1 Chapter 1 : New Life

Wang Haoyu was rather perplexed. Barely an hour ago, he was one of the leaders of the Chinese underworld, at the top of the triad hierarchy.

However, he had died in a manner completely unrelated to this activity. How could anyone have guessed that he would die from being struck by lightning on a cloudless day?

Yet, just as he thought it was all over for good, he woke up in the body of a young man named Wang Tian next to the charred corpse of an old man.

From the memories he had acquired, this world was quite different from his own. There were immortal cultivators capable of divine feats through the sheer force of their body and spirit of mythical and legendary beasts, martial arts sects, and so on.

With all this information to digest, Haoyu sat calmly on the chair outside the cabin. He began to close his eyes and breathe to calm his mind.

Wang Tian is a 16-year-old orphan who began cultivation 8 years ago with his master Min Yìzé. He did not know his master's true identity, only that he was an old man living in the mountains and that he was very powerful. Although he had not shown extraordinary talent, his master always took care of him. However, as they were busy training that morning, they were both struck by a black lightning bolt from the heavens and died on the spot. That was when his first real memories in this body came flooding back. Before that, it was like watching a movie where he could not make any decisions and could only watch.

As he finally calmed down and regained control of his emotions, Wang Haoyu was about to set himself a goal in this new life that was offered to him. However, he was interrupted by a voice coming from his mind.

[Ding!]

[System implantation initiated!]

[System successfully implanted.]

As these words echoed, Haoyu felt a strong migraine for a second, but it quickly vanished, replaced by surprise as a kind of small white cat with blue and green eyes and a little bow around its neck appeared before him.

While slightly puffing out its feline chest, it assumed a posture imbued with arrogance.

Wang Haoyu blinked, taken aback by the sudden appearance of this cat-shaped avatar and the words seemingly coming from nowhere. He looked around for explanations, but the cabin was empty except for him and the charred corpse of the old man.

"What in the world is this?" he muttered, wondering if he had lost his mind.

[Congratulations, you have the honor of becoming the host of the Machination God System.]

The small cat-shaped avatar approached him with a mischievous smile. [I am the avatar of the Machination God System.]

[You can call me Master Guǐjì or Supreme Master Guiji from now on. You will obey me and do everything I tell you to do.] However, as he spoke these words, electricity appeared on Guiji, and he was struck by an immense electric shock, leaving the small cat completely burned by the electricity and stuck in the last expression he had.

The emotionless, almost robotic voice resonated again in Haoyu's mind: [It is requested that you do not exceed the functions and authorities that have been given to you, otherwise the system's punishment will strike you again.]

Upon hearing the mention of punishment, the small cat moved at inhuman speed behind Haoyu, tears in its eyes. [Please, anything except the system's punishment?]

After the voice had disappeared for good, Guiji breathed a sigh of relief that he no longer had to endure the cursed system's security.

Haoyu rubbed his temples, trying to make sense of what was happening. "Machination God System? A new world? What could all this mean?"

Now that he was finally safe, Guiji nodded mischievously. [You see, dear host, you have been chosen to inherit the title of Machination God in this world. This means you have immense potential to manipulate events and people around you to achieve your goals. And I am here to guide you and provide you with the necessary tools to do so.]

Haoyu shook his head, incredulous, a strong denial of his situation beginning to grip him. "This is ridiculous. I don't believe in this kind of thing."

In response, Guiji smiled. [Believe me, you have no choice. You are now bound to me, and our destinies are intertwined. So, what do you say? Are you ready to embrace your destiny as the Machination God?]

As Wang Haoyu recalled everything he had seen since waking up, he abandoned whatever remained of his common sense because from now on, none of it would serve him any purpose.

With some reluctance, he decided it was futile to continue relying on his usual logic. He could only do one thing he hadn't done in many years: adapt to his situation. "Well, I accept."

Even if he refused to accept his destiny, it wouldn't change the fact that it was currently set. Trying to swim against the current would only cause him more trouble. All he could do was rely on this system to hope to have some minimal control over it.

While lost in his thoughts, Haoyu composed his mind to ask, "What exactly are you for?"

Guiji didn't need to think and began to list its functions: [I serve you to interact with the system, give you missions and rewards, and that's about it for now. I can show you your status, which is the combination of your unique talents and abilities. If you possess system points, you can access a lottery, but for now, you cannot obtain any points, so it's pointless.]

"Alright then, let's start with the status," Wang Haoyu said, and as he did, Guiji simply obeyed without saying anything and brought forth an interface before him.

.

<STATUS >

.

Name: Wang Haoyu

Title: Outsider

Race: Human

Age: 16/100

Cultivation Rank: Body Tempering 5/6

Karma: -1,000

System Points: 0

.

<TALENT >

.

Talent: Soul Art, Martial Arts Creation

Bloodline: None

Constitution : Constitution of the 9 Pillars of the Chaotic Tyrant (1/9)

Halo: None

.

<ART >

.

Martial Art: None

Soul Art: None

Cultivation Technique: None

Item System: Beginner Box * 1

.

.

Upon seeing his status, several things alarmed Haoyu. Firstly, his cultivation level had dropped; he had gone from the last level of Ren Qi refinement to the fifth level of Body Tempering. Secondly, why was his karma so low, even below zero? And thirdly, what was this "beginner box"?

As he pondered all these questions in his mind, Guiji responded to Haoyu even before he asked, in a fraction of a second, the small cat appeared with a pair of tiny glasses and assumed a scientific demeanor: [Your cultivation level dropped due to the shock caused by the celestial lightning. Your meridians closed up, and the qi you had accumulated dissipated. However, it's a blessing in disguise because it awakened your dormant physical constitution.]

[As for your bad karma, it's because you killed the Favored Child of Heaven, Wang Tian, by taking possession of his body. Furthermore, you survived. The heavens cannot accept this, so to compensate, the great heavenly Dao drastically lowered your karma since it cannot directly manipulate your destiny due to your status as an Outsider. Because of this, you will be placed in perilous situations without rewards, attract the wrath of other children of the heavens, etc. But you don't need to worry too much; the system has solutions for that.]

[And finally, the beginner box is an item provided by the system to help you start your new life.]

Haoyu nodded, taking note of the information. Although not everything was going well, it wasn't all bad news. He should still find a way to address this karma problem as soon as possible.

"All right then, open the beginner box." As soon as he said that, the gift box opened, dazzling him in the process.