Chapter 1: Black Turntable

"Damn it!"

When Xu Xiaoshou opened his eyes again, everything had changed.

What he saw was a ceiling draped with cobwebs, a small wooden table covered in dust, the stub of a burned-out candle, and a black sword brimming with spiritual energy...

All of this was completely different from the hospital room's furnishings.

Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head, trying to recall. He vaguely remembered that after fighting his illness optimistically for three years, he had finally collapsed.

The pain had ended, and he had waved goodbye to the clouds in the sky, though his heart was filled with discontent.

Why was everyone else's life so vibrant, while his own had consisted only of nine years of compulsory education and endless stays in the hospital?

School and hospital—these two painful concepts had dominated his entire life.

Yet now...

He looked at the unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar surroundings and examined himself from head to toe, but he couldn't find any source of pain.

"Has heaven finally opened its eyes? A painless transmigration?"

Xu Xiaoshou leaned closer to the copper mirror on the table, and what reflected back was a completely refreshed yet still handsome face.

It was the appearance of an eighteen-year-old youth, with a pale complexion as if he hadn't seen sunlight in ages, a high-bridged nose that perfectly divided the few freckles on his cheeks, and dry, chapped lips that hadn't touched water.

"Not bad at all. If I get a bit tanner and put on some weight, it'll be even more appealing—especially these freckles..."

Xu Xiaoshou smacked his lips and picked at the dead skin on them while accessing the memories in his mind, deducing why he was so thin.

This body originally belonged to an outer court disciple of Tian Sang Ling Gong, but his aptitude was average. After three years in the sect, he had only reached the third realm of Shi Jing Lian Ling. To prepare for "Feng Yun Zheng Ba," he had shut himself in seclusion for a month, determined to break through.

Fail, and he would perish!

And so, he had perished...

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head in regret. This guy had known he couldn't break through to the fourth realm. After enduring three years of mockery and sarcasm, he had already lost the will to live.

This seclusion was just an excuse, a way to go along with the flow and log off for good.

Different worlds, different pains—Xu Xiaoshou had suffered physically, while this guy had endured mental torment.

Both were equally tragic lives.

"But since I've been given this chance, I won't let some gossip defeat me." Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself as he continued piecing together the memory fragments, only for his face to darken.

It turned out that "Feng Yun Zheng Ba" was like a final exam. This guy had come in last for two years straight, and if he lost again this year, he would have to pack up and leave Tian Sang Ling Gong.

No wonder he had gone into seclusion—it must have been out of desperation...

Xu Xiaoshou felt his head throbbing. How had he ended up with such immense pressure right away—a final exam with a last-place elimination system?

As someone who had been through it, he dreaded exams the most, especially when his skills and abilities were both lacking.

What was worse, there was no high-tech here; cheating was impossible...

He let his mind wander chaotically as he finished absorbing the memories. Accompanied by a tremor in his soul, he felt completely integrated into this body.

The next second, a black turntable appeared in his mind.

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

So, the high-tech had arrived?

He quickly delved into his mind to examine the black turntable closely.

The black turntable was quite rudimentary, like something from a street stall—it didn't look valuable at all. Xu Xiaoshou seriously suspected this high-tech was just going through the motions.

At the bottom, there were two sections: one gold and one red.

Interestingly, the gold section took up nearly ninety percent, while the red section was just a tiny sliver.

"This is so unfair..."

Xu Xiaoshou muttered to himself. Based on typical theories, the squeezed red section often held the good stuff.

However, the gold section was labeled "Active System," and the red section was labeled "Passive System."

"Active and passive?"

Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned strange. In gaming terms, active skills were naturally better than passive ones—who could kill enemies with just passives?

You'd probably couldn't even take down a wild monster!

Maybe this black turntable pitied how miserably I lived in my previous life and expanded the "Active System" section as a reward?

Xu Xiaoshou got excited—it had to be that!

"What a conscientious turntable—rare to see one!"

He eagerly looked for something like a "start" button but found nothing.

In his mind, there was only this shabby turntable.

Did he have to operate it manually?

He looked at the flimsy black turntable, worried that he might break it, but it seemed he had no other choice and had to force it.

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at the pointer on the turntable—it was long and thin, looking fragile.

He tried gently nudging it with his thoughts, and the turntable shook, seeming like it might start spinning.

—But then it stopped.

"It's gone?"

It was just a tease; the pointer didn't move at all. Xu Xiaoshou thought the maker of this turntable was so careless.

It looked cheap, and now it wouldn't even turn properly. Didn't they add any lubrication?

He put a bit more mental force into it, and the pointer tilted slightly, but it still felt stuck. Not enough!

Xu Xiaoshou added more effort, and the slender pointer tilted even further. He realized something was wrong and tried to pull back, but the pointer couldn't handle it and snapped with a "crack"...

It snapped?

It really snapped!

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. This turntable wasn't just looking cheap—it was genuinely cheap!

The pointer had originally been pointing to the edge of the gold section, and now that it broke, it fell into the red section outside the edge.

Red... Passive System?

Xu Xiaoshou's face turned from dark to purple. This was not how you played fair—who made this turntable? What a shady thing.

Then he suddenly thought, maybe it wasn't about spinning the pointer; perhaps you spun the base?

"Uh... surely not?"

Xu Xiaoshou's face flushed with embarrassment as he tentatively spun the base. Sure enough, it rolled smoothly with a "whir," showing no signs of needing lubrication.

"This..." Xu Xiaoshou's eyes went blank, and his body staggered, causing him to fall onto the bed.

The next second, he sprang up, desperately trying to use his thoughts to pick up the broken pointer and move it back to the gold section before the black turntable reacted.

But as soon as the idea formed, the black turntable seemed to snap out of it and vanished in a flash.

A line of text appeared:

"Passive System activated, loading..."

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to cry but had no tears; at this point, he could only go with the flow and accept reality.

The text disappeared, replaced by a small red interface. Xu Xiaoshou looked at it with a glimmer of hope.

Inside, there was only one section, with a big line of text:

Basic Passive Skill.

The section was familiarly shabby and rudimentary:

Breathing Method (Houtian Lv.1).

Xu Xiaoshou instantly fell off the bed. His already pale face suddenly flushed red—this was from qi and blood surging, frustration boiling over, and anger overwhelming him.

What the hell is Breathing Method? Do I need you to teach me that?

Even a baby knows how to breathe!

Xu Xiaoshou had held a tiny bit of expectation for the "Passive System," hoping for some divine twist to blow him away.

But now, he was completely juéwàng—this was truly passive, and breathing of all things...

What the hell is breathing!

In his anger, he took a few extra breaths, only to suddenly feel the spiritual energy in his body erupt violently.

"What's going on?" Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. With his current cultivation at the third realm of Shi Jing Lian Ling, there shouldn't be such a violent spiritual energy surge unless he was breaking through. Was he about to break through?

He quickly sat cross-legged, ready to act, only to see the spiritual energy envelop him like a cocoon. A profound sensation surged from his dantian, like a fish returning to the sea, breaking free from its confines.

Invisible ripples spread through the air, even sweeping the dust off the table.

"Br-breaking through?"

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. That guy had been in seclusion for a month and couldn't break this bottleneck, but I did it just by getting angry and breathing a few extra times?

Wait... Breathing?

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up. "Breathing Method?"

Could it be that this "Breathing Method" was like a cultivation technique, where every breath I take absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into myself?

"Heavens... I hit the jackpot!"

Xu Xiaoshou had thought he'd messed up and gotten a junk system, but this was actually the best one. He carefully pondered the word "passive," gaining some insight.

"Passive breathing?"

"Passive cultivation?"

As he focused on his breathing, he indeed found that with every inhale, a trace of heaven and earth spiritual energy entered his dantian.

Not much, but enough!

He had already been at the bottleneck before, and those few extra breaths of spiritual energy became the drop that broke the dam—it was all but inevitable!

Xu Xiaoshou's heart burned with excitement. Indeed, the good stuff was often in that squeezed section.

If I'd gotten an active cultivation technique, I'd still have to go through the process of cultivating.

But with this "Breathing Method," it skips even that process—what does that mean?

Xu Xiaoshou flicked his sleeve, tossing back the hair on his forehead, looking utterly dashing.

"I, Xu Xiaoshou, can become invincible just by standing still!"

What a pity no one was around to appreciate his moment of glory. Xu Xiaoshou sighed to himself.

He looked back at the red interface, now with a completely different feeling.

"Breathing Method (Houtian Lv.1)."

His gaze drifted to the suffix, and he muttered unconsciously, "Houtian... Lv.1..."

This probably meant it could be upgraded, so what was needed for the upgrade?

He quickly noticed a line of small text at the bottom of the interface, which he'd overlooked in his excitement earlier.

"Passive Value: 0."

Xu Xiaoshou stroked his chin. Passive Value?

This was likely what was needed to upgrade skills, but how did you get it?

On a summer night, filled with the sounds of cicadas and mosquitoes, Xu Xiaoshou's room fell silent as he pondered.

Suddenly, he felt an itch on his forearm and slapped at it instinctively. Lifting his hand, he saw spots of blood on his palm.

"Damn mosquito!"

Xu Xiaoshou thought the room needed a thorough cleaning—it hadn't been touched in a month. The next second, he froze, his face showing a mix of amusement and exasperation.

In his mind, a new entry appeared below the red interface:

"Under attack, Passive Value +1."