The first thing Zhang Wei felt wasn't the spiritual energy of a mystical world or the profound mystery of reincarnation. It was the familiar, soul-crushing sensation of a looming deadline.
His chest throbbed with the ghost of a cardiac arrest. The last thing he remembered was the flickering fluorescent lights of the office at 3:42 AM, the third pot of lukewarm coffee, and the shrill, demanding voice of his Project Manager, a man who didn't know the difference between Java and Javascript but was certain that a "Player Profile UI" could be built from scratch in forty-eight hours.
*I told him the validation logic wasn't finished,* Zhang Wei thought, his mind sluggish. *I told him the CSS hadn't been applied. It's just raw, ugly HTML...*
He opened his eyes.
The office was gone. In its place was a ceiling of thatched straw and dark, hand-hewn wooden beams. The air smelled of damp earth and something sweet, like jasmine. He was lying on a thin mat on a cold stone floor. His body felt lighter, younger, but there was an ache in his bones that spoke of malnutrition and hard labor.
Then, he saw it.
Hovering exactly thirty centimeters in front of his face was a translucent gray rectangle. It didn't glow with divine light; it didn't hum with the power of the universe. It looked like a low-budget pop-up from a 1998 web browser.
[Name: Zhang Wei][Stage: Qi Condensation Level 1 [+]][Skill List: None][Available SP: 0]
Zhang Wei stared at it for a long, silent minute. He didn't scream. He didn't weep with joy. As a former Senior Backend Developer, his first instinct was to critique.
*It's hideous,* he thought, a wave of professional disgust washing over him. *I didn't even get to the styling phase. It's all default gray. And that font... is that Times New Roman? Who uses Times New Roman for a game UI? That's practically a war crime.*
He tried to swat it away, but his hand passed straight through the box. It stayed fixed in his field of vision, moving as he moved. It was the "Player Profile UI" he had been coding when his heart decided to quit the job before he could.
He sat up, his joints popping. Memories that weren't his own began to filter in—a chaotic stream of information about the Myriad Heavens World, a place where "cultivators" sought immortality and "Young Masters" stepped on the weak like ants. He was an outer disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, a bottom-tier grunt whose only job was to chop spirit-wood and stay out of the way of his betters.
"Right," Zhang Wei muttered, his voice raspy. "I'm in a Xianxia world. Great. I'll probably be killed because I breathed the same air as some sect genius."
He looked back at the UI. His eyes landed on the small, dull gray [+] button next to his stage.
In the office, that button was supposed to be a shortcut for the QA testers to jump levels so they could test high-end features. In a finished product, it would have been linked to a robust backend script that checked for experience points, currency, and server-side permissions.
But Zhang Wei knew the truth. He knew the secret that had died with him.
*I never wrote the validation logic.*
The PM had forced him to move on to the "Inventory System" before he could finish the "Level Up" function. On the front end, the button existed. On the back end, there were no checks. No requirements. No costs. It was a naked function call: `update_level(current_level + 1)`.
"There's no way," Zhang Wei whispered. "The universe can't be that poorly coded."
He reached out a finger and tapped the [+] button.
*Click.*
A warmth, like a shot of high-end whiskey, ignited in his lower abdomen—his Dantian. It surged outward, flooding his meridians with a sudden, violent influx of Qi. His muscles tightened, his skin glowed faintly, and the grime of years of labor seemed to be pushed out of his pores.
[Name: Zhang Wei][Stage: Qi Condensation Level 2 [+]][Skill List: None][Available SP: 1]
Zhang Wei gasped, clutching his stomach. The power was real. He felt stronger, his vision sharper. He looked at the UI. The SP (Skill Points) had increased by one.
*It worked. The glitch is still there.*
He felt a manic grin spreading across his face. In this world, people meditated for years, swallowed bitter pills, and fought life-and-death battles just to advance a single minor stage. They spoke of "comprehension" and "daos" and "shackles of the soul."
To Zhang Wei, it was just a button with a missing `if` statement.
*Click.*
[Stage: Qi Condensation Level 3 [+]][Available SP: 2]
The heat in his gut turned into a roar. He felt his bones hardening, his senses expanding. He could hear the buzzing of a fly across the room as if it were next to his ear.
*Click.**Click.**Click.*
He didn't stop. Why would he? He was a pragmatic man. If the system allowed him to bypass fifty years of sitting cross-legged in a cave, he was going to take it. He didn't care about the "journey" or the "beauty of cultivation." He wanted to be strong enough to tell everyone to leave him alone so he could find a nice jar of wine and a Jade Beauty to flirt with.
*Click.**Click.**Click.*
The air in the small hut began to vibrate. Dust rose from the floor, swirling in a miniature cyclone around him. His skin turned a deep red as the raw power of the heavens forced its way into a body that wasn't prepared for it. It hurt—gods, it hurt—like his veins were being filled with molten lead.
But he was a developer. He had survived three-day crunch sessions on nothing but Red Bull and spite. This pain was nothing compared to a corrupted database on a Friday afternoon.
*Click.*
He hit the button for the eighth time.
A thunderous *boom* echoed within his mind. A shockwave erupted from his body, blowing the door of his hut off its hinges and sending it clattering into the dirt outside. The spiritual pressure in the room reached a fever pitch, then suddenly settled into a deep, heavy resonance.
Zhang Wei slumped forward, breathing hard, sweat dripping from his chin. He felt... incredible. He felt like he could punch a hole through a mountain.
He looked at the UI one last time.
[Name: Zhang Wei][Stage: Qi Condensation Level 9][Skill List: None][Available SP: 8]
The [+] button was still there, but it was dark and unresponsive. No matter how many times he tapped it, nothing happened.
*The Major Realm bottleneck,* he realized, his mind quickly analyzing the logic. *The function must have a hard cap at 9 to prevent the UI from breaking the layout. To get to Foundation Establishment, I'll have to do it the hard way. I have to trigger the 'Breakthrough' event manually.*
He wiped his forehead. Still, he had gone from a nobody at Level 1 to the very peak of the first Major Realm in under sixty seconds. In the Azure Cloud Sect, Level 9 Qi Condensation was the requirement to become an Inner Disciple. Some spent their entire lives trying to reach this stage.
"Not bad for an unstyled UI," Zhang Wei muttered.
He stood up, his new strength making him feel like he was walking on springs. He needed to be careful. If anyone saw a lowly wood-chopper suddenly radiating the Qi of a Level 9 expert, they wouldn't call him a genius—they'd kidnap him and dissect him to find out what treasure he'd swallowed.
He looked at the mess in his hut. The door was gone, and the walls were cracked.
"I should probably go back to pretending to be a loser," he said, adjusting his tattered robes. "Humble, terrified, and useless. That's the plan. I just want to survive, drink wine, and maybe find a way to make this UI look less like a spreadsheet."
He stepped out of the hut, squinting in the bright morning sun. The Azure Cloud Sect was built on a series of floating mountains, connected by shimmering bridges of light. It was beautiful, in a way that felt entirely too much like a high-budget cinematic he wasn't paid enough to render.
"Zhang Wei!" a sharp, arrogant voice barked.
Zhang Wei flinched, instinctively dropping into his "External Persona." He hunched his shoulders, lowered his head, and let his gaze fall to the dirt.
"This disciple is here!" he squeaked, making sure his voice trembled just the right amount.
Walking toward him was a young man in silk robes the color of a bruised plum. He was followed by two lackeys who looked like they enjoyed pulling the wings off butterflies. This was Zhao Feng, a Level 4 Qi Condensation "genius" and the son of a minor Elder. In the hierarchy of the outer sect, he was a god.
To Zhang Wei, he was just a bug in the system.
"Where is my spirit-wood, you waste of skin?" Zhao Feng demanded, stopping a few feet away. He wrinkled his nose as if Zhang Wei were a particularly foul-smelling pile of refuse. "I needed it for my tea-fire an hour ago."
Zhang Wei looked at the shattered door of his hut, then back at Zhao Feng. "I... I am so sorry, Young Master Zhao! I had a sudden... stomach ailment. I was just about to head to the forest!"
Zhao Feng's eyes narrowed. He stepped closer, and for a moment, Zhang Wei worried the boy might sense his Qi. But Zhang Wei had no "skills" yet—his Qi was raw and unrefined, sitting heavily in his Dantian. Without a cultivation technique to circulate it, he just felt like a very dense rock.
"Stomach ailment?" Zhao Feng sneered. He raised a hand, and a faint blue glow of Qi gathered in his palm. "Perhaps a few broken ribs will help you forget your bowels and remember your duties."
*Why does this Young Master have to ruin my mood?* Zhang Wei thought, his internal voice dripping with pragmatic annoyance. *I just hit Level 9. I should be celebrating with a drink, not dealing with this cliché.*
He could kill Zhao Feng. He knew he could. The power vibrating in his chest was like a coiled spring. One punch would turn this "Young Master" into a red mist.
But that would be a logistical nightmare. Killing an Elder's son led to investigations, and investigations led to people looking at his UI.
"Please, Young Master! Mercy!" Zhang Wei wailed, throwing himself onto his knees. It was a shameful display, but he didn't care about honor. Honor was for people who didn't have a backend glitch. "I will chop double the wood! Triple! Just don't hurt this lowly one!"
Zhao Feng laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Look at him. A dog through and through. Fine. Triple the wood by sunset, or I'll have you whipped."
He turned to leave, but stopped, glancing at the hut. "What happened to your door?"
"A... a mountain goat, Young Master! A very large, very angry mountain goat!"
Zhao Feng snorted and walked away, his lackeys chuckling behind him.
Zhang Wei waited until they were well out of sight before he stood up and brushed the dust off his knees. His eyes were cold.
"Note to self: Kill Zhao Feng as soon as it's convenient," he muttered. "But first, I need a skill. Raw Qi is just a battery; I need a circuit."
He made his way toward the Outer Library, a squat stone building that smelled of old paper and indifference. The librarian, a man who looked like he had been dead for several years but forgot to stop breathing, didn't even look up as Zhang Wei entered.
Outer disciples were only allowed access to the "Basic" tier—techniques that were so common they were practically discarded.
Zhang Wei scanned the shelves. He didn't have a "Scan" feature on his UI, so he had to do it the old-fashioned way: reading the titles.
*Cloud-Treading Step (Basic Movement)**Iron Skin (Basic Defense)**Splitting Mountain Palm (Basic Attack)*
He picked up the *Splitting Mountain Palm* manual. It was a thin, frayed booklet. He opened it and read the first few lines, trying to follow the diagrams of Qi flow.
*To strike with the force of the mountain, one must gather Qi at the base of the spine, flow it through the twelve meridians, and expel it through the Laogong point in the palm...*
He closed his eyes and attempted the movement. He felt his Level 9 Qi lurch through his body like a tidal wave hitting a narrow canal. He thrust his palm forward.
*Whoosh.*
A faint gust of wind ruffled some papers on a nearby table.
[Skill List: Splitting Mountain Palm (Unranked)]
"There it is," Zhang Wei whispered.
He opened his UI.
[Name: Zhang Wei][Stage: Qi Condensation Level 9][Skill List: Splitting Mountain Palm (Unranked) [+]][Available SP: 8]
He looked at the [+] next to the skill. Based on his memory of the code, the costs were fixed.
*Skill Mastery - Beginner: 1 SP**Skill Mastery - Small Success: 3 SP**Skill Mastery - Great Success: 8 SP**Skill Mastery - Perfection: 15 SP**Skill Mastery - Transcendence: 30 SP*
He had 8 SP.
*Click.*
[Skill List: Splitting Mountain Palm (Beginner)][Available SP: 7]
A sudden clarity filled his mind. The complex diagrams in the manual suddenly made sense. His body "remembered" the exact tension needed in his forearm, the precise timing of the Qi release.
*Click.*
[Skill List: Splitting Mountain Palm (Small Success)][Available SP: 4]
The knowledge deepened. He felt as if he had practiced the palm strike ten thousand times over five years. His hand felt heavier, the skin on his palm turning slightly metallic.
He stopped there. He wanted to save the remaining 4 SP for a movement skill or a defensive one. Being a glass cannon was a bad strategy in a world of tigers.
"Hey! You!"
Zhang Wei froze. He turned to see a girl standing in the aisle. She was perhaps seventeen, with hair the color of midnight and eyes that held a sharp, dangerous intelligence. Her robes were of a much higher quality than his—white silk trimmed with silver.
A Jade Beauty. And based on the silver trim, an Inner Disciple.
"Are you the one who just caused that Qi fluctuation?" she asked, her voice like cold bells. She was staring at his hand, which was still faintly glowing from the SP investment.
Zhang Wei immediately went limp, his face twisting into a mask of confused terror. "Qi... fluctuation, Senior Sister? I... I was just trying to read this book. It's very hard. The words are very small."
The girl stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. She didn't have a system, but she had something Zhang Wei lacked: years of experience sensing spiritual energy.
"You're at the peak of Qi Condensation," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "No... that's impossible. You look like a wood-cutter. Your Qi is... unrefined, but there's so much of it."
Zhang Wei's mind raced. *Shit. I didn't hide it well enough. This is what happens when you don't have a 'Stealth' module.*
"Senior Sister is mistaken!" he cried, falling to his knees again. "I am just Zhang Wei! I chop wood! I have a stomach ailment! Please don't hurt me!"
The girl didn't look convinced. She reached out, her fingers closing around his wrist. Her grip was like iron. Zhang Wei felt a probe of cold, sharp Qi enter his system, scanning his meridians.
He held his breath. He knew his UI was invisible, a glitch in his soul, but his physical state was wide open.
"Your meridians are wide," she murmured, her expression shifting from suspicion to shock. "And your Dantian... it's overflowing. How? You haven't even mastered a basic cultivation heart-method. You're just... a raw tank of Qi."
She looked him in the eye, and for a moment, Zhang Wei saw a spark of something—curiosity? Ambition?
"What is your name, disciple?"
"Zhang... Zhang Wei, Senior Sister."
"I am Su Yan," she said, releasing his wrist. "The Outer Sect Assessment is in three days. If you're still at the peak of Qi Condensation then, the Elders will notice. A 'genius' appearing out of nowhere is a dangerous thing in this sect, Zhang Wei. People will want to know your secret."
She leaned in, her scent—like cold mountain air—filling his nose.
"And some people," she whispered, "will kill to take it from you."
She turned and walked away, her silver-trimmed robes fluttering behind her.
Zhang Wei watched her go, his pragmatic mind already calculating the risks. He was Level 9, but he was stuck. He couldn't click the [+] button anymore. He needed to break through to Foundation Establishment to unlock the next nine levels, but he didn't even know how to begin a manual breakthrough.
And now, a Jade Beauty was suspicious, and a Young Master wanted him whipped.
"I just wanted to drink wine and relax," Zhang Wei sighed, looking at his ugly, gray UI. "Now I have three days to become a 'genius' or I'm going to end up on a dissecting table."
He looked at his available SP.
[Available SP: 4]
"I need a movement skill," he muttered. "And I need to find out how to break this bottleneck. If I can't hit Foundation Establishment, I'm just a very high-level target."
He walked out of the library, his mind already mapping out the logic of his next move. He needed to find a way to trigger the breakthrough, and he needed to do it without drawing more attention.
But as he crossed the bridge toward the spirit-wood forest, he saw a group of disciples gathered around a notice board. They were shouting, their voices filled with excitement and fear.
"The Blood-Wolf Valley is opening!" one cried. "The Sect Leader has declared a trial! Any disciple who brings back a Spirit-Core will be promoted to Inner Disciple immediately!"
Zhang Wei paused. A trial. A chaotic, dangerous environment far away from the prying eyes of the Elders.
*A perfect place to 'accidentally' have a breakthrough,* he thought. *And a perfect place for a Young Master to have an 'accident'.*
He looked at his UI, the Times New Roman font staring back at him with its clinical, unstyled indifference.
[Stage: Qi Condensation Level 9]
"Time to go debugging," Zhang Wei said.
As he turned to leave, a memory from his new body surfaced—a warning often whispered by the older disciples. Manual breakthroughs to Foundation Establishment were notoriously violent. Without a Foundation Pill to stabilize the meridians, the sudden expansion of the Dantian could lead to a "physical crash," causing the cultivator's body to literally tear itself apart.
Zhang Wei glanced back at the notice board. Foundation Pills were rare, expensive, and usually reserved for the top three winners of the sect's trials.
"Great," he muttered, his pragmatism warring with the reality of his situation. "I have no money, no pill, and a hard-coded bottleneck that will kill me if I force it. The first boss fight is a fetch quest for a patch I should have written months ago."