I cursed Tang San, am I wearing the ultimate path?

Lin Kun's last conscious thought was of the blinding light on his phone screen and the strange sense of satisfaction and emptiness he felt as his fingertip typed, "Tang San, that hypocrite, really knows how to play the double standard game!"

When he opened his eyes again, the satisfaction and emptiness were shattered. All that remained was the taste of dust in his lungs and an indescribable scent, a mixture of poverty and decay.

He lay on a hard object that made his back ache. His vision, blurry at first, focused on a low, crumbling ceiling that shed dust. A few crooked wooden beams offered meager support. Light filtered through a "window" covered by a tattered burlap cloth, illuminating countless dust motes dancing wildly in the air.

"Cough! Cough, cough!" He turned his head sharply, coughing violently. His throat felt as if it had been scraped with sandpaper.

Where was he?

Strange, fragmented memories flooded his mind like a breached dam, causing him to clutch his head in pain.

Holy Soul Village... Old Village Chief Jack... An orphan whose parents died early... Mockery and isolation from peers... And a child who was just as taciturn, often seen at the blacksmith's shop at the west end of the village, named Tang San.

Tang San?!

Lin Kun jolted, fully awake, and sat up abruptly from the pile of dry straw beneath him. He looked around – adobe walls, broken farm tools, a drafty door... This wasn't his home, or even an era he recognized!

He scrambled to the only thing in the room holding some murky, cool water – a broken wooden basin. The water rippled violently, gradually reflecting an unfamiliar face. It was a child, perhaps six or seven years old, sallow-skinned with dry, yellow hair. Only his eyes were wide, dilated with extreme fear and shock.

This wasn't his face!

But his memories told him it was!

He had really transmigrated! Just because he'd complained about the novel's protagonist before bed? And he'd transmigrated into a nobody, a pathetic nobody, in the same village as the protagonist, Tang San?!

A chilling wave of despair instantly gripped Lin Kun's heart. He knew how dangerous this world was: spirit beasts, spirit masters, sect conflicts, imperial wars... How could he, a helpless orphan who probably wouldn't even awaken a decent Martial Soul, survive?

He needed to latch onto someone! His only option was to cling to Tang San, the future Sea God and Asura God! Even though he disdained Tang San's character, he had to do it to survive, no matter how demeaning!

As his mind raced, a chaotic mess as he desperately tried to figure out how to "accidentally" meet Tang San and make a good impression, a cold, emotionless voice echoed directly in the depths of his mind:

[Ding! Detected strong spacetime fluctuations and rebellious intent towards the world's main storyline. Binding conditions met...] [Plot Breakdown System binding... Binding successful!] [Host: Lin Kun] [Initial Mission Issued: The Reversed First Kiss. Change the target of the key character 'Xiao Wu's' first kiss to the host.] [Mission Deadline: Nuoding Academy of Advanced Spirit Masters, during the first meeting in the work-study student dormitory.] [Mission Reward: Novice Gift Package, 100 Breakdown Points.] [Failure Penalty: System unbinding, host's soul dissipates.]

Lin Kun felt as if he'd been struck by lightning from the heavens. He froze on the spot, his face turning ashen, more terrified than when he realized he had transmigrated.

A system? A cheat? Before he could even feel happy, he was stunned by the absurdly ridiculous initial mission.

Change Xiao Wu's first kiss target?! And snatch it from Tang San?! Make himself the target?!

Did this system want him dead even faster?!

He wanted to latch onto a powerful figure, and the first thing he had to do was snatch food from a tiger's mouth, stealing the first kiss from the girl the future Asura God fancied?! This was practically a suicide mission! And it came with a soul-obliterating package!

Lin Kun's vision went black. The only path to survival he had seen – latching onto Tang San – had just been severed by this inexplicable system in his mind, which then casually tossed it into an abyss.

"I just want to live safely..." He slumped onto the cold dirt floor, gazing at the dilapidated roof, muttering unconsciously, "How did this start, with hellish difficulty and a mission that guarantees death? What is going on?!"

The cold system prompt sounded again, with undeniable authority:

[Mission accepted, host please prepare diligently. Countdown begins...]

Lin Kun fell completely silent, only despair spreading soundlessly through the empty, broken room. He knew that the moment he bound himself to this system, the original Douluo Continent storyline had become like a runaway horse, galloping towards a completely unknown and extremely dangerous direction.

And his first challenge was to steal Xiao Wu's first kiss in front of Tang San.

This was simply an impossible mission to complete, a guaranteed path to self-destruction.