Chapter 4
A vast and peaceful forest stretched as far as Alex's eyes could see, filled with tall trees, thick trunks, and branches covered with unfamiliar fruits that he had never seen during his life on Earth.
Everything around him looked strangely perfect, from the clean air and endless greenery to the quiet atmosphere that surrounded the entire forest, leaving Alex completely mesmerized by the unfamiliar beauty.
As he slowly looked around, tears of happiness began gathering in his eyes. The forest seemed to stretch in every direction like protective wings, giving him a strange sense of safety after spending so long trapped inside complete darkness.
For a long moment, Alex simply stood there without moving, allowing himself to experience the world around him. After nearly two years without a body, even the simplest sensations felt incredibly precious.
'So… this is Predora…'
Alex looked toward the distant trees as he silently took in the unfamiliar scenery, still finding it difficult to believe that he had actually awakened on another planet.
"It's… beautiful," Alex finally said aloud, his voice carrying genuine emotion as he looked around at the peaceful forest surrounding him.
It was the first time he had spoken aloud in what felt like an incredibly long time. His voice sounded almost exactly as it had on Earth, which immediately made him curious about something he hadn't considered before.
What did he look like now?
Alex lowered his head and looked at the clothes covering his body. He was wearing a simple shirt and a pair of pants, nothing particularly special or unusual about them.
He briefly looked over himself before deciding not to think too much about his appearance yet. There were far more important things he needed to understand about this new world.
Then—
Ding!
A familiar ringing sound suddenly echoed inside his mind, immediately interrupting his thoughts. A single system notification appeared before Alex could even wonder what had caused it.
Alex's expression immediately became serious as he wondered what exactly had changed. He hadn't done anything unusual since obtaining his body, so the notification naturally caught his attention.
"Status," Alex whispered, focusing his attention on the command as he waited for the familiar blue screen to appear.
A blue light appeared before him, quickly forming into the system's status screen.
---[Status]---
[Name: Alex Morgan]
[Race: Undying]
[Body: Human Body]
[Physique: Primal Origin Physique]
[Bloodline: Eternal Genesis Bloodline]
[Total Energy: 92]
[Undying Energy: 72]
[Qi Energy: 20]
Alex carefully read every line on the screen, but his attention eventually stopped on three categories that hadn't existed before.
Body.
Physique.
Bloodline.
Those three words immediately reminded him of the countless cultivation novels he had read during his previous life, where characters were often born with special physiques and powerful bloodlines.
From what Alex remembered, physiques and bloodlines were usually innate characteristics that someone possessed from birth. They often provided unique abilities or advantages that ordinary people could never obtain.
And if every bloodline and physique possessed its own unique powers, then there was one obvious question.
What exactly were his?
"System," Alex asked quietly while staring at the two unfamiliar names, "what exactly can my bloodline and physique do?"
The answer appeared almost immediately, without any hesitation or unnecessary explanation.
The system's tone remained completely calm and emotionless, as though it had just explained something extremely ordinary.
Then another message appeared.
Alex frowned slightly after reading the response. The words purest human bloodline and pure human physique continued repeating inside his mind.
'Purest human?'
He had never heard such terminology on Earth.
Why did the system specifically call them pure human bloodline and physique instead of simply calling them human?
Did that mean something was different about the humans living on this planet?
Or perhaps the system's definition of a human was different from what Alex understood.
That possibility immediately reminded him of something he had read countless times in cultivation stories. In many of those worlds, bloodlines became weaker after mixing with other races across numerous generations.
Powerful abilities gradually became diluted, unique traits disappeared, and the descendants eventually possessed only a small fraction of the strength their ancestors once had.
It had always been nothing more than a theory based on fictional stories to Alex.
But now that he knew cultivation and Qi were real, completely ignoring that knowledge would be foolish.
Alex began thinking carefully about everything he knew.
If bloodlines could actually become diluted, then perhaps most humans on Predora were no longer purely human. Maybe their ancestors had mixed with other races over countless generations, causing their original bloodline and physique to gradually change.
If that were true, then the system's strange choice of words finally began making sense.
A quiet curiosity slowly appeared inside Alex's mind.
If his bloodline and physique were truly the purest forms of humanity, then just how much potential did that give him?
In the cultivation novels he had read, mixed bloodlines and physiques often produced descendants who inherited characteristics from several different races. Those descendants were neither completely one race nor completely another.
If the same principle applied to Predora, then perhaps the humans living on this planet were technically mixed beings rather than completely pure humans.
Maybe their bloodlines had changed so much over countless generations that the original human bloodline was almost impossible to find anymore.
And if that was the case, perhaps the system's definition of human was simply much stricter than normal.
'Then what would the other humans be considered?' Alex wondered, his curiosity becoming stronger as he continued thinking about the possibility.
The idea was complicated, but the theory itself was surprisingly simple.
Perhaps humanity had existed in its original form long ago, but after countless generations of interaction with other races, their bloodlines gradually became diluted until the original purity disappeared.
Except for him.
That possibility made Alex stare at his status screen for several seconds.
Before he could continue thinking about it, however—
Ding!
Another notification suddenly rang through his mind, interrupting his thoughts.
Alex quickly returned his attention to his surroundings. Since there was nothing else he could learn at the moment, he decided that exploring the area would be the best use of his time.
He began walking through the forest, carefully observing the strange plants and trees around him while trying to understand what kind of world he had entered.
Then another notification appeared.
Ding!
A few moments later, another notification followed.
Ding!
And then another.
Ding!
Alex soon noticed a strange pattern. Every five minutes or so, another notification appeared, informing him that he had gained additional energy.
'How am I gaining energy so quickly?' Alex wondered, becoming increasingly confused by the sudden change.
Before obtaining his body, he had needed almost a month just to collect a single point of energy. Now, he was gaining several points within a much shorter period without deliberately doing anything.
The difference was simply too large to ignore.
"System, how am I gaining energy so quickly?" Alex asked while continuing to walk through the forest, hoping the system could explain the sudden increase.
The system responded immediately.
"I see…" Alex nodded slowly after hearing the explanation, his expression showing that the answer confirmed what he had already suspected.
He had already guessed that obtaining a physical body was responsible for the increase, but he wanted confirmation from the system before making assumptions.
As Alex continued walking, he eventually noticed a clear pathway cutting through the forest and leading toward an unknown destination.
He looked at the path for a few seconds before deciding to follow it, curious about where it would eventually take him.
However, the system notifications continued appearing.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Every few minutes, another alert appeared inside his mind, constantly reminding him that he had gained more energy.
'This is irritating,' Alex thought, beginning to feel annoyed by the repeated notifications interrupting his thoughts every few minutes.
Eventually, he couldn't tolerate it anymore.
"System… can you stop showing this every time I gain energy?" Alex asked with slight irritation. "It's getting annoying."
The response came immediately.
The notifications stopped.
Silence returned to Alex's mind, allowing him to continue walking without constant interruptions. He followed the pathway for some time until the dense forest eventually began thinning around him.
After walking for a while longer, Alex finally stepped out of the forest.
He froze.
Standing roughly ten minutes away from him was a massive wall stretching across the land, enclosing an enormous area that disappeared far into the distance.
At the center of the wall stood a towering gate.
Alex stared at the enormous structure for several seconds before slowly walking toward it. The closer he got, the more impressive the size of the gate became.
When he finally reached the entrance, Alex realized that the gate was enormous enough for hundreds of people to pass through at once.
However, the main gate was mostly closed, with only several smaller sections opened for people and carriages to pass through.
There were ten openings in total, and two armored guards stood beside each entrance, carefully watching everyone who passed through.
Five of the entrances were being used by people leaving the city, while the other five were being used by people entering it.
Small lines of people and carriages had formed near each opening, and Alex quickly noticed that everyone seemed to hand something over before being allowed inside.
'Do I need money too?' Alex wondered as he watched the people paying before entering.
Before he could approach someone and ask, a large-bellied man wearing yellow clothes walked toward him with a friendly smile.
"Hello, brother. New around here?" the man asked casually, stopping a short distance away from Alex.
"Yes, I arrived today, but I don't know how to get inside," Alex admitted honestly while looking toward the massive gate. "I don't have any money either."
"Ahh…" The man nodded as though Alex's situation was completely normal, showing no surprise at his lack of money.
"You can hunt weaker monsters or gather herbs in the forest," the man explained helpfully while pointing back toward the forest behind Alex. "Then sell them to the merchants near the gate. Five silver coins are enough to enter."
"Mm." Alex nodded gratefully, appreciating the man's simple advice. "Thank you, brother."
The man smiled and waved before walking away, while Alex turned around and headed back toward the forest.
However, Alex wasn't foolish enough to immediately enter the forest and start fighting monsters without knowing anything about his current strength.
Instead, he searched for a quiet clearing outside the forest where nobody would disturb him. After finding a suitable place, he sat down on a large rock and finally decided to ask the system about cultivation.
"System… how do I cultivate?" Alex asked while sitting comfortably on the rock, his curiosity growing after everything he had learned about Qi.
The system answered immediately.
Alex's eyes immediately brightened after hearing that. If the system could help him cultivate directly, then he could potentially save himself a great deal of time and avoid making mistakes.
"How much Qi Energy do I have right now?" Alex asked, suddenly curious about how much he had gathered while walking.
"Eh!?"
Alex nearly stumbled from the sudden shock, his eyes widening as he stared into the empty space before him.
One hundred and fifty-five.
That number was far higher than he had expected.
For a moment, Alex genuinely wondered whether the system had malfunctioned and displayed an incorrect number.
He quickly remembered how slowly he had gathered energy before obtaining his body, when even a single point had required nearly a month of waiting.
Compared to that previous rate, his current absorption speed was simply astronomical.
Alex let out a quiet sigh as he thought about the difference.
The change wasn't merely significant.
It was enormous.
After calming himself, Alex focused on the more important question.
"Okay… then how much Qi Energy do I need to break through?" Alex asked, now feeling much more confident after seeing his current energy reserves.
Alex's eyes widened again as the answer registered in his mind.
"That means I can break through right now?" he asked excitedly, barely able to contain the anticipation in his voice.
"Yes!" Alex answered instantly, excitement flooding his voice as his heart began pounding with anticipation.
For the first time since arriving on Predora, Alex was finally about to take his first real step toward becoming a cultivator.