Ren and Du meridians, expand your channels, and allow you to absorb battle qi."
"It also contains Qi Enhancement Powder, which should allow you to break through to the Third Stage of Dou Qi with ease."
Xiao Tian's extinguished hope reignited instantly.
"Quick! Give it to me!"
A jade bottle appeared in his hand.
For a brief moment, Xiao Tian thought that if he brought this bottle back to his original world, it would sell for a fortune.
But here?
Worth almost nothing.
Without hesitation, he swallowed the Spirit Connection Pill.
A violent surge of energy exploded through his body.
Pain engulfed him.
Xiao Tian collapsed, clutching himself tightly as his meridians screamed in agony.
Sweat soaked his body.
Fortunately, the pain—though intense—was bearable.
He endured.
Because this pain…
Meant hope.