pancakeswitch - Cultivation: I Have A Cyberpunk World, Chapter 1: My Grandfather Left Me a Phone?!

Note: A bizarre concept I thought about that I went along with because I thought it would be funny. Just a proof of concept rather than anything else solid enough.

Synopsis:

In a world where strength determines everything, the weak are destined to be trampled beneath the feet of the strong.

Shen Yuan has spent nearly twenty years cultivating, yet he remains stuck in the middle-to-late stages of the Qi Refining Realm. With mediocre spiritual roots, a crippled cultivation foundation, and no powerful background to support him, his chances of breaking through to the next major realm are practically nonexistent.

In a cultivation world where geniuses can fly through the heavens, powerful cultivators can shatter mountains with a single strike, and ancient sects control the fates of millions, Shen Yuan is nothing more than an insignificant outer disciple struggling to afford his next bottle of low-grade Qi Gathering Pills.

His fellow disciples mock him. His elders have long since given up on him. Even his own relatives consider him a lost cause.

Just when Shen Yuan believes he will spend the rest of his life toiling away at the bottom of the cultivation world, an unexpected discovery changes everything.

While cleaning out his deceased grandfather's abandoned residence, he discovers a strange black relic hidden inside an ancient wooden chest.

It resembles a small, rectangular jade slab, yet its surface is smooth as a mirror. Strange symbols occasionally flicker across its screen, and despite having no spiritual energy whatsoever, it possesses a mysterious power that even Shen Yuan cannot comprehend.

The moment he touches it, a notification appears.

[Cross-World Transmission System Activated.]

[Destination: Night City.]

Before Shen Yuan can react, the world around him twists, and he finds himself standing in the middle of a bizarre city filled with towering skyscrapers, neon advertisements, mechanical implants, and countless machines he has never seen before.

Welcome to a world where technology has advanced to unimaginable heights, where corporations rule over entire cities, cybernetic mercenaries roam the streets, and human bodies can be modified with mechanical limbs capable of feats that ordinary people could never achieve.

A world without spiritual roots.

A world without cultivation.

A world where even the most powerful individuals rely on machinery, genetic modification, firearms, and cybernetic enhancements to survive.

And most importantly...

A world where Shen Yuan, despite being a weak cultivator at the Qi Refining Realm, possesses strength that ordinary people can scarcely imagine.

His physical body has been tempered by spiritual energy, his senses far exceed those of ordinary humans, and even his seemingly insignificant cultivation techniques grant him advantages that modern technology struggles to replicate.

A low-grade defensive talisman can stop bullets. A simple fireball technique can turn an alley into a blazing inferno. Even his most basic movement technique allows him to outrun modified humans who have spent millions of credits upgrading their bodies.

To the people of Night City, Shen Yuan is a monster from another world.

But to Shen Yuan, Night City is nothing short of paradise.

Here, he can purchase advanced medicines, obtain rare materials, acquire cutting-edge technological knowledge, and earn vast sums of money by exploiting the gap between cultivation and technology. Cybernetic implants, genetic enhancers, artificial intelligence, experimental energy sources, and countless other discoveries could become the stepping stones to his rise in the cultivation world.

With the mysterious relic connecting two vastly different civilizations, Shen Yuan finally discovers a path that no one in his world has ever walked before.

What happens when a cultivator who struggles to gather spiritual energy obtains access to technologies capable of enhancing the human body beyond its natural limits?

What happens when modern scientific research meets ancient cultivation techniques?

And what happens when the insignificant outer disciple whom everyone has dismissed begins returning to his sect with resources, treasures, and knowledge that even the greatest cultivation clans cannot obtain?

While the geniuses of the cultivation world fight over ancient inheritances and compete for scarce spiritual resources, Shen Yuan quietly develops his own foundation, using the wealth and technology of another world to overcome the limitations that have plagued him for years.

Today, he acquires experimental genetic medicine.

Tomorrow, he sells advanced weapons to wealthy cultivators.

The day after that, he combines cybernetic technology with body tempering, creating a cultivation method that leaves even the elders of his sect speechless.

However, as Shen Yuan grows stronger, he gradually realizes that the relic left behind by his grandfather is far more mysterious than he initially imagined.

Why did his grandfather possess such an extraordinary treasure?

Why does the relic occasionally display unfamiliar coordinates and encrypted messages?

And why does the connection between the two worlds seem to be changing as his cultivation improves?

With one foot in the world of immortals and the other in a futuristic metropolis ruled by corporations, Shen Yuan will seize every opportunity, exploit every advantage, and carve out a path to immortality that defies the heavens themselves.

After all, who says a cultivator with poor talent cannot become an unparalleled expert?

He simply needs to find the right resources.

And fortunately for him, an entire world is waiting to be exploited.

The Azure Cloud Sect, Outer Sect.

“Shen Yuan, three months. You have three months to break through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining. Otherwise, your position as an outer sect disciple will be revoked!”

The cold voice of the outer sect elder echoed through the small courtyard.

Shen Yuan stood with his head lowered, his fists clenched inside his sleeves.

“Yes, Elder. This disciple understands.”

“Understand? Hmph! You've been cultivating for nearly twenty years, yet you're still stuck at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. Do you think the sect's resources grow on trees?”

The elder, an elderly man with a short gray beard, glanced at Shen Yuan with undisguised disappointment.

“Your spiritual roots are mediocre, your comprehension is average, and your cultivation speed is slower than a tortoise crawling uphill. If it weren't for the fact that you've faithfully completed your assigned tasks over the years, the sect would have expelled you long ago!”

Shen Yuan remained silent.

He had heard these words countless times already.

Mediocre spiritual roots.

Poor talent.

Wasted resources.

In the cultivation world, these were practically synonymous with a death sentence.

The elder waved his hand impatiently.

“Leave. And remember, three months. If you fail to meet the requirement, don't blame the sect for being ruthless.”

“This disciple takes his leave.”

Shen Yuan bowed before turning around.

As he walked out of the courtyard, the morning sunlight fell upon his face, revealing a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He wore the plain gray robes of an outer sect disciple, and his appearance was unremarkable.

He wasn't particularly handsome, nor was he ugly. His build was average, his features ordinary, and there was nothing about him that would attract a second glance in a crowd.

If there was anything worth mentioning, it was the faint weariness in his eyes.

After all, who could remain optimistic after spending nearly twenty years cultivating without making any significant progress?

“Three months…”

Shen Yuan muttered to himself as he walked along the stone path.

“Even if I sell everything I own, I probably won't have enough spirit stones to purchase the pills necessary for a breakthrough.”

He let out a bitter laugh.

In the Azure Cloud Sect, outer disciples received a monthly allowance of five low-grade spirit stones and a small quantity of spirit rice.

That might have been enough for talented disciples who could absorb spiritual energy efficiently, but for someone like Shen Yuan, it was barely sufficient to maintain his cultivation.

Most of his allowance went toward basic cultivation expenses. The remainder was spent on food, clothing, and occasional medicinal pills.

He had tried everything.

He had practiced diligently, studied cultivation manuals, sought advice from senior disciples, and even spent months performing dangerous missions in the sect's nearby forests in exchange for additional resources.

Yet his cultivation remained stubbornly stagnant.

His spiritual roots were simply too poor.

Other disciples could cultivate for an hour and absorb as much spiritual energy as he gathered in an entire day.

Some geniuses had broken through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining before the age of fifteen. Others had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm in their twenties.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuan was still struggling to overcome a bottleneck that most cultivators considered trivial.

The difference was infuriating.

But what could he do?

He wasn't born into a powerful cultivation family. He had no extraordinary master waiting to take him as a disciple, nor did he possess some legendary physique that would awaken at a critical moment.

He was simply Shen Yuan.

An ordinary man trying to survive in a world that rewarded the extraordinary.

“Forget it. Worrying won't solve anything.”

Shen Yuan shook his head and returned to his residence.

It was a small wooden house situated in a relatively remote corner of the outer sect. The roof leaked whenever it rained, the walls were covered in cracks, and the spiritual energy in the surrounding area was considerably thinner than that of the central cultivation grounds.

Naturally, the sect reserved its better residences for disciples with superior talent.

Shen Yuan had lived here for almost ten years.

He pushed open the creaking door, entered the room, and sat down on his wooden bed.

After staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, he reached into his robes and took out a small cloth pouch.

Inside were three low-grade spirit stones and several copper coins.

His entire fortune.

“Wonderful.”

Shen Yuan counted the spirit stones again, as though hoping that a fourth would magically appear.

Unfortunately, the heavens showed no mercy.

He put them away with a sigh.

“Looks like I'll have to take another mission tomorrow.”

He would have preferred to spend the next few months cultivating in seclusion, but reality had other plans.

Without sufficient resources, even the most diligent cultivator would struggle to advance.

And without sufficient strength, obtaining those resources would become increasingly difficult.

It was a vicious cycle.

Shen Yuan leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered his grandfather.

Unlike most cultivators in the Azure Cloud Sect, Shen Yuan had no living relatives who could support him. His parents had died when he was young, leaving him in the care of his grandfather, an elderly man who had spent most of his life wandering between remote villages.

His grandfather had never been particularly strong.

At least, that was what Shen Yuan had believed.

The old man had possessed no famous cultivation technique, no powerful spiritual weapon, and no impressive reputation. He had lived in a small village at the foot of the mountains, growing medicinal herbs and occasionally telling Shen Yuan strange stories about distant lands.

Sometimes, those stories had been so absurd that Shen Yuan had assumed his grandfather was merely entertaining himself.

There had been tales of cities that touched the heavens, strange carriages that moved without horses, and magical mirrors that allowed people to speak with others across thousands of miles.

His grandfather had even once claimed that there existed worlds where ordinary humans could create objects more miraculous than the treasures of immortals.

At the time, Shen Yuan had laughed.

Now, he wondered whether the old man had simply been telling him nonsense.

After all, if such places really existed, why had no cultivator ever discovered them?

His grandfather had passed away five years ago, leaving Shen Yuan with little more than a handful of old clothes, some faded books, and a small wooden box.

Shen Yuan had kept the box all these years, though he had never discovered anything valuable inside it.

Or so he thought.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

“Wait…”

He sat up straight.

“Didn't Grandfather say something about leaving me an inheritance?”

Shen Yuan frowned as he tried to recall the details.

He remembered the old man lying on his deathbed, his breathing weak and his face pale. Just before closing his eyes for the final time, his grandfather had grabbed Shen Yuan's hand and told him that he had left something behind.

Something that might change his fate.

At the time, Shen Yuan had been overwhelmed with grief. He had searched the old man's belongings afterward, but he hadn't found anything particularly unusual.

Eventually, he had assumed that his grandfather had been delirious.

But now…

Shen Yuan jumped off the bed.

“Where did I put that box?”

He rummaged through the wooden cabinets, pushed aside old clothes, and searched beneath the bed. After several minutes of searching, he finally dragged out a dust-covered wooden chest.

It was small enough to carry with one hand, and its surface was covered in scratches.

Shen Yuan wiped away the dust and opened the lid.

Inside lay several yellowed books, a broken jade pendant, a few copper coins, and a bundle of faded letters.

Nothing particularly valuable.

He picked up the books one by one, flipping through their pages.

They contained some of his grandfather's handwritten notes about medicinal herbs, geographical locations, and various subjects that Shen Yuan couldn't quite understand.

After examining everything, he was about to close the chest when he noticed something strange.

The bottom appeared slightly thicker than it should have been.

Shen Yuan's eyes narrowed.

He ran his fingers along the inner edges of the chest and discovered a small groove hidden beneath the wooden lining.

With a little effort, he pried it open.

A concealed compartment!

His heartbeat quickened.

Inside the compartment lay a black object wrapped in several layers of faded cloth.

Shen Yuan carefully removed the wrapping.

The object was rectangular, approximately the size of his palm, with a smooth black surface and rounded edges.

He stared at it.

“…What is this?”

It looked like a small slab of black jade, except that its surface was unnaturally smooth. There were no visible inscriptions, no spiritual patterns, and no trace of spiritual energy.

It didn't resemble any magical artifact Shen Yuan had ever seen.

He turned it over.

The back was equally strange, featuring a small circular symbol near the bottom and a narrow metallic frame around its edges.

“Could this be some kind of spirit treasure?”

Shen Yuan examined it carefully.

He tried pouring spiritual energy into it.

Nothing happened.

He tried tapping the surface.

Nothing.

He even attempted to scratch it with his fingernail, only to discover that the material was surprisingly hard.

After several minutes, he sat back with a puzzled expression.

“Grandfather, what exactly did you leave me?”

He almost put the object away.

Then, remembering that he had never tried activating it with his blood, he hesitated.

Many magical artifacts in cultivation novels—no, cultivation manuals—required their owners to establish a connection before they could be used.

Perhaps this object was similar.

Shen Yuan took a small needle from his drawer and pricked his finger.

A drop of blood fell onto the black surface.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

Buzz!

The object vibrated.

Shen Yuan nearly dropped it.

A faint blue light suddenly emerged from its surface, illuminating his startled face.

Lines of unfamiliar symbols appeared one after another, forming a series of characters that Shen Yuan could somehow understand despite having never seen them before.

[System Initialization Complete.]

[Biometric Identification Successful.]

[Registered User: Shen Yuan.]

[Legacy Authentication: Confirmed.]

Shen Yuan's mouth fell open.

“What the hell?!”

The black object lit up completely.

A colorful image appeared on its surface, displaying strange symbols arranged in neat rows. Some resembled miniature paintings, while others looked like unfamiliar writing.

Shen Yuan stared at it as though he had just witnessed a ghost.

It was clearly not a cultivation artifact!

At least, it didn't resemble any cultivation artifact he knew.

He tentatively touched one of the symbols.

A new message appeared.

[Welcome to the Cross-World Gateway.]

[Current Destination: Night City, North American Free State.]

[Spatial Connection: Stable.]

[Would you like to initiate transmission?]

Shen Yuan froze.

Cross-world?

Spatial connection?

Night City?

He read the message several times, hoping that he had misunderstood something.

Unfortunately, the strange characters remained exactly the same.

“Is this some kind of illusion?”

He immediately circulated his spiritual energy, attempting to determine whether he had fallen victim to a mental technique.

Nothing unusual happened.

The black object continued glowing in his hand.

After hesitating for a long time, Shen Yuan swallowed nervously and touched the option labeled Initiate Transmission.

He had barely made contact with the screen when the room suddenly trembled.

WOOOOONG!

An invisible force enveloped his body.

The wooden furniture, the cracked walls, and the familiar surroundings all began to distort. Shen Yuan instinctively tried to retreat, but his feet seemed to have become rooted to the ground.

“Wait! What is happening?!”

The black object released a burst of blue light.

The next instant, space itself appeared to fold inward.

Shen Yuan felt as though he had been dragged through an impossibly narrow passage. His stomach lurched, his vision went black, and a deafening ringing filled his ears.

Then everything stopped.

For several seconds, he couldn't move.

He lay sprawled across a cold, hard surface, gasping for breath.

“What… happened?”

He slowly lifted his head.

The first thing he noticed was the light.

Brilliant neon lights illuminated the surroundings, painting the night in shades of blue, purple, red, and gold.

The second thing he noticed was the noise.

Engines roared overhead. Strange electronic music pulsed from nearby buildings. Countless voices mingled together, speaking languages he couldn't recognize.

And the third thing—

Shen Yuan's eyes widened.

A gigantic building towered above him, its surface covered in moving advertisements. Hundreds of meters overhead, strange vehicles flew between skyscrapers, leaving trails of light behind them.

A holographic woman, taller than an ordinary building, smiled down at the street while advertising a product with a name Shen Yuan couldn't understand.

Mechanical limbs.

Artificial eyes.

Metallic implants embedded in human bodies.

People walked past him wearing clothes unlike anything he had ever seen, some with glowing patterns on their skin and others with metallic plates covering half their faces.

In the distance, an enormous screen displayed a rotating image of a cybernetically enhanced man holding a weapon that looked like a combination of a crossbow and a mechanical cannon.

Shen Yuan remained motionless.

His mind was completely blank.

He had traveled to countless villages and towns during his life, but he had never encountered anything even remotely resembling this place.

“Where… am I?”

A sudden, unfamiliar voice answered him.

“Hey, choom! You gonna sit there all night, or are you trying to get yourself flatlined?”

Shen Yuan turned his head.

A young man with brightly colored hair and a metallic jaw implant was staring at him impatiently.

The stranger wore a sleeveless jacket, exposing muscular arms covered in intricate tattoos. A small device was embedded behind his ear, and one of his eyes glowed with an unnatural yellow light.

Shen Yuan instinctively examined the man.

His spiritual senses swept across the stranger's body.

And then…

He blinked.

Once.

Twice.

What is this guy's cultivation?

No spiritual energy.

No spiritual roots.

No meridians circulating spiritual power.

The stranger's body was filled with all sorts of strange mechanical components, but there was not a trace of the energy Shen Yuan associated with cultivators.

Yet the man appeared healthy and strong.

Stronger than an ordinary mortal, certainly, but nowhere near the level of a cultivator.

Shen Yuan cautiously stood up.

“May I ask where this place is?”

The stranger looked at him as though he had just asked whether water was wet.

“Where? Night City, obviously.”

He pointed toward the enormous skyscrapers.

“Welcome to the City of Dreams, buddy. Though, judging by your clothes, I'm guessing you crawled out of some forgotten backwater.”

Night City.

The name displayed on the black device immediately resurfaced in Shen Yuan's mind.

His breathing quickened.

Could it be…?

He looked down at the object in his hand.

The screen had changed.

[Cross-World Transmission Successful.]

[Destination Confirmed: Night City.]

[Local Currency: Eurodollars (Eddies).]

[Spatial Return Function: Available.]

[Warning: Spatial transmission consumes energy. Please ensure sufficient reserves before returning.]

Shen Yuan stared at the message.

He had really crossed into another world!

A world that his grandfather had somehow discovered and connected to their own!

His heart pounded like a drum.

If the relic was real, then the opportunities it represented were simply unimaginable.

He could travel between two worlds!

One was the cultivation world, where spiritual energy and individual strength determined everything.

The other was a futuristic civilization where technology had advanced to astonishing heights.

What would happen if he brought the resources of one world into the other?

Could modern medicine improve his constitution?

Could advanced materials be used to forge superior magical artifacts?

Could the technological knowledge of this world help him overcome the limitations of his spiritual roots?

The possibilities were endless!

But before Shen Yuan could indulge in his excitement, the young man beside him suddenly frowned.

“Hey, are you even listening?”

The stranger stepped closer and scrutinized Shen Yuan's plain gray robes.

“Those clothes look pretty expensive. You got any eddies on you?”

Shen Yuan stared at him blankly.

“Eddies?”

“Eurodollars, idiot. Money.”

The stranger's expression turned impatient.

“Look, I'm not running a charity here. If you want to stand around in this alley, fine. But if you're planning to wander into the streets dressed like that, you're gonna attract every scavver and opportunistic gonk in the neighborhood.”

Shen Yuan didn't understand half the words coming out of the man's mouth.

However, he understood one thing.

The stranger wanted money.

Unfortunately, Shen Yuan possessed no local currency whatsoever.

He had three low-grade spirit stones, several copper coins, and a small quantity of spiritual energy.

That was all.

“I'm afraid I don't have any money,” Shen Yuan replied honestly.

The stranger's expression immediately changed.

“No money?”

His eyes swept over Shen Yuan again, and his lips curled into a mocking smile.

“Figures. Another broke tourist.”

He reached out and grabbed Shen Yuan's shoulder.

“Come on, gonk. Let's see if you've got anything worth—”

His sentence abruptly stopped.

The moment the stranger's hand touched Shen Yuan, the latter instinctively circulated his spiritual energy.

It was a reflex he had developed after years of cultivation.

The stranger suddenly felt as though he had grabbed an iron pillar.

He pulled.

Nothing happened.

He pulled harder.

Still nothing.

Shen Yuan looked down at the hand resting on his shoulder.

Then he looked at the stranger.

The latter's expression changed.

“What the hell?”

The young man activated something inside his arm. A faint mechanical whirring sounded beneath his sleeve, and his muscles visibly tensed.

He tried pulling again.

Shen Yuan didn't even move.

The stranger's eyes widened.

For the first time since approaching the bizarrely dressed newcomer, he seemed genuinely uncertain.

“What kind of chrome are you running?”

Shen Yuan tilted his head.

“Chrome?”

“Your implants! What the hell did you install in your body?”

Shen Yuan looked at his own arms.

He had no idea what the man was talking about.

“I don't have any.”

“Bullshit!”

The stranger's voice rose.

“Even a full-body conversion couldn't make you that heavy without—”

He stopped.

A moment later, his expression became considerably more cautious.

Then he slowly released Shen Yuan's shoulder.

“Okay, okay. No need to get violent.”

Shen Yuan hadn't even moved.

He simply stood there, trying to understand the conversation.

The stranger backed away, muttered something under his breath, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Shen Yuan watched him leave.

After a long silence, he slowly raised his right hand and clenched his fist.

He could feel the familiar flow of spiritual energy inside his body.

Sixth layer of Qi Refining.

That was his cultivation.

In the Azure Cloud Sect, he was considered an unimpressive disciple with poor prospects.

Yet in this world, a random stranger had been unable to move him even after activating some kind of mechanical enhancement.

Shen Yuan's lips gradually curled upward.

“So…”

He looked at the bustling streets, the towering skyscrapers, and the countless technological marvels surrounding him.

“I'm actually pretty strong here?”

A strange feeling welled up inside his chest.

For nearly twenty years, he had lived at the bottom of the cultivation world, struggling against people who possessed superior talent, better resources, and powerful backgrounds.

He had spent countless nights wondering whether he would ever escape his miserable circumstances.

Now, he had discovered a world where his greatest weakness might not matter nearly as much.

His spiritual roots were poor.

His cultivation was low.

His background was insignificant.

But none of that changed the fact that he possessed something no one else in either world seemed to have.

A gateway between civilizations.

Shen Yuan looked at the black device in his hand.

The screen flickered once more.

A new notification appeared.

[Cross-World Gateway: First Transmission Reward Available.]

[Please select one beginner's assistance package.]

Three options appeared beneath the message.

[Option One: Basic Cybernetic Enhancement Data.]

[Option Two: Preliminary Genetic Optimization Formula.]

[Option Three: Modern Pharmaceutical Database.]

Shen Yuan's eyes widened.

A reward?

He carefully examined the three options.

The first might help him understand the mechanical enhancements used by the people of this world.

The second could potentially improve the human body.

But the third…

His breathing grew slightly heavier.

A pharmaceutical database.

If it contained knowledge about modern medicine, it might include information about human physiology, medicinal compounds, chemical synthesis, and countless other subjects.

His grandfather's old notes had mentioned strange medicines capable of treating diseases that ordinary herbs couldn't cure.

What if this database contained something that could improve his cultivation?

Even if the medicines here couldn't directly increase spiritual energy, perhaps they could strengthen his body, repair hidden injuries, or improve his ability to withstand the strain of cultivation.

After all, the human body was the foundation of everything.

A weak body would struggle to endure powerful techniques. Damaged organs and poor physical condition could limit a cultivator's potential.

If he could strengthen his foundation through modern medicine, perhaps he could finally overcome the bottlenecks that had plagued him for years.

Shen Yuan's eyes shone.

“Option Two…”

He hesitated.

“No. I should think carefully.”

He wasn't a genius who could afford to waste opportunities.

In the cultivation world, a single wrong decision could ruin a person's future.

And in a world he knew nothing about, caution was even more important.

After considering the options for several minutes, he finally made his decision.

“Select Option Three.”

The screen flashed.

[Selection Confirmed.]

[Preliminary Pharmaceutical Database Downloaded.]

[Data Storage: Available.]

[Reminder: Advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment is required for certain applications.]

Shen Yuan read the notification twice.

Then he laughed.

For the first time in many years, he felt genuine excitement about his future.

He didn't know how much the database would help him.

He didn't know how dangerous Night City might be.

And he certainly didn't know what secrets his grandfather had hidden inside the relic.

But one thing was certain.

His life had changed.

Shen Yuan lifted his head and gazed at the neon-lit city stretching toward the horizon.

“Grandfather…”

His fingers tightened around the black device.

“What exactly were you doing in this world?”

A gust of wind swept through the alley, carrying the distant roar of engines and the faint melody of electronic music.

Above him, advertisements flickered across towering buildings.

Somewhere in the distance, gunshots rang out.

Shen Yuan's expression stiffened.

He slowly turned toward the sound.

Then he looked down at his plain gray robes and the three low-grade spirit stones in his pocket.

A moment later, he sighed.

“Right. Before I start dreaming about becoming an immortal…”

He glanced at the unfamiliar streets.

“I should probably figure out how to survive here first.”

After all, although he was considerably stronger than an ordinary person in this world, he was still only a sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.

He could stop a few bullets with the right technique, perhaps even defeat a group of ordinary street thugs.

But what about the heavily armed mercenaries rumored to roam Night City?

What about the corporations that possessed weapons capable of leveling entire buildings?

And what about the mysterious cyberpsychos whose bodies had been transformed by so many implants that they had seemingly lost their humanity?

Shen Yuan wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he was invincible.

Not yet.

He carefully put the relic away and took a deep breath.

First, he needed information.

Then, he needed money.

After that…

He would return to the cultivation world and begin preparing for his breakthrough.

Three months.

That was all the time the Azure Cloud Sect had given him.

But now, Shen Yuan possessed an advantage that no other disciple could even imagine.

While they cultivated in secluded caves, he would explore a futuristic metropolis.

While they fought over low-grade spirit stones, he would search for technological treasures.

And while they struggled to refine their bodies using crude medicinal pills, he would have access to the accumulated scientific knowledge of an entirely different civilization.

A faint smile spread across his face.

“Just wait.”

He looked toward the endless sea of neon lights.

“One day, I'll make every person who called me a good-for-nothing regret it.”

Then, with the black relic concealed inside his robes, Shen Yuan stepped out of the alley and into Night City.

Unaware that, far beyond the limits of his understanding, the mysterious relic had just recorded its first successful connection in decades.

And somewhere within its hidden system, a new line of text quietly appeared.

[Legacy Successor Confirmed.]

[First World Connection Established.]

[Long-Term Mission: Reconstruct the Cross-World Network.]

[Progress: 1/???]

[Warning: Additional gateways may attract unwanted attention.]

The screen went dark.

And Shen Yuan's new life began.