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š Cultivating with a Broken System (and No Talent)
Chapter 2 ā The First Activation
One day, without warning, a battle erupted outside my homeāthe righteous Huu Huyen Sect clashing with the sinister Demonic Sect. Explosions shattered the sky, spiritual energy shook the ground, and the once-peaceful mountainside became a war zone.
I was just a mortal. No one cared if I lived or died. My little shack might be reduced to rubble at any second.
Before I could even process what was happening, the Huu Huyen Sect had already fallen.
One of their disciplesāan injured girl in blueācrashed to the ground, blood soaking through her robes. A man in black from the Demonic Sect hovered above, grinning with eyes full of madness.
I don't know what drove me forward. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe something else. But I stepped out.
> "Stop right there. Or you'll pay the price."
The man turned, his crimson eyes gleaming.
> "Hahahaā¦ A mere mortal dares interfere?"
He grabbed me by the throat, lifting me like I weighed nothing.
> "You'll make excellent fuel. Mortals are rich in spirit essenceā¦"
I couldn't breathe. My vision dimmed.
> [System: Threat detected. Emergency defense activated.]
A sharp voice echoed in my mind. And thenāa deafening blast erupted in the air.
The Demonic Sect cultivator was reduced to ashes in an instant.
I fell to the ground, trembling, confused, exhausted.
> "Whyā¦ why am I always the one who needs saving?"
But I didn't have time to pity myself. The girl was still unconscious, barely clinging to life.
I carried her inside my home and used the last of my herbs to tend to her wounds.
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Hours passedā¦
> "Whereā¦ am I?" ā she murmured, finally waking.
"You're safe. This is my home."
"What aboutā¦ that man?"
"He's dead."
"Impossibleā¦ he was already in the Completion Stageā¦"
She hesitated, then gave a slight bow.
"Thank youā¦ for saving me."
She left behind a book, then vanished like smoke.
I opened it, and found a diagram of this world's cultivation realmsāa map that explained the gap between mortals like meā¦ and people like her.
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š Cultivation Realms
šŖØ I. Mortal Realm
1. Mortal
2. Vein Opening
3. Spirit Gathering
4. Soul Condensing
5. Core Formation
šŖļø II. Essence Realm
6. Nascent Soul
7. Spirit Transformation
8. Elemental Shift
9. Law Weaving
10. Dao Comprehension
š III. Divine Realm
11. Benevolent Being
12. Demonic Overlord
13. Immortal
14. True Immortal
15. Saint of Law
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Another bookāthis one wrapped in cursed leatherālay underneath. The aura of blood and death leaked from its pages.
> "The path of the Demonic Sect is simple: kill, absorb, grow stronger.
But over timeā¦ the body decays, and only endless slaughter can keep it alive."
I stared at the words in silence.
> "If I used thisā¦ maybe I wouldn't need the system."
A dangerous thought crept into my mind. I clenched my fists.
> "Noā¦ I can't."
But I knew one thing for sure:
From this point on, every choice I made would decide the fate of my soulā¦ and maybe the entire world.
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