"I have to admit... that truck driver was completely insane!"
Albert, a 22-year-old college student, was forced to swallow a bitter pill after the car he was driving was slammed into by a gasoline truck.
Drowsiness was the main cause. The massive truck had run a red light and barreled straight into the middle of the intersection.
The fatal crash instantly crushed his car and mangled Albert's body.
He never expected to experience a so-called Start Destination moment, something he had always thought was nothing more than CGI effects, impossible to happen in real life.
There was no time to save him. Albert died on the way to the hospital.
He kept wondering why he had been struck by such terrible luck, especially when just an hour earlier, he had promised to meet his girlfriend for a date.
I died... while still keeping my virginity.
Should I be proud... or is that just pathetic?
Albert kept muttering within his soul. He never really believed in the concept of an afterlife.
Still, his heart pounded with anxiety, worried that if an afterlife really did exist, would he be judged as someone negligent?
Maybe I can get into heaven because of my virginity.
Then everything turned dark and silent, without a sound. He could not move his body, and his soul drifted into a restless sleep filled with unease.
He had already prepared himself. No matter what happened, he would bear the consequences.
***
"Waa... waaa..."
The sound of a crying baby stirred Albert's soul from its deep sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a ceiling made of teak wood.
Where am I?
Someone was holding Albert. Slender, gentle hands touched his body. Albert tried to struggle, but everything happening around him made him realize something.
I'm a baby? No way!
I heard the afterlife is supposed to be either bliss or punishment. What is this supposed to mean?
Right in front of Albert's face, a beautiful woman with fair skin and long black hair cradled him warmly. A wide smile bloomed on her face, and her eyes shimmered with tears.
What a beautiful woman. Is she my mother? I'm lucky.
Albert heard the woman holding him call for someone to come over. A man walked in with a broad smile, but Albert was utterly shocked.
An old grandpa? His beard is white, and he has even more wrinkles than my grandfather.
He's my father? I'm seriously unlucky!
They spoke in a language Albert could not understand, filled with unique tones and intonations.
But from the intimacy between them, Albert was one hundred percent sure that the old man was his father.
Aw, don't act lovey-dovey in front of me. It hurts my eyes!
Even though Albert had no idea what they were saying, he was able to catch one word that came from the beautiful woman's lips. That was because his mother kept repeating it over and over.
"Qin Mu... Qin Mu..."
Qin? Where exactly am I?
Looks like I'll have to wait until I'm older to understand everything that's going on.
His parents took excellent care of Qin Mu, providing him with a spacious room, a soft bed, delicious food, and the affection of a beautiful woman.
Time passed, and Albert was forced to follow the boring routine of a baby.
There was something else that left him feeling deeply embarrassed: the moments when his mother tried to breastfeed him.
Albert was not used to that at all. After all, Qin Mu's body contained the soul of a 22-year-old man.
It felt somewhat unethical to him, so crying became Albert's best way to stop his mother from feeding him.
She's beautiful, but I'm not some perverted bastard trying to take advantage of this.
Year after year passed. Qin Mu grew bigger and stronger. The emotional bond he had built with his mother over the years became incredibly strong, though the same could not be said for his father.
He learned the language of this world, came to know his parents' names, and even the name of the clan where he lived.
It was only after Qin Mu had learned more about this world that he realized something strange.
For some reason, this world was identical to the world of a story he had once read. That included the Qin Clan, the Huanzhong Sect, the Liu Kingdom, and many other names.
Qin Mu remembered them clearly because it had been his favorite novel.
So after living here all these years, I've actually been inside the world of a novel.
That makes no sense. How did I end up trapped in this world?
Everything was steeped in xianxia atmosphere, from martial arts techniques and sword arts to cultivation.
His father, Qin Zhong, was the patriarch of the Qin Clan. His mother, Zhou Ru, was a cultivator from the Huanzhong Sect.
Qin Mu knew this because Zhou Ru had explained everything to him.
When Qin Mu turned ten and earned the right to receive his first martial arts training, it was taught directly by his mother.
The boy became extremely excited, especially about the martial arts technique Zhou Ru was teaching him.
Their training came to a stop that afternoon when Zhou Ru looked ahead and saw Qin Mu panting heavily, his entire body drenched in sweat.
"Impressive, Mu'er."
"I only taught you that technique yesterday, and today you've already mastered it completely," Zhou Ru praised.
"It wasn't a complicated martial arts technique."
"Good, Mu'er. Let's rest for a bit," Zhou Ru said.
Qin Mu was training so hard for a reason. Because he knew this was the world of a novel, he already knew how the story would end and what fate awaited the Qin Clan.
If I don't grow stronger quickly, I'm afraid the destruction of the Qin Clan will become inevitable.
The protagonist of this novel was named Xiao Yan, a genius from the Xiao Clan with extraordinary talent.
The beginning of the Qin Clan's downfall would come when Xiao Yan led the cultivators of his clan to attack them.
The issue itself was simple: The Xiao Clan wanted to expand its influence in Xueshan City. Among all the clans, only the Qin Clan and the Xiao Clan stood as the largest in the city.
I don't know if I can change the plot of this novel.
But just in case, I need to grow rapidly and become strong enough to protect the clan from destruction.
If the clan's destruction truly can't be avoided, then the only choice is to take Zhou Ru and leave the city.
Let my honorable father defend the clan to his very last breath.
"Come over here and rest, Mu'er," Zhou Ru called.
"Mother," Qin Mu asked, "you said the Young Tournament between the clans in the city will be held in two years, right?"
"Hmm, that's right. Why?"
If I remember correctly, the Xiao Clan attacked the Qin Clan five years after the Young Tournament in Xueshan City.
"Mu'er?" Zhou Ru asked.
That means I have six to seven years to improve myself.
"Mu'er?" Zhou Ru called again, louder this time.
Zhou Ru's voice snapped Qin Mu out of his thoughts. With a determined expression, Qin Mu walked toward his mother, full of optimism.
"Mother, I want to learn cultivation!"
"Cultivation? But you're only ten years old. The minimum age for the body to absorb qi is seventeen," Zhou Ru replied.
That's far too long!
"No. I want to try cultivating now."
Zhou Ru narrowed her eyes and stared straight ahead.
Qin Mu's face showed no trace of hesitation, as if he was already fully convinced that he could cultivate even at the age of ten.
"All right," Zhou Ru said. "But you must train under my supervision. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Qin Mu smiled and nodded, fully agreeing with Zhou Ru's instruction.
With the reasoning ability of a 22-year-old man, Qin Mu was confident that cultivation would come easily.
Zhou Ru tapped her bag of holding and handed a technique scroll to Qin Mu. He accepted the scroll and opened it.
"Learn that technique scroll tonight. Tomorrow, I'll show you how to do it. It's the technique used to activate your spiritual root."
Qin Mu obediently agreed. He would learn the technique all night so that tomorrow his spiritual root could be activated and he could begin cultivating.
Training was stopped so Qin Mu could study, while Zhou Ru returned to the clan house to rest.
Day turned into night, he spent the entire evening in his room, studying the characters written in the technique scroll. It was easy enough to understand.
The key was to balance the heart and mind, then form the hand seals according to the instructions in the scroll.
Driven by intense curiosity, Qin Mu decided to try practicing it immediately instead of waiting until tomorrow.
He sat down on the floor, letting the spiritual root activation scroll lie open in front of him. Both hands began forming seals as he entered a meditative state.
At first, Qin Mu felt that something was wrong with the technique, because even after ten minutes had passed, there were no signs of anything happening.
However, the longer Qin Mu remained seated in meditation, the more his body began to emit a faint blue qi light.
He felt his body stir violently, while his stomach and chest burned with heat. Even so, Qin Mu continued meditating.
The turbulence and heat in his abdomen were clear signs of spiritual root activation, exactly as written in the scroll.
An hour passed. Qin Mu's hands spread out to his sides. A burst of qi exploded outward, and a wave of relief washed over his entire body.
The turbulence vanished, and the heat in his stomach gradually faded. Qin Mu opened his eyes and saw a blue qi aura radiating from the gaps around his body.
I did it... it really wasn't that difficult.
He felt relieved and calm. There was nothing left for him to worry about.
His spiritual root had already been activated without waiting until tomorrow.
That meant tomorrow Qin Mu could begin learning cultivation techniques right away.
Just as Qin Mu was about to stand up and put away the scroll, he was startled by the sudden appearance of a mysterious system panel.
[DING! Beginning system initialization]
[Detecting that Host has activated spiritual root]
[Beginning activation of Divine Pleasure System]
[Divine Pleasure System Activated]
[Collect Lust Qi and exchange it for cultivation, legendary techniques, pills, and formations.]
Qin Mu was completely stunned.
A system panel resembling a hologram had appeared right in front of his face. What shocked and embarrassed him even more at the same time was the name of the system.
Pleasure? What does that mean? Lust qi?
[Individual System]
[Host: Qin Mu]
[Cultivation: Mortal Body (Unawakened)]
[Comprehension: Mortal]
[Spiritual Root: Low-grade]
[Spiritual Qi: 0/0]
[Lust Qi: 0]
Not only had the activation panel appeared, but an individual system panel had also shown up in response to Qin Mu activating his spiritual root.
There were many terms he still did not understand, but Qin Mu was certain there would be detailed explanations for the function of every section on the panel.
[Divine Pleasure System]
[1st Mission: Obtain 10 Lust Qi]
[Reward: Basic Cultivation Manual + 50 Spiritual Qi]