In a dim room, filled with the soft hum of electronics, rows of monitors glowed with cold blue neon light. Each screen displayed something different—laboratory simulations, biological models, progress trackers—but all of them had one element in common.
A system window.
At the center of it all sat a young man, slouched in his chair. His skin was pale, and deep black patches hung under his eyes. His glasses clung loosely to his face, and his expression was blank with exhaustion. He hadn't slept in nearly three days.
Text blinked on the main screen:
System Stability: 100%
Mythic Gene Evolution System – Installation Complete
Shen Yue stared at the line of text, dry laughter escaping his cracked lips.
"Finally," he whispered. "It's done…"
This wasn't some game mod or experimental AI. The Mythic Gene Evolution System was his most advanced project—a high-stakes cultivation simulator commissioned by the mega-tech company Apex Nova. Designed to mimic real-world evolution through gene copying, modification, and fusion, it was built for a next-generation cultivation RPG. The system took a toll not just on the in-game character—but on the player's psyche through immersive pain-response feedback.
And he had finished it.
"I can finally rest…"
His body relaxed for the first time in days. But the moment he let his guard down, a wave of dizziness struck him like a hammer. The screens blurred. His breath hitched.
Thud.
His head hit the desk. His glasses snapped on impact. The system interface blinked.
Then, from the corner of the screen, a minimized document opened silently in the background: a half-read webnovel titled Myth of the Heavenly Realm. A story he had enjoyed long ago. It was never finished—the author had died before completing it.
A strange coincidence.
When Shen Yue opened his eyes again, he didn't see monitors or flashing code.
He saw wood.
A wooden ceiling, held together by rough beams. The air smelled faintly of herbs and old dust. He blinked again. His back ached—not from his chair, but from a hard, uneven bed.
He shot up, confused. "Where the hell…?"
This wasn't his room. Not his office. Not his world.
Worn furniture, a single stone lantern, cracked walls, and patched linen sheets surrounded him. It was like stepping into a historical drama.
He pinched his arm.
"Ouch!"
Real pain.
"…Not a dream," he murmured, heart pounding.
Then a voice echoed in his mind. Smooth, feminine, mechanical.
"Creator located.
Soul-link verification commencing.
Soul compatibility: 100%.
Fusion complete.
Mythic Gene Evolution System successfully bound to host."
Shen Yue's eyes widened. He recognized that voice—he had coded it himself.
"System greets the Creator."
His heart froze. That was… his system.
"This is impossible," he whispered. "Did I... die?"
It hit him like a falling mountain. He must have collapsed back in his lab. Died from overwork. But how was he still… conscious?
His thoughts spiraled until another message rang out in his mind.
"System report: Following Creator's biological termination, emergency soul protocol was activated.
Soul successfully transferred to a dimension with 97% structural overlap to recorded fiction: Myth of the Heavenly Realm."
He blinked.
That name again.
He remembered now—the webnovel. It had cultivation realms, ancient sects, heavenly bones, tragic love. He hadn't finished it, but he remembered enough: major sects, minor clans, villains, a few arcs.
And now... he was inside it.
"No... This can't be real," he whispered.
But it was.
Everything—the ceiling, the wooden floor, the scent of dust and herbs—it was all real. Far more real than the monitors he stared at for days on end.
"System... Are you really the one I created?"
"Affirmative. All original modules are present, including genetic manipulation, compatibility algorithms, and pain feedback thresholds."
Shen Yue cursed under his breath.
So it really was his system—the same one that punished low compatibility with unbearable pain. A system designed to challenge players by making gene fusion feel like torment unless the alignment was perfect.
Now that system was bound to him.
He clutched his temples and groaned. "Of all the crazy features I had to keep…"
But the reality wouldn't change.
"Open status panel," he said through gritted teeth.
A blue screen appeared before him.
**Mythic Gene Evolution System – Status Panel**
Name: Shen Yue
Age: 14
Cultivation Realm: 1st Layer, Qi Refinement
Skills:
9 Supreme Star Sword Technique (Beginner)(50%)
True qi elemental art (beginner) (34%)
Genes: None
"…Fourteen?" he muttered. "This body's just a kid…"
"Shall I retrieve host's memory from biological vessel?"
He hesitated, then nodded. "Do it."
"Scanning memories…"
The moment the words finished, a torrent of thoughts surged into his mind.
Voices, visions, memories.
And then came the pain.
"AHHH—!" Shen Yue clutched his head and fell to the floor, writhing. It felt like needles stabbing his brain, digging through his soul.
After what felt like an eternity, it stopped. He gasped for breath, his body trembling.
"What the hell was that…"
Then, the memories settled.
His name—Shen Yue—was the same as this body's.
At just fourteen, the boy had already reached the **7th Layer of Qi Refinement**, considered a rare genius in the outer world. But he had made one fatal mistake: trusting the wrong people.
Xin Yao—his childhood sweetheart. An orphan his family had taken in.
Cao Jiang—the third young master of the Cao Clan. A talented, arrogant cultivator.
They worked together.
Not by accident. Not by manipulation. They planned everything.
They shattered his spiritual roots.
Stole his family's treasure: a 300-square-meter space bracelet given by his parents.
Left him crippled. Ruined.
His chest tightened.
He had trusted Xin Yao. He had smiled at her. Protected her. Loved her.
And she betrayed him.
"Damn it…"
His memories continued.
**Shen Ning**, his elder sister. Eighteen years old. Still young, still fighting for her brother. She worked day and night, saving every coin she could to buy medicine—even knowing there was less than a 10% chance he'd ever recover.
What no one knew—what the *novel* had revealed—was that Shen Ning was born with a **Supreme Dao Bone**. One of the rarest constitutions in the cultivation world. Her power was sealed. No one in this world even suspected her true potential.
And their parents? Missing. Alive, maybe. But vanished, leaving only fragments of memories and one ancient space bracelet behind.
Shen Yue took a deep breath, steadying his thoughts.
"This life is a damn tragedy…"
He was supposed to be a side character. A stepping stone in someone else's story. Forgotten and discarded.
But now…
Now he had the system.
And more importantly, he had the knowledge. He knew who his enemies were. He knew what was coming. And he had a second chance.
"…System, don't call me 'Creator' anymore," he said quietly. "From now on, call me 'Host'."
"Understood, Host."
Shen Yue slowly sat up on the bed.
His hands trembled. Not from fear—but from something rising deep within.
Resolve.
He remembered Shen Ning's tired eyes. Her small hands hiding coins inside his pillow. Her broken smile when she said, "It's okay, little brother… I'll take care of you."
He clenched his fists.
"No more."
"I don't care how much pain this system brings... I'll become strong. I'll crawl through fire and blood if I have to. I'll change this fate."
"I'll protect my sister."
His eyes gleamed with cold fire.
"And I'll crush anyone who stands in my way."
Just as Shen Yue's thoughts were beginning to settle, the system's voice suddenly interrupted, sharp and urgent.
"Warning. Warning. Killing intent detected in proximity."
His body stiffened instantly. The words echoed like ice in his mind.
"…Killing intent?"
He shot upright from the bed, heart hammering. A faint chill crept along his spine.
Thud. Thud.
A knock came from the wooden door.
It wasn't the gentle knock of Shen Ning. This knock was cold. Heavy. Unfamiliar.
His eyes narrowed.
Who would come to a cripple's room… with this kind of pressure?
"System," he muttered through clenched teeth. "Activate Hyper Gene Protocol."
"Warning: Host's current physical condition is critically unstable. Activating Hyper Gene Burst may result in severe trauma or permanent damage. Do you still wish to proceed?"
He didn't hesitate.
"I don't have a choice."
He could barely walk, let alone fight—but if someone had come to kill him, there was no time to gamble on recovery.
Hyper Gene Burst.
A desperate skill he had designed for dire situations—similar to berserker mode. It would forcibly extract dormant gene potential and boost his strength for a brief window. But the price was agony, potentially worse than death.
"Confirmed. Hyper Gene Burst activating."
The moment the command executed, he felt like lightning had exploded in his bones.
"AGH—!"
His body arched violently. Veins bulged. Muscles stretched unnaturally, cracking beneath the strain.
His skin flushed crimson, like it was being cooked alive from the inside. His heart pounded like a war drum. Rage surged in his chest like wildfire.
It felt like being reborn in a furnace of pure torment.
CRASH!
The wooden door splintered.
A man in black robes stepped into the room, dagger drawn, eyes cold and murderous.
But the assassin didn't find a cripple.
He found a red-eyed, snarling figure—standing tall, muscles twitching with raw power, eyes glowing like a beast in heat.
Shen Yue's gaze locked on the attacker.
"You picked the wrong day…"
With a roar, he lunged.
The assassin blinked—too slow. Shen Yue slammed into him like a bull, shoulder-first. They crashed into the floor as fists flew.