Darkness… absolute silence… a strange warmth enveloping everything.
Gu Liu—or rather, the soul that had been reborn from planet Earth—felt his body moving without his will. It had been a long time since he had felt anything… years spent in the darkness of the womb. He was conscious, observing and thinking… but unable to speak, or even move freely.
Suddenly, the world began to shake.
Screams, anxious voices, hurried footsteps, and hands touching his tiny body. He felt a force push him from that warm place into a new world—cold and loud.
A sharp cry escaped him instinctively, filling the grand hall with the echo of his birth.
"He is born!" shouted one of the elders who had been observing from afar.
"After three years… finally!" sighed his mother, Gu Feng, tears of joy streaming down her weary face. Her features were pale from exhaustion, but glowing with happiness.
Beside her stood the child's father, Gu Ting, the leader of the Eternal Gu Clan—one of the most ancient and powerful families on the Heavenly Continent. His eyes gazed upon the newborn in a strange silence, a mix of relief and astonishment.
"It was an exceptional pregnancy… three full years without the baby moving much, and now he's born with such strength…" murmured one of the clan's elders.
But none of them knew… this child, who had just opened his eyes to life, was unlike any other.
Outside, members of the clan began gathering to congratulate the patriarch on the birth of his son. It was a grand occasion, joy spreading throughout the Heavenly Gu Palace as decorations and celebrations filled the clan grounds.
In that moment, nestled in his warm crib, Gu Liu lay quietly… opening his eyes for the first time, seeing light… seeing his mother… seeing his father.
"I… have a family?" he wondered, as something unfamiliar filled his heart… a true warmth he had never felt before.
"Finally… I'm not alone."
Emotion overwhelmed him. He hadn't realized how deeply he longed to be born into a loving family.
But just as he began to drift into sleep from exhaustion, something unexpected happened.
Ding!
> [Congratulations! You have completed your first mission: Successful Birth.]
[Reward: Supreme-Grade Cultivation Talent has been activated.]
[Activating the Infinite System… Installing…]
His eyes widened in silent shock as a gentle energy flowed through his body, invisible to the world. No glow, no outward sign… but inside, the spark of destiny had been lit.
"A system?!" he thought, stunned.
> [Welcome, host of the Infinite System.]
Gu Liu smiled inwardly and whispered in his mind:
"So this is how the story begins…"
But the voice returned again, clearer than before:
> [Would you like to claim your first reward?]
His thoughts froze for a moment, then he whispered in awe:
"What is it?"
> [Reward: Supreme-Grade Cultivation Talent – A rare ability granted only once in every ten thousand births in your world. Do you wish to claim it?]
His tiny heart raced, even though his body was still that of an infant.
"Supreme?! This is…"
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes, I accept!"
In the next moment, it felt like a river of clarity surged through him.
Suddenly… a pure, almost sacred energy began slowly seeping out from his body.
In the birthing chamber, his mother felt something strange… a gentle warmth flowing from her child into her own body.
His father's eyes widened in surprise:
"What is this aura?!"
The elders exchanged glances. One of them murmured:
"This energy… it's unlike anything we've ever seen…"
They didn't realize it was just a faint trace of the supreme talent that had just awakened within him… that this child, now resting peacefully in his mother's arms, was destined for a path unlike any other.
---
End of Chapter Two