Although Bai He was extremely excited after activating the system, he still suppressed his restless feelings and finished eating with Ge Xiaolun and Liu Chuang.
With the system, his future certainly would not be ordinary. But the two people before him were not ordinary either. One was the Galaxy Power, one of the three god-making projects; the other was the Noxian God of War, also one of the three god-making projects. Both would become powerful figures capable of slaying gods in the future.
He had already activated the system and could inspect it anytime, but opportunities for the three of them to gather and eat together like this might become very rare in the future.
Cherish what you had while you could!
After chatting for a while, the three gained a rough understanding of one another, and their relationship grew much closer—especially the relationship between Ge Xiaolun and Liu Chuang.
No one was born a bad person. After learning about Liu Chuang's background and experiences, Ge Xiaolun's prejudice against him lessened considerably. He no longer called him "scumbag" every other word. The two of them could barely be considered friends now, probably—provided Liu Chuang truly turned over a new leaf.
After eating and drinking their fill, the three went their separate ways.
Bai He did not choose to return to the dormitory with Ge Xiaolun. Instead, he used the excuse that he would keep looking for a Hermit Master who truly knew martial arts before leaving. In truth, he found a hotel to secretly study the system that had appeared in his mind.
The Earth would undergo tremendous changes in the future. Unlike Ge Xiaolun and Liu Chuang, he had not been born with a Super God Gene within him. With a little potential development, they could achieve divine bodies and become absurdly powerful.
He had to find a way to obtain Supernatural Power before he could protect himself during the great changes to come and survive. If possible, he also hoped to join those saving humanity, but he was not confident.
He had always been the sort of person who cared for himself when poor and helped the world when prosperous.
If he could only barely protect himself, he would find somewhere safe to hide, lie low, develop cautiously, and emerge only once he was capable. But if he had the power to save the world, he would not mind becoming a hero who saved Earth and humanity's savior!
Since school had ended early, despite all the time he had delayed, night had only just fallen.
Bai He casually found an ordinary hotel and rented a room. First, he took a satisfying shower and adjusted his body and mind to their best state.
This could be considered Bai He's habit. Whenever he was about to face something especially important, he would do this. It was much like burning incense and bathing, a form of psychological suggestion to calm himself down. He had done the same thing the night before his college entrance exam, though it had not done him a damn bit of good...
Lying on the bed, Bai He took a deep breath. Then he emptied his mind, closed his eyes, and called for the system inwardly.
At Bai He's call, a pure white ball of light suddenly appeared in his previously pitch-black field of vision. In the next instant, his consciousness entered a vast white world.
"Is this... the System Space?"
Bai He looked at the endless expanse of white before him and thought in shock.
Just as Bai He was overwhelmed with astonishment, lines of golden text slowly appeared in the air.
"Welcome, Host, to the System Space. What would the Host like to know?"
Bai He pondered for a moment, then said, "Can you list the system's functions? Like the status panels in novels and online games!"
The golden words in the air instantly turned into countless specks of light and dispersed like mist and clouds. Then they slowly gathered again into a transparent golden panel.
Name: All Heavens Projection System
Host: Bai He (Human)
Rank: First Order
Functions: All Heavens Projection, Projection Fusion, Technique Derivation
Source Energy: 100
"First Order? System, why is your rank so low? Why are you only First Order?"
Looking at the rank listed on the panel, Bai He could not help asking in confusion.
By his reasoning, a system with the ability to travel across all heavens could not possibly be such a low rank!
As though answering Bai He's question, another line of text formed on the golden panel.
"The data listed on the system panel is based on the Host's relevant memories. Rank does not refer to the quality the Host imagines, but rather level."
"Just like the pets in the online games from the Host's memories: even legendary and epic pets were only level one at birth, were they not? Although the system's quality surpasses all else, it was only just born and is no different from an infant. Therefore, it is only First Order, but it can be upgraded."
The system replied.
"Right, then what about the functions on the system panel? Are there only these three, or will more functions be added as the system's rank increases?"
Bai He asked again.
"The Host is correct. These three functions are merely the system's current initial functions. As the system's rank increases, more new and powerful functions will emerge, such as the Martial Arts Arena, Magical Artifact Assisted Refining, True Body Transmigration, and so on."
"True Body Transmigration? Does that mean I can both travel there in my true body and bring people back from the worlds I travel to?"
Bai He's eyes flickered.
"Correct!"
The system replied.
Alright! Bai He took a deep breath. Now, he was going to ask the system one final question—the question he cared about most.
"System, can I know why you chose me as your Host? Who exactly created you, or how were you born?"
Looking at the golden panel floating before him, Bai He slowly asked the most important question in his heart.
The golden panel instantly dispersed, turning into countless scattered golden specks that did not gather again for a long while. It was as though the system itself was considering how to answer Bai He's question.
After a long time, the golden specks finally gathered once more.
"Host, the question you asked is meaningless. The system will show you its origin now!"
Whoosh!
As the system's final word fell, the originally pure white System Space instantly transformed into a chaotic void.
Bai He seemed to be standing within a boundless expanse of emptiness. Around him were countless enormous golden spheres of light, dazzling like stars.
"This place is..."
Looking at the magnificent, breathtaking scene before him, Bai He was stunned.
"This is the void, an empty space containing endless worlds, and also the necessary path we must take to travel between worlds!"
A line of golden text appeared before Bai He.
"The void?"
Bai He murmured.
"That is you, Host!"
The system instantly locked onto a vague, transparent human figure drifting in the distant void.
Logically, a soul should have long since dissipated in the void. Yet above that transparent figure's head was something resembling a fragment that emitted red light. The glow it gave off wrapped around the fragile soul like a protective barrier, sparing it from the fate of dispersal.
"This is?"
"This is the system's predecessor—the object contained within the lightning bolt that struck the Host!"
The system answered.
The red light was faint, but the fragment continuously absorbed streams of silvery-white energy from the void, sustaining its glow. Gradually, after an unknown amount of time, the original Red Fragment slowly transformed into a pure white ball of light.
"Could this be the system's origin?"
"Yes!"
"Then do you know the origin of that Red Fragment?"
Bai He asked.
"I do not! The system did not exist from the beginning. It was a special consciousness born from a portion of the Host's true spirit and the pure white ball of light that the Host's soul could not completely control. It can be considered the Host's divided soul. If the Host's soul dissipates, the system will dissipate as well."
The system answered Bai He's most pressing question.
"So that was how it was?"
Bai He felt somewhat reassured. If this was true, then he and the system were one entity, so he would not have to worry about it scheming against him.
But Bai He still did not completely let down his guard. He had no way of verifying whether the system was telling the truth, but he truly had nothing worth plotting for anyway, so he would believe it for now.
"System! Then how can I travel between worlds? And how can I obtain Source Energy points?"
Bai He took a deep breath and asked.
During his conversation with the system, Bai He had learned that many of its functions required Source Energy points. Technique Derivation and future system upgrades both required them, so although he already had a guess, Bai He still wanted to confirm it.
"First, the system must remind the Host that All Heavens Projection is not transmigration. Projection is when the system projects the Host's soul into a world it intends to visit, merges it with a native of that world, then pulls the projection back once the time limit is reached and fuses it into the Host's body. The projection's death does not affect the Host's life or death, but it will leave the Host weakened for a time, because the projection contains a trace of the Host's soul."
"Isn't projection better than transmigration, then?"
Bai He could not help feeling confused. Since projection was so powerful, why would True Body Transmigration only become available after upgrading?
"Projection cannot carry the Host's cultivation. It can only synchronize the Host's soul state, which means the Host must start from scratch every time. Although Source Energy points can be used to rapidly raise cultivation, the cost outweighs the benefit. Once a projection dies, it is equivalent to gaining nothing. Its advantage, however, is safety."
"As for obtaining Source Energy, it is done by changing a world's original trajectory. The formation of worlds is wondrous. There are likely many worlds similar to the Main World's Super God Academy. So long as their original plots are altered, the system can absorb Source Energy through the Host. The greater the changes made by the Host, the more or less Source Energy the system can obtain."
The system replied.
"Changing the plot earns Source Energy? Then if I could change an entire world, wouldn't I make a fortune? Climbing the tech tree in a fantasy world, promoting socialism in a mythological world... Damn... just thinking about it is awesome! But unfortunately, I can only think about it right now..."
Bai He thought excitedly, but then seemed to recall something and could not help sighing inwardly.
"Then now, let my first transmigration—no! My first All Heavens Projection journey begin!"
Bai He suddenly opened his eyes. Looking at the ceiling above him, he clenched his fists.
After slowly exhaling several times, Bai He closed his eyes again and silently recited, "System! Begin projection!"
Buzz!
Bai He only felt a buzzing sound suddenly ring in his ears. His entire body instantly felt weightless, his consciousness gradually blurred, and strange voices began sounding in his mind.
"Projection preparation... 1%, 2%, 3%... 100%."
"Searching for world..."
"World locked..."
"Void anchor locked..."
"Projection channel construction complete..."
"Projection beginning... 1%, 2%, 3%... 100%."
"Projection complete!"
Before you continue