Felix woke to a dry mouth and blood crusting to his face. As he sat back up, he found a list of the now familiar text in his mind’s eye once more.

[Cross-referencing system databases for suitable system configuration.]

[No suitable configurations found]

[Hosts soul, body, and karmic fate deemed too weak to host and power system]

[Emergency system creation instigated.]

[Insufficient]

[Scrapping system resources to find a solution.]

[Insufficient]

[Additional entity deemed necessary to support system.]

[Scanning karmic connections…Entity of sufficient karmic strength found!]

[Sect ‘Thousand Seasons’ meets minimum karmic strength]

[Constructing rudimentary System]

[Congratulations!]

[You are the first test subject to receive the personalized Pillar of the Sect System]

Well, that was another horrible experience.

After waiting to see if more notification popped up in his mind, Felix finally got out of the chair he had been sitting in. He moved over to the other side of the room to find a glyph and a waterspout. Tapping on the glyph, a clear stream of water poured out of the nozzle. He quickly grabbed a cup from a nearby shelf to catch the water and drained a few cups before unsteadily placing it down on the table. He glanced at the bloodstains on the ‘Falling Leaves’ cultivation manual before shaking his head.

One thing at a time. Felix began pacing around the rather large room trying to collect his thoughts. Okay, so what have I learned? I appear to be in a cultivation world as far as I can tell. My status in this world is that of an outer disciple in a surprisingly humane Sect.

If what this system said is true, I am not actually the original person who experienced this world crossing event but … some patchwork soul made from such a person as well as a few other people. Oh, and I can’t gloss over the fact that apparently I have obtained a system. Honestly, that is what is making me doubt this reality the most. That just screams simulation. If it isn’t a simulation, how does that fit with this cultivation world? My surroundings don’t exactly scream ‘high tech’ and ‘programming’!

Felix realized he was getting worked up again and took several deep breaths. I need to calm the fuck down. He walked over to the window on the side of the guest room and opened the wooden shutters.

Elder Rong’s mansion was three-quarters of the way up the mountain so he was presented with a view of the surrounding lowlands. Stretching ten miles from the mountain base, he could see the direct effect of the Thousand Seasons Sect's great formation. It was like someone took the symbol depicting four seasons on his disciple’s robes and superimposed it on the land itself. To his left, he saw a forest that looks like it was caught at the peak of fall. Trees were colored in different hues from yellow and burnish red to earthy brown. Directly in front of him was a section of land where just by looking at it one could feel the heat it gave off. The center was so hot that the very ground cracked from the dryness. To his left, he saw a section of lush forest with many streams. Low lying clouds appeared and then burst in intense showers of rain. Felix presumed that behind the mountain he would see a section of the land was blanket it snow.

Well, that definitely gives a magical vibe. As he was about to close the window he paused as he noticed something weird about the different areas. He stared for a moment before realizing what it was. The sections are moving! Ever so slowly, the distinct sections of the forest were moved in a clockwise pattern around the mountain. The spring section turned into summer and the summer turned into fall. Yep, mystical bullshit. He closed the windows.

So, assuming this is somehow real and that I can trust this system not to stab me in the back, it is probably my greatest tool in obtaining strength. Even if I apparently have a friend and decent elders in the sect, I cannot allow myself to feel safe. The soul expert who did this to me is evidence enough that this world is dangerous. I also can’t ignore that introduction to the system, “Experiment 667” implies that there are other people with possible cheats. Also, who knows how powerful people are in this cultivation world. Maybe a primordial god will scratch his bum, break the time-space continuum and wipe out half a continent.

With an effort of will, Felix pulled himself away from such existential pondering. Alright, I need to focus on doing something or I will go crazy. He sat back down at the table with the blood-stained manual laying in front of him.

“Status,” said Felix. He waited and nothing happened.

“Menu.”

“Character sheet”

Felix started saying anything he could think of that would instigate the system's response. Nothing worked.

Come on, why will you not show me my status screen?

[Name: Felix]

[Race: Human]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 15]

[Cultivation: None (damaged peak Qi gathering)]

[Constitution: None]

[Bloodline: None]

[Roots: None]

[Potential Points: ?]

[Will: ?]

[Talent: ?]

[Comprehension: ?]

[Luck: 5]

[Sect: Thousand Seasons (Outer Disciple)]

[Cultivation Methods]

[Skills]

[Notes]

[An abomination of patched together souls. Through a combination of vile skill, heaven defying luck, and the system’s aid, this individual has essentially obtained a complete soul. The majority of issues will be healed with system assistance (Estimated Time: 3 days). ]

[Fate] Barely a flicker.]

[Description: Your existence is anathema. Your karmic spark is much weaker than even a normal insect. You are likely to be non-maliciously crushed by the hand of fate.]

[Accessing Starter Care Package]

[Original Care package consumed to create this system ]

OH COME ON!

Quest: Establishing bonds

Learn the names of your twelve sect elders. Meet some of your other disciples excluding the disciple known as 'Martel']

Rewards: Stabilizes Pillar of the Sect System, KE points variable

So what can I purchase then?

[Current queries include]

Manual Learning - Variable

Manual upgrade - Variable

Well, how much to gain one point of understanding of the Falling Earth manual?

[1 KE for 1 understanding]

…How much to advance to beginner.

[1 KE to advance to beginner]

How the hell does that make sense!?

The system remained quiet.

Felix rolled that over in his mind. It seemed he had gotten the cheat that he had heard of but with a lot of issues. Perhaps the KE points can’t be divided? Then that means the system likely rounds its point usage. I will have to be careful to get the maximum reward out of each purchase then. How much KE points do I have?

[50 KE points available]

Felix sat there for a bit more taking it all in. After much internal debate, he decided to wait on using any points yet. He realized this was his reality and frankly it terrified him.

I mean, what kind of world is this where a person's very soul can be violated. The very fact it is possible is concerning, much less that there are monsters out there that would do such a thing. I can't just go and use up my only advantage.

He opened the cultivation manual.

Alright, I will hold off on using that point then. Let's see how much of this manual I can understand on my own. It isn't like I can do anything yet anyway. More importantly, there might be a better manual out there for me anyway.

He was happy to find that he understood most of it, but that happiness waned as he progressed. The memories he had scrounged together had nothing on this manual or any other cultivation manual for that matter. The words, supposedly having something to do with earth type qi, also didn't ring any bells with his memories of science.

The text seemed to be based on the concept of how leaves became earth. The essence of the text centered around synchronizing your mind with the picture of yourself as a leaf falling from a tree. The further the leaf falls, the further on its journey to becoming earth. There were also two different types of breathing patterns listed in the book. One if you had an earth spiritual root. And one if you didn't.

Felix was ready to toss the book across the wall when he got to the section on the ideal environment. Apparently, the cultivation method was highly dependent on the environment. In Winter and summer, cultivating the technique would be very slow as well as leave a poor foundation. In the spring, it would even be dangerous to one's health. However, if one cultivated it during the fall, and specifically in a forest of trees when leaves were actual falling, the person's cultivation would resonate with the environment the technique would be strengthened by several orders of magnitudes. Felix thought of the formation he had seen around the sect yesterday. In the fall portion, it seemed like the trees were eternally shedding leaves at a prodigious rate. He suddenly had more respect for the technique in his lap.

Still, it is worth looking at some other manuals first to get a better idea. I hope my sect has a decent selection.

Shaking his head, he set the Falling Earth Book down and reached out for the other tome. Reading the title, a prompt appeared in his mind.

[Boulder Fist (Mortal)]

Power: Trash

Comprehension: Beginner (0/10)

Stage: Qi Gathering

Dismissing it, he opened the book to read. He was summarily disappointed. Unlike the Falling Earth text, this tome didn’t seem worth it. The more he read, the more he suspected that someone had tried to create a body refining art and then got bored halfway through and decided to make a fist art.

Perhaps it is meant to go with some other techniques?

At this point, he was unsure of what to do. This situation of just waiting to be healed made him feel helpless. He had just been reacting and he wanted to at least do something. He glanced out the guest room window.

I suppose I can explore the sect. What’s the worst that could happen?

…

Okay, I will very, very carefully explore the sect.