Chapter 06: The Freakish Failure

Translator: Krukist

A series of questions flooded Lin Yu’s mind as he watched the dimming screen of the computer in his Sea of Consciousness, its light flickering as if it might vanish at any moment. For now, he pushed aside the questions of cause and effect and focused on exploring the antivirus software.

If the software could eliminate viruses—essentially “detoxify”—it must have other functions. Back on Earth, antivirus software wasn’t limited to just killing viruses. As it evolved, it included toolkits for diagnosing system security and integrity, offering features like repairs and vulnerability fixes.

With this in mind, Lin Yu quickly navigated the antivirus interface, relying on his memories from his past life. Sure enough, the software mirrored what he remembered. It had all the functions: System Emergency Kit, System Security Patches, System Risk Prediction, and more…

Ding!

Just as Lin Yu was busy exploring these features, a light, melodious chime echoed in his Sea of Consciousness. The antivirus software automatically popped up a dialog box:

[Detected Host: Lin Yu]

[Host Attribute: Human of the Continent]

[Host Status: Congenital Blockage of the Seven Meridians and Eight Vessels. Blockage is divided into three levels: Mild, Moderate, and Severe. Host’s blockage is classified as Extremely Severe.]

Lin Yu broke into a cold sweat. After spending over half a year on this continent, he was well aware of the basic requirements for cultivation. The original owner of this body had always pretended not to care, but deep down, he desperately wanted to become a cultivator. Even if he couldn’t become a Arcane Martialist, he would have settled for being a True Martialist. Failing that, even a Body Forging expert would have sufficed. But fate had played a cruel joke on him—his physical constitution was so poor that he couldn’t even achieve the most basic level of Body Forging.

Even the most ordinary Body Forging required some innate physical talent. No matter how strong one’s willpower was, a naturally weak body couldn’t endure the rigors of Body Forging.

Body Forging was somewhat similar to fitness training on Earth, but without modern gym equipment, it relied on methods like lifting stone locks and mountain climbing. For someone like Lin Yu, who grew breathless after a short walk, attempting Body Forging would be suicidal.

In normal humans, the Seven Meridians and Eight Vessels were unobstructed, serving as the foundation for cultivation. These meridians were also graded, and while some people had blockages, they typically fell into one of three levels: Mild, Moderate, or Severe. Lin Yu, however, had broken the scale entirely, landing in a category of his own: Extremely Severe.

In fact, he was probably the only person in the entire Heavenly Cloud Kingdom with such a condition. Forget Body Forging—even True Martial or Arcane Martial cultivation was out of the question. The fact that he had survived this long was nothing short of a miracle, thanks to his father constantly feeding him various Spiritual Medicines.

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Ding!

Just as Lin Yu was wallowing in despair, the chime sounded again, and the text in the dialog box changed:

[Detected Host: Lin Yu]

[Host Attribute: Human of the Continent]

[Host Status: Congenital Blockage of the Seven Meridians and Eight Vessels. Blockage is now divided into four levels: Mild, Moderate, Severe, and Extremely Severe. Host’s blockage is classified as Freakishly Severe.]

Lin Yu was stunned. What did this mean? Originally, there were three levels, and he had broken the scale to become the fourth—Extremely Severe. Now, there were four levels, and he had somehow surpassed even that to become the fifth—Freakishly Severe.

What was this trying to say? That his talent wasn’t just bad—it was catastrophically, unprecedentedly terrible? So bad that it defied the natural order of the Heavenly Sun Continent?

His heart ached, and he felt utterly crushed.

But just as Lin Yu was sinking into despair and questioning the meaning of his transmigrated life, a new button appeared at the bottom of the dialog box: [Repair?]

Below it, a countdown timer appeared, just like when he had detoxified the Blue Bamboo Cat. Thirty seconds.

Lin Yu didn’t need a single second to think. He immediately clicked the repair button. The heavens had given him this golden finger to escape his fate as a failure, and he wasn’t about to let it slip away.

[Repair in progress…]

Seeing these words, Lin Yu nearly shouted in excitement.

But then, the already dim computer screen suddenly went completely black.

Crashed?

“I…”

Lin Yu wanted to curse. The most terrifying thing in the world wasn’t despair—it was seeing a glimmer of hope in the midst of despair, only to have it snatched away. Just as he thought his future was bright, the light vanished, leaving him back in the abyss.

Lin Yu opened his eyes and let out a long breath. Though frustrated, he quickly calmed down. In his past life on Earth, he had been a “salty fish”—someone content with mediocrity, neither discouraged nor overly ambitious.

If the computer in his Sea of Consciousness could appear, activate, and even successfully “detoxify” the Blue Bamboo Cat, it meant there was some energy source in the Heavenly Sun Continent that could power it.

All he had to do was find that energy source, and he could use it again.

Blacky lay by the window, asleep. The large piece of beef jerky beside him remained untouched.

Blacky had always loved beef jerky. Lin Yu did too. As kids, they’d often fought over it. But now, Blacky couldn’t even eat it.

When death approached, appetite faded—whether for humans or dogs.

Lin Yu looked at the dozing Blacky, his heart heavy. For now, he set aside thoughts of finding the energy source to activate the computer. He got out of bed and gently stroked Blacky’s head.

Blacky immediately opened his eyes and licked Lin Yu’s hand.

It was already evening. Lin Yu hadn’t eaten since noon, and his stomach growled. He headed to the kitchen to prepare a meal. The ingredients in the Heavenly Sun Continent were similar to those on Earth, but the cooking methods were entirely different. None of Earth’s culinary traditions existed here—at least, not in Heavenly Cloud City, as far as Lin Yu knew.

With memories from two lifetimes, Lin Yu was no stranger to the kitchen. The original owner had been a decent cook, skilled at making homely dishes. Over the past six months, Lin Yu had tried to adapt to this world’s cuisine, rarely cooking Earth-style meals.

But tonight, as he looked at Blacky’s aging form, an idea struck him. He caught one of the small meat chickens raised in the yard and prepared a feast: Kung Pao Chicken, Spicy Diced Chicken, Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms…

All made in the Earth style.

Soon, the aroma of the dishes filled the kitchen. Blacky, who had been listless, suddenly perked up, his old eyes gleaming with hunger. He even licked his lips, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

“Huh? What’s that amazing smell?”

A young girl’s voice drifted in from outside the courtyard wall…

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