Zhongcheng Megacity — Year 2029
Eastern Federation, Sector-7
The rain didn't fall in drops. It came in sheets, like the sky itself was trying to drown the streets. Neon lights flickered through the downpour, painting the puddles in electric purple and dead green.
Jian Luo, 17 years old, pressed his back against the corrugated steel door of the abandoned Tian-Xu annex, clutching the edge of his hoodie tighter around his neck. The faint sting of ozone and broken circuitry drifted from the nearby alley's ruins — a forgotten place in a city that moved too fast to care.
Inside his pocket: one protein bar, cracked phone, and a transit card with just enough credits to make it home. That was his whole life.
He exhaled, breath fogging the air.
"Another day gone… for what?" he whispered. The rain hissed on concrete like it was laughing.
He didn't know why — but something pulled him into the alley that day. A soft vibration in the soles of his feet. An itch in his chest.
He stepped deeperhe whispered. The rain hissed on concrete like it was laughing.
He didn't know why — but something pulled him into the alley that day. A soft vibration in the soles of his feet. An itch in his chest.
He stepped deeper into the shadows, past collapsed drone shells, tangled wiring, and crushed mecha parts. The junkyard's heart was dead.
Until he saw it.
Half-buried under glass and rusted plating, something pulsed — not with light, but with presence.
He crouched. Cleared the grime.
A ring. Blacker than night, yet glowing from within. Not electronic. Not modern. Ancient, somehow… and aware.
As he reached for it, the air changed. Colder. Time seemed to hesitate.
The moment his fingers grazed the ring's surface—
[Binding Initiated…]
The voice wasn't heard — it was felt, inside his veins, his nerves, his spine. It was ancient and absolute.
The ring latched onto his finger, crawling like liquid metal, locking shut.
Pain.
Agony burst in his chest. His heart stopped.
He collapsed
The last thing he saw was the flickering neon fading to black.
Then… silence.
No wind. No light. No warmth. Just Void.
Jian floated, or maybe fell, through nothing. His body — was it even there? He felt… suspended. Undefined. Like a soul stripped naked before existence.
Until something tore open in the blackness.
A system window.
[Name: Jian Luo (简罗)]
[Age: 17]
[Soul Status: Disconnected from Material Plane]
[Body: Decayed — Earth Dimension]
[Host Type: Compatible Vessel — 96.6%]
[Artifact: 天渊之戒 (Thirteenth Abyssal Ring)]
[System Initialization: IN PROGRESS…]
Jian blinked — or tried to. The window didn't vanish.
"What… is this?" he whispered into the void, voice echoing strangely.
Another window appeared beneath the first:
[System Core Booting…]
[Binding: Phase I — Complete]
[Access Granted to Host Interface]
Suddenly, a transparent interface fanned open in front of him. Dozens of unreadable tabs, crimson symbols, unknown languages
Another window appeared beneath the first:
[System Core Booting…]
[Binding: Phase I — Complete]
[Access Granted to Host Interface]
Suddenly, a transparent interface fanned open in front of him. Dozens of unreadable tabs, crimson symbols, and ethereal Chinese script shimmered faintly.
Status | Realms | Ring Skills | Transit | Inventory | Soul Growth
Each tab pulsed, but when he tried to think toward one, it remained locked.
"Is this… some kind of dream? No, it's too clear…"
Then the final system message appeared — and Jian's confusion turned to dread.
[Artifact Awakening Energy Signature — Active]
[Transdimensional Pulse Emitted]
[Cosmic Sensory Reaction Detected]
[Warning: 13 Presences Identified… Tracking Inbound.]
"What?! Who?!"
Before he could react, the void trembled.
Like a mirror shattering in reverse, thirteen distortions unfolded in the dark, each one a hole in reality. They weren't shapes — they were concepts given form: time coiling,
Like a mirror shattering in reverse, thirteen distortions unfolded in the dark, each one a hole in reality. They weren't shapes — they were concepts given form: time coiling, gravity howling, stars choking in their presence.
And they were aware.
"The Ring… impossible. We erased it from every root layer."
"Who dares awaken it in the drift?"
Jian froze, soul shivering.
One of the presences moved, and the void around him rippled like skin. A tendril of raw entropy reached for him. Space itself shrank toward his position.
Another voice — older, deeper, more intelligent — hissed:
"Kill the vessel. Extract the ring. Its core still obeys the call of origin."
Jian could feel it. His very essence pulled taut like a thread about to snap.
"NO—!"
He screamed, a raw, voiceless cry.
The ring pulsed.
One word formed across the system panel in burning red:
[Escape Mode: Activated]
[Emergency Dimensional Transit — Randomized]
[Time until full obliteration: 1.2 seconds]
The thirteen presences dived toward him.
Reality itself convulsed. Jian felt every atom of his soul begin to collapse under their gaze.
A fraction of a breath away — like the tip of a bullet pressed between his eyes.
A FLASH.
Light. Pain. Motion.
Impact.
He crashed through air — actual air — tearing through branches, gasping, choking, rolling down rough terrain until his back slammed into something solid.
The light faded.
His eyes adjusted.
Blood-red leaves. Crimson sky. A world painted in war and hunger.
He was somewhere else.
His ring dimmed, quiet again. A final panel flickered into view.
[Location: Blood Forest Realm]
[World Tier: Low]
[Dominant Power System: 武血 – Martial Blood]
[Power Acquisition: Physical Beast Refinement]
[System Sync: 22%]
[Status: ALIVE]
Jian lay in the soil.
His breathing ragged
The forest was silent
Blood on his hands
Mud in his hair
A low growl
Behind him
He turned
Wolves
Red eyes
Muscle over muscle
Fangs too long
They lunged
The ring pulsed
Hot
Burning
Pain screamed in his chest
He moved
Clumsy
Desperate
One down
Another down
Teeth snapped in air
Blood sprayed
The last one fell
Jian stumbled back
Chest heaving
Hands trembling
The system chimed
[Target Eliminated]
[Crimson Fang Wolves — 3 Units]
[Soul Points Acquired: +0.10 / +0.05 / +0.15]
[Soul Points: 0.15]
He froze
Stared at the number
Then shouted
"What the—!?"
"Zero point one five!?"
He kicked a tree
Smashed a branch
Blood and bark flew
"This system… I swear—"
"You're a joke!"
"A damn joke!"
He spat
Red and muddy
Hands shaking
"I almost died! I fought for my life!"
"And you… you give me scraps?!"
He slammed the ring into his palm
"You think this is funny? Huh? Huh!?"
The forest stayed silent
Cold
Watching
The ring pulsed
Calm
Unbothered
Jian growled
Biting his lip
Grimacing
Chest burning
"Fine. I'll take it. I'll grind it!"
A faint vibration
A light
From the ring
[Emergency Dimensional Transit — Initiated]
[Next Realm: Martial World — Entry Sequence Complete]
The forest vanished
Wind tore at him
Light blinded
Air burned his lungs
And then—
Silence
A new world
Mountains jagged as broken teeth
Rivers red like spilled wine
Sky dark, heavy with clouds
The system panel appeared
Transparent
Floating in front of him
[Location: Heavenfall Continent]
[World Tier: Low-Mid]
[Dominant Power System: 武血 – Martial Blood]
[Power Acquisition: Physical Beast Refinement]
[Soul Points: 0.15]
[Status: ALIVE]
[Host Condition: Wounded | Critical Fatigue]
Jian lay on the soil
Breathing ragged
Fingers twitching
Blood still warm
He looked at the panel
Then at his hands
Then spat on the ground
"You… system… I hate you. But fine. Let's start."
A pulse ran through the ring
Hot
Sharp
[Martial Path Activation — Available]
[First Step: Awakening Host Blood]
Jian's lips curled
Blood and dirt
Eyes burning red
"Let's see who survives me."