Chapter 2: Rise of the Glitched Cultivator
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Section 1: The Forgotten Cradle
The Ye Sect was dead.
Its sacred pillars had collapsed under divine siege decades ago. Its disciples were scattered, betrayed, hunted. Its legacy a fading whisper. Where there had once been mountains that touched the clouds, all that remained now were withered roots, cracked stone, and ash.
And yet here stood Ye Tian.
Atop the summit of Jade Spirit Peak, with the wind shrieking through broken spires, he clenched his fists—his once-crippled meridians now glowing faintly with forbidden light.
> [System Initiation: Glitched Cultivation Core—Stable.]
[Accessing… Forbidden System Layer.]
[Glitch Technique Acquired: Forbidden Rebirth Matrix (Lv.1)]
His breath hitched.
An unseen force tore through his body. Runes—half-spiritual, half-digital—etched across his skin in chaotic lines. They sparked and pulsed, a violent dance of corrupted qi and divine defiance.
"Aaaargh!" Ye Tian dropped to his knees, palms digging into the cracked earth.
Veins bulged as his new glitch-core surged. What should have been an agonizing failure was instead a forbidden breakthrough. He could feel it—power rushing into the broken remnants of his dantian like wildfire into a dry forest.
> [Warning: Cultivation Protocol Unrecognized.]
[Result: Ascension Path Invalid. Proceeding with Error Override.]
A burst of crimson energy exploded outward, fracturing the ground.
"Good," Ye Tian muttered through gritted teeth. "Let the heavens choke on their rules."
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Section 2: The Curse-Eyed Elder Returns
Far below, in the collapsed ruins of the Ancestor Vault, a hidden lantern sputtered to life.
The air thickened. The shadows deepened.
From the casket of soulwood sealed by three thousand binding talismans, a skeletal hand rose, fingers trailing black mist.
Then came a voice, low and cracked:
"Ye Tian... you bear the cursed flame."
From within stepped Mo Tianxie, the Ye Sect's long-banished Grand Elder of Insight. His right eye was wrapped in bloody silk, a cursed oracle's gift that once peered too deeply into the cosmic code of fate.
He had foreseen Ye Tian's betrayal years ago—but none listened.
"The boy lives. And the glitch has awakened..." Mo Tianxie whispered, stepping into the storm, dragging his soulstaff behind him. Every step burned the grass beneath him.
The world would soon regret forgetting the Ye Sect.
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Section 3: Celestial Execution Order
The skies split open.
A ripple of divine order pulsed across the realm. A brilliant sword of law fell like a comet from heaven—carved from celestial marble, inscribed with holy edicts.
A silver figure landed behind Ye Tian without sound.
Clad in plated divine silk, face hidden behind a flawless mask, the figure extended their hand. A scroll floated forward, unraveling in mid-air.
> "Ye Tian. You are deemed an abomination by Heaven's Will. As bearer of a forbidden glitch-core, you are sentenced to immediate annihilation."
"...Ah," Ye Tian said flatly. "So they sent one of Heaven's Janitors."
The assassin moved.
In a single breath, they crossed the space between them, blade unsheathed, swinging downward with impossible speed.
Ye Tian smirked.
> [System Glitch Triggered: Quantum Dodge Lv. 1 — SUCCESS]
[You have moved outside of spacetime coordinates.]
The assassin's blade struck nothing.
Ye Tian appeared behind them, glitch energy flaring across his arms, data-like sigils crackling along his shoulder.
"Let me return the favor," he whispered.
He struck.
A punch loaded with glitch-force landed squarely on the assassin's back. Not physical damage—causal corruption. Time warped. The assassin's armor cracked. The laws that held his form together destabilized.
> [New Technique Installed: Spatial Flicker Bug — Allows frame-jump dodges and teleportation during combat.]
The assassin staggered, shocked. Their divine connection faltered.
"You're not just a glitch… you're a virus."
"No," Ye Tian said, his eyes glowing. "I'm the update this world didn't know it needed."
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Section 4: Frost Requiem Descends
The temperature plummeted.
Snow began to fall.
From the clouds descended an elegant throne carved from pure divine ice, atop it sat a woman of flawless grace and deadly serenity.
She was breathtaking—clad in flowing ice-crystal robes, her long white-blue hair drifting like mist, eyes colder than winter's death.
She looked down upon Ye Tian and the collapsed assassin.
> [System Alert: Divine Entity Detected — Title: Goddess of Ice Requiem (Rank: Upper Celestial Deity)]
[Warning: Potential Threat Level - SSS]
[Bond Potential Detected: 88% — Status: Intrigued by Rebellion]
"You…" she spoke, her voice like falling snow, "are a danger to the world."
"I get that a lot," Ye Tian replied, adjusting his robes, glitch aura flickering around him.
"You defy Heaven's order. You glitch the weave of the cosmos. And yet…" she trailed off, descending from her throne in a glide of icy lotus petals, her gaze narrowing on his aura.
> [System Message: Target Experiencing Emotional Turbulence. Initiating Passive Bond Sync.]
She halted a mere step from him. Her breath frosted the air.
Her gaze softened—just slightly.
"Strange... why does your presence stir something forgotten?"
"Because I'm not part of their script," Ye Tian said. "And neither are you."
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Section 5: The Ye Sect Lives Again
Night fell.
Elder Mo Tianxie stood atop a broken spire, watching as glitch-light spread across the mountain. The battle had ended. The celestial assassin had fled in fractured form. The goddess? She remained in contemplation.
Below, Ye Tian approached the broken Sect Core, where once the Ye Clan's power had been sealed.
He pressed his hand to the shattered jade pedestal.
> [Initiating Glitched Sect Reboot… Progress: 3%]
[Detected: Founder's Bloodline — Authorizing Admin Rights]
[Ye Tian acknowledged as: Acting Sect Master]
The ruins trembled. Light returned to ancient wards. Statues lit with violet fire.
Mo Tianxie bowed low behind him.
"Sect Master Ye Tian... The heavens feared you as a child. Now they will kneel."
Ye Tian turned to face the rising moon.
"No more crawling. No more hiding. The Ye Sect rises."
> [New Objective Added: Rebuild Sect | Recruit Elders | Establish Glitch Doctrines | Survive Divine Purges]
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Section 6: Legacy of Lust and Chaos
As Ye Tian stood amidst the awakening ruins, the system chimed once more:
> [Harem Node Unlocked: Goddess of Ice Requiem — Emotional State: Conflicted / Curious]
[Bond Strength: 14%]
[New Skill Acquired: Frozen Glitch Aura — Boosts defense and charm against Ice-type cultivators.]
She stood behind him, silent.
"You still plan to fight me?" Ye Tian asked without turning.
"I… don't know," she whispered, brushing frost from her wrist. "You are… not what I expected."
He smiled.
"Good. That means I'm doing it right."
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To be continued in Chapter 3: Cultivating in the Ruins of Heaven…