C1 The Phone That Followed Him

In a world where the cultivation of Genuine Qi reigned supreme and martial prowess was held in the highest regard, super experts were akin to the gods of myth—possessing long lives, the power to rend the heavens and the earth, and the ability to soar through the skies.

In the Holy Dragon Empire, within Cloud Forest City, lay the residence of the Ye family. In a room filled with the scent of antiquity, Ye Feilong clutched his phone in both hands, tears streaming down his face in excitement.

"Brother, you've finally shown a sign of life. I knew following me here wouldn't be in vain."

"A rebirth protagonist who's useless? That's unheard of. How could anything brought by a rebirth protagonist be anything but an incredible advantage?"

"Ha, there's hope for me to return to Earth yet!"

Ye Feilong was beside himself with excitement, shouting at the top of his lungs. Despite having read countless novels about characters reborn into new bodies, experiencing it firsthand was beyond his wildest dreams and hard to accept as reality.

Naturally, he was also quite frustrated. Back on Earth, he had lived a worry-free life, never stealing or robbing, and occasionally even helping elderly ladies cross the street—a model student, the epitome of virtue and righteousness. How could such a good person meet his end in a game?

Playing a few rounds of games before bed was a nightly ritual for Ye Feilong. That fateful evening, as he gamed, a "Cheat King" dialogue box popped up unexpectedly. Without thinking, he tapped it with his thumb, and everything went dark. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this new world.

Ye Feilong had inherited the body of the Ye family's Young Patriarch, a sixteen-year-old and an outer disciple of the Holy Dragon Sect. He had developed feelings for Han Yu, his fellow martial arts practitioner. Han Yu had seemed to reciprocate, leading Ye Feilong to believe he had found true love.

Han Yu had confided in him that with just one Blood Qi Pill, she could advance to the Martial Soul Stage. Ye Feilong had spared no expense to acquire one for her. But after he handed over the pill, Han Yu revealed she had been using him all along; she could never have feelings for him.

As Ye Feilong grappled with his heartache, Li Qianyang, also from Cloud Forest City, emerged from the shadows.

It was then that Ye Feilong realized he had been duped by this treacherous pair.

Li Qianyang and Han Yu conspired to inflict severe injuries on Ye Feilong, going so far as to maliciously destroy his dantian. They stripped him naked and hung him from a tree, subjecting him to the utmost humiliation. Had it not been for a passerby who came to his rescue, he might very well have died hanging from that tree.

Ye Feilong was emotionally wounded by Han Yu, and with his dantian destroyed and having suffered extreme humiliation, he barely made it home before dying the following day. At the moment of his death, Ye Feilong seized the opportunity to enter his body, merging with his soul.

Once Ye Feilong came to terms with his rebirth, he discovered that although his Genuine Qi had not fully recovered, his dantian was intact. The Huawei phone he had used on Earth had followed him into this new existence, floating within his dantian, ready to be summoned at will.

He had inquired about the phone with Jiuyue the previous night, but she couldn't see it. This meant that the phone was invisible to everyone but him.

The phone retained its original appearance, yet it was unresponsive to any command, including making calls or sending texts. After numerous attempts to use it, Ye Feilong had almost resigned himself to the idea that the phone was now just a useless piece of junk in this world.

Persistence, however, finally paid off, as the phone sprang to life with a prompt on the screen.

"Do you want to download the Cultivation Room?" the notification asked.

Though it wasn't an offer to return him to Earth, the phone's response filled Ye Feilong with joy and a surge of excitement.

"If you can't take me back, are you preparing to give me an edge?" he mused.

The term "Cultivation Room" conjured images of those novel protagonists who gained incredible advantages, and Ye Feilong was brimming with anticipation.

An app icon labeled "Cultivation Room" appeared on the phone's screen, with the download progress ticking up: 1%, 2%... steadily climbing.

"Consuming Genuine Qi?" Ye Feilong watched intently as the download continued.

The percentage increased, and the sensation of his Genuine Qi depleting was unmistakable.

"100%!"

Within a minute, the download was complete.

Ye Feilong breathed a sigh of relief, touching his ice-cold forehead, feeling a strong sense of exhaustion.

"Let's check out the Cultivation Room."

Ye Feilong was eager.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Ye Feilong "saw" himself standing in the Cultivation Room, with two buttons floating before him.

"Cultivate Techniques."

"Cultivate Martial Skills."

After pondering for a moment, Ye Feilong reached out and pressed the "Cultivate Techniques" button, and a dropdown menu appeared.

"Cultivate the Genuine Qi Condensation Technique."

"Cultivate the White Tiger Spirit Absorption Technique."

The Genuine Qi Condensation Technique was the foundational Genuine Qi technique available to all outer disciples of the Holy Dragon Sect. The White Tiger Spirit Absorption Technique was the cultivation method of the Ye family.

Ye Feilong eyed the two buttons, wondering if it was possible to select both.

With that thought, both buttons depressed slightly.

Instantly, Ye Feilong saw two versions of himself.

Both sat cross-legged on the floor, each with a large progress bar floating above. One indicated the cultivation of the Genuine Qi Condensation Technique, and the other the White Tiger Spirit Absorption Technique.

In the upper left corner of the Cultivation Room, another progress bar appeared, displaying "95% towards Level 5 of the Qi Martial Stage."

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, reaching 100% would mean ascending to Level 6 of the Qi Martial Stage.

In this world, one is only recognized as a true martial artist upon cultivating Genuine Qi. The lowest realm is the Qi Martial Stage, followed by higher realms such as the Martial Soul Stage and the Profound Spirit Stage. Each realm is further divided into nine levels, starting from Level 1 and culminating at Level 9.

Ye Feilong could distinctly feel the Genuine Qi coursing through his limbs and torso. Remarkably, cultivating two techniques simultaneously caused no conflict; it was a miracle that the flow of Genuine Qi was significantly faster than when he practiced the techniques mentally.

"Does this mean the Cultivation Room is practicing for me? Can it take over my training in cultivation techniques and martial skills?"

He swiftly glanced at the "Cultivation Technique" option. As expected, a dropdown menu appeared, offering far more options than the Cultivation Technique alone. All the martial skills he had learned, whether they involved fists or blades, were presented as individual buttons.

"Can I train in both cultivation techniques and martial skills simultaneously?"

Ye Feilong clicked through all the menus.

Inside the Cultivation Room, multiple copies of Ye Feilong materialized, each practicing different skills: swordplay, saber techniques, boxing, legwork... Above each 'Ye Feilong', a progress bar displayed the percentage to indicate their proficiency in each martial skill.

The Cultivation Room buzzed with activity as many 'Ye Feilong' practiced their martial skills without any sense of crowding, as they did not interfere with one another.

"All martial skills at 100%—truly the mark of a genius..."

"Now to go outside and check if my dantian is intact and if my cultivation level remains unchanged..."

Ye Feilong leaped out of bed and strode to the center of the yard, ready to unleash his punches.

"Bang!"

The courtyard door was suddenly smashed open with brute force, shattering into countless fragments.