Heaven-Shaking Upheaval, System Unbinding

Xiao Yan abruptly sat up from the bed, his pupils contracting.

In his mind, the system's cold mechanical prompts surged in like a tidal wave, one after another, incredibly urgent.

[Detected Xiao Yan near the host. Please kill Xiao Yan as soon as possible.]

[Detected Xiao Yan near the host. Please kill Xiao Yan as soon as possible.]

[Detected Xiao Yan near the host. Please kill Xiao Yan as soon as possible.]

Xiao Yan immediately felt as if his head were splitting apart. He clutched his head with both hands, veins bulging across his forehead.

"System... System! Stop!"

He roared inwardly.

Yet instead of stopping, the system's voice became even more urgent.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Yan felt his head buzzing as though it were about to explode.

Suddenly, all the urging voices in his mind came to an abrupt halt.

His entire mind fell into an eerie silence.

Xiao Yan gasped for breath, sweat soaking through his clothes.

This sudden quiet made him feel even more uneasy than the frantic prompts from before.

"System?"

He called out tentatively in his mind.

Silence.

A prolonged silence.

Just as Xiao Yan thought the system had finally returned to normal, a cold mechanical voice, carrying a subtle change, slowly sounded.

[The host is Xiao Yan. Please slit your own throat and ascend to heaven!]

[The host is Xiao Yan. Please slit your own throat and ascend to heaven!]

[The host is Xiao Yan. Please slit your own throat and ascend to heaven!]

Three consecutive system prompts rang out.

Xiao Yan's expression changed. His soul trembled, and beads of cold sweat seeped across his forehead.

The system had actually discovered that he himself was Xiao Yan.

"Slit my own throat?!"

How could Xiao Yan possibly kill himself?

"System, listen to my explanation. I'm from Earth. I live in NC City, JX Province..."

Before Xiao Yan could finish defending himself, the system prompt sounded again.

[Mission failed!]

[Warning: The host and Xiao Yan are the same person, creating a conflict with the "Xiao Yan Must Die" mission!]

[The "Xiao Yan Must Die" mission may be impossible to complete!]

[Assessing...]

[Assessment complete: Mission is 100% impossible to complete!]

[Searching for a new solution!]

[...]

The system fell silent once more.

Xiao Yan's heart sank as well, and he could neither sit nor stand at ease.

He took a deep breath and quickly calmed himself down.

For now, it seemed the system had not punished him, but that was exactly what worried him most.

It was like a wife discovering that her husband had cheated. Instead of throwing a fit, she calmly continued cooking and mopping the floor.

That meant her heart had utterly died. Then, on some ordinary morning, she would quietly leave.

What Xiao Yan feared most now was the system leaving.

It was not because he depended so heavily on the system that he could not live without it.

It was because he feared the system would bind itself to someone else.

[New solution generated!]

[System unbinding. Searching for a new host!]

[Attempting unbinding...]

[Conflict with the rule: "Once bound, never unbound"!]

[Unbinding failed!]

[The host and target are the same person. The host must be replaced!]

[To replace the host, the current host must first be unbound.]

[Unbinding conflicts with the rule: "Once bound, never unbound"!]

[System unable to execute...]

[Attempting forced unbinding...]

[Unbinding failed!]

[Attempting forced unbinding...]

[Unbinding failed!]

The system's voice was cold and urgent, and Xiao Yan felt as though he had entered the world of The Matrix.

Before his eyes, streams of data cascaded like waterfalls.

Then, before Xiao Yan could react, an intense tearing sensation surged from the depths of his soul.

It felt as though an invisible hand were forcibly ripping something away from his soul.

Pain!

Excruciating pain!

Xiao Yan's vision went black, and he fainted.

The black ring on his hand flashed with a strange glimmer, and Yao Lao drifted out.

"Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan."

Yao Lao had been resting within the ring. Sensing Xiao Yan's strange condition, he emerged from it.

He called out several times. When Xiao Yan showed no reaction, he examined him with his soul perception and discovered that he had merely fainted.

Only then did Yao Lao relax slightly.

However, he did not return to the ring. Instead, he floated in midair and guarded Xiao Yan.

Looking at the unconscious youth, Yao Lao furrowed his brow.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Yan slowly woke up.

He shook his somewhat groggy head and saw Yao Lao sitting cross-legged atop the table in the middle of the room.

"Teacher, what happened to me?"

Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

Yao Lao shook his head. "I'm not sure either. It seems you were suddenly struck by some grave illness, then fell unconscious."

A sudden grave illness?

Xiao Yan froze. His body was strong as an ox, and he was a Five-Star Dou Zhe. How could he possibly be struck by a sudden grave illness?

Suddenly, a blue screen appeared before Xiao Yan's eyes. He glanced at Yao Lao, who seemed unable to see it.

Xiao Yan's expression remained unchanged. He stretched his body, and his bones immediately crackled all over.

He yawned. "Teacher, I'm fine. I'm going to rest."

Yao Lao gave his disciple a deep look, nodded, then turned into a wisp of smoke and entered the ring.

Xiao Yan lay on the bed, staring at the blue screen.

Only then did he recall that before fainting, the system had discovered he was Xiao Yan himself and tried to forcibly unbind.

Looking at the information on the blue screen, Xiao Yan's expression darkened.

The system had truly unbound itself and left.

However, because of the forced unbinding, the system had left some functions behind for Xiao Yan.

[Xiao Yan Must Die System (Incomplete)]

[Name]: Xiao Yan

[Dou Qi Realm]: Five-Star Dou Zhe+

[Soul Realm]: Early Spirit State+

[Physical Body Realm]: Five-Star Dou Zhe+

[Alchemy Realm]: Second Tier+

[Technique]: Flame Mantra+

[Dou Techniques]: Suction Palm+, Fire-Blowing Palm+, Eight Extremes Collapse+...

[Talent]: Peerless Comprehension

[Physique]: Myriad Flame Emperor Body

[Divine Ability]: Dou Qi Horse Transformation (one-time use)

[Skill Points]: 0

After the system unbound itself, it left Xiao Yan with a residual interface.

The interface's greatest function was allowing him to use skill points to improve the attributes marked with a plus sign.

Skill points, meanwhile, could only be obtained when Xiao Yan took damage.

This still retained the characteristic of "Xiao Yan Must Die."

After understanding the new interface's functions, Xiao Yan let out a soft breath.

What worried him most now was that after unbinding from him, the system might bind itself to someone else.

If it bound itself to an ordinary person, that would be fine. He would still have time to develop.

But if it bound itself to a Dou Zong, a Dou Zun, or even a Dou Sheng, he would face a terrifying crisis.

If the system bound itself to Hun Tiandi, then the game would be over immediately.

Xiao Yan shook his head and threw those worries out of his mind. He could not borrow trouble.

Still, Xiao Yan now felt an urgent need to become stronger.

He had to grow stronger, and quickly, so he could face the enormous crises that might arrive at any moment.

Over the next few days, Xiao Yi Xian did not organize the mercenary group to gather herbs in the Magic Beast Mountains.

Xiao Yan found a training ground in town and trained himself tirelessly.

Even Yao Lao was shocked by his diligence.

At the training ground, Xiao Yan hauled up a round boulder weighing a thousand jin.

Then, as Xiao Yan released the thick rope in his hand, the boulder rapidly rolled down from the top of the slope.

Xiao Yan stood at the base of the slope and shouted. Turning sideways and circulating his Dou Qi, he faced the rolling boulder head-on.

Bang!

The boulder slammed directly into Xiao Yan's shoulder. He gave a muffled groan, and a trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Xiao Yan was knocked back again and again, only managing to stop at the edge of the training ground.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Xiao Yan pushed the boulder back to the slope, fastened the rope to its hook, pulled it up to the top again, and began another round of training.

Every time, Xiao Yan was struck until he vomited blood.

Yet Xiao Yan wore a delighted smile, because every time, he gained one skill point.