Read up to 15 chapters ahead on Patreon - patreon.com/Light_lord
-----
"Where is this?"
In a forest in the southern region of the Heaven Dou Empire, Lin Jin stared at the towering trees around him.
He was in a dense forest of ancient trees. The massive canopy above him was like an intricate weave of countless leaves, blocking the sky and allowing only faint rays of sunlight to pierce through.
The boundary between light and shadow was sharply defined.
"Squeak, squeak."
The summer cicadas filled the forest with their shrill cries while faint roars of beasts echoed from deeper within, carrying an eerie sense of unease.
This situation felt eerily similar to stuff from novels.
"Did I transmigrate?? Then there should be a System."
"Hello? System? Where are you?"
Lin Jin felt a growing sense of unease. This place gave him a bad feeling.
A system might provide some initial information about the environment, it fell silent, making him more anxious.
Even though the sun was shining high outside the forest, he felt a chill. He looked around carefully, swallowing nervously. This... could this be the Ghost Forest?
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he felt a wave of regret and almost wanted to slap himself.
Earlier that day, he had heard from his aunt that there was a fire in the neighboring district, and he had run off to see the commotion.
On his way back, he was playing a game on his phone and wasn't paying attention as he crossed the street. He only remembered hearing a piercing whistle...
If he could do it all over again, he would never have gone to watch the crowd, nor would he have played with his phone while crossing the road.
But people always reflect and regret only after the fact.
There is no "regret medicine" in the world—these are everyday lessons that, unfortunately, many fail to understand until it is too late.
Lin Jin sighed and furrowed his brow, trying to calm himself.
Now, he had to figure out how to survive in this world.
In this unknown world, he felt deeply insecure. His original body might already be a mangled mess somewhere, but this body was a perfect one-to-one copy.
Compared to his original body, he felt no discomfort. On the contrary, his physical condition was much stronger.
["Ding! Transportation to Douluo Continent successful. System connection is complete. The system template was downloaded. Registration number 97004. Grand Academy System activated..."]
Just as Lin Jin was deep in thought, a mechanical, electronic voice suddenly echoed in his mind, stunning him. But his attention was soon captivated by the light screen before his eyes.
A screen unfolded before him, causing him to hold his breath unconsciously.
[Grand Academy System]
[Host: Lin Jin]
[Martial Spirit: None]
[Spirit Power Cultivation: Level 0 (0%)]
[Spirit Bone: None]
[Academy Size: None]
[Note: Establishing the academy will unlock further features.]
[Next Stage - Junior Spirit Master Academy]
[Opening Conditions: Tutor (1), Student (1), Academy Complex(1).]
[(Note: The first student of the academy must be level 7 or above.)]
["Ding! You have a welcome gift pack to open!"]
"This is... the system?"'
Lin Jin stared blankly for a long moment before his expression brightened with boundless joy. The system had finally come online!
"I in Douluo"
Lin Jin didn't have time to inspect the system panel thoroughly. Instead, he asked, "System, can I go back?"
The system remained silent for a moment before answering.
["When the host's strength reaches the upper limit of this world, it will be possible to break the barrier between worlds and return to the original one. However, please remember that the host's spirit has already left the original world, and the imprint is gradually dissipating. If the host does not reach the upper limit of strength before the imprint vanishes, the coordinates of the original world will be lost."]
Lin Jin frowned slightly. The upper limit of this world's strength—did that mean reaching the realm of the gods?
"Where am I now?" he asked.
["Ding! The system initialization time has ended. Please explore on your own."]
"What?"
Lin Jin's eyes widened, and he groaned inwardly.
"System? System?"
But no matter how much he called, it was like shouting into the void—no response came.
Lin Jin felt a bit dumbfounded. There wasn't even a tutorial or system guide? He had to explore everything by himself. How was he supposed to do that with nothing to go on?
Wait a minute—wasn't there a big gift pack?
Lin Jin refocused his attention on the system panel and spotted a flashing gift box icon in the upper-left corner.
"Open the gift pack," Lin Jin thought.
["Ding! Opening the passersby gift pack."]
["Congratulations! You have obtained: Martial Spirit × Level 1, Level 40 Spirit Power Pack × 1, Universal Spirit Ring × 4, Gold Coin × 100, Spirit Guide (Space Specification 2 × 2 × 2) × 1, Martial Spirit Encyclopedia × 1, Beast Encyclopedia × 1, Basic Combat Knowledge and Experience Pack × 1, Basic Combat Knowledge Textbook × 1, General Map of the Continent × 1."]
["Congratulations, martial spirit generated: Ruler!"]
["Congratulations, spirit power increased to Level 41, 0%!"]
["Congratulations, you have obtained a seemingly ordinary ruler. Its surface is crystal clear as if covered in a glossy layer, with a few verses from the Three Character Classic engraved."]
"This thing..."
Lin Jin looked at the ruler with a sense of disbelief. His parents enrolled him in a traditional Chinese culture class when he was a child. Whenever he couldn't recite an article correctly, the instructor would take out a similar ruler and smack his palm three times, leaving it stinging with pain.
At the time, he had hated that ruler and often dreamed of sneaking into the office to break it, though he never mustered the courage. Who would've thought that it would now become his martial spirit?
But thinking about it, this seemed fitting for his current situation.
"Grand Academy System..."
Lin Jin pondered over these words. This system was his biggest support and his best guarantee for the future.