"Ahhnn~ Yes~ Right there~"
Ye Chen jolted awake to the rhythmic thumping and unmistakable moans penetrating through the paper-thin walls of the room.
His temples throbbed as another particularly loud and lustful cry drifted in from the adjacent room.
Grinding his teeth, he slammed his fist against the wall.
"Keep it down in there!" he shouted, his voice hoarse from sleep.
The sounds paused for a moment.
Ye Chen allowed himself a breath of relief, settling back onto his lumpy mattress. Then, without warning, a surge of spiritual energy tore through the wall like an invisible fist.
The technique caught him square in the chest, launching him across the cramped room. His back collided with the opposite wall with a sickening thud, and he crumpled to the floor in a heap.
"Damn it," he groaned, slowly pulling himself upright. His ribs ached where the energy had struck him.
This was what he got for complaining. A casual demonstration that even the couple next door could crush him like an ant.
This dingy, mold-stained room was the cheapest accommodation he'd managed to find when he'd entered the city.
The fee had already consumed most of his meager funds, and his wallet was growing thinner by the day. This was his new reality, as harsh and unforgiving as the peeling paint on these walls.
Just three days ago, a car accident had ended his previous life and deposited his consciousness into this body.
A body that shared his name but little else. The original Ye Chen had been nobody special, just another poor boy with dreams too big for his empty pockets.
His grandmother, the only family he'd had, had died the very day he'd transmigrated. Her final act had been spending their family's last savings to secure him a spot at the prestigious Tianlong Cultivation University.
Ye Chen had read enough web novels in his previous life to know how transmigration usually worked.
The protagonist always landed in the body of a young master from a powerful clan, or inherited some ancient inheritance, or discovered they were the chosen one of prophecy.
But him? He'd transmigrated into a nobody. A poor, talentless nobody whose only inheritance was poverty and an acceptance letter to a university filled with people who could kill him with a thought.
He sighed deeply, dragging himself to the cramped bathroom. The shower sputtered cold water, and he washed quickly, trying not to think about the uncertain future ahead of him.
After drying off with a threadbare towel, he changed into his cleanest clothes, which wasn't saying much, and began packing his worn backpack with the few possessions he owned.
Before leaving, he pulled out his wallet and counted the bills inside. His heart sank. Barely enough for cab fare to the university, and nothing beyond that.
No money for food, textbooks, or cultivation resources. This was his life now. Survival on the razor's edge.
He had to make it at the university. There was no other choice.
In this world, cultivation meant everything. Power determined whether you lived in luxury or died in a gutter.
And worse, money was the best resource for cultivation. It could buy anything you need to get ahead. This meant the rich grew fast, buying the necessary pills, cultivation techniques, and artifacts to enhance their strengths.
The weak had no place here, and there were no second chances. If he failed at Tianlong University, death was the only thing waiting for him.
Ye Chen exhaled slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. He reached for the door handle, ready to face whatever came next.
That was when a translucent blue screen materialized in the air directly before his eyes, accompanied by a cheerful chiming sound.
Ding!
[Congratulations, host! You have awakened the Perfect Life Sign-in System. The Perfect Life Sign-in System is here to help the host achieve the perfect life. Simply sign-in daily to receive random rewards.]
Ye Chen's jaw dropped. His exhaustion evaporated instantly, replaced by electric excitement coursing through his veins.
This was it! His cheat had finally arrived! Every transmigrator got one, and now he had his!
[Would you like to sign-in?]
"Yes!" he practically shouted, his voice trembling with anticipation.
[Congratulations, host! You have received: Pure Yang Sacred Body, 10,000 spirit stones, and Heaven and Earth Unification Art]
Before Ye Chen could fully process the notification, his phone buzzed insistently in his pocket.
He fumbled it out with trembling fingers and nearly dropped it when he saw the screen.
His bank account balance had jumped dramatically from a few seconds ago. 10,000 spirit stones had been deposited directly into his account.
With that amount, he could actually afford cultivation resources, proper meals, and maybe even decent lodging. He wouldn't have to worry about starving in his first weeks at the university.
But where was the money coming from?
Ding!
[Don't worry, host! All monetary rewards are given through perfectly legal channels. You have nothing to worry about.]
But before relief could fully settle in, spiritual energy erupted within his body like a dam had burst somewhere.
It flooded through his meridians, coursed through his bones, and seeped into every cell.
His physique was transforming, restructuring itself at a fundamental level.
Heat blazed through him, not painful but intense, like his entire body was being reforged in an invisible furnace.
When the sensation finally subsided, Ye Chen felt... different. Stronger. His muscles felt denser, and his senses sharper.
Even the ambient spiritual energy in the dingy room seemed more perceptible, as if he could reach out and touch it.
Power hummed beneath his skin, waiting to be unleashed. His cultivation hadn't improved, but he was now stronger.
"This is incredible," he breathed, clenching and unclenching his fists. He could feel the difference immediately.
Eager to understand what had just happened, he glanced back at the blue screen.
"System, give me details on the Pure Yang Sacred Body and the Heaven and Earth Unification Art."
Ding!
[Pure Yang Sacred Body: This is a Fourth Grade physique, turning the host into the perfect cauldron for dual cultivation.]
"Wait, what?"