Little Yu Xin was stunned. He found it incomprehensible—hearing a voice in his head and seeing text before his eyes.
For a moment, he thought he might have lost his mind. But he quickly remembered fragments from his dream and couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
It's real… it's truly real…
What was it called? What was the magic word?
After a moment of doubt, his eyes lit up.
"Status!"he called out excitedly.
Sure enough, new text appeared before his eyes:
```
Status
Name: Yu Xin
Age: 5 years
Spiritual Root: Low-grade, Wind Element
System Function: [Daily Sign-in]
```
He was extremely excited when he saw the status panel but calmed down considerably after reading it. It was sparse, with almost nothing notable to see.
Along with the panel, information suddenly flowed into his mind. This system's only function was daily sign-in. It didn't depend on location, but entirely on time. For example, the first sign-in would yield the best reward, with rewards gradually improving afterward and special bonuses on yearly anniversaries. Rewards could also shift slightly based on the host's profession—an alchemist might receive more herbs and spiritual medicines.
Little Yu Xin wasn't in the mood to sign in instantly, because the system's awakening confirmed something profound: his dream was, in fact, not a dream. It was a life.
He felt a pang of sadness for his previous self and silently vowed to fulfill all his abandoned dreams in this life.
Then, with quiet anticipation, he whispered in his heart:
Sign-in.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on your first sign-in.]
[You are rewarded with a Dao-Grade cultivation technique: The Karmic Wind God Scripture.]
An immense flood of knowledge instantly poured into Little Yu Xin's mind, nearly making him faint. He didn't feel sharp pain, but it was a deeply strange experience—as if a library had been compressed and unfolded inside his skull. His head buzzed.
He quickly sorted through the information. The cultivation technique provided was only the Qi Refining portion. This didn't mean the scripture was incomplete; a mortal mind could only comprehend so much. Deeper sections would unravel as his cultivation realm advanced.
It was an immortal cultivation technique, not a martial one. As his cultivation improved, his wind-element spiritual energy would become increasingly invisible and elusive, growing more attuned to the law of karma—cause and effect. The cultivator would also align more closely with karma itself, finding karmic techniques easier to comprehend and more powerful to wield.
As he processed it all, Little Yu Xin couldn't help but feel exhilarated. It took him quite a while to calm down.
But the moment he relaxed, overwhelming sleepiness crashed over him.
The day had been profoundly exhausting. The reawakening of his past life's memories, the anxiety of the assessment, the fear of being forever stuck, the thrill of awakening the system, and the informational overload from the scripture—it was the final spark that lit the fuse.
Little Yu Xin fell asleep instantly.
---
Early the next morning, Little Yu Xin awoke to find his parents already moving about. His mother, Liu Hua, was in the kitchen, and his father, Yu Jin, sat on the couch reading a newspaper from the Listening Wind Pavilion.
It felt like a usual day. Little Yu Xin settled from yesterday's emotional whirlwind and felt happy again. After all, he was still just a child.
While happily eating breakfast and chatting idly, Yu Jin brought up a more serious matter, his tone slightly solemn.
"Xin'er,have you thought about which cultivation art you'll study? It's a very important decision."
He then added, "Talisman crafting might be a good choice for you. Wind-element talismans are in high demand."
Little Yu Xin was momentarily stunned. He almost nodded and said, I'll listen to Father—a reflex from a lifetime of compliance. But he caught himself.
In his previous life, he had been an engineer but had never truly engineered or created anything. In this life, he wanted to be an artifact refiner—to build, to make, to create. Even if his creations weren't earth-shattering, he wanted to try. And he was no longer afraid to fail.
He knew his father hoped he'd become a talisman crafter. A wind spiritual root was a significant advantage in talisman crafting, whereas it offered less direct benefit in artifact refining. Yu Jin could personally teach him the craft—a passing of legacy, even if their elemental specialties differed.
If this had been yesterday, Little Yu Xin might have agreed. But today, he shook his head and said firmly, "Father, I want to be an artifact refiner."
Yu Jin was momentarily taken aback, and a hint of wistfulness crossed his face. But more than that, he felt relieved. If a person was led by the nose their whole life, even success would feel hollow. Only by pursuing one's own dreams could life feel truly meaningful.
He nodded and said, "I'll speak to some friends in the city and help you apprentice under a skilled artifact refiner."
Little Yu Xin hadn't expected such trust. His eyes reddened slightly, and he nodded quietly.
Flame City was famous for artifact refining. Finding a qualified refiner to teach the basics would be relatively easy.
Liu Hua spoke from the side, her voice doting, "You can begin cultivating now. Do you wish to pursue immortal cultivation or martial cultivation?"
Little Yu Xin already knew he would follow the immortal path, but he still wanted to understand the difference.
"Mom,what's different about them?"
Liu Hua patiently explained, "While your father and I both cultivate immortality, we still know the differences. In immortal cultivation, you refine spiritual energy—a higher, purer energy closer to the origin of heaven and earth. The amount of spiritual energy in an immortal cultivator's dantian is also greater.
"Martial cultivators refine true qi.It's less profound and exists in smaller quantities, but martial cultivators also temper their physical bodies, which grow formidable as they advance.
"And martial cultivation depends less on spiritual roots.You could even cultivate techniques unrelated to your root affinity—though that would mean essentially abandoning your spiritual root and cultivating as a mortal would."
She looked at her small son, unsure how much he grasped, and concluded, "That's enough for now. Which path do you wish to follow?"
Little Yu Xin asked, "Mom, can an immortal cultivator also strengthen their body?"
Liu Hua chuckled. "And martial cultivators also wish they could cultivate spiritual energy. Where is there such a perfect thing? Of course, an immortal cultivator's body improves as their realm advances, just as a martial cultivator's true qi increases. But an immortal cultivator's body cannot compare to a martial cultivator's in the same realm, just as spiritual energy and true qi are not comparable."
She looked at him affectionately and asked again, "Alright, now—which system do you choose?"
Little Yu Xin no longer hesitated. "Mom, I want to cultivate immortality."
Liu Hua smiled and retrieved a thin booklet from her storage pouch.
"This is a basic attribute-less spiritual energy cultivation technique.It can be cultivated up to the peak of Qi Refining's third layer."
Yu Jin also smiled and said, "Alright, son. You should go upstairs and read through this. Your mother and I have work to attend to."
Yu Jin needed to craft talismans in his studio, and Liu Hua had her garden—both the decorative spiritual flowers in front and the practical field behind the house where she grew spiritual rice and other crops.
Little Yu Xin didn't disturb them, knowing they had responsibilities. He quickly went to his room and began reading the booklet.
Even though he didn't plan to cultivate it, he needed to understand its contents in case his parents asked. He could hardly tell them he was a reincarnated soul with a system who already possessed a Dao-Grade cultivation technique, could he?
He went through it quickly and found it far less profound than the Karmic Wind God Scripture—which came as no surprise. Though he didn't fully understand what "Dao-Grade" meant, he had enough sense to know it was beyond compare to a basic, attribute-less manual.
Then, he settled himself cross-legged and began to cultivate for the very first time in this life.