Chapter One: The Plane of Spirits

A tattered piece of wood lay buried in the mud when suddenly a beam of white light entered it, triggering an incredible transformation.

Within the decayed wood, a faint brilliance flickered. A weak figure slowly opened his eyes.

“I… transmigrated?”

With a look of utter astonishment, Qin Chuan recalled being struck unconscious by an unidentified flying object in his previous life. Who would have thought he’d end up in another world? Instantly, a surge of information flooded his mind.

This was a fantastical realm, home to myriad planes—immortals, daoists, demons, monsters, ghosts, gods, and more. Wars frequently erupted among the planes, all vying for resources and followers from the mortal world.

In short, this was an extremely dangerous world.

And the Spirit Plane was considered one of the lower planes, where anything and everything could become a spirit.

After finally digesting this torrent of information, Qin Chuan took a look at his own body—or perhaps, it was more accurate to say he tried. Because he didn’t even have a body. He was merely inhabiting a fragment of rotten wood.

Shifting his “perspective,” he glimpsed the grain of wood, then a stretch of forest beyond.

Qin Chuan’s lips twitched in silent frustration.

“Damn it, everyone else who transmigrates becomes some kind of super genius or invincible war god.”

“Even if you’re a bit unlucky, at least you get a human body of flesh and blood.”

“But what the hell is this? A rotten stick of wood!”

Qin Chuan was nearly in tears. With a body of flesh and blood, at least he could cultivate, grow stronger step by step.

But now, as a piece of decaying wood, what could he possibly do?

Clinging to a final sliver of hope, Qin Chuan examined his “body” carefully.

“Huh, this is interesting.”

He found himself at the center of a swirling white light, his form transparent yet faintly human, much like a consciousness given shape.

“This must be the Spirit Core—the source of all energy.”

At that moment, a crisp, mechanical voice chimed in his mind.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host Qin Chuan, for activating the Chakra System.”

Holy hell!

So there were indeed surprises for transmigrators! Elated, Qin Chuan quickly checked the Chakra System.

A translucent virtual panel appeared before his eyes.

[Host]: Qin Chuan
[Type]: Spirit Wood
[Rank]: None
[Quality]: None
[Level]: 0
[Attributes]
Sharpness: 0
Toughness: 0
Speed: 0
Evolution Points: 0
Experience: 0
Innate Abilities: Devour Essence, Basic Morph
Skills: None
Chakra Talents: None
Basic Morph: Can alter innate form, applicable only within the same type.
Devour Essence: Unique ability to devour the essence of all things, strengthening and evolving oneself through devouring, potentially causing mutations.

Staring at the pitiful fragment of decayed wood, Qin Chuan felt deeply dissatisfied, though the Basic Morph talent was rather timely.

“Basic Morph.”

“Ding! Extracting host material, please select morph direction.”

Two options appeared on the panel: Wooden Stick, Wooden Sword.

A stick didn’t seem to have much offensive power—in a world this dangerous, self-preservation was key.

“Wooden sword, then.”

“Ding! Selection successful. Morph direction set and cannot be changed.”

At that moment, the rotten wood began shedding useless matter.

After a flash of light and a series of compressions, it finally shrank into a pitch-black, three-foot wooden sword.

The panel’s attributes shifted slightly.

[Type]: Blackwood Sword
[Rank]: Grade One, Low
[Quality]: None
[Level]: 0

“My form has changed, but I’m still level zero and have no means of attack!”

A bit disheartened, Qin Chuan scanned his surroundings and suddenly noticed a faintly spinning white light on a nearby ancient tree.

“Huh, that’s Essence!”

This truly was a world of fantasy—even an old tree possessed the ability to evolve its own essence. Clearly, this tree was in the process of condensing a Spirit Core.

Just perfect—a meal for Qin Chuan.

“Devour Essence!”

Qin Chuan took a deep breath. The blackwood sword trembled lightly as a suction force shot toward the ancient tree.

A surge of pure energy flooded into the sword, then all of it was absorbed into Qin Chuan’s Spirit Core.

The sensation was exquisite; Qin Chuan couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, thoroughly enjoying it.

“Ding! Devour successful. Gained 100 experience points. Level up to 1.”

Qin Chuan laughed heartily—he’d leveled up!

Leveling up meant gaining skills and improving attributes, boosting his survival chances in this perilous world.

Now, the sword’s edge appeared sharper and more resilient.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring three cultivation system options. Please choose your cultivation path.”

“Ding! Chakra Talent unlocked.”

The system’s prompts rang out again as three skills appeared on the panel: Ranged Attack System—Flow Strike; Power Attack System—Violent Slash; Swift Attack System—Rapid Thrust.

Each system had its strengths and weaknesses.

Ranged Attack offered distance and enhanced output.

Power Attack excelled in close-quarters combat and balanced development.

Swift Attack focused on agility and speed.

After careful thought, Qin Chuan chose Ranged Attack.

In such a dangerous world, ranged attacks were simply essential for ambushes and opportunistic strikes. And if the enemy couldn’t be killed, he could use distance and stealth to escape early.

“Alright, Ranged Attack it is!”

“Ding! Cultivation system selected. Skill acquired: Flow Strike.”

Flow Strike: The skill grants a piercing effect. Upon hitting a locked target, it automatically returns to its original position. Effective range: ten meters.

“Nice! This is the perfect tool for ambushes and stealing kills. Let’s test its power.”

Qin Chuan locked onto a large tree ahead and silently activated Flow Strike.

The blackwood sword quivered, shot into the tree with a whoosh, then vanished and reappeared in its original spot, leaving a sword hole in the trunk.

“Haha! Not bad at all. As long as I hit a vital spot, it’s almost a guaranteed kill.”

“Oh right, there’s also the Chakra Talent. Let’s take a look.”

First Oceanic Wheel: Passively increases sharpness, toughness, and speed by 10 points each. Upgrades to a higher level upon reaching certain fixed levels and conditions.

“Wow, this is amazing! What an incredible talent!”

Never underestimate this passive talent—for his type, it was absolutely top-tier. At present, Qin Chuan’s base sharpness was only 3 points, toughness 1 point, speed 1 point.

Even at level one, these attributes would easily overpower level two spirit weapons and beasts.

More importantly, it could be upgraded further at set levels.

Meanwhile, at the tip of Qin Chuan’s consciousness-spine, a faintly glowing red vortex appeared.

“So this is where the Oceanic Wheel is located. Quite novel, haha!”

A sharp sound suddenly sliced through the air. Qin Chuan narrowed his eyes and saw a wooden sword slashing toward him.

“Damn, trying to ambush me? Dodge!”

Luckily, with the Oceanic Wheel’s bonus speed, his movements were swift.

The blackwood sword leaped nimbly, dodging the attack.

The wooden sword struck the ground, sending mud flying.

“Grade One, Low Peachwood Sword—Power Attack System, Level 3.”

The system quickly identified the rank and level of the peachwood sword.

“Damn, coming again?”

The peachwood sword missed and bounced up, slashing down in an overhead attack.

“Leaping Slash!”

Damn, that’s a level-three skill!

A sinister voice echoed from within the peachwood sword.

Qin Chuan didn’t dare be careless; with a deft leap, he evaded the blow.

The strength of the Power Attack System lay in close combat—once it latched on, it was relentless. Thankfully, with an extra 10 points of speed, Qin Chuan could dodge perfectly.

“Can’t hit me, can you? Just a bit off, isn’t it infuriating? Dodge, dodge! Haha!”

The peachwood sword quivered in frustration, clearly enraged.

“Hmph!”

“Haha!”

Qin Chuan spotted a large boulder nearby, with a not-too-wide crack running across it. An idea struck him.

“Come and get me, you can’t hit me!”

The blackwood sword danced atop the rock, deliberately hopping back and forth over the crack.

“Buzz! Courting death!”

Exactly as expected, the peachwood sword vibrated with fury and lunged with a Violent Slash.

“Heh, let’s see if you survive this!”

Qin Chuan feigned carelessness, dodging only as the peachwood sword drew close.

Unable to control its momentum, the peachwood sword lodged half its blade deep into the crack.

“Now’s my chance! Flow Strike!”

Whoosh!

The blackwood sword shot forward, piercing the stuck peachwood sword.

Crack!

The blow was devastating—the peachwood sword snapped in two, the strike piercing a swirling core of white light, and several fragments broke off.

“Ding! Killed Level Three Peachwood Sword. Gained 100 experience points. Bonus 100% XP for defeating a higher-level opponent. Congratulations, host, you have gained 200 experience points.”

“Ding! Host has leveled up and acquired new skill: Blink.”

“Ding! Gained passive attribute: Critical Strike.”