A blazing golden sun hung high in the sky, its scorching heat blanketing the land. Vast regions in the west had already dried up into desolation—cracked earth, lifeless and barren, not a blade of grass in sight.
At the very edge of the western lands, however, there was one exception.
Near the Xu Tribe, a towering mountain still preserved a trace of vitality.
Towering tung trees with dark green trunks rose straight toward the heavens. Their dense, ink-colored leaves reflected a deep, muted sheen beneath the sunlight. Thick roots burrowed deep underground, drawing moisture from hidden subterranean rivers, stubbornly sustaining their growth and breathing life into an otherwise dead land.
At this moment, in the Xu Tribe, a boy of five or six sat in front of a stone house.
He looked delicate and well-featured, almost adorable—but his face was pale, his expression listless.
Xu Zixi held a small wooden bowl in both hands, carefully sipping the precious water inside, one mouthful at a time.
When the bowl was finally empty, the dryness in his throat eased a little. He handed it to the woman standing beside him.
"A-Ling," he said softly.
A-Ling bent down and asked gently, "Young Chieftain, would you like some more?"
"No." Xu Zixi shook his head. He couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh, worry filling his small face. When had drinking a bowl of water become something that required such caution?
Not a single drop could be wasted.
This world was far too dry. Water was life.
It had been five years since he arrived in this world, yet the number of times it had truly rained could be counted on one hand. Most of the time, what fell from the sky wasn't rain at all—but fire.
More precisely, meteors carrying heavenly flames.
People called it the Meteor Rain.
No one knew why, but starting ten thousand years ago, the sky had begun raining down meteors without warning, burning everything they touched and turning fertile lands into scorched wastelands stretching for thousands of miles.
And even now, the Meteor Rain was growing more frequent—almost once every month.
Over the past ten millennia, humanity had nearly been wiped out. Lands that were once rich and abundant had been burned to ashes, leaving this world impoverished and harsh.
Fortunately, the humans of this world were exceptionally powerful.
Everyone valued martial strength. According to legend, some top-tier experts could even move mountains and fill seas.
Under the protection of such powerful individuals, humanity had barely managed to survive the Meteor Rain and continue to multiply.
A-Ling, who had protected Xu Zixi since his childhood, was one such expert—a cultivator at the Heaven Extreme Realm, one of the rare powerhouses within the tribe.
She once told him that most tribe members were only at the Human Extreme Realm or Earth Extreme Realm, while his father's cultivation surpassed even Heaven Extreme, having reached the Mystic Extreme Realm.
But tragically, Xu Zixi himself wasn't even at the entry-level Human Extreme Realm.
This body of his was pitifully fragile. He had been born a stillborn child, and his mother had died during childbirth.
If not for a so-called "cheat" he had bound to at birth, he would have died long ago.
Yes—he had a cheat.
A maddeningly unfair one.
It was called the Survival System, and it came with a Life-and-Death Arena.
Every day, only by surviving the battles within the arena could he receive a reward: a single strand of Life Force, just enough to keep this fragile body alive.
If he died inside the arena, then that was it.
Total annihilation. No second chances.
To stay alive, Xu Zixi had no choice but to struggle for survival in the arena every single day. Thankfully, the arena matched opponents based on his actual strength—otherwise, with this broken body of his, his bones would have turned to ash long ago.
Even so, all it did was maintain his life.
Cultivation? With his withered, decaying meridians, that was nothing but a dream.
Just then, a patrol squad marched past him.
They moved in neat formation, clad in armor, each one tall, muscular, and imposing. Their presence radiated strength and discipline.
Xu Zixi watched them with envy.
He wondered if he would ever grow up to be that tall and strong.
Lowering his gaze, he looked at his own small, frail body—and his heart sank.
A-Ling noticed his furrowed brows and pitiful expression. Her heart tightened. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'll go get the physician right away," she said, already turning to leave.
"No!" Xu Zixi hurriedly grabbed her hand and shook his head. "I'm fine. I really am. No need to call the physician."
A-Ling held his small hand and carefully checked his meridians. Only after confirming there was nothing wrong did she finally relax.
She wasn't being overly anxious—his body had always been too weak. In the past, even a minor illness could have taken his life.
Although things had improved after he turned three, she still couldn't help worrying.
"Then what is it?" she asked gently. "Why do you look so troubled?"
Xu Zixi looked toward the distant mountain peak and said in a muffled voice, "It's been almost half a month… I don't know when Father will come back."
So that was it.
A-Ling smiled softly. "Don't worry. The Chieftain will return soon."
This time, his father had gone to Tungwood Mountain in search of the Purple-Gold Fruit.
The Purple-Gold Fruit was a ninth-grade rare fruit, rich in energy. It could heal damaged meridians and strengthen the physical body.
In a barren land like this, it was priceless.
Even though the chances were slim, Xu Zixi's father had still decided to search for it—for his son.
Xu Zixi didn't stay outside for long before A-Ling urged him back into the stone house. It was time for his medicinal bath.
She held his hand, ordered the attendants to prepare the medicinal brew, then helped him undress and lower himself into the wooden tub.
Knowing he disliked being watched while bathing, A-Ling reminded him, "Be careful. Call me when you're done."
"Okay," Xu Zixi nodded obediently.
She had originally wanted to stay and watch over him, but after he turned three, Xu Zixi insisted on bathing alone. Having someone watching felt… awkward.
Once A-Ling left, Xu Zixi's small body sank into the warm medicinal liquid. Gentle medicinal energy seeped through his pores, flowing into his strange network of meridians.
Warm currents circulated through his body, nourishing his meridians and flesh.
To be honest, the fact that he could walk freely now—rather than lying weakly in bed—was due not only to the Life Force from the system, but also largely to these medicinal baths.
The recipe had been obtained by his father in a trade market, exchanged for a magical artifact. Xu Zixi had been soaking in it since birth.
Unfortunately, as he grew older, the effectiveness of the medicine was steadily weakening. In another year, it would likely be completely useless.
That was the real reason his father was so desperate to find the Purple-Gold Fruit.
After soaking for a full hour, the medicinal effects were fully absorbed.
"A-Ling, I'm done!" Xu Zixi called out.
She immediately came in with the attendants, helped him clean off the medicinal residue, dressed him, and led him out of the bathing room.
"What would you like to do now, Young Chieftain?" A-Ling asked with a smile. "Would you like to go outside and play?"
Xu Zixi shook his head. "No. I want to read."
"Alright." A-Ling brought him into the study. "What book would you like? I'll fetch it for you."
He thought for a moment. "Do we have any books about the Purple-Gold Fruit?"
"Yes," A-Ling replied. "Let me look."
As she searched the tall bookshelves, Xu Zixi's thoughts drifted back to his father.
His meridians were shrunken, withered, and fragile—completely incapable of cultivation. He didn't know whether the Purple-Gold Fruit would actually help.
But even if it didn't, he wasn't completely without hope.
After all, he still had his cheat.
That stingy, infuriating Life-and-Death Arena.
Surviving daily battles granted one strand of Life Force. But clearing a stage would reward five strands—and one chance to draw a random reward.
From barely surviving through clumsy struggle to handling it with ease, it had taken him nearly two years.
And now, for the first time, Xu Zixi was confident.
Tonight, he would attempt to clear the first stage.
Xu Zixi sat on a stone chair covered with beast hide, head slightly lowered as he carefully flipped through the book in his hands.
Records of Rare Treasures was divided into three volumes—lower, middle, and upper—cataloging rare items of low, mid, and high grades respectively.
The book Xu Zixi was reading was the lower volume, which recorded ninth-grade low-tier treasures. Each entry was richly illustrated, vivid and detailed.
Unfortunately, he had never seen any of these treasures in real life.
If not for his father searching Tungwood Mountain for the Purple-Gold Fruit, Xu Zixi wouldn't have even known such a rare fruit existed.
This book had been found by A-Ling when he asked to learn more about it.
Unlike the Compendium of Herbs he had read before, the treasures recorded here were all filled with vital energy, each possessing extraordinary effects that made them irresistibly alluring.
For example—the Purple-Gold Fruit he was currently reading about.
It grew only within gold veins, relying on absorbed solar essence to mature.
The entire plant was purple, but the fruit itself shimmered with faint streaks of gold. That was how it earned its name.
Its effects were simple yet powerful.
It strengthened the physical body and gently nourished the meridians, making them tougher and more resilient.