"Damn it, where the hell am I now? Is this even still in the country?"
Fang Zheng rubbed his aching head, utterly confused.
Just a moment ago, he was sitting at the dining table, eating peacefully, chatting and laughing with his parents under the warm light shining down on their meal.
But out of nowhere, a massive truck suddenly showed up and gave him a greeting.
Wait a minute, wasn't that the eighth floor?
How the hell does a truck appear on the eighth floor? Did the world bug out? Or someone run a cheat code?
He staggered to his feet and looked around.
What met his eyes were towering trees reaching into the clouds.
Each tree was so massive that it would take over ten people holding hands just to wrap around one.
This strange and unfamiliar scene made Fang Zheng's heartbeat spike.
Right then, a ladybug the size of a palm crawled over slowly and stopped by his foot.
"What the f**k is this? Where the hell did I end up?"
Startled, Fang Zheng instinctively took several steps back, nearly falling on his butt.
Where the hell is this? I wanna go home!
Fang Zheng wasn't like those orphan transmigrators.
He had a happy, complete family.
His father was an executive at a well-known company.
His mother was a doctor at a top-tier hospital.
He even had a beautiful childhood sweetheart he grew up with.
If he were an orphan, maybe he could accept this.
But damn it, he wasn't!
[Ding, Congratulations to the host for awakening the MLM System.]
Suddenly, a crisp electronic voice echoed in his mind.
The sound was like an electric current running through his body, making him shiver.
Before Fang Zheng could react, a flood of information poured into his brain like a tidal wave.
Only then did he realize, this world was largely similar to his original one.
But the biggest difference was the existence of spiritual energy.
Here, people could cultivate by absorbing the spiritual energy drifting in the world through special methods, gaining extraordinary powers.
Moreover, everyone in this world had a chance to possess a spiritual affinity.
The most basic types were the five elemental affinities: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
A spiritual affinity wasn't just an attribute, it was like an innate talent.
If someone had a fire affinity, cultivating fire-type techniques or secret arts would feel like they were divinely assisted.
Their speed and results in training would far surpass ordinary people.
For example, if a person with a fire affinity and another with an earth affinity both practiced a fire technique,
the one with the fire affinity would be stronger and more skilled, this was the huge advantage of spiritual affinity.
Of course, besides the common five elements, rarer and more powerful affinities also existed:
Lightning, Wind, Poison, Forest, Flame, Rock, Ice... the list went on and on.
Each rare affinity represented a unique and mighty power.
Awakening one meant stepping onto a cultivation path far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
However, people with affinities were the minority.
Most people couldn't awaken one even after a lifetime.
Still, that didn't mean they couldn't cultivate.
Their path would simply be harder, and the gap in strength between them and those with affinities would only grow deeper over time.
In this world where strength ruled, the cultivation stages were strictly defined:
Body Refining, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refining, Fusion, Mahayana.
Each breakthrough marked a leap in strength and a deeper mastery of spiritual energy.
And cultivation techniques, the key to gaining power, were also ranked:
Yellow, Profound, Earth, Heaven, Saint, each further divided into Low, Mid, High, and Peak grades.
As for the system's ability, it was a lottery.
Fang Zheng could offer items to power the system.
Once enough energy was gathered, he could perform a draw, with all kinds of bizarre prizes up for grabs.
"No way, transmigration and systems are real?"
Fang Zheng was still dazed.
What the hell, he really transmigrated?
He thought he was dreaming!
Just as he was lost in confusion, a clear electronic tone rang out in his head again.
[Ding, Congratulations to the host for receiving a Beginner's Gift Pack. Would you like to open it?]
Fang Zheng snapped back to reality and shouted, "Yes! Open it! Let me see what's in there!"
[Congratulations to the host for acquiring: Lightning Spiritual Affinity, Portable System Space, Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation, Rinnegan, Apostle*1.]
In an instant, torrents of power poured into his body like a flood.
Fang Zheng felt energy surge through him.
His body underwent a strange transformation, rushing from Body Refining to Qi Refining, finally stabilizing at Late-stage Foundation Establishment.
Then he felt a mysterious space link to his mind.
He focused and tried putting a stone in, and the stone vanished, entering that mysterious space.
Unfortunately, the space couldn't store living things.
While Fang Zheng was experimenting with the system space, a pitch-black panel appeared in front of him.
On it, the image of a man in his twenties or thirties gradually surfaced.
Then, five names appeared to the man's right:
Shimura Danzo, Uzumaki Naruto, Monkey D. Luffy, Nobita Nobi, Yao.
Five names. According to the system, Fang Zheng could pick one.
The chosen figure would fuse with his Apostle, giving it a similar talent, mentality, personality, and more.
The Apostle would be absolutely loyal to Fang Zheng.
He started reviewing the candidates.
Shimura Danzo: Extremely suspicious, cautious, sinister, ruthless, distrustful.
Strategic mind.
Spent decades trying to become Hokage, resilient, brutal, good at leading and organizing. Very solid choice.
Uzumaki Naruto... Total saint-type. Nope.
Monkey D. Luffy... Even worse than Naruto. Also nope.
Nobita Nobi... A crybaby saint with lung-sized cowardice. Couldn't even be bothered to look. Hard pass.
As for Yao... What even is that?
In the end, Fang Zheng chose Shimura Danzo.
After the selection, the name transformed into a glowing orb and fused with the man on the left.
[Please enter a name...…]
Fang Cang. You'll take my family name from now on.