Mud filled my mouth, thick and metallic with the taste of my own blood.
Heavy leather boots slammed into my ribs with the force of a sledgehammer, sending a sharp, sickening crack echoing through the narrow, filth-ridden alley. Rainwater splashed around my face, mixing with the dark, copper-tasting fluids leaking from my split lips. Every impact vibrated through my skull, making my vision swim with flashes of gray and white.
Gasps of agonizing pain escaped my throat as I curled into a tight ball, desperately trying to shield my vital organs from the onslaught. Every breath felt like inhaling shards of broken glass. The cold, wet cobblestones scraped against my bare arms, but that minor irritation was nothing compared to the deep, grinding ache of my fractured ribs.
Laughter echoed above me, harsh, grating, and completely devoid of human warmth. Three men stood over me, their shadows stretching long and menacing under the dim light of the hanging paper lanterns. They were members of the Jade Serpent Gang, the low-life thugs who ruled the Outer District of this city with an iron fist, taxing the poorest of the poor until there was nothing left but bones.
"Look at this pathetic trash," a rough voice sneered, followed by another heavy kick to my spine. "He actually thought he could play the savior."
Agony flared through my lower back, blinding and white-hot, threatening to drag me down into the sweet release of unconsciousness. My fingers clawed at the wet cobblestones, nailbeds tearing as I fought to remain awake. I knew that if I closed my eyes now, I might never open them again in this world.
Just three days ago, I had awakened in this miserable, weak body.
Somehow, my soul had crossed over from Earth, leaving behind a past life defined by a single, crushing regret. In that previous life, my cowardice and inaction had led to the death of someone I should have protected. I had promised myself, when I realized I had been reborn, that I would never stand by and watch the innocent suffer again.
Now, destiny had handed me a second chance in this brutal, cultivation-driven world, yet it seemed my fate was only to die a second, even more humiliating death. This body was a fragile vessel, devoid of any martial talent or Qi. I was a mortal in a world of gods and monsters, an insect waiting to be crushed.
Screams broke through my racing thoughts, a high-pitched, terrified sound that cut through the steady patter of the rain.
Beside the wooden trash bins, a small, shivering figure was pinned to the damp stone wall by a brutish gang member.
Little Mei, a nine-year-old orphan who had shared her only moldy crust of bread with me yesterday, wept in absolute terror. Her tiny hands clutched at her tattered rags as the man dragged her toward the mouth of the alley. She had no one else in this world, and now, these monsters were going to take her.
When the Jade Serpent Gang came to claim her to pay off some imaginary debt her dead parents owed, my body had acted before my brain could stop me.
Memory of my past cowardice had flared in my mind, driving me forward. I had thrown myself between her and the thugs, hoping to buy her time to run. It was a foolish, reckless move, born of pure desperation and guilt.
Predictably, my grand heroic intervention had ended in absolute disaster.
"Stupid brat," grunt-faced Gang Member Bao spat, grabbing a handful of my hair and violently pulling my head back.
Rainwater and blood poured down my forehead, stinging my eyes as I glared up at him with unyielding hatred. My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth would shatter, the muscles in my neck straining against his tight grip.
Bao smiled, showing yellowed, rotting teeth that made my stomach churn with disgust. He held a rusted, serrated dagger, tapping the flat of the cold blade against my cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood in its wake.
"You do not possess even a single thread of Qi in your dantian," Bao mocked, his grip tightening until my scalp felt like it was tearing. "Yet you think you can play hero in our territory? You are nothing but a beggar, a worthless dog."
Behind him, the gang leader, a man named Master Jin, watched the entire spectacle with cold, bored indifference.
Jin wore fine, dark-green silk robes that looked ridiculously out of place in this muck-filled slum. A faint, emerald light shimmered around his hands, the unmistakable sign of a cultivator who had successfully condensed his Qi.
Even a low-level cultivator at the first layer of Qi Condensation was a god compared to an ordinary mortal like me. To them, my life was worth less than the mud beneath their boots, a minor annoyance to be swept away.
Desperation clawed at my chest as I looked over at Mei, whose small face was pale with terror.
If I died here, she would be sold into a life of unspeakable misery. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let another person pay the price for my weakness.
Was this how my story was going to end?
Would my second life be cut short in the dark, forgotten corner of a slum because I dared to stand up for someone else?
Bitter anger, hot and fierce, began to burn through my veins, replacing the cold dread of death. It was an intense, consuming fire, born of my refusal to accept this pathetic end.
Clenching my fists, I cursed my own weakness, cursing the heavens that had brought me to this world only to watch me fail again. I refused to let this happen. I refused to let another innocent person suffer because of my physical limitations.
Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over me, freezing the blood in my veins.
Raindrops hovering in the air seemed to slow down, suspending like tiny, glittering glass beads in a silent, frozen world. The shouting of the thugs died away, replaced by an eerie, absolute silence.
A dark, ominous whisper echoed directly inside my mind, bypassing my ears entirely.
"Do you desire strength, mortal?" the voice asked, smooth as silk and cold as ice.
Cold sweat broke out across my back, my heart stuttering in my chest. The presence was immense, ancient, and deeply unsettling, pressing down on my mind with suffocating weight.
"Who... who is that?" I thought back, my mind racing as the world remained frozen around me.
"I am that which can grant your deepest desires," the voice murmured, sending a shiver down my spine. "The Bloodbound System is ready to bind. But power is never free."
Glowing letters, crimson as fresh blood, flickered into existence directly in my field of vision.
Red text hovered in the frozen air, displaying words that sent a chill straight to my bones.
"[BLOODBOUND SYSTEM: Bind with the host's soul. Cost: 50% of current vital essence. Warning: Vital essence represents your lifespan and physical health. Constant drain will lead to permanent decay. Do you accept?]"
Half of my remaining life, gone in a single heartbeat. It was a terrifying price, one that would leave me permanently scarred and weakened, a shadow of what I could have been.
Terror seized me for a fraction of a second; this was not a helpful cheat, but a demonic pact designed to slowly consume my very soul.
Looking at Bao's sneering face and Mei's terrified eyes, however, I knew I had no other choice. If I died now, my lifespan would be zero anyway.
Why live a long life if I spent every second of it cowering in the shadows, watching those I cared about die? I would rather burn brightly for a moment than flicker out in cowardice.
"Bind it," I screamed internally, pouring every ounce of my fading willpower into the command.
Without hesitation, I accepted.
Agony, pure and concentrated, crashed over me, far worse than any physical beating I had ever endured.
Every nerve ending in my body felt like it was being set on fire, my veins filling with molten lead as my life force was violently extracted.
Burning red steam began to rise from my pores, carrying with it the vital essence of my youth. I felt my lungs tighten, my heart straining to pump the remaining, thinned blood through my body.
Screams tore from my throat, shattering the frozen pocket of time as the world snapped back to life.
Bao jumped back in surprise, letting go of my hair as I fell to the ground, my body twitching violently. His eyes widened as he witnessed the sudden, unnatural change occurring right before him.
Red mist swirled around me, and I could feel my skin growing paler, my dark hair losing its luster, and a deep, bone-weary exhaustion settling into my core. I had aged years in a matter of seconds.
Yet, along with the agonizing drain came an explosion of raw, untamed power.
Dark energy flooded my empty meridian pathways, forcing them open with brutal, tearing efficiency. The pain of the expansion was intense, but it was accompanied by an incredible, intoxicating sense of strength.
Broken bones snapped back into place, mended by the chaotic surge of crimson Qi that now saturated my muscles.
"[Binding complete. Bloodbound System active. Host has sacrificed fifteen years of lifespan. Current state: Weakened. Unleashing Blood-Burst Qi.]"
Master Jin's eyes widened in sudden shock as he felt the heavy pressure radiating from my broken body. The smug indifference on his face vanished, replaced by a sudden, sharp wariness.
"What is this?" Jin hissed, taking a step back as his green Qi flickered unsteadily. "What did you do?"
"Kill him! Do it now!" Bao roared, his face pale with sudden fear as he lunged toward me, raising his rusted dagger.
Rising slowly from the mud, my movements were fluid, heavy, and packed with newfound strength. The pain was still there, but it was buried beneath a layer of cold, focused rage.
Crimson light burned in my eyes, locking onto my attacker with predatory focus.
Catching the incoming rusted dagger bare-handed, I watched in grim satisfaction as the metal shattered into a dozen pieces against my skin, unable to pierce my Qi-strengthened flesh.
Gasping in horror, Bao tried to pull back, but I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet with a single hand.
Claw marks formed on my arm as he thrashed wildly, but my grip was like an iron vice, completely unyielding.
Power hummed in my veins, intoxicating and terrifying, a constant reminder of the price I had paid. It was a dark, addictive sensation.
Hurling him aside like a sack of garbage, I watched him crash into a stack of wooden crates, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Jin sneered, trying to mask his growing fear, and drew a long, gleaming steel sword from his waist.
"You think a parlor trick can save you, trash?" Jin roared, channeling his green Qi into his blade until it hummed with energy.
Slicing through the air, his sword cut toward my neck with a sharp, whistling sound.
Pivoting inside his guard, my movements were impossibly fast, my palm striking his chest before his blade could connect.
Shockwaves of crimson energy exploded from my hand, shattering his ribs and sending him flying backward through the air.
Crashing into the brick wall, Jin coughed up a mouthful of dark blood, his eyes wide with disbelief before he went completely limp.
Other gang members stared in absolute horror, dropping their weapons and fleeing into the rainy night without looking back.
Mei looked at me from the corner, her eyes wide with a mixture of awe and terror. She didn't recognize the pale, crimson-eyed monster standing before her.
Trying to step toward her, I wanted to tell her she was safe, but the sudden drain on my body hit me like a physical blow.
Crimson energy vanished in an instant, and my knees buckled, sending me crashing back into the cold mud.
Coldness crept back into my limbs, heavier and deeper than before, leaving a hollow void where my life force once was. I could feel the permanent damage done to my body, a lingering weakness that would never truly heal.
Heavy, sluggish heartbeats protested the massive theft of my vital essence.
As Ren's vision blurred, the system's voice, silken and cold, echoed in his mind, 'Welcome, Vessel. Your journey… has just begun.'