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Chapter 1: Rebirth of Xio Xun
Rain splattered against the cracked window of a cheap apartment in the middle of a bustling, gray city. The sky outside was choked with smog, and the sound of distant horns and sirens echoed through the narrow alleys. Inside, a young man sat motionless in front of a glowing laptop screen, eyes hollow with exhaustion. His name was Xio Xun, a twenty-one-year-old university dropout, drifting through life like a ghost.
He had no family left. His father died in an accident when he was twelve, his mother passed from illness three years ago, and since then, Xio Xun had lived alone—barely surviving by working night shifts at convenience stores and eating instant noodles five times a week.
"Is this all there is?" he murmured, staring at a pop-up ad for a cultivation manhua on his screen.
The irony wasn't lost on him. A boy who had no direction, no hope, and no future... drawn to stories of powerful immortals who could soar through the heavens with a flick of their sleeves. If only life worked like that.
He laughed softly. A bitter, empty sound.
And then it happened.
A blinding light exploded from his screen.
Before he could react, the world spun violently. His chair flew back, his body went limp, and then—darkness.
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Pain. That was the first thing he felt.
A splitting, searing pain across every nerve of his body, as though he was being torn apart and rebuilt simultaneously. He tried to scream but found no voice. He tried to move but found no limbs—only raw, pulsing energy coursing through him.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind. Calm, mechanical, and emotionless.
> "Reconstruction complete. Welcome, Host Xio Xun. The Cultivation System has been successfully bound to your soul."
> "Scanning environment... Confirmed: Host has been reincarnated into the Tinawi Continent."
> "Beginning awakening process."
His eyes snapped open.
He gasped, sitting up violently, drawing sharp, frantic breaths. The smell of earth and medicine filled his nose. His vision swam before clearing to reveal a dimly-lit room made of stone, lit by flickering lanterns. Wooden furniture. Ancient tapestries. Scrolls. He was lying on a bed carved from polished jade.
"What the hell…" he muttered, voice rasping.
He looked down at his hands—no longer pale and weak, but slightly tanned, strong, and youthful. His body felt different. Not like his old one—this one was younger, healthier, more alive.
> "This body belongs to Xio Xun, age sixteen. Identity: Young Master of the declining Xio Clan, located in the outer region of the Tinawi Continent. Cultivation: None."
The system's voice spoke again, as if it were an AI inside his brain.
Xio Xun blinked in disbelief. "This is real…? I really got isekai'd? Reincarnated?"
> "Correct. Due to exceptional karmic energy at the moment of death, Host has been selected to inherit the [Celestial Cultivation System]."
> "Would you like to begin cultivation?"
Xio Xun sat there for a long moment. Then he laughed.
Not bitterly this time, but with a wild, breathless joy.
"Hell yes."
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Body Refining Stage – First Layer: Activated
Pain returned—but this time, he endured it. Energy surged through his bones and muscles, searing like fire and freezing like ice at once. He gritted his teeth and screamed into the mattress, but didn't stop. The sensation was unbearable—but deep inside, he knew: this was real power.
> "Body Refining Stage – First Layer completed. Physical strength: Enhanced. Endurance: Enhanced. Muscular Density: +30%. Host may now begin Qi Refining."
He collapsed onto the bed, drenched in sweat but smiling.
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Hours passed.
A knock came at the door.
"Young Master Xio, are you awake?" a voice called—a girl's voice, light and worried.
He stood up, still getting used to his new, stronger limbs. "Yes. Come in."
The door creaked open, and a young servant girl entered, maybe fifteen or sixteen, wearing a simple robe. Her eyes widened with relief. "Thank the heavens! You've been unconscious for two days. We feared the fever would…"
She trailed off. Xio Xun's aura had changed. He was no longer the weak, sickly young master of the Xio Clan that everyone pitied.
He stood tall now, eyes sharp, posture firm.
"I'm fine," he said simply. "Bring me food—and then take me to the clan library."
"The library?" she blinked. "But… Young Master, your father said—"
"I said the library."
She bowed quickly. "Yes, Young Master!"
As she hurried away, Xio Xun looked out the window.
Beyond the walls of the manor stretched a vast world of mountains, rivers, and cities hidden in clouds. The Tinawi Continent.
And beyond that—he could feel it—lay power. Real power.
He clenched his fists.
This time, he wouldn't be weak. This time, he would climb.
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To be continued...
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