The sun rose, illuminating the land with its dawn rays and ushering in a new day.
A busy day for the Great Mountain Sect.
A group of youths, fourteen to fifteen years old, gathered at the entrance of a great mountain covered in lush green vegetation. In its midst was a staircase paved with stone slabs.
Among them stood one in the corner, of average height, with delicate features and lightly tanned skin.
He wore black clothing that had already been washed many times. At his waist hung an animal-skin pouch, and a length of iron wire ran up to his shoulders, securing a heavy two-handed sword on his back.
The young man kept his eyes fixed on the others, who were dressed in fancy clothes.
It wasn't envy.
Lu Qing was simply confused by them.
Not long ago, he had still been at home, pulling an all-nighter, racing against time to finish fixing the bugs in a game about to be released.
As soon as he finished, he collapsed—and when he woke up, he saw people wearing outfits straight out of martial arts dramas and donghua.
"Did I transmigrate to ancient China? And why is the original owner carrying a heavy sword?"
Lu Qing stiffened under the weight.
He was so rigid he couldn't even bend down.
He could still walk, but there was no way he could run.
"Taking off the sword now, in front of all these brats, would be embarrassing."
Swallowing hard, he returned to his thoughts.
"How did the original owner die?"
It was uncomfortable to inhabit someone else's body.
Lu Qing felt his heart race and his chest tighten with anxiety.
"Calm down."
With a deep breath, he steadied his emotions.
Right now, he needed to assess the situation of this world.
Even if everything was strange and bizarre, there was nothing he could do.
"If I took over your body and killed your soul, I'm sorry. I truly am. If you died for reasons unrelated to me, I hope you can live a good life in your next reincarnation."
Finishing this silent prayer in his heart, Lu Qing looked toward the mountain.
It was enormous—its peak impossible to see with the naked eye.
And the stairs… seemed endless.
They led to a gate surrounded by a blue wall, built along the sloped terrain.
Beyond that were several peaks within the mountain, covered in trees, with what appeared to be buildings constructed among them.
"A cultivation world? Are the legendary immortals living on those peaks?"
This absurd hypothesis took shape in Lu Qing's mind.
Ancient clothing, transmigration, gathered youths, and a mountain with multiple peaks… it could only be that.
"All that's missing now is the predecessor's memories returning, a cheat ability, and an old man showing up to explain the rules of the exam for the cliché to be complete."
As a casual webnovel reader, Lu Qing joked to himself.
[Lose/Gain]
[Turn losses into real gains.]
"…?"
"Did that really just happen?"
Watching a translucent screen appear before his eyes, Lu Qing was filled with questions.
"A system?"
"…"
"System, bro?"
"…"
Receiving no response, Lu Qing took another deep breath.
This wasn't a system—just a panel with no intelligence whatsoever.
A simple mechanism, yet oddly peculiar.
"Lose to gain? What kind of reward does it give when you lose?"
Lu Qing grew curious, carefully studying the thing that had appeared.
A phenomenon that no longer frightened him after experiencing transmigration.
At that moment, he felt nothing could shake him… or so he thought.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a sound tore through the air, and a figure appeared in the sky, riding a flying sword.
"Holy shit!"
Lu Qing looked up, his eyes widening to their limit.
Even though he had expected this and was mentally prepared, witnessing it firsthand was incredible.
His blood boiled.
His imagination ran wild.
He pictured himself riding a sword as well, soaring through the clouds, looking down upon the world like an immortal.
"I have a golden finger… maybe this isn't impossible! No—I'm sure it's possible!"
Lu Qing's pupils shone with fanatic excitement.
Around him, most of the youths had the same reaction.
The only ones who remained calm were the nobles, whose composure clearly showed they had seen cultivators before.
Up above, the figure revealed himself to be a young man with long black hair and white robes. He held a formation disc in his hand. Looking down at the crowd, a smug smile appeared on his lips, and an arrogant aura radiated from him.
"Listen up, everyone!"
A loud voice, infused with spiritual power, echoed like thunder in everyone's ears.
"My Great Mountain Sect will open its gates today! Only those who pass the three trials will be allowed to enter."
"The first test is simply reaching the gate. Easy, isn't it?"
The young man let out a mocking chuckle.
In the next instant, thin strands of red energy flowed from his fingers into the disc.
Upon receiving the energy, the disc immediately glowed dark blue, and strange symbols appeared within it, beginning to rotate seconds later.
Shhhiiinnn!
Below, another extraordinary scene unfolded.
The initial gray steps began to light up with a blue glow that extended all the way to the gate, giving the Great Mountain a magnificent appearance.
After the display, the young man stored the disc away and, with another smile, cast one last glance at the hundreds of youths.
"I'll be waiting for you at the top."
After that, he shot off like a bolt of lightning on his sword, leaving the countless aspirants to immortality stunned.
Down below, Lu Qing, his heart racing, stared at the staircase, trying to deduce what it tested.
Endurance? Determination? Talent? Comprehension?
He wanted to know.
Perhaps to find out—intentionally or not—he glanced at the nobles, those youths accompanied by others. There were five leading their respective groups.
The first was a young man in purple robes, with a diamond hairpin holding his hair in place and a sheathed sword at his waist.
The second was a large, fat young man dressed in black armor, giving him a rather peculiar appearance.
The third was a blond young man in elegant red clothing, wielding a spear that gave him a heroic air.
The last were two women standing together. They weren't accompanied, yet many still watched them. They were eye-catching—and above all, beautiful.
The first had blackish-blue hair and perfect features, hidden behind a veil. She wore a light blue traditional robe and also carried a sword at her waist.
The second had blonde hair and the same features as the heroic young man, but feminine. It didn't take intelligence to realize they were from the same family. Like her relative, she wore elegant clothing—though in a light yellow shade, like the sun.
Observing them, Lu Qing had no reaction.
Even though they were beautiful, he had no interest in younger children.
For him, only someone over twenty would be a good match, considering he was twenty years old in his previous life on Earth.
"Do they know the purpose of the test?"
Lu Qing decided not to move forward… at least until one of them took the lead.