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Chapter 1: The Mysterious Light Sphere from Birth
Qianyuan Kingdom, Qingfeng City, the Lin family's back mountain.
At the edge of a scenic cliff, a young man dressed in black training clothes sat cross-legged on a large boulder. With each breath in and out, it seemed as if he was in tune with the natural rhythms of heaven and earth, drawing strands of the ambient spiritual energy into his body.
"Huff… I finally broke through to the third level of the Acquired Realm!"
No one knew how much time had passed, but suddenly the youth's eyes snapped open. Feeling the true energy within his body had increased by nearly thirty percent, a trace of joy involuntarily appeared on his face.
However, he quickly calmed down again.
It had been sixteen years since he crossed into this world. Having lived through the era of the information explosion and having read novels for over a decade, even though Lin Zichen couldn't access the deeper secrets of this world, based on years of hearsay and some records from his family's chronicles, he could deduce that this world was far more complex than it appeared on the surface.
The land beneath Lin Zichen's feet was called: Tianwu Continent.
This continent was vast, home to countless nations and sects. Take the Qianyuan Kingdom where he resided—it alone had a population of over two billion and covered an area larger than Asia in his previous life.
Naturally, to occupy such a large territory, the Qianyuan Kingdom's strength was not to be underestimated.
Just on the surface, there were at least ten strong practitioners at the Heaven-Man Realm, and who knew how many were hidden in the shadows.
According to what Lin Zichen knew, martial artists on the Tianwu Continent were classified from weakest to strongest into: Body Refinement Realm, Acquired Realm, Innate Realm, Master Realm, Grandmaster Realm, Heaven-Man Realm, and the legendary Return-to-Origin Realm.
Above those realms, there might be even higher levels, but they were beyond his current reach.
"An Acquired Realm third level cultivation is strong within Qingfeng City, unrivaled among my peers. But looking at the entire Qianyuan Kingdom, it's nothing at all—not even enough to qualify for the Qianyuan Elite Rankings…"
Shaking his head, Lin Zichen forcefully suppressed the messy thoughts in his heart and gazed into the distance.
Perhaps due to his reincarnation, Lin Zichen was born with outstanding aptitude and comprehension. Coupled with his awareness from two lifetimes of the importance of strength, he cultivated diligently, thus achieving the third level of the Acquired Realm at the age of sixteen.
However, there's an old saying:
Why should your ten years of hard work defeat three generations of another's effort?
Although the Lin family was one of the ten great families in Qingfeng City, with several Innate Realm martial artists guarding it, compared to the true geniuses of major powers, whether in terms of cultivation techniques or resources, he was still far behind.
With equally excellent talent, if he were in a major power, he might have already reached the sixth or even seventh level of the Acquired Realm.
"Too big a gap in resources and techniques…"
Shaking his head again, Lin Zichen immersed his mind into his sea of consciousness, gazing at the light sphere that had remained unchanged over the years. Sighing, he muttered to himself, "Sixteen years… It's been sixteen whole years. Ever since my reincarnation, you've stayed exactly the same. What exactly are you?"
Over the years, Lin Zichen had never given up researching the light sphere in his sea of consciousness, but to no avail.
Still, something capable of bringing him across worlds was undoubtedly a supreme treasure.
If he could utilize it, then—
"Forget it. Instead of waiting for a golden finger to activate, I'd better go claim my resource reward from the family."
"Father did say that upon reaching the third level of the Acquired Realm, I would be rewarded with twenty low-grade spirit stones for cultivation…"
Shaking off the distracting thoughts, thinking about the promised resource reward made Lin Zichen's eyes flash with anticipation. He turned around and headed towards the Lin family estate at the foot of the mountain.
On the Tianwu Continent, most Acquired Realm martial artists relied on herbs or diet supplementation for cultivation. Using spirit stones for cultivation was a luxury—no family in Qingfeng City could afford such extravagance.
After all, spirit stones—even low-grade ones—were so rare that ordinary people might not see one in their lifetime, let alone own one.
If someone used a low-grade spirit stone for trade,
just one stone would be enough to purchase goods worth a hundred taels of gold.
"I wonder how much faster my cultivation will be using spirit stones?"
Thinking of this, Lin Zichen couldn't help but quicken his pace.
About the time it took to burn an incense stick later—
Lin Zichen returned to the family estate and immediately made his way toward the Patriarch's Hall where his father, Lin Shoucheng, handled family affairs.
"Third Young Master."
"Greetings, Third Young Master."
Along the way, many maids and servants stood respectfully and greeted Lin Zichen as he passed.
Lin Zichen merely nodded slightly in response, walking even faster.
"Father."
Without any obstruction, Lin Zichen quickly arrived inside the great hall.
"Mm."
Upon hearing his son's voice, Lin Shoucheng, who had been dealing with family affairs, immediately lifted his head and looked at him with a smile.
"Oh? Third level of the Acquired Realm? Zichen, you broke through?"
Sensing the aura emanating from Lin Zichen, Lin Shoucheng abruptly stood up, stepping forward and grabbing his son's wrist.
Moments later, an expression of intense joy appeared on Lin Shoucheng's face.
"Acquired Realm third level—it's really the third level! Good, good, good! Sixteen years old and third level of the Acquired Realm—there's hope for Grandmaster level, real hope for Grandmaster level!"
Lin Shoucheng was extremely excited, his voice even trembling slightly.
After all, reaching Grandmaster level meant becoming a figure renowned throughout the entire Qianyuan Kingdom.
Someone who could establish a major power on their own.
If the Lin family had such a supreme powerhouse sitting at its core, dominating Qingfeng City would be but a word.
"Zichen, here is the family's reward for your breakthrough to the third level of the Acquired Realm—twenty low-grade spirit stones. In addition, here's another ten from me personally."
After calming down, Lin Shoucheng quickly took out the rewards Lin Zichen had long been looking forward to.
It was ten stones more than expected.
Lin Zichen accepted them without hesitation.
After all, his father was the head of the Lin family. Ten low-grade spirit stones might represent a huge fortune for an ordinary Innate Realm martial artist, but for the family head, it was just a small portion of his assets—not significant enough to matter.
However, just as Lin Zichen accepted the spirit stones and was about to thank his father—
Suddenly, the originally still light sphere in his sea of consciousness burst out with intense radiance, and immediately, a stream of information appeared in his mind out of thin air.
"Immortal Clan Simulator?"
"Automatically bound to the Lin family?"
"Spirit stones can provide energy for the simulator, allowing it to simulate the future of the family?"
"Uh… Isn't this that little game I used to play before crossing over??"
Looking at the introduction to this familiar yet strange 'treasure', Lin Zichen's joy was mixed with bewilderment.
Still, after so many years of silence, his golden finger was finally activated—how could he care about anything else?
Snapping back to his senses, he hurriedly bade farewell to his father.
Returning to his own courtyard,
he immediately began to study it.
(End of this chapter)
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