The moment Markandeya returned from the beast trial, the energy core pulsed—soft and alive, like the heartbeat of a world.
He stood still.
Breath slow. Eyes closed.
Every fiber of his being was tingling.
It wasn't just the reward or the cloak draped across his shoulders, subtly dispersing his presence like smoke in wind. It wasn't even the new passive ability pulsing in his awareness—Beast Sense, a primal alert system guiding his instincts.
No.
It was the realization.
He had survived.
Not by chance, not by power.
By learning.
By thinking.
By adapting.
And for the first time since arriving in this strange, spiritual shell of Earth's core, Markandeya didn't feel like prey.
He felt like a cultivator in progress.
---
He seated himself cross-legged at the center of the floating crystalline platform, right above the swirling golden river of earth-vein essence. His fire wisp flickered into view, curling in lazy arcs beside him like a curious pet.
He focused inward.
Qi spiral: stable.
Chakra node: humming.
Soul sea: calm, faintly glowing.
Proto inner world: still unformed, but beginning to crystallize—shadows of galaxies spiraling in micro-scale. The inner space he instinctively called the seed realm shimmered faintly.
Then the System pinged.
> [System Notification – Survival Milestone Reached]
Total Trial Completions: 1
System Observation Rating: 9.1/10
Growth Trait Unlocked: Adaptive Cultivation Logic (Passive)
— Minor increase to technique learning speed and concept linking during survival scenarios.
Markandeya's eyes narrowed.
This system… it wasn't just giving rewards—it was watching how he thought. It rewarded strategic behavior. Exploratory thinking. The entire cultivation path was wired around survivalism and comprehension, not brute force.
He smiled faintly.
"Then I'll survive smarter."
As he stood to explore, he noticed something strange.
The core's flow was shifting.
The platform rippled under his feet like liquid light. Trails of energy began to peel away from the spiral around him, rising toward the dark nothingness above like stars in reverse.
Then the void cracked.
Not shattered—just a ripple, like a drop in still water.
A translucent screen flickered into existence, floating before his eyes.
> [Immortal Cultivation Chat Group – Universal Node Access Confirmed]
Tier: Zero
Access Level: Observation Mode Only
Current Status: Unranked
Daily Sign-In Available
Message Feed: 1 New Ping
His breath caught.
It was real.
The chat group. The cosmic system.
His soul instinctively reached out. The screen accepted him like a long-lost friend.
The first message blinked into view.
> [User: Void-Scorched Sand]
Rank: Tier 3
Message:
"New anomaly detected. Another soul with passive harmony traits? How curious. If you're reading this, anomaly… survive well. The universe doesn't care about talent. Only results."
Markandeya stared.
Tier 3?
There were others.
Other cultivators from across universes. From unknown worlds. Some aware of him.
He exhaled, calming the storm in his mind.
"Void-Scorched Sand… is watching me?"
Suddenly, the sense of isolation broke.
He wasn't alone anymore.
Just very, very low on the cosmic food chain.
> [System Notification: Daily Sign-In Available]
Would you like to claim today's reward?
He tapped yes, instinctively.
> [Daily Reward: 2 System Points, Random Technique Fragment – Awarded]
Item Received: Fragment – Root Pulse Meditation (Qi + Body hybrid)
Note: 3 more fragments needed to form complete technique.
Fragments?
So even techniques had to be assembled, like pieces of a puzzle.
He pulled up his system inventory.
The new interface shimmered like a lotus bloom made of code—each petal a slot for items, fragments, passives, and concepts.
One corner of the lotus glowed softly—his Boneleaf Cloak nestled beside the Fragment: Root Pulse Meditation, and a grayed-out icon of a beast egg flickering with a countdown timer. Apparently, the system was nurturing something.
"Companion beast incubation?" he muttered, eyeing the timer. "Or maybe a survival-based summon."
Curiosity tickled his mind, but he let it go.
Instead, he walked back to the edge of the energy platform.
The golden river of energy swirled beneath him—endless, majestic. It wasn't just a power source. It was a message.
This world was still alive.
It had structure. Flow. Ecosystems of energy and spirit. Which meant it could be learned.
He placed a hand on the platform, closing his eyes.
Trying to harmonize. To hear the whisper of the planet's slumbering soul.
And he did.
A faint vibration. Like heartbeats echoing in stone.
Then...
> [System Alert – Hidden Prompt Triggered]
Your spiritual resonance has triggered a temporary fusion with the local Earth Core Essence.
Synchronization: 12%… 21%…
An invisible force surged into him.
Painful. Raw.
Like bathing in magma laced with static.
His chakras flared. The spiral of qi trembled. His soul nearly fractured—
Then stabilized.
> [Fusion Complete – 34% Synchronization]
New Trait: Earth Pulse Echo (Passive)
You can now faintly sense underground leyline routes and mineral-based formations within a limited radius.
Markandeya gasped, staggering back.
The world around him looked the same.
But now... he felt it differently.
The pulse of leylines below. The silence of stone veins sleeping nearby. The hidden density pockets under distant terrain.
The Earth had become a map. Not fully visible—but whispering, like a sleeping beast.
He sat back down, overwhelmed.
So many systems. So many traits awakening.
Yet everything had structure. Logic.
This wasn't a random OP-system fantasy. It was a learning engine. Everything hinged on comprehension, reaction, and survival.
And now the chat group had opened.
Even if only partially.
He tapped the group interface again.
New windows appeared:
> [Tier Rank Rules – Viewable]
[Next Tier Requirements – Locked until Resonance Shift Achieved]
[Observation Mode: Listen to Public Threads Only]
A scroll of messages ticked slowly down the feed.
> [User: Ancient Frost-Mirror] – "The new world fragment I claimed is unstable. Any recommendations for stabilization?" [User: Void-Scorched Sand] – "Use karmic anchors. Bind to a forgotten faith or create an echo belief system." [User: Crimson Bone-Eye] – "Offering mission tokens to any who can tame planar beasts. Reward negotiable."
Markandeya read slowly.
Every word was like peeking behind the curtain of a grand stage.
World fragments. Karmic anchors. Planar beasts.
So much he didn't know.
But he would.
He would learn.
Not tomorrow. Not someday.
Now.
---