The wheels of the Di Family carriage rolled steadily across the ancient stone road. Clack... Clack... Clack... The road wound through towering mountains covered in lush forests. Ancient trees reached hundreds of meters into the sky, their branches so thick they blocked the sunlight. Spiritual birds with brilliant feathers glided overhead while gentle streams of spiritual qi drifted through the air like morning mist. Inside one of the carriages, a young man slowly opened his eyes. "..." His gaze lingered on the unfamiliar wooden ceiling. His body felt strangely heavy. Before he could gather his thoughts, a violent pain erupted inside his head. "Ugh..." He gritted his teeth as countless memories poured into his mind. A bustling modern city. Towering skyscrapers. Phones. Computers. Traffic. Late nights. A life that now felt incredibly distant. Then... Another life. The Di Family. Cultivators. Spirit stones. Qi. Immortals. The Azure Cloud Sect. His uncle. Lightning Spiritual Root. The two sets of memories fused together, overwhelming his consciousness. Several minutes later... The pain disappeared. The young man slowly sat up and let out a long breath. "So..." "I really died." He remembered everything. His previous life had ended unexpectedly. Instead of ceasing to exist, his soul had somehow entered the body of another young man. Coincidentally... This body's name was also Di Tian. "What are the odds..." He laughed softly before shaking his head. Panicking would accomplish nothing. This wasn't a dream. It wasn't a hallucination. It was reality. Outside the carriage, laughter echoed among the other youths making the journey. "We'll arrive soon!" "I heard the Azure Cloud Sect has thousands of disciples!" "I wonder if we'll become immortals one day!" Di Tian ignored the excitement and organized the memories in his mind. This world was ruled by cultivation. The weak obeyed. The strong commanded. Cultivators absorbed the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, tempering both body and soul in pursuit of immortality. The world itself was divided into five great regions. The Northern Region. The Southern Region. The Eastern Region. The Western Region. And above them all, the prosperous Central Region, home to the oldest sects, strongest clans, and legendary cultivators. Di Tian belonged to the Southern Region. His family, the Di Family, wasn't weak, but it certainly wasn't powerful either. The strongest expert within the family was only at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Compared to the great cultivation sects, they were merely a respectable local clan. However... The Di Family possessed one valuable connection. His uncle. Di Feng. An Inner Sect Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect. A genuine Golden Core cultivator. Within the surrounding territories, Golden Core experts could easily establish entire sects or destroy families with a single command. Because of Di Feng's recommendation, Di Tian had been accepted directly as an Outer Disciple. Not because he lacked talent. Simply because he had skipped the entrance examinations. Naturally... Every disciple would assume he relied entirely on family influence. Di Tian smiled. "That saves me the trouble of pretending." He preferred being underestimated. It sounded peaceful. As for this body's talent... He searched through his memories once more. His parents had died years ago. Since then, he had lived quietly within the Di Family. Because his uncle had arranged his entry into the sect, no one had bothered testing his spiritual root beforehand. Even the previous Di Tian believed he possessed ordinary talent. Little did anyone know... His body possessed a Heaven-grade Lightning Spiritual Root. One of the rarest and most destructive spiritual roots known. Di Tian blinked. "Not tested?" "That's... convenient." Before he could think further— A cold mechanical voice echoed inside his mind. 【Compatible soul detected.】 He froze. "..." 【Binding Auto Cultivation System...】 A translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes. --- AUTO CULTIVATION SYSTEM Host: Di Tian Age: 16 Qi Cultivation: Mortal Body Cultivation: Mortal Spiritual Root: Heaven-grade Lightning Spiritual Root Status: Binding... --- "...A system?" The blue screen flickered. 【Binding Complete.】 Welcome, Host. New functions unlocked. --- Auto Cultivation System Qi Cultivation - Automatically cultivates twenty-four hours a day. - Cultivates at the Host's absolute peak condition. Body Cultivation - Automatically tempers the Host's physique without interruption. Technique Cultivation - Automatically practices cultivation techniques, martial arts, movement arts, and secret skills. Comprehension - Continuously studies manuals and improves mastery over time. Efficiency - Never tires. - Never makes mistakes. - Never loses focus. Restrictions - Requires cultivation techniques to begin. - Higher realms require sufficient spiritual energy and breakthrough resources. --- Di Tian silently read every line. "...That's ridiculously overpowered." There were no missions. No punishment. No daily tasks. No strange requirements. Just cultivation. Constant cultivation. Endless cultivation. Exactly what he wanted. He leaned comfortably against the carriage wall. "So..." "The system works." "But first I need cultivation techniques." The moment he entered the Azure Cloud Sect, everything would begin. While countless disciples sat in meditation for hours every day... His system would cultivate without pause. While they slept... It would continue. While they fought... It would continue. While he ate... It would continue. Even if he spent an entire day lying beneath a tree... It would continue. He couldn't help smiling. "Looks like I can be lazy after all." The carriage suddenly slowed. The driver shouted, "We've arrived!" The doors opened. Di Tian stepped outside. His eyes widened ever so slightly. Before him stood a mountain unlike anything he had ever imagined. Towering peaks pierced the heavens. Gigantic waterfalls cascaded through the clouds. Flying swords streaked across the sky. Immense palaces rested upon floating cliffs. Countless disciples in azure robes walked up endless stone staircases, while powerful spiritual beasts circled overhead. At the summit of the highest peak stood a magnificent palace overlooking the entire sect. That was where the Nascent Soul Patriarch of the Azure Cloud Sect resided. A single expert capable of protecting the sect and dominating the surrounding lands. Even Golden Core elders like his uncle answered to the Patriarch. Standing before such a majestic sight, every young disciple's eyes filled with excitement. Some dreamed of becoming elders. Others wished to become famous throughout the Southern Region. Some even dreamed of reaching immortality itself. Di Tian simply stretched. "...Looks tiring." If becoming stronger required endless effort... Fortunately... He wouldn't be the one making it. Far above the mountain gate, an ancient bronze bell rang throughout the heavens. Dong... Dong... Dong... The gates of the Azure Cloud Sect slowly opened. The journey of the laziest disciple in the history of the sect—and the future strongest cultivator of the Five Regions—had quietly begun.

Chapter 1: A New Beginning