When Lu Feng awoke, the early morning sun cast its gentle light through the canopy of trees, illuminating the wooden cabin.
Feeling parched, he noticed the large wooden bucket in the corner, filled with water from the nearby stream. After quenching his thirst, he stepped out of the cabin.
The fresh air and the cool dew on the grass greeted him with each step, offering comfort.
A cheerful smile spread across Lu Feng's face.
Clearing the remains of last night's feast, he sat at the table and summoned the system.
'System'
Cultivation Levels Deduced -
1.Core
2.Innate
3.Origin
4.Master
5.Sovereign
6.Empyrean
7.Demi-Saint
8.Holy Emperor
???
Information limit reached. This info doesn't establish the norm or standard for any forces at any level, please exercise caution as you navigate the world.
Compiling knowledge from the repository.
Compiling world laws and specifications.
Generating Attribute and Skill Tree.
ETA 72 Hours.
'Three more days...'
Interacting with the system without the mocking voice of the AI felt somewhat strange to Lu Feng.
'With the AI gone, I doubt the system can answer any queries or provide guidance...'
Lu Feng chuckled.
'...Funny— I miss the straightforward tasks and checklists.'
'System. Host Info'
Name: ???
Age: 19 (Approximated from bone age)
Cultivation: Innate level cultivation. Indeterminate stage.
Please wait 72 Hours for further info.
Lu Feng delved into the memories of his host. Despite the absence of his host's memories beyond the past 4 years, the temperament and calm state of mind evident in his daily life impressed Lu Feng.
After noticing something intriguing in his memories, Lu Feng entered the wooden cabin. Rummaging through it, he discovered a shoddily carved wooden box hidden under the straw bed.
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The box contained a token. Grabbing it, Lu Feng exited the cabin to examine it more closely.
The token, crafted from gold with purple gemstones inlaid along the periphery, featured a life-like pouncing white tiger carved from silver and an unfamiliar black metal at its center. On the reverse side, embossed into the gold, were silver characters reading 'Baihu.'
Despite his unfamiliarity with this new world, Lu Feng's keen eyesight allowed him to discern that the token, with its weight and intricate design, indicated that his host's origins were anything but ordinary.
'Baihu must be his surname... Anyone with common sense could guess that this is a powerful faction...'
Yet, he couldn't comprehend why such a prominent family hadn't located the young man whose body Lu Feng now inhabited.
'Maybe the family is in deep trouble or has been exterminated... Or perhaps they are located too far from here... It's something for later, I guess.'
Reflecting on it and drawing from his own experiences, Lu Feng deduced that, living four years without resources or access to medicines, while severely injured— The host must have originally been at peak origin level to still possess Innate level cultivation.
Although Lu Feng was unaware of the world's standards, it was undoubtedly rare for a 15 year-old to have cultivation just short of Master level.
Lu Feng couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.
'Lost memories, mysterious background, powerful cultivation... A single precious token...'
"Damn, this Young Master's Halo Is Too Bright... It would've been a good origin story had he not died."
After a moment of silence for the departed host, Lu Feng went inside the cabin and examined the place in detail. In a corner, he found a luxurious set of robes neatly folded and placed in a chest, along with a ring.
Curious, Lu Feng put the ring on his right hand.
'This must be a space ring... No way this young master didn't have one.'
Lu Feng circulated the energy in his body and tried various methods of opening the ring, but to no avail. The ring only briefly showed signs of opening before sealing shut again.
'There's a cultivation level restriction... Damn, this must be what did him in... If there was no restriction, he could have used whatever's in there to heal his injuries... Too bad...'
Leaving the ring on, he rummaged through the cabin once again but found nothing.
After a soak in the nearby stream, Lu Feng caught a few rabbits on his way back, along with a makeshift basket full of berries he foraged, which he recalled were safe.
Returning to the cabin, he managed to light some embers and used them to ignite the new bundle of logs. After butchering and cleaning the rabbits, he carved up the meat and separated it. In the rough clay pot, he placed all the fatty meat remaining from last night's feast along with the rabbit meat and set the pot on the fire.
As the meat sizzled in its own fat, the irresistible smell made Lu Feng drool. Despite his urges, he added all the berries he had foraged. Letting the strange concoction cook, Lu Feng sat on the ground in a lotus position and began to circulate energy, but soon felt his entire body ache with intense pain.
Even though Lu Feng had a high pain tolerance, he couldn't help but groan.
'Damn, I can't even circulate energy... Guess I'll have to wait for the system to come online.'
An hour later, the strange mixture of fat, meat, and sweet berries was done cooking. He removed the pot from the fire and set it aside to cool, keeping it covered. The aroma of the strange mixture was alluringly meaty and sweet.
'This is what kept me alive in dire times throughout my previous lives... I'll set out in the afternoon... I'll have to get out of this forest soon.'
Feeling sleepy, Lu Feng entered the cabin, ready for a nap. When he woke up, he cut the solidified sticky mixture in the pot into bars and proceeded to gather all the important things, placing them on the table and taking stock.
'Daggers now used as meat knives, check. Gourd full of water, check. A set of luxury robes, check. Mysterious token, check. Useless space ring, check. Primitive energy bars, check... Let's go.'
After bidding farewell to the cabin in his heart, Lu Feng set off downstream, hoping to leave the forest.
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