I Am The Empire

[System initialising…]

[Clone System Initialized]

[Host: Simon White]

[Cultivation: none]

[Clones available: 1]

[Avatars available: 1]

[Cultivation Techniques: none]

[Skills: none]

[Constitution: none]

[Bloodline: none]

"Ugh…"

The light had been knocked right out of him just a moment ago. Simon's head still felt dizzy. The words in his mind seemed like they were from a video game. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting as he faced the bright light of the sun.

"Ah!" He closed his eyes again.

'I don't remember sleeping outdoors.' That was the first thought that came to mind. Simon was an indoors man for most of his life, so why would he be lying there with his face to the sky?

"My head hurts…"

[Mission acquired: step into the first realm of cultivation by completing a 1km run.]

[Reward: Qi Condensation 1st layer]

"Huh? Cultivation? Ah…" Simon gradually got up onto his feet, stretching his back slowly as he felt his bones snapping into place after moving them. At this point, he had to expect this much. He did wake up on the hard ground after all, not his comfy king-sized bed.

[Yes, this is a cultivation system, host. Now do the mission.]

The words responded in his head, making it ring from pain. Out of all the times, he had to get a system when he was suffering from a headache.

"Fine, fine. I know how the story goes. I just need to do a quest and then I go around killing people for xp. I know how this genre works, thank you very much. And I must say, I do not like the idea of travelling back in time to a place that does not have toilet paper!" His voice echoed in what seemed to be a quiet forest. No one responded to his rage, it just remained silent.

[The year is 2999C, this is the future, host.]

"Oh please, if this was the future, there would be no forests and the sky would already be as greyer than my grandfather's hair!" Simon laughed out. He clearly did not believe the words of the system that may or may not have brought him t9 this land.

[You are correct. Earth was flooded over 500 years ago. Due to climate change, only the mountain peaks are left. Because of this, humans have migrated into space and have founded an interstellar federation spanning light years. You are currently situated in the Azure Sword Planet. The highest level being is at the Golden Core Realm]

"That sounds about right…" Simon was still on guard, but not completely closed off to the system's words.

After a moment, vast amounts of knowledge flooded into his mind. Je instantly became aware of the last Millennia of history that he had missed out on. Cultivation was no longer a myth that only existed in eastern Xianxia novels, it had become reality, its own science. It is a strange world he had just entered. In this world, he was the weakest. He had not even stepped into the first realm of cultivation.

The Human Federation which had been protecting humanity for centuries had now encountered ancient sects which held a vast knowledge and amazing powers. Cornered from all directions by the hostile alien races, humanity was slowly approaching what would be an inevitable end.

In a universe that was host to a wide array of vicious alien races with high cultivation, Simon was one of the weakest existences.

[Host, this system allows you to create avatars which you can use for any of your clone slots. Each clone uses the avatar's appearance and cultivation, holding your consciousness within them.]

[The body which you currently occupy is considered as a clone for the sake of calculations. It has the same benefits as all other clones. Your current avatar is your principal avatar; the avatar which has been set to your preferred...]

"Okay… okay… I am finished."

In the time that the system took to slowly explain the workings of itself, Simon had already run 1km. For some reason, although he was suffering from a painful headache, his body was much more energetic than usual.

'It's like the air is giving me strength. Even the sun feels comfortable here…' Simon had to admit, the environment in this strange new world was much better than that of 21st century Earth.

[Mission Complete]

[Host: Simon White]

[Cultivation: Qi Condensation 1st layer]

[Clones available: 2]

[Avatars available: 1]

[Cultivation Techniques: none]

[Skills: none]

[Constitution: none]

[Bloodline: none]

His headaches suddenly disappeared and his body began flowing with energy.

"Wow!" The feeling was quite foreign to him, like suddenly gaining the strength of a bull.

[The host now has the ability to use a second body]

[Host can cultivate faster by a factor of 2 for every clone cultivating at the same time]

"Cultivate with what? I don't even have a heaven-defying cultivation technique yet."

[Get one yourself, host]

"How do I go about that?"

[Robbery, murder, extortion...]

"..."

'What happened to systems that emphasise righteousness?!'

In such a way, a man of the 21st century entered the future. In a universe fraught with danger and hostile creatures in all directions, Simon woke up with a system. It did not matter too much what he was before, now he had become a protagonist.

He had become a stupid protagonist that had to deal with the wrath of every single family that had a young master. He also had to deal with the mountain of beauties which would surely invite the wrath of more young masters.

A common man… or a scheming man; a smart man. Would he really let this play out like it usually would?

Would he let himself become a subject to cliche? No.

"Fine fine. Let me figure out how to create a clone before I start doing anything first…"

[Active clones: 1]