Ethan Cross woke up with a splitting headache.
His eyes snapped open, and immediately he knew something was terribly wrong.
The ceiling above him wasn't the familiar white paint of his apartment.
Instead, rough wooden beams crisscrossed overhead, and the air smelled of incense and something musty he couldn't identify.
"What the hell...?"
He tried to sit up, and a wave of dizziness crashed over him.
Fragmented memories that weren't his own flooded his mind—images of a completely different life, a different world, a different identity.
His name was... no, had been Ethan Cross.
Twenty-three years old, software developer in Seattle, died in a car crash on his way home from work.
He remembered the truck running the red light, the impact, the darkness.
But now he was also Chen Xuan. Sixteen years old.
A discarded member of the Chen family in Qingyang City.
A so-called "trash tamer" who had failed to contract even a single beast despite three years of trying.
"This is insane," Ethan muttered, pressing his palms against his temples.
"Transmigration? That's... that only happens in web novels."
Yet the memories were too vivid, too real. He could feel both lives merging in his mind—his modern Earth knowledge and the cultivation world understanding of Chen Xuan.
Two souls, one body.
Somehow, impossibly, he had crossed worlds.
Ethan—no, he supposed he should think of himself as Chen Xuan now, or perhaps keep his Earth name since that felt more real—slowly sat up and took in his surroundings.
The room was small and shabby, barely ten feet across.
A simple wooden bed, a cracked mirror on the wall, and a single chest in the corner.
Compared to the grand estates he saw in Chen Xuan's memories of the main family compound, this was practically a servant's quarters.
Because that's what he was now.
A disgrace to the family name.
In this world, strength was everything.
And strength came from two sources: personal cultivation and beast taming. Cultivators could tame beasts, form contracts with them, and fight alongside them.
The stronger your beasts, the higher your status.
Chen Xuan had neither cultivation talent nor beast taming ability.
After three years at the Azure Sky Beast Academy, he hadn't managed to contract a single creature. His peers, who started at the same time, had already reached Beast Warrior rank with multiple contracted beasts.
Meanwhile, Chen Xuan remained stuck at the lowest level—Beast Apprentice, Rank 1.
Last week, the family had finally given up on him.
They'd moved him to this shabby courtyard on the edge of the clan compound and cut off most of his resources.
In another month, if he still showed no progress, they would expel him entirely.
Chen Xuan—the original owner of this body—had been so devastated that he'd gotten drunk on cheap wine and fallen, hitting his head on the corner of his bed.
That's when Ethan's soul had taken over.
"What a mess," Ethan muttered.
He stood up shakily and walked to the cracked mirror.
The face staring back at him was unfamiliar.
Younger than his Earth appearance, with sharper features and dark eyes.
Not bad looking, actually, but there was a defeated slump to the shoulders and dark circles under the eyes that spoke of months of failure and humiliation.
"Alright, Ethan... Chen Xuan... whoever the hell I am now," he said to his reflection.
"First things first.
I need to figure out what I'm working with here."
He closed his eyes and tried to sense his cultivation, the way Chen Xuan's memories instructed. There—a tiny spark of spiritual energy in his dantian, barely the size of a grain of rice.
Pathetic for someone who'd been training for three years.
No wonder the family had given up on him.
Ethan opened his eyes and sighed.
This was going to be difficult.
In the cultivation world, talent was everything.
If Chen Xuan had failed for three years, what made Ethan think he could do any better? Sure, he had knowledge from Earth, but that didn't mean—
[DING!]
A mechanical sound echoed in his mind, and Ethan froze.
[Beast Evolution System Initializing...]
[Detecting Host: Ethan Cross]
[Soul Origin: Earth - Dimension #4782]
[Current Status: Successfully Transmigrated]
[System Activation: Complete]
A translucent blue screen materialized in front of Ethan's eyes, covered in text that only he could see. His heart began to race.
"No way," he whispered. "A system? Like in those novels?"
[Welcome, Host Ethan Cross!]
[You have been granted the Beast Evolution System]
[Primary Function: All contracted beasts gain 100x cultivation speed]
[Secondary Functions: Beast Evolution Analysis, Skill Enhancement, Hidden Bloodline Detection]
[Current Beast Contracts: 0/3]
[Level: 1]
Ethan's jaw dropped. He read the information three times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
A golden finger—the protagonist's cheat ability that every transmigrator dreamed of.
And not just any cheat.
One hundred times cultivation speed for his beasts?
That was insane.
If a normal beast took one year to advance a rank, his beasts would do it in less than four days!
"Holy shit," Ethan breathed.
"This changes everything."
He focused on the system screen, and new information appeared.
[Tutorial Quest Available]
[Quest: Contract Your First Beast]
[Reward: Beginner's Gift Package, +1 Contract Slot]
[Time Limit: 7 Days]
[Accept?]
"Accept," Ethan said immediately.
[Quest Accepted!]
[Hint: Azure Sky Beast Academy conducts a field expedition to the Whispering Woods tomorrow. Low-level beasts can be found there.]
[Additional Hint: Check your dimensional storage. Chen Xuan's mother left him something before she died.]
Dimensional storage? Ethan concentrated, and another small interface appeared—a grid with several slots.
Most were empty, but one contained an item: a worn leather pouch.
Curious, Ethan willed it into his hand.
The pouch materialized from thin air, startling him even though he'd expected it.
Magic—real magic—was going to take some getting used to.
Inside the pouch were three things: a faded photograph of a kind-looking woman (Chen Xuan's mother, who'd died five years ago), a small jade pendant, and a folded letter.
Ethan opened the letter with trembling fingers.
"My dearest Xuan," it read in elegant script. "If you're reading this, I am no longer with you. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to see you grow up. I know the family is hard on you. I know they expect so much. But remember—true strength comes not from talent, but from perseverance and a kind heart. The pendant I leave you was given to me by an old friend. She said it would help you when the time was right. I don't know what she meant, but I trust you'll figure it out. Be strong, my son. Make your own path. Love always, Mother."
Ethan felt Chen Xuan's emotions welling up—grief, longing, and a desperate desire to make his mother proud.
He blinked back tears he didn't fully understand.
The jade pendant was simple, carved with the image of a coiled serpent.
Ethan held it up to the light, and the system chimed again.
[Special Item Detected: Jade Serpent Pendant]
[Effect: Attracts beasts with draconic bloodlines]
[Rarity: Rare]
[Note: Draconic bloodlines are extremely valuable. Even low-level beasts with dormant dragon blood can evolve into powerful creatures.]
A slow smile spread across Ethan's face.
His mother's "old friend" must have been someone extraordinary.
This pendant would help him find a beast with real potential.
Tomorrow's field expedition to the Whispering Woods suddenly seemed much more promising.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Chen Xuan! Are you dead in there or what?"
Ethan recognized the voice from Chen Xuan's memories—Liu Yue, one of his classmates at the academy.
Unlike most students who mocked him, she'd always been relatively kind.
Though even her kindness had a hint of pity to it.
He opened the door to find a pretty girl about his age, with long black hair tied in a ponytail and sharp, intelligent eyes.
She wore the azure and white robes of the Beast Academy, and a small blue bird perched on her shoulder—her contracted beast, a Rank 3 Frost Sparrow.
"Oh, you're alive," Liu Yue said, looking him up and down.
"You look terrible. Were you drinking again?"
"Something like that," Ethan muttered.
"What do you want?"
"The academy sent me to remind you about tomorrow's expedition. Instructor Wang said if you don't show up, he's going to recommend your expulsion immediately rather than waiting another month." She paused, her expression softening slightly. "Look, I know things have been rough for you, but skipping academy events isn't going to help."
Ethan nodded.
"I'll be there."
Liu Yue looked surprised.
"Really? You're not going to make up some excuse?"
"No. I'm done making excuses." He met her eyes steadily.
"Tomorrow, things are going to change."
She studied him for a long moment, and Ethan could see the doubt in her expression. How many times had Chen Xuan said something similar before? How many times had he promised to do better, only to fail again?
But this time was different.
This time, Chen Xuan wasn't alone.
He had Ethan's knowledge, Ethan's determination, and most importantly, the Beast Evolution System.
"Alright," Liu Yue said finally. "We leave at dawn. Don't be late."
She turned to go, then paused.
"Chen Xuan... I hope you mean it this time. I really do."
After she left, Ethan closed the door and leaned against it.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow he would contract his first beast.
Tomorrow his new life would truly begin.
He pulled up the system interface again and smiled.
[Beast Evolution System - Level 1]
[Host: Ethan Cross]
[Cultivation: Beast Apprentice, Rank 1]
[Contracted Beasts: 0/3]
[System Shop: Locked (Complete Tutorial Quest to unlock)]
[Evolution Points: 0]
The path ahead was long.
He didn't know where it would lead - Beast Warrior? Beast Master? Maybe even Beast King if he was lucky? Chen Xuan's memories only contained knowledge of the basic ranks taught at the academy. But with this system, who knew how far he could go?
One step at a time.
First, contract a beast.
Then get stronger.
Everything else would come after.
Ethan had always loved a good challenge.
"Alright, Tianxuan Continent," he said softly.
"Let's see what you've got."
Tomorrow, the Whispering Woods.
Tomorrow, everything would change.