Ruined Era, Year 523
Evening. The sun had long vanished, hidden behind a sky choked with storm clouds. The relentless downpour lashed at a devastated city for seven days and seven nights.
Within the city, countless structures lay in ruins, crumbled and abandoned. The streets were littered with bloodied clothing, tangled in the muddy water, and scattered bones that hissed and sizzled as the rain dissolved them unnaturally.
The rain had not stopped for seven days and seven nights, and strangely showed no signs of stopping.
Suddenly, a blazing bolt of lightning tore through the dark, blood-colored sky, followed by a deafening crack of thunder. It lit up the city for a brief moment, illuminating the shattered temple from the north, where a headless statue stood—silent and weathered.
Yet if one looked carefully at the bottom of this statue, hidden within a narrow crevice in the ground, a single eye quietly observed the storm.
That eye was filled with unease as it watched the merciless weather.
"It's been seven days… when will this rain end?"
Jiang Tian slowly pulled his gaze back, sealed the small opening, and curled up in the cramped space.
The hollow was narrow, barely large enough to fit one person. Without the dim Radiant Stones embedded into the dirt floor, there would have been no light at all.
But right now, that wasn't Jiang Tian's greatest concern.
"If this rain doesn't end, I'll run out of supplies. By then, there's absolutely no way out," he muttered, his brows furrowing. He couldn't help but cursed under his breath. "Damn this cursed world! My path to Transcendent had just started but to think it'd be short-lived…"
Helpless, Jiang Tian could only clench his fist.
Seven days ago, a Transcendent Being from Azure Fire Organization appeared in Wu County to conduct the once-in-a-decade Awakening Ceremony.
After three years of careful living in this perilous world, Jiang Tian thought his efforts had finally borne fruit.
Moreover, during the ceremony, he awakened an earth spirit, doubling his blessing. Through it was merely a low-tier, but to him, it was enough.
In a world plagued by terrifying anomalies that could appear without warning, having any form of power meant he could at least protect himself.
His future was looking bright…or at least that was what he thought.
Seven days ago, the three-star anomaly, Rain, descended without notice.
"Three-star anomaly: Rain!"
Jiang Tian shuddered.
The events from seven days ago were still vivid in his mind.
At first, panic spread when the rain began, but the County Chief quickly assured everyone it was a normal phenomenon, quelling the chaos.
But as second day and third day came, and the rain showed no signs of stopping, unease spread once again. Before everyone could even decide to run away, by the fourth day, the city's protective barrier collapsed.
As droplets touched human skin, people dissolved in contact.
In that instant, the County of Wu descended into hellscape.
Millions died in a blink of an eye.
Having lived two lifetimes, Jiang Tian was incredibly cautious than most. By the second day, he already sensed something was wrong. He used the last of his money to buy large quantities of millet and meat, then retreated to the hidden underground space he had coincidentally found long ago.
As for the reason he didn't escape from the city instead?
Simply because the outside world was far more terrifying, and of course, it was mainly due to the fact that he was too poor, so poor that he couldn't afford the protection fees demanded by traveling parties that could ensure his survival.
"This world is truly extraordinary yet strange," Jiang Tian muttered bitterly. "Despite resembling an ancient feudal dynasty, martial arts have long gone extinct. Instead, Transcendental powers and Anomalies rule."
Just three years ago, he was a university graduate with a promising future, living peacefully on Blue Star.
But one strange accident later, he found himself thrust into this bizarre ancient world resembling imperial China—only darker.
Here, people lived in fear and desperation. Anomalies roamed the night, cannibalism was a grim reality, and death was commonplace.
Life is truly unpredictable."
...
Soon, night finally arrived.
The sky turned a deeper shade of crimson. Even the rain changed—its droplets became the color of blood.
With the night… they came.
Strange sounds echoed outside, and Jiang Tian's body immediately tensed. His senses sharpened.
Wu~~ Wu~~
Alongside the blood rain came the sorrowful sobbing of a woman, echoing just above Jiang Tian's hiding place.
"Please… someone… help this poor lady…"
Her voice trembled with grief and helplessness.
Had this been Blue Star, many hot-blooded young men might have rushed to help upon hearing such a cry.
But this was not Blue Star.
"Damn ghost! Why do you always hover around this spot?" Jiang Tian cursed under his breath.
It wasn't enough that he had to remain vigilant against the Rain anomaly—he also had to deal with this damn ghost.
Sure, it was a one-star anomaly, but having yet to initiate his transcendent technique and enter the metamorphosis realm, Jiang Tian simply didn't stand a chance against it.
And the odds that the weeping voice belonged to a real human? Fat chance.
Even Transcendent Beings at the third realm, Forging Realm, would hesitate to openly engage against a three-star anomaly, much less a mortal woman!
Jiang Tian ignored the wailing and turned his attention to a rice bin in the corner.
It contained his remaining rice.
Opening the lid, he saw only a quarter of millets remained.
If he continued eating once per day, he could last another two weeks.
But if the anomaly still wasn't gone by then, that would be the end of him.
A slow and painful death was inevitable!
"Is there really nothing I can do?"
Helpless, Jiang Tian clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms.
Being an average talent without a transmigrator's benefit, hoping for a miracle was only what a fool would do.
"Once I reached the entry realm tonight, I should start planning to escape. I escape hell once, this time, I'd also survive!"
Having this resolve, Jiang Tian took a deep breath and pulled a bamboo scroll from his pouch.
Looking at the bamboo scroll, his eyes were filled with emotions.
"If only I could foresee a three-star anomaly was coming, I wouldn't have bought this Transcendent Technique. My luck is really…"
When he first transmigrated to this world, Jiang Tian also had a terrible start. He was trapped inside an anomaly, living in a cage inside a butcher's shop.
That anomaly was truly terrifying. It had a strange killing rule; those who ate the meat butchered by it would find themselves in the cage the next day.
The worse part? The meat belonged to a human person, butchered into pieces then sold to people who eventually ended into the cage the next day, helplessly awaiting for slaughter.
Such anomaly truly made Jiang Tian felt a deep fear for the first time.
Thankfully, when Jiang Tian woke up, he was already inside that cage. Otherwise, just the thought of eating his kind was horrifying enough, much less witnessing them being butchered in front of his eyes.
At that time, Jiang Tian believed he was truly going to die. But who knows if it was his luck or not, but when it was almost his turn, a powerful being noticed the anomaly and resolutely destroyed it.
That man summoned mysterious chains and true fire, burning the butcher as it screamed in agony.
After being saved, Jiang Tian made up his mind to become a Transcendent Being to protect himself.
Through perseverance and intelligence, he slowly changed his fate as a beggar.
Thanks to his talent in arithmetic, he landed a job at a reputable shop, earning fifty copper coins a day—roughly five dollars by Blue Star's standards.
He lived frugally. He didn't spend expensive glowstones to ward off anomalies, just bought the cheapest one. He would even just eat a bowl of congee a day, and sometimes, if he felt indulgent, a pair of buns.
After paying monthly tribute to the Fierce Tiger Gang, he roughly saved twenty copper coins a day.
Over three years, he had managed to save twenty-two silver taels.
Seven days ago, he spent five taels on the awakening ceremony. Fifteen more went into this Transcendent technique. The last two were used for rice and meat.
Had he detected the anomaly earlier, he might have skipped buying the technique and instead used it to run away.
"Thinking about it won't change anything. What's done is done."
He shook his head and focused on the bamboo scroll.
The technique was called Mountain Breathing Technique, a perfect match for someone like him who had awakened an earth-type spirit.
It was one of the seven foundational Transcendent techniques. When mastered to perfection, it granted the practitioner a body as strong as an ox and strength capable of shattering mountains.
Some geniuses could even use it to form true Transcendent powers early on—summoning mountains or commanding the earth with mere will.
This was why only Transcendent could survive against anomalies. Their strength surpassed that of mortals, akin to gods walking the earth.
"I'm so close to reaching entry-level. If I break through to the Metamorphosis Realm tonight, I can last longer. Even with no food, I'll endure until the anomaly is gone—or someone destroys it."
Reaching entry-level would allow him to begin cultivating his spirit and absorbing spiritual essence from the world.
His body would gradually change, reducing his energy consumption and slowing fatigue.
With that, he could probably endure without food.
"Let's begin."
Jiang Tian unrolled the scroll and began studying.
His lips moved unconsciously as he fell into a trance, murmuring the chant etched into the scroll:
"Still as stone, deep as earth—I do not bend; I do not break…"
"In silence, I draw breath from the bones of the world…"
"Let the mountain rise where I stand, and let all tremble before its will."
As he recited the passage over and over, a visualization formed in his mind.
He found himself sitting atop a vast mountain, merging with the earth. Like a boulder unmoved by time, he breathed in and out, drawing the essence of the land.
As he inhaled, the mountain would rose.
When he exhaled, they would shrink.
Three hours passed.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
Then, he quickly spread his palm open and willed it.
Slowly, a small brow emerged on his palm, glowing like a dim brown star.
"The Metamorphosis Realm… the first step, where a Transcendent's body becomes a vessel for spiritual essence," Trembling in excitement, Jiang Tian whispered. "Finally! I've reached the Early Stage of the Mountain Breathing Technique!"
At that very moment, a cold mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
And a translucent panel appeared before him:
[Name: Jiang Tian]
[Profession: Transcendent]
[Realm: Early Metamorphosis (1/100)]
[Mountain Breathing Technique: Early (1/100)]
[Task: None]
Jiang Tian froze, stunned.
"A… system?"