The young man felt himself floating atop a cloud, weightless yet aware. As he gazed around, he saw thousands of similar clouds, each carrying nearly a hundred people. At the very center of this vast sky, an old man with a long white beard reaching upto his chest sat on a floating chair, his piercing gaze studying the gathered individuals with an amused curiosity.

A small smile flickered across the elder's face before vanishing as he stood from his chair, now standing on air itself. His voice rang with authority. "Welcome to the world of cultivation, where the strong rule and the weak serve."

He continued, his voice unwavering. "Each of you has received a technique chosen based on your talent. You had ten minutes to comprehend it. Some of you have been blessed, while others… cursed. You will soon learn the effects once you enter your battlefield."

Then, he spoke of rankings. "Physiques, techniques, and bloodlines follow the same hierarchy: Mortal, Earth, Heaven, and Divinity. Mortal is the most common. Earth—one in a thousand. Heaven—one in a million. And Divinity? One in a billion!"

His gaze swept across the crowd. "Anyone with a Heaven-ranked physique, raise your hand."

Four hands rose among the crowd of millions.

"Not bad." He sent four glowing orbs into their wrists. "A small blessing from me for those with a heaven rank or above."

Then, his eyes sharpened. "Anyone with a Divinity-ranked physique? Though I doubt any among you possess such fortune."

A single hand rose. A young man with various handsome features, blue hair and azure eyes.

The old man chuckled, sending forth a brighter orb. "Impressive. You will need this blessing, young man. Since your rank is higher, your blessing will be stronger."

His expression turned cold. "Any questions? Find the answers yourselves. Here, only the strong have the right to speak."

Finally, he declared, "You will now descend to the Lower Realm, a land divided into five continents—North, East, South, West, and Middle. The Middle is the most treacherous. If you wish to stay with someone, think of their name."

Many people felt their body turn into a form of light before disappearing.

‘Xiao Li.’

‘Xiao Feng.’

The siblings murmured each other’s names in their minds—and vanished at the same time.

In a Forest

Xiao Feng’s eyes fluttered open to the rustling of leaves and the scent of damp earth. A soft groan reached his ears. He turned—and froze.

Beside him lay a beautiful young woman with long, jet-black hair and delicate features. Xiao Li. His little sister. The one he hadn’t seen in eight years—the one he thought he might never see again.

Their gazes met, and time seemed to stop.

"Brother?" Her voice wavered, her body trembling. Then, as if a dam had burst, tears spilled down her cheeks.

Xiao Feng tried to smile, but his vision blurred. Tears streamed down his face before he could even speak. His body moved instinctively, arms reaching for her.

With a choked sob, Xiao Li threw herself into his embrace, clutching his robes as if afraid he might disappear. "It’s really you… It’s really you!"

Xiao Feng swallowed hard, his voice thick with emotion. "You’ve grown so much..."

His fingers trembled as he ran them through her hair, gently patting her head. "I’ve missed this feeling, Xiao Li. Thank you."

Her body shook against his. "I was so scared! What if this didn’t work? What would I have done then?" Her words came out between sobs.

He held her tighter. "But it did work. And now, we’re together again. Look how happy I am."

For a long while, they simply held each other, letting the weight of eight lost years melt into the warmth of these sensations they yearned for.

Finally, Xiao Li sniffled, pulling back slightly. She wiped her tears and pouted. "Dummy brother. The first thing you do after seeing me is cry?"

Xiao Feng let out a shaky laugh, wiping the moisture from her face. "I guess we’re even, then."

She chuckled through her remaining sniffles while wiping the tears on Xiao Feng’s face, but her expression suddenly shifted—sharp and focused. A high growl rumbled behind them.

Xiao Feng spun just in time to see a five-meter-long wolf with bloodshot eyes lunging toward him.

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"Brother, move!" Xiao Li screamed.

Before he could react, she was already in front of him—her fist colliding with the wolf’s skull.

Boom!

The beast exploded into a shower of blood and fur.

Xiao Feng stood frozen. His little sister—the one who had just been sobbing in his arms—had obliterated a five-meter wolf with a single punch.

Xiao Li scoffed, shaking the blood from her knuckles. "Hmph. You dare attack my brother? Consider yourself lucky I gave you a quick death."

Xiao Feng gulped, a shiver running down his spine. Since when was she this terrifyingly strong?

She turned to him, concerned. "Are you okay?"

He nodded slowly. "…I think I should be the one asking you that."

She grinned. "I told you, Brother. I’ve grown up." Then she continued, "Actually, the evaluator lady said I was way too strong for my stage. Can you believe what she said next?" She stomped her foot. "She said I shouldn’t even exist! So rude. I wanted to lecture that NPC so bad."

She flipped her palm, showing him her character window.

[Name: Xiao Li]

[Cultivation Stage: Mortal]

[Physical Toughness: 2300]

[Physical Strength: 3000]

[Mental Strength: 2700]

[Soul Strength: 250]

[Speed: 2200]

[Stamina: 2600]

[Physique: Mind and Body Harmonized Physique]

[Bloodline: Not Activated]

[Soul Purity: 95%]

[Talent: Error]

Xiao Feng studied the stats. "Looks like we’re total opposites. You’re all brute strength, while I’m... whatever this is." He flipped his own character window for her to see.

"Who are you calling a brute?!" She pouted. "And here I thought we’d make a perfect team. You focus on the soul, I focus on the body—it’s like we were made to reach the peak together!"

Before Xiao Feng could respond, he noticed something strange—an ethereal energy seeping from the wolf’s corpse.

"Xiao Li, do you see that?" he asked, pointing.

She frowned. "See what? There’s nothing there."

‘Weird’ Xiao Feng reached out to touch it. The energy rushed into his hand and condensed into a sphere before shooting into his chest.

Pain exploded through his body. It felt as though thousands of ants were burrowing into his bones. He screamed in agony.

"BROTHERRR!!" Xiao Li cried out.

Seconds later, the pain subsided, replaced by a flood of notifications.

[Congratulations! You have broken the shackles of mortality.]

[You have entered the 1st Foundation Soul Stage.]

[You have entered the 2nd Foundation Soul Stage.]

[Physical Toughness: 180 → 460]

[Physical Strength: 160 → 440]

[Mental Strength: 390 → 670]

[Soul Strength: 2700 → 3160]

[Speed: 190 → 470]

[Stamina: 140 → 420]

[Soul Purity: 100% → 99%]

‘Huh, I broke through the shackles of mortality. Does that mean I’ve become a cultivator now? And what’s up with this overwhelming strength I suddenly feel in my body? Maybe it’s because all my stats increased at once?’

Before he could process everything, another notification appeared.

[Acquired: Soul Cleansing Physique]

[Rank: Primordial]

[Description: Grants complete control over souls. This ability can be applied to the user’s soul or any living being’s soul simply by thinking about the desired action. It does not alter the personality of the individual’s soul if used for absorption.]

[Warning: Cannot be used on souls vastly more powerful than the user’s unless permitted. Attempting to use it on unstable souls may result in damage to the user’s soul.]

‘So, this is the physique I own? Seems pretty overpowered based on the description. Does this mean I can basically control souls now?’ he wondered as yet another notification appeared.

[Xia Lingling’s Blessing]

[Rank: Ascendant]

[Description: Grants one-time protection against any life-threatening attack from a being weaker than Xia Lingling. If the attacker is stronger, the blessing’s effect will be reduced but still maximized to its potential.]

[???????? Curse]

[Rank: Progenitor]

[Description: ????????]

‘So, this is the blessing Sister Xia gave me. Not going to lie, it’s pretty useful. But what’s up with this curse? Did she or that old man cursed me? Damn, whoever did this to me!’ He felt a mix of excitement and irritation as another notification appeared.

[Learnt: Heavenly Soul Obliteration Technique]

[Rank: Immortal]

[Description: A devastating soul attack that reduces an enemy’s soul purity.]

* Below 50%: The target starts losing their mind.

* Below 20%: The target becomes an empty shell.

* 0%: The target’s soul becomes entirely impure, causing their body to explode into smithereens.

[Warning: After the explosion, impurities will be released into the surroundings. If not handled carefully, they could affect the user’s soul purity.]

[Requirements: Soul Strength >50,000, Mental Strength >10,000, Physical Toughness >10,000]

[Comprehension: 00.001%]

‘This is the technique Sister Xia taught me. It seems incredibly powerful, but as she said, I can’t even use it yet, considering the requirements. Also, what’s with these strange ranks? That senior only mentioned four. Does this mean there are even rarer ranks beyond those? I wonder how rare they are…’

His thoughts were interrupted by a worried voice.

“Brother, are you okay? What happened to you?” Xiao Li asked with concern.

“I think I became a cultivator due to that energy, but honestly, I have no idea what’s really going on.” He then explained everything that had happened.

After listening carefully, Xiao Li suggested, “From what you’ve said, I believe you should test it out on different souls until you understand how it works.”

“Yes that’s a good idea, let me try.” He thought inwardly, ‘If I can do anything I want with my soul, let’s see if I can restore my soul purity back to 100%.’

‘Cleanse my soul to 100% purity,’ he commanded in his mind. The very next moment, thick black mist seeped out of his body, and a notification appeared.

[Soul Purity: 99% → 100%]

“Oh, it worked,” he muttered. Then, as another thought crossed his mind, he turned to Xiao Li. “Can you help me kill one more beast? I want to test something else.”

“Of course, Brother! I don’t mind. I just want to enjoy this game with you,” she said with a cheerful nod, still slightly confused about what had just happened but relieved that her brother seemed fine. She then led the way excitedly.

After about six minutes, they encountered a four-meter-tall gigantic ape. Before it even realized it was under attack, Xiao Li killed it with a single punch.

“Wow… That was terrifying. Your pretty face and your monstrous strength are in complete contrast” Xiao Feng comments on her strength and chuckles.

Xiao Li pouted in mock anger. “Brother! If you say something like that again, I’ll beat you up too!”

“Sorry, sorry! I wouldn’t dare say it again,” Xiao Feng quickly backtracked, imagining himself in the same position as the ape and the wolf and shuddering just at the thought.

“Hmph, glad you understand,” Xiao Li said proudly. “Now, show me what you wanted to do!”

“Alright, give me a minute.” Xiao Feng focused, then issued a mental command. ‘Extract the ape’s soul and condense its energy into an orb.’

The corpse trembled as energy rapidly gathered from both within it and the energy that went outside it, forming a glowing orb of condensed soul energy.

‘Good, that worked. Now for the next step. If my soul purity decreased the last time when I absorbed energy then that must mean impurities were mixed within. That black mist must have been the impurities. Let’s see if I can remove them.’

‘Cleanse the impurities within this energy orb’ He orders and as expected, black mist seeped out from the orb. Xiao Feng smirked. ‘As I thought.’

He then spotted a small, ordinary-looking rabbit under a nearby tree. ‘Let’s see if I can transfer a portion of the soul energy.’

‘Split 10% of this energy and transfer it into that rabbit.’

The orb split in a 1:9 ratio, and 10% of the energy flowed into the rabbit. Immediately, the rabbit’s body grew slightly larger and more muscular, exuding a newfound strength.

Xiao Li noticed the change and frowned. “Why does that rabbit suddenly feel stronger than before? Isn’t that too sudden?”

Xiao Feng nodded. “That was my doing. Can you test it out and see if anything feels off?”

Xiao Li attacked the rabbit while holding back to avoid killing it. They exchanged blows for about ten seconds before the rabbit suddenly turned and bolted away at full speed.

“Did you notice any unusual behaviour?” Xiao Feng asked.

“Well, aside from becoming stronger and faster, it seemed almost… happy and confident for some reason,” Xiao Li replied after pondering for a while.

Xiao Feng grinned. “That means the experiment was a success. I can not only absorb others’ soul energy, but I can also transfer it safely. Let’s test it further to ensure there are no side effects. We can’t afford mistakes when dealing with souls.”

Xiao Li nodded, and together, they experimented on various creatures, confirming that the process was safe.

Eventually, they stood before the massive corpse of a bear.

Xiao Feng’s heart pounded as he stared at the glowing orb of condensed soul energy. He had tested small doses, but this time, he was about to do something completely different—transferring an entire soul’s worth of energy. His fingers trembled as he clenched his fist. ‘What if something goes wrong? What if I hurt her instead of helping her?’ The thought gnawed at his mind.

He looked at Xiao Li. She stood confidently, but there was a faint hint of unease in her eyes, as if she could sense his hesitation.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, his voice carrying a trace of nervousness.

Xiao Li nodded firmly. Determination flashed in her eyes. “I trust you completely, Brother. I want to grow stronger with you.”

Xiao Feng inhaled deeply, then exhaled. No turning back now.

‘100% of the bear’s soul… enter Xiao Li’s body.’

The moment the thought formed, the energy shot forward—straight into Xiao Li’s chest. Her eyes widened. And then—