e a velvet shroud, the distant peaks silvered by moonlight. After the storm of the dueling platform, the world seemed strangely hushed. As though the mountain itself held its breath.
Lin Feng sat cross-legged beneath the oldest structure in the sect: the Ancient Vermilion Pagoda, a forgotten training ground once reserved for elite disciples. It was dilapidated now—overgrown, shadowed, its outer formation weakened by time. But it offered one precious thing.
Solitude.
And that was exactly what Lin Feng needed.
His body still ached. His dantian throbbed with each breath, over-saturated with the violent influx of qi from his recent breakthrough. Even with the system's stabilizing algorithms slowly repairing his internal meridians, the side effects of leaping directly into Qi Condensation Stage 6 were undeniable.
[Status Update: Qi Stabilization – 63% Complete.]
A cold breeze slipped through the cracks in the wooden slats above, stirring the dust and dry leaves.
Lin Feng didn't move.
He had come here to think. To breathe.
But more than that—to ask the question that now burned like a brand in his thoughts.
What exactly is this system?
Since the night of the meteor—the night everything changed—it had been his salvation. His silent guide. But also his chain. Its voice, emotionless and clinical, felt at once familiar and alien. It had helped him rise, yes. But the Emergency Quest today—the one that had gifted him a breakthrough when he needed it most—was too convenient. Too scripted.
There was a purpose to its power.
And it was not just to help a boy from the sticks survive.
He opened the interface.
[Godly Cultivation System – Version: ???]
User: Lin Feng
Primary Directive: Unknown
Secondary Directive: Accelerated Ascension – Status: Active
Suppressed Memories Detected – Decryption: 2.1% Complete
Subroutine Update Available: Would you like to initiate system diagnostic?
His breath caught.
Suppressed memories?
And… a diagnostic?
He'd never seen that before.
"Yes."
The moment he confirmed it, the interface flickered. For a breathless second, his consciousness seemed to plummet. Then, he stood—or floated—within a sea of stars. Countless lines of glowing script and arcane runes circled him like planetary rings.
A voice—not the usual system voice, but deeper, fragmented—echoed around him.
"System integrity... compromised. Pathway unlocked. Reconstructing memory shard: One of Five."
The stars twisted, condensed, and then—
He saw himself.
But older. Stronger. Clad in flowing robes that shimmered like starlight. His eyes burned like miniature galaxies. Around him were ruined worlds, shattered moons. A void battlefield of incomprehensible scale.
And there were others.
Five figures, blurred and towering, facing him. Not human. Not divine. Something else.
The older Lin Feng lifted a hand. And the world ended in light.
Then—nothing.
[Memory Shard One Recovered: "Echoes of the Last Ascendant."]
[New System Quest Unlocked.]
Quest: Explore the Forbidden Archives beneath the Vermilion Pagoda.
Objective: Uncover the Sealed Echo.
Time Limit: 3 Days
Reward: ???
Failure Penalty: ???
Lin Feng blinked as the starfield dissolved. He was back beneath the pagoda, sweat clinging to his brow.
He had just seen his own death.
Or… someone who looked like him.
A future? A past life? Or some artificial memory implanted by the system?
Either way, the message was clear.
He was not the first. And he would not be the last.
But the warning from the earlier battles now made more sense.
You are the Fifth. The last. Do not fail.
The next morning, Lin Feng stood before the sealed entrance beneath the pagoda.
It wasn't marked on any sect map, but the system had guided him directly to it—using coordinates only visible through the interface.
The door was stone, engraved with fading sigils. A locking formation pulsed weakly across its surface. One of the sigils glowed faintly as he approached.
[System Override – Initiating Access Protocol.]
There was a click. Then a grinding sound.
The door slid open.
Behind it, a spiral staircase descended into darkness.
The Forbidden Archives
The air grew colder with each step Lin Feng took. Dust clung to every surface, undisturbed for decades—maybe centuries. The walls were carved from obsidian-like stone, etched with unknown runes that pulsed with spiritual resonance.
After what felt like an eternity, he reached the bottom.
The room beyond was a circular hall filled with ancient scrolls, shattered shelves, and broken jade talismans. A single pedestal stood at the center, untouched by time.
Upon it rested a black crystal orb, humming with suppressed power.
[Sealed Echo Detected.]
Lin Feng stepped closer. The air around the orb shimmered.
Then, a voice spoke—not from the system, but from the orb itself. Male. Calm. And terrifyingly familiar.
"You finally made it."
Lin Feng froze.
The image of the older version of himself—seen in the system's starfield—appeared above the orb, translucent.
"If you're seeing this, then the Godly Cultivation System has successfully bonded with its fifth candidate. That means the others failed. Or worse… were devoured by the cycle."
"You may have questions. You should. But understand this: the system is not your power. It is a tool. A weapon forged from the remnants of a war between ascendants. I was the fourth. You… are the last."
"The stars are not silent. They whisper of a fate that consumes even the heavens. And you—Lin Feng—are the spark we left behind."
The image flickered. Cracks spiderwebbed across the orb.
"Seek the Cradle of Stars. It lies beyond the borders of this realm. Your path will be hunted. Corrupted. Twisted. But you must walk it regardless."
"Ascend. Or the cycle begins again."
The orb shattered.
Silence.
Only the beating of Lin Feng's heart echoed in the vault.
He knelt, breath shaking.
This was no longer a journey for power. Not merely revenge. Not fame.
It was something far greater.
And far more dangerous.
Back in his quarters, Lin Feng sat motionless.
The system buzzed softly in his mind.
[New Main Quest Initiated: The Path to the Cradle.]
Progress: 0%
Subquests Unlocked: 2 (View Y/N?)
He didn't open them. Not yet.
Instead, he closed his eyes, steeling his resolve.
He was being pulled into a storm older than empires, older than memory. But he would not run.
Let the heavens whisper. Let destiny scream.
Lin Feng would carve his own path.