Servant System

Chapter 3

Countless aches spread through Yunzheng's whole body whilst his eyes fluttered in discomfort. When he gasped, the body jerked around, causing his limbs to strike something hard. 

Darkness engulfed his entire sight and made him reach out his hands to feel the rough texture. The stench of old wood, its coarse surface, and the square shaped outline were familiar, lingering at the tip of his tongue. 

A notion flashed in his mind, prompting him to trace his own face, breath, and his chest, feeling the thumping within. Gripping his fist, the familiar surge of power flowed freely, albeit much thinner than before. Brows raised, he gulped and closed his eyes, recalling the scene of his last moment, which still gave a faint throb despite no injuries. 

"I am… Alive." he muttered, almost inaudibly with a resigned tone. Zhou Ye's face, along with more than dozens of elders and disciples appeared amidst the darkness. A heavy lump dropped on his guts, making him breathe slowly and snapped his attention back to his circumstances. 

Gathering his power, he observed the enclosed space more closely once more and reminded him of a coffin. With his breath guided, although he was far from his best, Yunzheng let the surge of energy travel into his palm, feeling the raging tremor in its wake. 

In an instant, the wood burst forth while accompanied by the thunderous bang. His surroundings shook and through the flying dirts and wood fragments, blinding light flooded. Overwhelming his senses for a while. 

After he blinked his eyes a few times, he rose from his lying position and coughed. Gust of cool wind brushed his cheek and he sighted a man wearing grayish clothes. Upon closer inspection, the fabric of his garment was as smooth as the one worn by some royal family or at least elders of powerful sects. 

The man's eyes widened with jaw hanging big enough to fit an egg. Stepping backwards, the man moved his trembling finger to point at Yunzheng, which prompted the latter to rouse his energy for the worse. 

"G-G-Ghost!"

Gazing at the fading back of the man who turned to run, Yunzheng sighed and stood straight. As he patted away the dust around, his eyes wandered and saw the rows of graves, the trees around them, and some people who looked and pointed at him from a distance. 

'This place…'

His heart speeding up, Yunzheng rushed forward and became more amazed at the white attire people wore, the lack of energy in the air, or some buildings with structures he wouldn't ever found in the cultivation world. When his feet slowed down, his expression couldn't be more puzzled, still a smile slithered into his face despite all. 

"I'm back…" he muttered, in an almost disbelieving tone, surprising himself. He looked to his right and spotted a group of men with similar uniforms approaching him. Some revealed confusion, fear, and annoyance in their gaze, which Yunzheng easily picked up. 

He checked himself and found that he was wearing black pants and white shirt. Recalling how bothersome it would be to deal with that group, Yunzheng took a step and crossed several meters in the air. The consumption caused him to frown but he kept going until the scenery changed and he disappeared from their eyes. 

Circulating his energy to surround him, his breathing moved in a certain pattern. In the next second, his appearance blurred and blended into the background, becoming more transparent as time passed. 

The towering skyscrapers, busy roads, and the myriad of noises from the walking pedestrians drowned his senses. Landing on top of a three story building, he saw the floating holographic banners with musical instruments flowing out of them. In a faraway spot, his eyes noticed the flying humanoid shadows.

A foreboding feeling bubbled inside the more he observed. The technology had advanced, considering there were even some robots helping the traffic, on the streets, and even there's even flying boards. It gave him a touch of despair when he thought of a question. 

How much time had passed since he teleported to another world? 

[System has been initiated… Please wait for a moment.]

A blue, half transparent box materialized from thin air before him, making him step back in both wariness and surprise. When he tried to poke it, his hand easily passed through as if there was nothing. Yet, his gaze clearly fixated upon the text's heads-up display. 

'Did my eyes play tricks on me?'

A bright azure light shone from the display and engulfed his vision. A moment later, his surroundings changed into countless stars amidst the space before the scenery blurred as if he moved at light years speed. Despite that, he could feel his feet firmly standing at a solid foothold while there was no change to the flow of energy around. 

After making a stance in his amazement, he felt an enormous aura descended upon him. A being which would definitely stand at the peak of all life as fear much more greater than he ever felt blossomed within. 

He lifted his chin, traced the source of the unbelievable bearings and found a gigantic mass of twinkling stars spread at the being's void-like skin. Pair of blazing flames stared back at Yunzheng's, making him gasp and sent shivers to his spine.

A thought crossed his mind, that not even dozens of thousands of him could match the being's toes. 

Blaring sounds resembling a chuckle drowned his entire hearing senses. With his mind turned upside-down from that overwhelming noise alone, Yunzheng held his head and tried to steady his feet as they were slowly losing strength and threatened him to fall anytime soon. 

In a blink of an eye later, he saw himself still on the previous spot at the rooftop of some random building. Yet, the cold sweat and his panting breaths told him what he had experienced was more than just some illusion or daydream. As he tried to calm himself, something running inside of his head and a transparent blue box appeared once more. 

[The system has been fully transferred! Welcome to the Servant System, host!]