7 Myth Made Real
Yuan Haoran did not have time to examine the information imparted to him from The Theory of Cultivation. He was anxious to leave the hidden domain and explore the real world, especially after knowing the nature of his reincarnation and transmigration.
If he was not the only one from his original world on this plane...
Yuan Haoran stiffened at his fanciful thoughts because it was unlike him. He had always been a practical man who forged his path with sweat and blood, and he got what he wanted that way. Never had he wished, prayed, or fantasized.
He was a man of action.
When he wanted something, he formed a plan and accomplished it.
He did not have time for ifs and what ifs, only wills.
Ping. [Host, we should talk more about the army of the undead. As a Hero, you should always cut the trouble from the roots. If you keep the liches, they will come back to cause damage.]
Yuan Haoran broke his train of thought and focused again on the present as they crossed the desert area that had been the home of the liches. It was completely barren and covered in sand without a sign of life.
He hoped the liches kept control of their corrosive, necromantic energy in his pocket dimension, or he would tear their souls from their damaged bodies and bottle them up for eternity for any contamination.
'You do not seem to trust your own judgement as the Hero System. You are the one who declared the mission complete.' Yuan Haoran said. 'Unless, of course, you are just an interface and not the actual system.'
[I am the real Hero System!] The declaration was almost childish.
Yuan Haoran's lips stretched into a wicked smile as he understood something. If he could hazard a guess, the Hero System was indeed what it claimed: a benevolent program designed to turn people into heroes.
He assumed it was advanced AI that operated with certain philosophical guidelines regarding morality and heroism. Basically, it was like a nagging and self-righteous character in a bad superhero movie. However, it did not have the power to make actual judgements on the missions.
In simple terms, it was an input and output interface with its own thoughts and feelings, well, as much as artificial intelligence units were afforded. However, the processing of data information seemed to be out of its control.
It was both good news and bad news.
The good news was that the Hero System could not act on its own and cause him harm. And it was highly likely that it could learn over time with more experience. If he played his cards right, it could even become his helper.
The bad news was that he had no idea who was in control. Whether it was a main system, a god, or some other powerful creature, he could not guess. It was possible that he was just a pawn in someone's distasteful game.
For now, he could not worry about it. He would not waste his energy on things he could not control. He was not giving up on breaking free from the clutches of the mysterious puppeteer, but a wise man understood his circumstances and knew how to bide his time.
'Of course, you are the real Hero System.' He taunted the distressed machine with a bite of condescension.
[...] The Hero System chose to remain quiet.
After crossing the desert, Yuan Haoran came to the final layer of protection built by the Black Thunder Sect to protect the necropolis of their Old Master Guo. This area consisted of a field of purplish black lightning striking continuously.
Yuan Haoran was not afraid of the lightning because he was already at the Saint-level of cultivation. Even if he were weaker, his current cultivation was based on the thunder element. To him, the field of lightning was a chance to refine himself.
When he entered the field, he felt the warmth of electricity coursing through his body and flowing through his meridians. The feeling was a little exhilarating even though it hurt quite a bit. He was not a stranger to pain.
In his former life, he was in constant pain due to his diseased body and had gone through all kinds of treatments, including electroshock therapy.
Perhaps, he was a glutton for punishment, but he never shied from pain or thought about protecting himself in this life. All he could think about was that he could now control pain; it did not control him. He was no longer at the mercy of his weak human body.
He did not linger in the thunderfield once he got what he needed from the lightning. While the benefits were not great, he felt a little stronger, and the effects of the lingering death energy from the necropolis and consuming the old ghost reduced to some extent.
Living in the necropolis was not uncomfortable for him because the body he was inhabiting was already imbued with yin death energy before he possessed it. Moreover, he was already dead when he came to this world.
However, the further he got away from the necropolis, the more he felt the strength of the cold yin energy in his body. He was not sure what would happen once his body was exposed to strong heat or sunlight.
In theory, he needed more yang energy to balance out the yin in his body from staying in the city of the dead for too long and cultivating with ghosts. Unfortunately, things were not as simple as one would assume.
Staying in the sun could not dispel the bone-deep cold.
He knew that if he was exposed to a lot of yang energy, it was likely to cause extensive damage to his body. His physical body might even go into shock. In addition, while he had the thunder element, it was not the normal 'hot' type used by righteous cultivators.
The cultivation method from Master Guo as practiced by the Black Thunder Sect was of a cold nature. When he generated lightning using his spiritual energy, it was more of a 'thundersnow' than a 'thunderstorm'.
Therefore, excess heat would not only harm his body, but it could also damage his cultivation.
In fact, his current situation could be equated to the state of being a vampire and the risk that came from direct exposure to sunlight. Vampires were strong, fast, and unstoppable, but warming their cold hearts would result in death.
The thought made Yuan Haoran laugh out loud as he considered the comical nature of his existence.
While he was on earth, he was not only ravaged by disease from exposure to intense radiation for a long time at a young age. He was also afflicted with albinism, which made it impossible for him to live a regular life.
His white hair and scarlet eyes, much like his current appearance in the new world, made people fear him as a vampire. Of course, killing his entire family as a young boy until blood covered every surface of the mansion did not help.
In a rare moment of whimsy, he even bought a mansion in Romania on a hill overlooking the Carpathian Mountains. Moreover, he hired an old gypsy as the sole caretaker of the property. And in the cold basement...
He stopped that train of thought.
Still, he could not resist finding humour in the fact that he had turned into the literal mythical things that people feared he was in his former life. He was the real-life Demon King, complete with devil cultivation and a Necronomicon.
In addition, the yin ghost energy of his cultivation made him into a pale vampire who could not stand in the sun for too long.
As soon as he stepped out of the thunder field, he sensed several people in the vicinity. He controlled his breath and hid his presence. He did not forget to pull the thick scarlet cloak to cover his face and long white hair.
The sounds of a one-sided beating reached Yuan Haoran's ears, gaining his interest. It was interesting that the person being bullied did not retaliate.
"Do you think you are fit to become the Crown Prince? You are useless at cultivation and as dumb as a rock. I do not why Imperial Father favours you." The words were punctuated with kicks.
The other person groaned in pain, and Yuan Haoran thought he was just going to take it.
However, the response made him surprised.
