Chapter 2: Lin Fei
In the void Sword Sect, by the riverbed, stood a young man of about twenty years. He wore white robes, and his black hair was tied into a ponytail. His looks were unearthly, and his resplendent amethyst eyes shone with a demonic allure. He was tall, and the robes he wore complemented his athletic physique.
Lin Fei hauled a bucket full of water, sighing as he plopped it down right beside him. Exhaustion crept into his barely enhanced physique.
It had been eight years since he joined the Void Sword Sect as a trial disciple. Eight years, and he barely stepped foot into the ranks of the Mortal Foundation.
Two more years and I will be out, he thought.
The sect had a requirement for newly initiated cultivators to, at the very least, break through to the Qi Gathering Realm in ten years. Lin Fei had spent eight years at the very first stage of the Mortal Foundation Realm—Body Tempering.
He knew that he wouldn't be able to fulfill the requirement in these two remaining years, and he had resolved himself to accept the outcome long ago.
Just as he was about to pick the bucket, he saw a shimmer of something in his field of vision. Shaking his head, he refocused, and this time he was able to see it.
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║ Memory Synchronization Initiated... ║
║ Updating The System... ║
║ Starting merger... ║
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Before he could even utter a word, an intense headache gripped him, and he fell to his knees. Lin Fei groaned as a keening wail rang in his ears, droplets of blood escaping his nostrils.
Feeling strength leave him, he flopped on the ground, thrashing and releasing a guttural moan.
So fucking painful!
Unable to hold on any longer, he fell unconscious.
***
Lin Fei woke up from a hazy dream. His body felt weak, and the sound of gushing river water was in his ears.
"Ugh, where am I?"
He looked around himself, finding the leg of his pants soggy wet. He frowned and looked around, spotting an overturned bucket of water.
"What the heck?"
His thoughts were in disarray as the last thing he remembered was operating the Heaven's Gate Array. Then... Then... Mother!
Lin Fei stared into his hands and blinked rapidly. He was starting to remember bits and pieces of his life. But more importantly, he was remembering a life he had never lived before.
"Another transmigration?"
This wasn't the first time Lin Fei had experienced such a sensation. Though previously it had been a reincarnation, a deliberate one at that. His mother had used some treasure to impregnate herself and merged his soul with the body's.
As he started to recall more and more, Lin Fei's thoughts wandered to the moment he had been pulled into that space within the Heaven's Gate Array. He recalled making a wish of sorts and then being liberated from his existence.
Last I remember, mother was in a precarious situation, and then something happened. But what?
The answer to that question would have to wait, though, as Lin Fei saw a line of text flash in his field of vision.
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║ Synchronization Complete ║
║ 'Dual Cultivation System is Online ║
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At first confusion flashed in his pupils, but then as he recalled his last act before vanishing, his eyes widened to the extreme.
"It worked!" He exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
"Wait, if this is The System, then it should respond to my intentions." He contemplated. "If so... Status!"
As the words left his mouth, a screen came into existence before him.
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║ ✧❖❖❖ STAT PAGE ❖❖❖✧ ║
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║ ✦ Name: Lin Fei ║
║ ✦ Race: Human ║
║ ✦ Lifespan: 21/98 ║
║ ✦ Bloodline: N/A ║
║ ✦ Physique: N/A ║
║ ✦ Major Realm: Mortal Foundation Realm ║
║ ✦ Minor Realm: Body Tempering ║
║ ✦ SP: 0 ║
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║ ✧❖❖ ABILITIES ❖❖✧ ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ • N/A ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
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║ [ ABILITY SHOP ]║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ [ ITEM SHOP ]║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ [ BLOODLINE SHOP ]║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
"It's real!"
Lin Fei couldn't help but feel a genuine sense of relief at seeing this screen. For hundreds of thousands of years he had struggled to cultivate. For over a million years he had endured his cursed existence. But no more!
From this day forth, I, Lin Fei, will begin my journey to the very top!
A solemn vow was uttered in his heart.
"And I will accompany you for eternity."
Lin Fei's eyes widened at the intonation of a familiar voice.
"Mother?" He probed, almost apprehensively.
A formless smoke coalesced before him, morphing into that of a beautiful woman with features that resembled his. Unlike in the void, she wore a skimpy string garment that covered her voluptuous figure. Her mammoth milkers strained against the piece of fabric, giving an illusion of the strings being pulled taut. She wore a smile on her face as she addressed the young man before her.
"I am so happy to see you, son."
Lin Fei smiled, feeling a warm heat being birthed in his heart. He was glad, so glad to see his mother once more. For a moment he had feared that something had happened to her. Thankfully, she was still with him.
"But what happened to you?" He frowned at her wispy figure. "Why are you like that?"
Lin Xinyue laughed derisively.
"After you activated the array, those three went all out. Compared to their consolidated foundations, mine was still fickle. In the end I lost, and just as I was anticipating my end, something gripped me and tried to take me away. Before that could happen, though, Mo Nan launched one last attack, and since I was distracted, I was helpless when facing it. In the end, my body was destroyed, and my soul suffered gravely, thus my current form."
Listening to her further explanation, Lin Fei growled.
"Those fucking bastards will deserve what's coming for them."
"That they will," his mother nodded.
"So, any idea where we might be?" Lin Xinyue asked.
Lin Fei sighed at that and made to stand up. "From what I got from my memories, we are supposedly in the Void Sword Sect. One of the four prestigious sects in the Grand Yu Dynasty."
"Oh." Lin Xinyue quivered a brow. "Then what's the plan going forward?"
A grin stretched across his lips at the question, and he answered. "That is, of course, to mine, cultivate, and conquer."