C1 He Had Leveled up While Fighting Monsters!

"999,999+ XP gained!"

"Auto-play for experience, slay for divine gear—ten strikes to level one hundred!"

Zhang Bufan was captivated by the brilliant yellow glow on his screen, completely lost in the game.

Having lost his job, he stumbled upon a gaming website and gave it a click. After a short while, he realized it truly was a straightforward, no-gimmicks game. Jobless and heartbroken, he chain-smoked and gamed through the night.

"Holy crap! The big boss is here, divine gear, here I come!"

After a marathon session spanning two days and nights, Zhang Bufan finally encountered the epic boss. With bloodshot eyes, he brandished his keyboard and charged into battle.

...

"Huh? How did I fall asleep?"

Groggy and nursing a pounding headache, Zhang Bufan could only recall staying up to fight an epic boss for divine gear.

He couldn't remember what happened next.

Did he even get the divine gear...?

As he pondered, his stomach growled. That's when he remembered he'd been up all night and hadn't even managed to grab a bite.

"No good, I need some instant noodles to refuel."

Zhang Bufan's eyes fluttered open, and he reached for the instant noodles nearby, only to clutch at thin air.

"Did I finish them?"

That's when Zhang Bufan noticed something was amiss. Why did this place feel so unfamiliar?

He was sure he lived in a tiny rental, yet the surroundings had transformed.

He found himself lying in a bed, the setting before him utterly foreign—an ancient charm that was anything but modern.

"Am I still dreaming?"

As the thought crossed his mind, his headache intensified, a flood of information crashing into his consciousness.

Half an hour later, Zhang Bufan was utterly bewildered.

"Damn it! Did I just transmigrate?"

He let out an expletive. As a self-proclaimed geek, he adored gaming and novels, always considering transmigration pure fantasy. Yet, here he was, having actually crossed into another world!

He had transmigrated into the body of another unfortunate soul named Zhang Bufan, in a world where cultivation was the pinnacle of achievement. Here, the powerful could move mountains and command the seas, while the weak were as insignificant as insects and dogs, utterly worthless.

Zhang Bufan found himself within the Zhang family's domain in Vertville City, located in the Eastern Sea Region. The Zhangs were a prominent clan in the city, and Bufan's father, Zhang Xiaotian, stood at the pinnacle of the Foundation Stage Layer Nine, just a hair's breadth away from ascending to the Golden Core Stage.

Ironically, his predecessor had been quite fortunate, having been betrothed to the Saintess of the Exquisite Sect from the Eastern Sea Region. Yet, despite this stroke of luck, his innate talent was lacking. Years of cultivation had only brought him to the Transcendence Stage Layer Three.

Cultivation was a journey through twelve distinct stages—Transcendence, Qi Refining, Foundation, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Transcendence, Divinity, Integration, Great Perfection, Crossing Tribulation, Feathering, and Void—each with nine levels of mastery.

In the world of cultivators, anyone who wasn't utterly inept could at least reach the Qi Refining Stage. Yet, the original soul of this body had stalled at the Transcendence Stage. As the time for marriage approached, the Exquisite Sect decided to annul the betrothal.

Already scorned for his lowly cultivation, which was even inferior to that of a common servant, the original owner of the body was humiliated by the broken engagement. Overwhelmed by rage, his cultivation spiraled out of control, leading to his untimely demise.

Zhang Bufan couldn't help but smirk at the absurdity. Wasn't this person's temperament a bit too fragile? Weren't cultivators supposed to be as unshakeable as stone?

Well, he was here now, and he would have to make the best of it.

No longer dwelling on the past, Zhang Bufan turned his attention to the present predicament. His situation was far from ideal.

Several Zhang family elders had long harbored discontent with him, the Young Patriarch, for his inability to cultivate. They had urged his father, Zhang Xiaotian, to select a new heir. Yet his father had never abandoned hope for his son, even when others deemed him worthless.

This loyalty moved Zhang Bufan deeply. In his past life, he had been an orphan, never experiencing such familial bonds.

"It looks like I need to find a way to cultivate, or else I'll remain insignificant," he mused. With a newfound clarity, Zhang Bufan assessed the state of his body, his expression one of bewilderment.

"This talent... is utterly useless!"

Zhang Bufan was at a loss for words. Had he really transmigrated into the body of a good-for-nothing?

He had assumed that this person was a child of destiny, and his inability to cultivate surely had some secret cause—perhaps an old man hidden within him, or possession of a treasured jade pendant.

But none of that was the case!

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for awakening. You have ended your ten-million-year idle state!"

Just then, a mechanical, icy voice echoed in Zhang Bufan's mind.

"Idle for ten million years?"

Zhang Bufan was taken aback. Had he somehow brought the game system with him as well?

"System, display my attribute panel," Zhang Bufan commanded with ease.

He had only played the game for a few days, but he had quickly mastered its mechanics.

Instantly, a virtual panel invisible to others materialized before Zhang Bufan.

Host: Zhang Bufan.

Experience: 999,999...

Cultivation: Transcendence Stage Layer Three.

Martial Arts: None.

Inventory: None.

As he gazed upon the endless experience bar, Zhang Bufan couldn't help but cackle with delight. The game's leveling system had transformed into a cultivation system. If he could unlock all these experience points...

A mischievous grin spread across Zhang Bufan's face.

"System, how can I unlock these experience points?" he inquired without delay.

Improving his strength was of the utmost importance!

"The host simply needs to cultivate to release double the experience points!"

Zhang Bufan nodded; it was just like the game's rules.

"Host, you've received a novice gift pack. Would you like to open it?"

"Open it!"

With a flash of golden light, three items materialized before Zhang Bufan.

"A complete set of the Heavenly Dragon Nine Transformations technique, one Foundation Establishment Pill, one Stage Disguise Card, and one Out-of-Body Realm Experience Card."

Zhang Bufan's eyes were immediately drawn to the Heavenly Dragon Nine Transformations technique. The instructions detailed that it was divided into nine levels: the first level granted strength comparable to a bull, the second to a fierce tiger, the third allowed one to lift cauldrons... and mastering the ninth level meant one could support the heavens and suppress the earth!

"Wow, is it really that badass?"

Zhang Bufan couldn't help but chuckle. Armed with such an incredible cultivation technique and the system's boost, what was there to fear about not getting stronger?

Put another way, if he still couldn't beef up his strength with these advantages, Zhang Bufan might as well bash his head in with a block of tofu!

"Just not sure about the cultivation process. With all this experience, it could be a disaster if I unlock it all at once."

Zhang Bufan was no fool. With a wealth of experience at his fingertips, he knew better than to rush his progress. Even though he had reached the Golden Core Stage, without a robust body, he'd be toast. Forget the rest; just the heavenly lightning from the tribulation would fry him on the spot.

It's like gaming—no matter how high your level, if you're decked out in basic gear, you're as good as a plucked chicken in a fight.

"System, is there another way I can cultivate besides the usual methods?"

"Host, you can also level up by defeating monsters, regardless of the type."

Once the system responded, it clicked for Zhang Bufan. Exactly, he'd treat this world like a game. Every living being was a monster—little monsters, little experience; big monsters, big experience. And bosses might even drop epic loot!

At that moment, Zhang Bufan eyed a cockroach before him and thought aloud, "Maybe I should squash this roach for a quick level-up?"

No sooner said than done, Zhang Bufan charged at the cockroach and squashed it, leaving it utterly obliterated.

The moment the cockroach was squished, the system's voice chimed in Zhang Bufan's head with congratulations.

"Congratulations, host. You've slain a cockroach and earned 100 experience points. With the double experience bonus, that's 200 experience points!"

The system's announcement was barely over when Zhang Bufan felt a surge of Spiritual Qi within him, breaking through realm after realm with no resistance.

"Holy crap! Stop, stop! I don't want to level up like this!"