"Parallel world, Blue Star."
In a pitch-black room, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, a figure lay on a bed, fast asleep.
DING...
A crisp sound echoed in the figure's mind.
After the sound faded, a faint golden light unexpectedly materialized around the sleeping figure.
The faint golden light lasted for a fleeting moment, vanishing in less than a second.
As the faint golden light vanished, so too did the sleeping figure on the bed.
The pitch-black room was now empty. If not for the lingering warmth in the blankets, one might never have known someone had been sleeping there.
...
"Who opened my curtains?"
Lin Li slowly opened his eyes, sat up, and mumbled to himself before letting out a yawn.
"Huh???" In mid-yawn, Lin Li suddenly froze, his eyes filling with confusion.
'What is going on? What's with all this dense white fog?'
'Ugh! This is such a weird dream! What's the deal with dreaming about a vast, white fog? Come on, switch to a dream with some color already!' Lin Li grumbled to himself, then lay back down and closed his eyes again.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, one minute, two minutes...
Three minutes after lying back down to sleep, Lin Li opened his eyes again.
He shot up, glancing around as an astonished expression slowly crept onto his face.
'No way! This dream is way too real.' Lin Li raised his right hand and gave his own clean-cut, rather handsome face a hard pinch.
"Ow... That hurts..."
The sharp pain from pinching his cheek told Lin Li this was no dream.
He scrambled up from the grass, took a deep breath to steady his nerves, and then walked a lap around the small patch of land he was on.
A few minutes later, Lin Li returned to his starting point. His expression shifted rapidly before he finally burst out laughing.
"Hahaha... I've been reborn in this world for twenty-two years, and my golden finger has finally activated!"
The patch of land he was on was about 100 square meters, surrounded by water and a thick, white fog. It was an island—an impossibly small island.
The only thing on the island was an ordinary, two-meter-tall tree at its center. Nothing else.
After laughing for a while, Lin Li started to feel thirsty. He looked at the crystal-clear water before him, tempted.
He walked to the edge of the islet, squatted down, and dipped a finger into the water. He sniffed it first—no strange smell—then brought it to his lips for a taste.
'It's freshwater, with a faint sweetness, almost like the bottled mineral water I usually buy.'
GULP... Convinced the clear water was drinkable, a parched Lin Li immediately leaned forward, lowered his mouth to the water, and began drinking with loud gulps.
"Ahh~" After quenching his thirst, Lin Li splashed the water on his face, washing it thoroughly.
'Besides the two-meter-tall tree in the middle, this island has nothing. It's so barren!'
Once his initial excitement died down, Lin Li began to feel that this little island probably wouldn't change his current life all that much.
'Sigh, if only I could have awakened a combat-oriented Superpower instead!'
The moment he thought it, a wave of dizziness washed over him. His vision went black, and he collapsed backward.
......
Back in the pitch-black room, a faint golden light flashed over the empty bed, and a figure materialized out of thin air.
"My head hurts!" Back in his own home, Lin Li patted his head. It felt like someone had just whacked him, leaving him with a throbbing headache and dizziness.
The discomfort lingered for a while before Lin Li finally recovered.
He got out of bed, walked to the window, and drew back the curtains.
Bright sunlight flooded the bedroom, instantly chasing away the darkness.
The brilliant golden sun on his face made him squint. He gazed out at his residential complex.
Even this early in the morning, the complex was already bustling with people exercising. Faint golden lights occasionally flickered around their bodies.
'Why would a faint golden light appear on a person?'
That's right. Unlike the Earth of his previous life, this parallel world, known as Blue Star, was a world of Spiritual Energy and Superpowers.
When a person reaches the age of fifteen, if they have any talent for cultivation, their Spirituality will automatically awaken.
After awakening their Spirituality, through persistent physical training and absorbing the ambient Spiritual Energy from the air, one could potentially become a Cultivator.
Lin Li had been fairly lucky when he was reborn into this world. He awakened his Spirituality at fifteen, earning the right to become a Cultivator.
When he awakened his Spirituality, Lin Li had been ecstatic. 'Back on Earth,' he had thought, 'I always dreamed of being a superhero with extraordinary powers. I can't believe I woke up reborn in a world where I actually have that chance!'
After awakening his Spirituality, Lin Li was determined to train hard, become a Cultivator as soon as possible, and keep getting stronger until he could marry a rich, beautiful woman and reach the pinnacle of life.
Unfortunately, while the dream was beautiful, reality was cruel.
People who have awakened their Spirituality have vastly different aptitudes for cultivation.
Those with good aptitude progressed rapidly; they could become a First Rank Initial Stage Cultivator after just one year of consistent training. Slower ones might take three years to achieve the same.
Then there were those with extremely poor aptitude. For them, there was no telling when—or if—they would ever become a Cultivator.
Unfortunately, Lin Li was one of those with extremely poor aptitude. Even though he had trained diligently every day since awakening his Spirituality, his efficiency at absorbing ambient Spiritual Energy was incredibly low.
He had been cultivating since he was fifteen, and now, seven years later, he was still stuck in the same place. He was a long way off from breaking through to the First Rank Initial Stage and officially becoming a Cultivator.
His abysmal aptitude for cultivation had turned Lin Li into a complete slacker who preferred to just stay home.
He had tossed all his old dreams—becoming a powerful Cultivator, marrying a rich beauty, reaching the Peak of life—into the trash.
Now, all Lin Li wanted was to live off his rental income and bank interest, lazing around at home playing games and watching anime, and just cruise through life.
......