1 God-Slaughtering System

Yuan Yi stopped running. He had reached the final safety line of the Forbidden Forest. Going any further would certainly result in his doom.

He panted heavily, beads of sweat falling off his forehead and on the discolored leaves at his feet. It was Autumn. The sun was slowly setting in the west. The sky looked beautiful.

"Little bastard!" he heard the shout from behind him. Commotion followed. Leaves rustled. They were getting closer.

"Making us run all this way for you, we won't let you off easy," one of his pursuers said.

The others chuckled.

Yuan Yi turned around and glared at all four of them.

Hou Hu was their leader. He was a training squad Captain, and had been an Outer Disciple two years longer than Yuan Yi was. Not only was Hou Hu jealous of Yuan Yi's talent, and the prospect that he will most likely become an Inner Disciple before Hou Hu, but also take over the training squad as Captain, but also because they had eyes on the same girl from their squad: Lan Xiaohui.

Other than the leader, Yuan Yi also knew Mo Heng, Hou Hu's "sworn brother". His reputation as a bully preceded him, and stood in his way of becoming an Inner Disciple of a Just Sect. Rather than move on, he decided to stay an Outer Disciple, and live an easy life bullying others.

Yuan Yi released an uneasy breath and straightened his back. "What do you want from me?"

Hou Hu smiled dangerously, his eyes glimmering with a threat of violence. "It is time that I finally prove that you are not more talented than I. No one deserves to be an Inner Disciple more than me. Certainly not scum like you!"

Mo Heng dashed forward when his sworn brother stopped speaking, and in mid-flight, he drew his sword.

Yuan Yi drew his sword and intercepted Mo Heng's sword with a loud bang. Mo Heng's sword was heavy. He was in the 8th stage of Qi Condensation. Yuan Yi was only in the 6th stage of Qi Condensation. It took all he had just to resist Mo Heng's sword.

Hou Hu snuck up from behind, and stabbed his sword through Yuan Yi's back, skewering his dantian.

Yuan Yi's strength immediately evaporated, and Mo Heng's sword carved through Yuan Yi's chest.

Hou Hu laughed, watching Yuan Yi fall to the ground, his vivid, red blood staining the fallen autumn leaves. "Now, you will understand what it means to be beneath me - you who looked down on me - it is your turn to suffer indignity!"

Yuan Yi forced a bitter smile to his lips. "All you proved... was that you can't do anything... on your own."

Hou Hu scowled.

"Even if you become... an Inner Disciple... you will always need help... from bullies... and scum. Lan Xiaohui will never..."

"Shut up," Hou Hu growled.

"She will never... ever... look at you..."

"Bastard!" Hou Hu shouted, face red with fury. "I will make you suffer."

The group of four then descended on Yuan Yi, and savagely pummeled him with their fists and feet. One of them even used a branch to disfigure Yuan Yi's attractive face. They broke most of his ribs, his left arm, jaw, and tried their best to permanently cripple his cultivation, but couldn't properly finish the job. Then they left him there, in the forest, to be eaten by Spirit Beasts.

Yuan Yi, barely holding on to life and consciousness, stared at the sky; the stars glimmered, unfazed by the woes of those beneath them. If only Yuan Yi could be so ruthlessly uncaring as the stars. If only Yuan Yi could go with the flow, and let the miseries of the world wash over him.

Maybe he was being punished, for having insincere desires. He became an Outer Disciple of the Brilliant Sword Sect, not because he wanted to be a righteous warrior, but because he wanted to be popular.

What was wrong with wanting to be loved?

He closed his eyes, and from within his heart, an honest wish rose up. It was pure in its honesty, and elegant in its simplicity.

"I have become tired of this world," Yuan Yi whispered, regretful. "It is all over for me anyway. I no longer wish to live."

He spoke the words from his heart, staring at the stars. Those words were meant for them. The silent, glimmering observers of the world. And they were also meant for the Will of Heaven that cursed him so. It was a declaration of surrender.

But it was also a curse. He resented his fate. He resented this world. If only he could redo everything. Maybe, in his next life, he would do things differently. He would deal with the likes of Hou Hu before they had an opportunity to ruin him again.

He would do things differently. If only... if only...

The sky brightened by a miniscule amount. He felt something stir within his soul. It was like a thread, unraveling from his soul and reaching out into the unknown. There, in the endless void of nothingness, it must've found something - connected - because Yuan Yi felt something. He felt an incredible loneliness coming from an entity that stood alone at the pinnacle of its path, at the very end of time. It was ancient and unfathomable. It was not human, but it was not a beast or god either. It was something else. It was cold and mechanical.

"Riches, Treasures, Scriptures, whatever your objective, this unit can obtain it for you. Accept: Y/N?"

...

What do I have to lose?

"Yes..."

Yuan Yi closed his eyes.

[Translating soul diagram...]

[Installing interface.]

[<God-Slaughtering System> online.]

[System designation: <AIN>]