Chapter 1: The Village of Humble Beginnings

Li Tian’s eyes fluttered open. The world around him felt strange, as if he had woken from a dream that was both familiar and distant. The first thing he noticed was the scent of earth and warmth in the air—nothing like the cold, sterile atmosphere of the world he had once known.

He sat up slowly, taking in his surroundings. This was no modern apartment, no bustling city—this was something else entirely. The room was small and humble, the wooden walls rough and simple. A faint glow filtered through the cracks in the ceiling, casting soft shadows across the modest furniture. The straw mat beneath him was uncomfortable, but it felt grounding, almost... welcoming.

Li Tian rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of his situation. Where am I? His mind was a haze, fragments of memories from a life on Earth swirling in and out of focus. He could recall the hustle and bustle of his old world—city lights, traffic, and the mundane routine of office life. But those memories felt like they belonged to someone else. They were fading fast.

Before this moment, before this strange new existence, Li Tian had lived a different life—one filled with hardship and fleeting happiness. Born into an ordinary family, he had lost his parents at a young age. A car accident had taken them away from him, leaving him to fend for himself in an unforgiving world. The relatives who took him in had done so begrudgingly, treating him as an outsider rather than family.

Despite the difficulties, Li Tian never gave up. He studied relentlessly, pushing himself to succeed in school, hoping that one day he could carve out a better future for himself. University had been his escape, a place where he found solace in his studies and in the few close friends who stood by him. While he lacked the warmth of a true family, those friends had been his lifeline, the only source of genuine companionship in a world that had often been cruel.

Yet life was unrelenting. The pressure to survive weighed heavily on him. He worked multiple part-time jobs to pay for tuition and rent, sacrificing sleep and comfort just to stay afloat. The loneliness, the exhaustion—it all built up over time. His body, pushed to its limits, finally gave in. A silent killer—an undiagnosed heart condition—had taken him in his sleep. No grand farewell, no warning. Just the quiet embrace of darkness.

But now, he was here. A new world. A new body. A new chance at life.

Li Tian looked down at his hands—calloused, rough from hard labor—and the reality of his new life set in. This is not Earth. That much was certain.

The sounds of a busy household filled the air—laughter, the clatter of cooking utensils, the soft voices of children. Li Tian turned toward the source of the noise and found his siblings scattered around the room. His heart skipped a beat as he took in the sight. He was the oldest in a family of ten—three boys and seven girls. They were bustling about with their daily chores, none of them aware of the strange new presence they now had in their family.

Li Tian’s eyes softened as he observed them. His younger brother, Li Jun, was sitting by the window, a small smile on his face as he looked out toward the horizon. His sisters were helping their mother in the kitchen, their chatter light and cheerful.

The Li family was simple, their lives confined to the humble boundaries of the Lower Frost Village—a place where everyone knew each other, and power was something no one expected to achieve. Cultivation was a distant dream, something that belonged only to those born with great potential. The strongest warriors in the village had reached the Mortal Body stage, but even that was considered an extraordinary feat. The idea of reaching the Golden Core, a legendary stage that most only heard about in stories, was a fable in this world.

Li Tian had heard all the stories. He had grown up hearing them too, but deep down, he had always known they were out of reach for people like him and his family. None of them had the qualifications to cultivate—not even a trace of spiritual energy coursed through their bodies. And yet, here he was, the older brother of a family that had no future in cultivation.

But now, something stirred within him. This world… it feels different.

He stood up from the straw mat and walked over to the window. The faint light of the rising sun bathed the village in a soft glow, and the distant mountains stood tall and imposing. The wind carried the scent of the earth, alive with the quiet hum of nature. It was beautiful in its own way, but it was also a world bound by limitations. A world where the people lived simple, content lives—unaware of the forces that governed the higher realms of power.

Li Tian closed his eyes, focusing inward. That was when he felt it—the faint pulse of something within him, a force far beyond anything he had known in his previous life. It was as if the very air around him hummed with power, ancient and primal, just waiting to be tapped into.

(System Notification:

Welcome to the Cultivation Realm.
Host: Li Tian.
Cultivation Progress: None.
Special Ability: Unlocked—Seclusion System.
First Task: Find a Secluded Place to Begin Cultivation.)

The words appeared in his mind like an unwelcome whisper. His heart raced as he absorbed the information. A Cultivation Realm. That was the only explanation the system provided. He knew it was true—it was as if the world around him had transformed, had shifted from the mundane to something far greater.

There were no immediate answers, no grand revelations. Just a system and a task. Cultivation. It was the key to everything.

Li Tian’s eyes narrowed in determination. He could feel the energy all around him now, and he understood—he had been given an opportunity. His past life had been one of mediocrity, but this new world? It was different. Here, he had the chance to rise above, to unlock the hidden potential within not just himself, but his entire family.

(System Notification:

Seclusion Mode: ACTIVE
Duration: 0 years, 0 days.
Current Realm: Mortal Body, Limitations: Foundation Establishment (Peak).)

Li Tian examined the notification carefully. Seclusion mode... It was clear the system wanted him to begin cultivating alone, in isolation. This made sense. Cultivation wasn’t something one could do with distractions. It required focus, and the power to transcend one’s limits could only be attained in solitude. The Foundation Establishment stage was the highest one could achieve in this realm, and that was where he was currently at.

But what about his family? They had no chance of cultivating—at least, that’s what everyone believed. But with his newfound ability, and the system guiding him, Li Tian knew he could change their fates. He wasn’t just going to cultivate for himself. He would break the chains that held his family back, help them unlock their potential, and together, they would rise above the limitations of this world.

Chapter end