The sun was just peeking over the little huts of the Willowvale Sect when a scream echoed from the midwife's room. Everyone froze. Old Daoist Fenwei—who'd been napping in the courtyard—felt something weird in the air and shuffled over.
Inside, Master Midu was rocking a baby wrapped in simple white cloth. He looked totally normal… until Fenwei touched the kid's forehead and his eyes went wide. "This…this aura," he muttered. "It's off the charts for a newborn."
Outside the sect walls, in the Immortal Realm, the Heavily Emperor jolted awake after two hundred years. He sat up on his jade throne, rubbing his eyes. "Who's messing with the Dao?" he grumbled. Then he felt it—a tiny spark of power so bright it cut through the barrier between worlds.
Back at Willowvale, Fenwei stared at the baby's steady breathing. "There's something special about you," he whispered. "I've never felt anything like this."
The wind howled, and far away the Emperor's voice boomed: "Find that child!"
And just like that, a newborn in a tiny sect stirred up trouble in both the Mortal and Immortal Realms.
A few days later, word spread that Willowvale Sect had a mystery baby, and System Users everywhere perked up. In this world, some folks awakened "Systems"—like game UIs in their minds—that leveled them up, granted skills, or even let them craft items.
But right now, every System User saw something odd. Their usual menus and notifications vanished, leaving only one red-alert banner blinking across their vision:
"EMERGENCY MESSAGE: PROTECT THAT CHILD"
Xiao Lin, who'd just unlocked her Beast Taming skill yesterday, stared at the glitching text hovering in midair. Normally, she'd get a tidy list of daily quests, but the only thing on her tasks list was Protect That Child.
Over in the Iron Fist Clan's training grounds, Old Tiger grunted as his Forging System UI flickered. His forge recipe list was gone—replaced by the same urgent alert. He frowned. No forging today. I need to… what?
Even in the Immortal Realm, cultivators with divine Systems had their godly menus glitch out. The Emissary of the Azure Court was mid-incantation when his Spell Archive disappeared. A glaring message took its place: PROTECT THAT CHILD.
Nobody knew why. The sect's elders were freaking out—how did every System, from Mortal beginner apps to Immortal master consoles, glitch in sync? And why did they all demand the same thing?
Far off on Mistwing Mountain, the baby slept soundly, unaware that he'd just triggered the biggest emergency in cultivation history. Whoever or whatever sent that message… wanted him kept safe at all costs.
And so, System Users everywhere scrambled—some out of curiosity, some out of duty, and some because their very power depended on obeying system alerts. One thing was clear: protecting this kid wasn't optional.
Because when the world's systems unite—and glitch—it means something big is coming. And everybody's about to find out exactly what.