In the wake of darkness, a soft, almost welcoming voice called out.

[ Wake up Wei Feng. It’s time to rise and shine, sleepyhead. ]

‘Why is there someone calling me by my character’s name…?’ Wei Feng inwardly asked himself, rolling onto his side as he felt the bristling ends of grass itching at his face. “Mom… is that you…?”

[ Sadly no, I am not your mother. Not that I would want to be… Now wake up. ]

Opening his eyes everything was blurry at first and his temple throbbed horribly. 

“Ah…” A murmur escaped his lips as he rolled onto his back, finding a sheathed weapon poking at his side. 

“Huh?” Looking down Wei Feng could just make out the hilt of a carbon steel Han Jian sword at his hip, sheathed in a mahogany wood scabbard. The handle guard was made of bronze and the pummel as well as the grip was wrapped in silvery-white cloth. 

As he slowly moved to sit up, he paused. 

“I can move my feet…” Wei Feng stared at his boots, feeling as the tips of his toes wiggled inside. Looking over his attire, despite his hazy vision, he knew something drastic had changed.

[ Welcome to the Mortal Realm. I am your Procedurally Generation System, PGS for short. ]

“What…?” Wei Feng finished sitting up as he heard the feminine voice whispering its secrets into his mind. Way too much was going on for him to understand what exactly was going on. 

Looking to the sky he quickly noted the time was late evening. His surroundings were graceful fields of grain, mostly tall grass, and not too far away were terraced structures that appeared to have rice paddies upon them. 

A frown came upon his lips, but as he was expecting to feel sick and dying that wasn’t the case. That was how things were before coming here, before everything changed. 

Having been stuck to a wheelchair with an IV stuck in his arm most of his teen life, each and every movement he took used to cause pain. Yet for the first time in years, he began to stand up on his own. Standing just a foot above wheat that was approximately five feet in height, he raised a brow at the sights before him.

In the distance, he could see buildings reminiscent of the Warring States period of China and further, the Great Wall.

Wei Feng had never been to China and he had definitely been nowhere outside of his home country. 

A befuddled frown carved deeply into his expression as he repetitively tried to clear his vision of unnatural fog.

“I… I blacked out. I have to be dreaming… Th-this has got to be a dream…” His voice ushered out in a stammer before pinching himself. 

“Ouch! Nope, not a dream!” He murmured to himself. 

“Did I just get thrown into another world?” He raised his hands up to touch his face, finding it to be not quite his for he had become a character of his own design.

Without warning an entire interface appeared in front of him in the form of contrasting brightly colored words. At the bottom right hand of the screen were buttons like [Character Index], [Item Box], [Cultivation], [Techniques], [Spells], [Skills], [Jobs], [Sect], [CC Shop] and [Contracts].

[ You are in the Mortal Realm, as I just said. ]

“Who are you anyway? Are you some sort of system…? Are you what I’m seeing right now?” His vision shifted up towards the compass at the center top of his sight. 

He was currently facing north.

[ I am as you say, a system. Would you like to use the tutorial? Or can you find everything? ]

“Hm… I prefer trial and error,” Wei Feng’s gaze shifted over the small menu selection in the corner of his sight. “I suppose crafting will have to be done by hand?”

[ Yes, there is no crafting function through the system. However, you can sell your crafted items to the CC Shop. Crystal Coins are the main currency of this region of the Cultivating World. ]

“Thanks for the information,” Wei Feng’s eyes, finally beginning to clear up, narrowed at a handful of shapes moving through the evening sky. They easily contrasted the tangy orange and pinks that littered the horizon. These white-clad beings were dressed in tang suit robes with black hats fashioned upon their heads. Based on observation, they appeared to be surfing on… swords? 

“Immortals?”

[ Affirmative. ]

“Oi… It looks like they’re hanging around over the rice fields.” Wei Feng rolled his jaw as he made his way towards a clearing that was actually a road with a dip on either side. 

Continuing to peer in the direction of the farmland, a brisk breeze passed through Wei Feng’s hair and brushed against his cheek. Slowly, he turned his head to the side, his lips parting as, from the corner of his eye, he could see a masculine form in red martial robes. 

“I thought I sensed a fellow Daoist nearby,” an old man’s voice crept into Wei Feng’s ear. His eyes were instantly greeted by a sage-like goatee on a pointed chin, a small crinkled nose, sharp, dark red-tea colored eyes, large bushy brows, and a head of elegant long silvery hair.

“Who are you… Old guy?” Wei Feng turned entirely to face the man who was only several paces away from him. The very essence, and spiritual pressure, the old man gave off was remarkably potent. This man already had a core, and the scale of his power could be easily felt without effort.

“Fufufu… How shameless! Tell this Elder, who are you, young daoist?” The old guy already had a sword in hand, resting majestically at his side with a little red tassel hanging off the butt of his hilt. 

“This Elder is known as Wang Tai. An elder of the Spiralling Wolf Sect. Those you see over there are the Winter Rat Sect… If they see you, you’re dead.”

Wei Feng cleared his throat, “This young one is known as Wei Feng…” He clasped one hand around his left fist as he bowed stiffly in superficial respect. 

Old man Wang stared at Wei Feng’s hand, the reflection of the Jade Ring upon it causing his eyes to twinkle greedily. 

“Young Feng,” he began to speak after clearing his throat in return, “Where did you get that ring?”

“My father gave it to me,” Wei Feng flexed his jaw, “He was an associate of the Eternal Dragon Sect.” 

The wise old man seemed to shudder where he stood as if hearing the last three words from Wei Feng’s mouth had just cursed him to death. 

“Fufu~! This young daoist has connections.” That wasn’t the end of the conversation though, as the old man wasn’t backing away. A smug looking smile crept across the elder’s face as he reasserted his presence, stepping closer to the weaker cultivator.

“What’s with that face… old man Wang?”

Sputtering, the old man glared at Wei Feng as if he was insane to show him disrespect. “You do not carry yourself as a member of the Eternal Dragon Sect…”

“That’s because I left it all behind,” Wei Feng shamelessly rested his hand upon the hilt of his sword, putting some pressure on it as if he was readying to draw the blade. 

Focusing on the [Item Box] button on the menu to his lower right, the contents of his inventory and his current equipment appeared. Right there, just like Wei Feng had purchased before coming to this world, were his escape talismans. All he had to do was activate them in order to get away if need be.

“Ooooh?” A devious grin formed over the man’s lips, revealing his nearly venomous pearly whites. His qi began to radiate from his skin as if he was getting ready to pull off a stunt.

[ Old man Wang has attempted to steal your Spatial Ring. His attempt has failed. ]

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?” Old Man Wang bellowed making the very ground tremble, now standing a few feet away from where he once was. The palm of the old man’s hand had been scorched after he tried to steal something controlled by the system. 

“You do not want to invoke my guardian spirit,” huffed Wei Feng, “It’ll end you. Even if you can teleport like you just did.” Wei Feng hadn’t winced at all, remaining stoic despite the attempt. The way he held still made a chill go down the old man’s spine, despite how much weaker Wei Feng was.

Growling under his breath, the old man pointed his blade towards Wei Feng with an overbearing frown. “You are nothing but a child without a Sect! You dare defy my whims?!”

“Just because I don’t have a core doesn’t mean I’ll let you do as you wish, Old Foggie.”

“Foggie!?” The elder’s face flushed red as a cherry tomato before his eyes anticipatingly peered in the direction of the fields. 

Wei Feng didn’t bother looking over his shoulder towards the rice farms—  he could hear the soaring wind shifting in their direction. Though that wasn’t the only thing he was catching on the wind, the fellows on their way were hooting loudly!

“They sound like savages…” Wei Feng uttered under his lips.

The old man nodded, “The Winter Rat Sect is filled with nothing but bad omens…”

“You’re not so good yourself, old man,” Wei Feng didn’t turn around even as the soaring moved closer, accompanied by unnerving whoops of rowdy immortals.

A meteor hammer flew past his head and collided with the dirt path between the old man and Wei Feng himself. 

A soft chuckle escaped Wei Feng’s lips, “Say… are you going to run away?”

“Fufu~! What do you take me for?”

“An old man,” Wei Feng gave a thumbs-up as he focused on the escape talisman and activated it. The item in question popped into existence before him for a split second before he vanished in the blink of an eye.

“Eh?” The old man’s mouth nearly dropped down to the dirt, seeing the jade ring bearing youngster suddenly gone from where he once stood. 

“Look at that! The young daoist vanished!” Chirped a girl gliding along with the breeze above the old man. She had short black hair and pale skin, and if it wasn’t for her modest bust she could’ve been seen as a pretty boy. Her white martial robes fluttered in the wind as she and her horde of immortals flew about, encircling old Wang. 

“And here I could’ve made him mine… What did you say to him, old man!?”

Old Wang grit his teeth, hearing yet another junior mistreat and disrespect him with such an address. 

Blood abruptly splattered up the side of her white uniform, coating the side of her face in deep crimson. Her eyes widened as she watched one of her wingmen’s swords go hurtling past her flying formation.

Peering to the side she saw yet another unmanned sword descend to the ground below. 

Directly over her shoulder was a man standing on an elegantly designed saber of mythical proportions, holding her fellow disciple by the throat. 

“Attack! Everyone Attack!” She howled as all of the other members came closing in on the old man while she took some distance, aiming to call in reinforcements. For the next couple of seconds, she could hear the entirely one-sided fierce fighting behind her.

Cling! BTOOOOM~! An explosion lit up the back of her red-stained uniform. Debris of weapons flew past her, one grazing right by her cheek. 

“Ah!” She nearly yelped, holding the stinging wound as she peered over her shoulder, seeing the old man in pursuit. 

“He… wiped them out already!?” 

She hissed to herself, “How are my juniors so pathetic!?” 

Reaching into her robe top, she pulled out a golden talisman and crushed it in her hand. In a sudden flash of radiant cool blue light, she was gone just as old man Wang’s qi imbued hand was about to penetrate her backside.

 

---

Several seconds went by before Wei Feng found himself standing in the center of a forest. Massive plants, vines, and various other wild flora could be seen from where he sat.

“Vibrant…” Wei Feng exclaimed to himself as he took a few steps forward, only for a shadow to cast over him. 

“Wha–” Before he could finish saying anything there was a sudden THUD and his face was in the undergrowth. “Mph!”

“Ow…”

“Ah…” Dainty hands grasped at Wei Feng’s shoulders as they pushed down on him, sitting upon his back as if he were some park bench. 

“Where’s my sword…” Muttered a brash yet refined voice of a tomboy as she peered from side to side. She rubbed the back of her neck as she craned her head to the side, her violet hues centering their gaze upon the back of Wei Feng’s head.

“Oh? It’s the young daoist!” Those eyes of hers trailed over his sheathed sword and the ring that adorned his forefinger.

“It’s one of the doves that were flying above the rice paddies…” Wei Feng murmured as he groaned, having caught a glimpse of her white tang suit. 

His back was rather sore, but the girl was making no effort to move. “Can you get off of me?”

“Dove?” A wide, sweetened smile formed on her lips, “This daoist has a way with words!” She slithered off his back and stumbled onto her feet, nonchalantly watching as Wei Feng rolled over and sat up straight, making no offer of assistance.

Wei Feng’s gaze centered on the girl standing before him. She didn’t appear any older than he was, but undoubtedly she had been training for far longer than he. 

“You’re going to need some lime juice to get that out…” He sighed as he stood up, eyeing the red blood that covered half of her white robe.

‘I better hold off on using another talisman… They were in limited supply and I haven’t explored the store yet…’ Wei Feng internally cursed himself, he was cornered yet again.

“Do you have some limes then, friend?” She purred as she straightened Wei Feng’s collar, but that wanton look in her eyes made him quite sure she wasn’t helping out of respect for a lesser cultivator. 

“My name is Wei Feng.” He didn’t bow to her in respect, keeping a casual tone, “Wha– Who– should I address you as?” Wei Feng’s eyelids flexed, briefly narrowing his eyes towards her face. His vision was now completely clear and her face… was relatively pretty, causing a smile to flash across his face.

“Nam Sun-Mae,” She pitched her head forward at an angle with her eyes glaring up toward Wei Feng. She was still waiting for an answer to her question. “Call me Big Sister Sun-Mae, yeah… That will do!”

Narrowing his eyes at her Wei Feng bobbed his head lightly in a nod, ‘A Korean name huh? Pretty...’

“Of course little sister Sun-Mae,” rather than saying it in a respectful manner, this was more of a tease. 

She was about four inches shorter than him, possessed a delicate build, and despite her slender form he could tell that her physical cultivation was half that of her qi development. Either way, her cultivation was higher than his own, and there was no fighting her. 

“However, I do not have any limes or lemons,”  Wei Feng tittered in reply.

Sun-Mae clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in annoyance, “Tch. Whatever,” her eyes trailed over their surroundings with a gaze of recognition. She knew where they were, or at least had an idea. “So you had a talisman of the same grade? How did we end up in the same place?”

“Uh, do I look like a psychic? How would I know? Really?” Wei Feng took a step away from her, giving her pretty face one more glance before walking over to a nearby tree. Pressing his palm against it, he ran his fingers over the bark. 

“You look at that tree as if it’s your first time outside…” Sun-Mae’s eyes closed in on him like a hawk. 

“I was sick up until recently,” Wei Feng for the time being decided to be honest, “Sick for a very long time.” Despite the stern look that presided in his eyes, he felt like a puppy being pushed along by a large cat. 

“Pft, explains why you’re so behind,” she blew a raspberry as she waltzed on over to Wei Feng. Giving no free warnings, she whirled him around before pinning him by the chest with his back to the tree. 

“Mmm…” Those violet hues made their way down his neck to his dirty mottled blue tang suit. “You’re what… nineteen?” She traced a forefinger under Wei Feng’s jawline. 

“I suppose,” He raised a brow at the woman who had him trapped, “You?”

“Eighteen,” Her finger began to trace down Wei Feng’s neck before hooking his collar. “Don’t believe me?”

“No, it’s believable,” A snarky expression crossed Wei Feng’s lips as her playful gaze became a glare at the tone he had used. “Now, why do you have this young daoist pressed to a tree, like so?”

Without reservation she brought her face close to his. Even on the tips of her toes she had an impeccable level of fortitude. “You got my juniors killed,” she applied pressure against Wei Feng’s sternum with her elbow, “So you’re going to replace them.”

“I chose to be a wanderer for a reason,” Wei Feng’s lips jerked in distaste.

“Don’t like commitment?” Sun-Mae’s finger tugged on his collar, “Then I’ll leave you here to be hunted down by the old man. He probably just wants to get his hands on that shiny ring anyway…”

Wei Feng frowned at her words, noting her gaze was watching his sword. 

“I haven’t even been out in the world for over an hour yet and I’m being conscripted…” Wei Feng pointed out as he tried to erase his frown by replacing it with a stoic expression of his own. 

“Well?” Sun-Mae’s elbow continued to push into Wei Feng’s chest, causing his ribs to crack uncomfortably. “I’m waiting~!”

“Ugh… Fine! Just… Stop crushing my chest!” Wei Feng breathed out in irritation, “Alright...?”

Rolling her eyes, Sun-Mae removed her elbow from his chest only to let him fall to his hands and knees. “Follow me then,” her eyes shifted around until she spotted her sword embedded into the side of a tree.

“Can’t we… Look around for herbs?” Wei Feng coughed a few times before standing back up, dusting himself off as he did. 

Raising a brow, Sun-Mae looked to Wei Fung, “Eh!? That geezer could show up at any second!” Calling her weapon to her hand, the blade came flying from the tree trunk and flawlessly into her grasp. 

“We’re going, now!” She snapped at Wei Feng, pointing her sword at him.

“Tch,” Wei Fung glimpsed to the side as he followed suit, wondering just how he was going to make the best of this.