The mountain air was a cold blade against Han Jin's lungs as he tore down the winding stone stairs of the Cloud-Step Sect.
Behind him, the alarm bells tolled—a heavy, metallic sound that vibrated in his very marrow.
"Don't let the heretic reach the mist-line!" the Great Elder's voice thundered from the peak, amplified by pure Qi. "He carries a curse! Bring me his head, and I will personally grant you a month in the Spirit Pool!"
Han Jin cursed under his breath. A month in the Spirit Pool? The Outer Disciples would hunt their own mothers for that kind of reward.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
The sound of heavy boots echoed from the path above. Han Jin glanced back. Five disciples were closing in, their white robes fluttering like the wings of vultures. Leading them was Liu Chen—a bully who had spent the last three years using Han Jin as a literal footstool.
"Stop right there, Glitch!" Liu Chen yelled, his hand reaching for the hilt of a bronze saber. "I always knew you were a freak, but breaking the Divination Stone? That's a death sentence!"
Liu Chen leaped, his body propelled by the [Cloud-Step Movement Technique]. He covered twenty feet in a single bound, his saber gleaming with a faint green light.
Han Jin's heart hammered against his ribs. He wasn't a cultivator. He had no Qi, no techniques, and no weapon.
All he had was a gray, flickering scroll in his mind.
Focus, Han Jin hissed to himself. Scan him!
The translucent blue box snapped into existence, overlaying Liu Chen's mid-air form with glowing strings of data.
[Target: Liu Chen (Body Refining Realm - Stage 4)]
[Active Skill: Cloud-Step (Speed +50)]
[Status: Executing 'Leap']
Han Jin saw the "code" of the jump. It was a simple trajectory calculation.
[Trajectory: X: 45.2, Y: 12.0, Z: 5.5]
If I can't move faster, Han Jin thought, a manic grin spreading across his face, I'll just change where he's going.
He reached out with his mental "cursor" and swiped across the Y value—the height of the jump. He deleted the 12.0 and typed in -50.0.
[Edit Applied. Gravity Multiplier: X5.]
In mid-air, Liu Chen's triumphant smirk vanished. It was as if an invisible mountain had suddenly dropped onto his shoulders.
"What—?!"
CRUNCH.
Instead of gliding gracefully over Han Jin, Liu Chen slammed into the stone stairs with the force of a falling meteor. The marble cracked. Liu Chen's legs buckled, his face meeting the stairs with a sickening thud.
[Critical Error: Physics Override Successful.]
[+20 Data Points Gained.]
The other four disciples skidded to a halt, their eyes wide. They looked at Liu Chen, who was groaning in a heap, and then at Han Jin, who was standing perfectly still.
"What did you do?" one of them stammered. "You didn't even move!"
"I didn't have to," Han Jin said, feeling a strange, cold power flowing from his gray Script. "The world just decided it didn't like his face."
He turned and continued his descent, but his vision blurred for a second. A red warning flashed in his mind.
[Warning: CPU Load at 85%. Mental Fatigue Rising.]
[Note: Editing high-tier physics requires 'System Cooling'.]
Damn it, Han Jin thought. I can't just rewrite the world forever. I need a safe place to reboot.
He reached the edge of the sect grounds—the Forbidden Forest. It was a place crawling with Rank 1 and Rank 2 Spirit Beasts. The sect used it as a trial ground, but for an unranked "Glitch" like him, it was supposed to be a graveyard.
He plunged into the thick, glowing undergrowth just as a volley of arrows hissed into the dirt where he had stood a second before.
Deep in the shadows of the ancient trees, Han Jin collapsed against a mossy rock, gasping for air. He opened his Script.
[Current Data Points: 120]
[Available Options:]
[Repair Personal Script (Cost: 100)]
[Unlock Passive Scan: Level 2 (Cost: 50)]
[Expand Buffer Memory (Cost: 75)]
Han Jin looked at his flickering, gray name. He was still a "Level 0" mistake. If he didn't fix his own code, the next disciple would kill him before he could even blink.
"Repair," he whispered. "Fix the talent error."
[Processing... 1%... 5%...]
Suddenly, the bushes parted. A pair of glowing red eyes stared at him from the darkness. A Shadow-Stalking Panther—a Rank 1 beast known for its speed. It let out a low, guttural growl, its muscles tensing for a kill-shot.
[Progress: 12%...]
"Not now," Han Jin begged, his eyes locked on the predator. "Just give me ten seconds!"
The panther leaped.