VOLUME 1: THE IMMORTAL GAMER

Arc I--- Playing Immortality

I stood at the mountain's peak fearlessly as dark clouds gathered in the midst of rolling thunder and sporadic lightning. The Heavenly Tribulation was never an easy thing.

"Strike me if you could! I dare you! This old man ain't dead yet!"

My grizzled white hair shook with the winds.

Heavenly Tribulation. They only happened because of either of the two scenarios-- firstly, someone had a significant breakthrough in cultivation as they stepped closer to immortality, or secondly, it was because someone out there was trying to bend the heavenly laws that had bound the cultivation world since time immemorial.

Doing the latter was most likely impossible unless there was a mad idiot out there who had the guts to bend the heavenly laws. Certainly, they would be courting death to challenge the Heavens through this method.

So why was it that there was a Heavenly Tribulation right on my face? Was I breaking through a significant level of my cultivation? Or... Was I the dumb crazy who dared try to meddle with the heavenly laws?

Well, for me, I was the latter.

Yes, I was the mad idiot. And oh, I regretted it already... almost... I convinced myself, it was just lightning! I died once already! There is no harm in dying twice. Anyway, this could be said testing my luck. I wouldn't be stubborn though if there was nothing to gain from it.

So. "Make me regret it, you fucking clouds!"

The lightning hiding in the dark clouds slithered, eager to inflict pain and death. But meh… I casually flipped my middle finger to it. "Fuck you!" I was not done yet. I raised my other hand and then flipped another freaking bird. "Fuck you twice!"

I would not pick a fight with the dastardly Heavenly Tribulation or whatnot in any case if I didn't come prepared.

ZAAAAP!

BANG!

"Hahahaha! Are you blind!?" I ridiculed the sky, heavens, or whatever was beyond there. Your puny lightning shall never reach me!

Mwahahahahaha! I cheaply laughed inside my head. Frankly, that lightning storm was starting to scare me, but I maintained a dignified, brave, and bluffing front. "Hey, do you want me to recommend you an eye doctor!" If a news reporter found me in my stunt now, they would have written my story as 'Madman talking to clouds, didn't get hit by lightning, lived to see another day,' or something like that.

The lightning tried to strike me once more but failed. Just beside me, stuck in the ground was one of my most recent creations. It was a lightning rod. Of course, it wasn't any normal mortal lightning rod, but something created out of mysterious means and very expensive resources.

I crafted this very special lightning rod with my 'genius' using some wacky sciences I barely remembered from my past life. Of course, I wouldn't be able to create this if not for my tidbits of knowledge about this freaking cultivation world I found myself in--- but when credit is due, someone had to claim it, right?

In my case, I had to thank the original owner of the body I possessed for the inherited memories it carried had been proven quite effective for my newly created lightning rod. 

"What could you do now? COME ON! Shower me with your sparky sparky, wahahahahaha~HAHAHAHA!"

ZAP! ZA-AAAP!

BANG!

Lightning, then thunder then the blinding light! As a cultivator whose spiritual roots and cultivation were reduced to nil, I have nothing else to lose. Well, I would lose my second chance in this life, but like I said, I'd rather bet it all now than wait in silence to suffer from old age!

The body I transmigrated to was of an old man with destroyed cultivation, and lacking of a Dantian. In this cruel cultivation world, it really didn't matter if I had chosen to prioritize what remained of my lifespan or stake it all. Fully aware that gambling was bad, I did hesitate, but hey... if I succeeded, a lot of my problems would be solved! Not to mention, if I failed, I'd just rest in peace. 

It was morbid, but that is how life was.

"What!? Is that all you got?"

Fu Shiꟷ was my name now. Though I possessed now just a frail old man with crippled cultivation and destroyed Dantian, I used to be a game designer in my past life. It was said that the body I possessed could not cultivate, but that wasn't really the saddest thing!

The saddest thing was I could not create games anymore in this world where all that mattered was survival of the fittest. It mattered to me a lot that I wouldn't be able to create games anymore. Cultivation or without, I thought of myself as a game designer— that was what I am! 

I had wished to continue being a Game Designer!

Now that I found myself whisked into this world, I felt empty. In this internet-deprived world, how the hell was I to continue my life's purpose?

However.

If I succeeded in bending the heavenly laws to my will just this once, I would be able to create games again despite being stuck in this Cultivation World. Moreover, I could also restart cultivating again, which I felt certain would be possible if I succeeded just this once.

All I wanted was for me to continue my dream, to continue being a Game Designer—

And to develop my best game yet!

So no matter what it took, I would do anything in my power to achieve what I wanted. And if turning this cultivation world into a game was what it takes, then I would do it! I would even turn this whole world into my own sandbox if I had to!

"You couldn't wouldn't shouldn't stop me! You were just another game for me to be made!"

I sat in a lotus position, closed my eyes, and meditated. Using my current life's Fu Shi's profound understanding of the Heavenly Dao, I should create a 'system' that would cater to my needs. I had this strong belief that the most holistic OP cheat in the world is the system! Thus, I have decided to create one for my own use!

My host, Fu Shi, was a wandering cultivator with a profound cultivation base. He was famously known as the Game Master, an existence at the pinnacle of Perfect Immortal.

As an unaffiliated cultivator, Fu Shi lived a free life.

Until… Fu Shi decided to play a game with the heavens. It was a very dumb move even by my standards. I could not understand old Fu Shi's suicidal intentions. That was too much for me to say considering I was kind of challenging the Heavens through the Heavenly Tribulation, but for me, it was a matter of survival.

Whatever it was that the old Fu Shi wanted, I hoped that the old man's past actions would not come back biting at me someday.

Pushing the other worrisome thoughts aside, I focussed on my task at hand.

I immersed myself in Fu Shi's memories as I danced in the gaps between my and his past.

~~~

Fu Shi led a pathetic but wonderful life... He lived as if his life was a 'game', and I meant this with a very modern perspective.

It was like, he was playing to an unhealthy degree to the point of confusing games with reality, and damn he was addicted to it. To me, it was simply insanity. But on second thoughts, old Fu Shi might actually be more of a Thrill Seeker than a Game Master.

Living at the edge of life and death, seeking the thrills with a tossed coin and gambling his chances just for that sweet taste of exhilaration!

Fu Shi was a madman. No, to be more precise, he was an eccentric game addict.

But... that nonetheless. It was a fact he lived a happy life and died as a happy man. Though the old man felt some regrets on his deathbed, he was happy. It was weird but it's true!

So... All I desired for Fu Shi were my congratulations.

~~~

Finding myself in old Fu Shi's body was certainly an unpleasant thing. The most reluctant development was me suddenly gaining wrinkles. However, I have no complaints other than the wrinkles as various fantastical possibilities have opened to me. Who knows, maybe in this cultivation world, I might actually create the legendary game that I have been fantasizing about for years.

With the power of my mind, I ushered the heavenly laws to move at my will.

I opened my eyes, only to see the lightning tribulations were no more. The lightning rod I crafted from a rare metal essence was still intact, and it pulsated with scary lightning energy. I wouldn't want to touch that. Even a small amount would disintegrate me into ash, especially in my now mortal state.

"Aaah… I am alive, what a relief!"

My aching body informed me that I was pretty much still alive. Without any cultivation base, I was as good as any frail mortal. normally, the lightning of the Heavenly Tribulation would have killed me ten times over already.

For a mortal, just seeing the lightning could have shattered a person's mind! Thankfully, I was able to survive thanks to my resilient soul power, and old Fu Shi's remnant willpower.

Fu Shi was not any ordinary mortal, he possessed the profound experiences of a cultivator, and together with my own experience, I made a breakthrough unlike any other.

"System..." I softly whispered, seeking the one thing that would give meaning to my life once again. And... more than that, also the one thing that should serve as my tool to create the 'game' I desired.

Then it appeared... a system interface that would make my dream into reality.

[Ping! Game Master's System ACTIVATED!]

It echoed to my ears in an electronic voice. I felt my arthritis acting as I stood unsteadily.

"Hehe... Hehehe. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Tired, but triumphant! I laughed in a hysterical manner, with my hands outstretched.

From a distance, you would see an old man manically laughing as if he lost his marbles. The old man laughed at the sky while he stood atop the cliff. He cheered, shaking his arms in the air.

Tears of joy accumulated in my eyes. Without any further ado, I focussed on my difficultly earned system.

[Name: Fu Shi

Quintessence: 1

Players: 0/1]

It looked pathetic but all was well. This was only the beginning. I would have to study this system more diligently than I studied in College. 

I scrutinized the components appearing on my system. Name? That was pretty much understandable.

Quintessence? I wonder what that could mean... After some diving into the crevices of old Fu Shi's memories, I learned about what was this quintessence...

Apparently, quintessence was a miraculous energy that surpassed qi. Hmmm... I could not understand much, but I got the gist of it. By inferring to my imagination honed from various fictional works I perused from my past life, plus old Fu Shi's insights, I came to understand this Quintessence. Basically... Quintessence was like the perfect version of qi... simple, huh? I doubt that.

I must study this Quintessence more diligently than studying the System!

How about 'player'? As a game designer in my previous life, I have an intuition.

I returned to my cave abode without hurry. It had been more than a week since my transmigration into this world. It might not be accurate given that I had been very busy.

"How should I use this quintessence? And this 'player' subcomponent?"

My imagination was running wild, but given the possibilities ahead, the potential was just too undreamed of, and possibly, I might be wrong. But what were the chances that I was not wrong that [Player 0/1] meant the limited amount of players I could recruit, and that [Quintessence: 1] was meant to be used to recruit a player?

*Grumble~

Demanding its meal was my stomach suddenly growling. Ugh... I was getting hungry. As a cultivator, there was no need to eat... But now, without any spiritual root and cultivation at all, I was just a plain mortal. I liked to call myself a cultivator, but in essence, I was not.

For the past few days, since becoming Fu Shi, I only had eaten gold-grade energy pills as a substitute for food consumption. These pills could replenish vigor! It was an item that every cultivator desired in their martial training, and here I was eating it like a snack.

Note--- it was gold-grade! GOLD GRADE!

The fact that I was just an old man whose health was uncertain just exacerbates my problems.                       

That is when.

Jump. Jump. Jump.

A meaty white bunny suddenly finds its way into my cave. Its black beady eyes exude innocence and adorableness.

The bunny looked plump and full of meat. Still, I felt that the bunny was quite young. Well, it was small, as it could fit into my single palm alone.

But those legs… Ain't them meaty enough for my one meal, right?

The hunger was killing me, and I could eat anything now. Hmmm...

Was this luck? Well, it was food... But it is cute... The logical choice would be cruelty. It was the survival of the fittest! But it was difficult for my frail heart... It was not so long since I arrived in this world, and my modern mindset remained clinging to the back of my head very persistently.

"Kyu… kyu ku!"

Too cute.

What kind of sound was that? Was it acting cute? Did rabbits even sound like that?

Aaaaagh! I don't care anymore, I was hungry!

What should I do?

Chasing prey with my poor physique was difficult. Hmmm...

How about my quintessence?

I recalled how old Fu Shi stimulated his qi when he battled. Maybe I could do the same with quintessence.

With my index and middle fingers outstretched, I focussed my mind. Then with a wanting gaze, I sent my intentions.

'I want you to be mine!' 

[Ping! Used 1 quintessence. Acquired 1 player.]

"…"

"Kyu?"

WHAT!?