Chapter 2
(Note: These first few chapters are kinda info-dumpy.)
Jiang Yucheng rubbed his eyes in perpetual shock, still not sure what to make of this. In front of his face floated a large holographic screen quite similair to that of the Battle Cats menu screen.
The options in this "system" made completely perfect sense, but at the same time, he had no idea what to think of all this. Normally, in novels where a protagonist transmigrates to another world and whatnot, they received a cheat of sorts, to help them on their way. Usually some magical treasure passed down to them by their great-grandfather, or something like this, a system.
As he was attempting to regain his bearings, the "module" chimed with notifications.
[Welcome to the Battle Cats Module!
It's like Battle Cats, but in real life!
At the moment, you have no cats. Unlike the game, where you start with… Cat (A cat), here, you have to draw for your first cat from the Cat Capsule, a magical capsule that draws cats from somewhere. It's pretty simple to understand. Gacha.
Anyhow, how do you draw for a cat? You find Cat Tickets, which can be obtained through the completion of special tasks, such as increasing to a higher cultivation stage, or beating something up. But the most standard way to get tickets is to redeem them by getting Cat Food.
Cat Food can be found randomly scattered throughout the world, but most often, they appear in condensed areas called 'Cat Food Veins'. These Veins are mining sources full of cat food that can be… Mined. That's all you gotta know about that stuff for now.
Further information will appear later as you explore this Cat Module.
Received: +2 Cat Ticket
Use Tickets? (Y/N) ]
'? ? ?'
Jiang Yucheng nodded blankly. Battle Cats. Battle Cats. Battle Cats. His life was going to get a whole lot stranger it seemed…
He pressed 'Y' nonetheless, and the virtual screen changed before his eyes. In a monochrome backdrop two metallic orb-like cats sat there, each of them with pointed ears and open perky mouths, much like the head of the Cat God from before.
*Tnk!*
Clamping onto the cats were two metal claws. Slowly but surely, they began to rotate, causing the cats to spin about with them as sparks seemed to fly literally out of the screen. It was quite intense in Yucheng's opinion.
Finally, after a full five seconds of rotating, the Capsule exploded, the two orb cats popping clean open in a stunning display of electric discharge.
[ Cats Obtained!
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Kiss and Koi (Rare Cat)
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Rocker Cat (Rare Cat) ]
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Two cats had appeared. Jiang Yucheng watched as the Cat Capsule disappeared and another layout appeared before his eyes. This one was even more familiar than the other screens. A long slot grid mostly empty, save for his two new cats, and a golden counter in the top, displaying a steadily increasing money amount.
[Congratulations on obtaining your first few cats! To summon the cats, simply press on their icon and they will appear. Each cat has its different personality and ambitions, somewhat influenced by what type (meaning are they a Tank Cat or Fish Cat etc.) of cat they are.
You can level up Cats by obtaining XP, boosting their strength and also evolving them into another cat. When Cats die, their soul will return to the Battle Cat Reincarnation Cycle, where they can then be summouned once more later on. So even if a Cat you like dies, their is a good chance you will see it again later on.
You can summon an infinite number of Cats, with the only limiting factors being their cooldown times and the amount of money you have. Please note that the current money cap is 3000¢. It will increase with each Culivation Level you reach. For further detail on each of your cats, please refer to the {Cat Dictionary}. ]
| Battle Cats Module |
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Cat Tickets:
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Cat Capsule:
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Upgrades:
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Cat Dictionary: (NEW!) ]
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Jiang Yucheng reached out to this menu, swiping it away, causing the screen to fade away. He mentally willed for it to reappear, and it flickered into existence once more. Handy. Getting rid of it, his attention turned to the "battle screen" as he called it.
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Kiss and Koi: 820¢
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Rocker Cat: 210¢
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Looking around slowly, Jiang Yucheng gulped some saliva. His money count had already filled up to [3000/3000]. It seemed to be as fast as it was in the game. He still had no idea how it went from him cultivating and absorbing qi to summoning Battle Cats in a matter of minutes.
Honestly, as ridiculous as it was, Yucheng had to admit that the Battle Cats x Xianxia World crossover was kind of cool.
Reaching out to this panel, his fingers traced over the icons, before he clicked on the Rocker Cat. With that iconic ching effect one would constantly hear when laying Battle Cats, before his very eyes, a cat poofed into existence.
The Rocker Cat was about the size of a watermelon, standing up to Jiang Yucheng's hip. Its body shape was the same as the standard Cat, shaped like a ball with chalk-white fur, but besides that, things were quite different. It had somewhat long legs with sweeping blonde hair that trailed down all the way to its feet, a long bang dyed with a streak of black coming down the side of its face. Painted on its left eye was a purple star, and it held a microphone stand in its small arms.
As it took its first step forward, a guitar riff seemed to jam in the background. Hair sweeping aside as it turned to face him, the Rocker Cat gave out a resolute exuberant yell.
"Meow!" It called out, meowing in an aggressive way that really gave off that rocker feeling.
Jiang Yucheng stood up from his spot in the grass, staring at the Rocker Cat intensely. Things were going to be very interesting from now on…
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Jiang Yucheng lived on one of the Celestial Pine World's three main continents. The Prancing Crane Continent, known for its sprawling marshy climate filled with diverse wildlife, stunning flora, and countless beautiful rivers and lakes.
He was a resident of the Floating Lily City, home to around six million people. To someone from Earth like Jiang Yucheng, this amount of people here was absolutely massive, but to the people of this world, the City was considered "small".
Apparently, some of the biggest cities of this world had populations bordering five billion people. How have these cities managed to function with such burgeoning populations? It was mostly due to the extremely rich natural resources of this world, not to mention Xianxia Logic. A headache for Jiang Yucheng to think about it.
Walking over a hill covered in beautiful lilies, he felt the soles of his feet submerge into water. In front of him was the Floating Lily City. Built on top of a swampy environment, the ground of the city was covered in stunningly clear water, bright green algae, and aquatic flowers in full bloom. Small schools of colorful koi fish swam past his feet as he approached the front gates of the city.
The gates were like most of the city, built from a special type of bamboo that grew in abundance in these marsh regions. Large mossy stone walls five stories high surrounded the city, guards dressed in light straw armor and large brimmed hats stood atop the walls, each holding long bamboo spears tipped with pulsing amber spearheads.
Jiang Yucheng walked alongside the Rocker Cat as he stood behind a small group of rice farmers attempting to enter the city. His new punk companion waded his way through the water, eyes tracking a particular red koi that had swum close by.
"Welcome to our grand Floating Lily City! Haha!!! Next person!" Standing in front of the front gates, a giant tiger of a man laughed heartily, letting the rice farmers through. He was quite young looking, standing at around eight-feet tall with a toned frame tanned from the constant heat of the sun. He wore a pair of traditional black martial pants and a giant matted fur coat covered in arcane golden symbols. His beige hair was wild and messy, tied back in a large impromptu ponytail that reached down to his knees, and he had a pair of glowing silver eyes that appeared to glow like the moon. An enthusiastic wide grin that seemed to scream much love for his job was painted on his face.
Shi Luoyang, the gatekeeper of Floating Lily City with the title of "Laughing Lion Bard", whatever that meant. Jiang Yucheng had never heard him play a single instrument, nor had he heard him sing, so he was quite unsure about the bard part, but the "laughing" part made sense.
The giant of a man was the type of guy who chuckled at his own jokes. He was at a level that far outstripped the Spirit Awakening Stage, apparently able to evaporate the rain with a single punch and let out a roar that could tear through mountains.
This, Yucheng did not know if it was a rumor or not.
"Oh? Is it one of my underclassmen back from a hard day of cultivating? Good! Good!" Shi Luoyang said to Jiang Yucheng in a loud carefree voice as the transmigrator approached. The larger man slapped him on the shoulder, before his attention turned to the Rocker Cat.
"And you've brought with you… Some kind of interesting ascended beast. A star on its eye? How auspicious."
"Yes, this is a rather special cat I came across. Am I allowed to bring him in? I promise he is very docile and friendly. I think." Jiang Yucheng asked slowly, watching as the Rocker Cat slowly trailed after an unassuming koi.
"Hm. I can sense no evil intent, not to mention he is quite the exuberant specimen. Our city needs more beings filled with youthfulness. All the elders just sit around drinking tea and spouting poems. Boring I tell you!" Shi Luoyang swept his coat back, cracking his knuckles as he looked up to the sky in irritation.
"So… We can pass?" Jiang Yucheng motioned for the Rocker Cat to follow him as he asked hesitantly.
"Yes! Go right on through, and remember not to cultivate too much! Enjoy being young!" The older taller man gave Yucheng a chuckle as he motioned him to move along.
Jiang Yucheng shrugged his shoulders and entered Floating Lily City. It was a beautiful city for sure, with oriental bamboo buildings built three to six stories tall with giant blossom-covered willow trees stretching up into the sky. Like outside, the ground was mostly covered in a layer of water, which life took hold. He watched as a group of small children chased a small leaping frog amongst the shallow bottoms.
Making his way across a low vine-infested bridge and by many groups of mingling pedestrians, Jiang Yucheng walked in the general direction of his house, eyes sticking to the Module in interest.
As he walked past countless buildings, he and the Rocker Cat made their way up a long elevated staircase, countless restaurants and other shops lined on either side and cramped to the brim. Weaving his way around a laborer, Jiang Yucheng could see the tip of his house in the distance.
The Rocker Cat seemed rather amused by his surroundings, looking around constantly as he hoisted his microphone stand over his shoulder. Jumping around, he just dodged a group of laborers hurrrying down the stairway.
Finally, he arrived in front of his house. Located in the upper section of his city, overlooking some of the older parts of town and the red light district, was his little place It was between an old somewhat rundown martial arts field of sorts and a pottery factory converted into a rice paddy.
Made from bamboo, his house looked rather plain and unremarkable, with interlaced wood-carved windows and a tiled clay roof. At the back of the house, facing out down upon the city was a small balcony, which was in turn supported by stone pillars.
As he made his way to the front of the property, he noticed a small commotion on the martial arts field. The field was rather simple-looking, made up of giant stone tiles layed flat in a flat plain of sorts, large wooden punching stakes scattered throughout. A crowd of young vagrants and other people were talking in excitement as two certain figures squared each other up.
"Meow~ Meow~ Meow~" Rocker Cat watched curiously as Jiang Yucheng sighed. He'd just wanted to stay home and rest, but it seemed like something had come up that would most likely not be quiet and peaceful in any way, shape, or form.
"Ling Churen! Tell me the location of the Shrine and I will let you off. Refuse, and I will make you taste my blade." The person who spoke was a lean man dressed in long expensive robes sewn from olive silk leaned on forwards, his long spindly hand reaching for the scabbard at his waist. He had sharp jade-green eyes, silky flowing hair, and a rather handsome face, though his condescending smirk was quite irritating.
"You wish to court death brother Zhang? The Fallen Flower Sage's tomb is not something that can be given so easily. And I will not back down from any threat." Across from him, was a gallant young man around the same age, dressed in a sleeveless martial vest with a navy blue wave pattern, and a pair of baggy black pants. He had a fearless look in his steely-grey eyes, a mass of brown hair coming down in many braids alongside his equally handsome face.
"Huh. How troublesome. You may have the backing of the Son Of Sharks, but our Zhang Clan is not to be trifled with. Since you dared to steal the scroll from the auction house, you already signed your death warrant." Sneering, the lean black-haired man reached down, his hand flashing as he drew his long curved blade.
From all these external monologues, Jiang Yucheng had more or less guessed what had gone down to come to this conflict. Someone stole or most likely the brown-haired guy managed to outbid the other guy for a thing he really wanted at an auction, which quickly escalated from there. He still had no idea why cultivators decide to spout their whole backstory behind the reason for fighting before they went and killed each other.
The Rocker Cat seemed quite enamored by this whole situation. Actually, Jiang Yucheng found that the punk-like critter was a very curious cat. He'd been constantly looking all around him, stalking the various koi that swam across the city grounds and watching as merchants peddled their goods.
As they'd gone through the city, many people had looked at the Rocker Cat in amused curiosity, wondering what hole it climbed out of. The general consensus was probably that the cat was an Ascended Beast. These were creatures in this world that had undergone a metamorphosis, gaining supernatural abilities and great powers. Many of them were highly sought after as consuming some of them granted a boost in cultivation among other effects, or, they were captured by Beast Tamers to turn them into mounts, guardians, or pets.
Little did they know, that this small cat with a strange hairstyle was actually a canonical agent of world domination.
"Well, this seems pretty interesting. Wanna watch?" Jiang Yucheng crossed his arms, looking down at the Rocker Cat.
"Meow!" The Rocker Cat nodded, wave of hair snapping back.
Yucheng chuckled, patting the creature on the head. Oddly, he felt a sense of unease from this coming duel. But what could it be?