Cultivating with a Broken System (and No Talent)

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📘 Cultivating with a Broken System (and No Talent)

Chapter 2 – The First Activation

One day, without warning, a battle erupted outside my home—the righteous Huu Huyen Sect clashing with the sinister Demonic Sect. Explosions shattered the sky, spiritual energy shook the ground, and the once-peaceful mountainside became a war zone.

I was just a mortal. No one cared if I lived or died. My little shack might be reduced to rubble at any second.

Before I could even process what was happening, the Huu Huyen Sect had already fallen.

One of their disciples—an injured girl in blue—crashed to the ground, blood soaking through her robes. A man in black from the Demonic Sect hovered above, grinning with eyes full of madness.

I don't know what drove me forward. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe something else. But I stepped out.

> "Stop right there. Or you'll pay the price."

The man turned, his crimson eyes gleaming.

> "Hahaha… A mere mortal dares interfere?"

He grabbed me by the throat, lifting me like I weighed nothing.

> "You'll make excellent fuel. Mortals are rich in spirit essence…"

I couldn't breathe. My vision dimmed.

> [System: Threat detected. Emergency defense activated.]

A sharp voice echoed in my mind. And then—a deafening blast erupted in the air.

The Demonic Sect cultivator was reduced to ashes in an instant.

I fell to the ground, trembling, confused, exhausted.

> "Why… why am I always the one who needs saving?"

But I didn't have time to pity myself. The girl was still unconscious, barely clinging to life.

I carried her inside my home and used the last of my herbs to tend to her wounds.

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Hours passed…

> "Where… am I?" – she murmured, finally waking.

"You're safe. This is my home."

"What about… that man?"

"He's dead."

"Impossible… he was already in the Completion Stage…"

She hesitated, then gave a slight bow.

"Thank you… for saving me."

She left behind a book, then vanished like smoke.

I opened it, and found a diagram of this world's cultivation realms—a map that explained the gap between mortals like me… and people like her.

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🌌 Cultivation Realms

🪨 I. Mortal Realm

1. Mortal

2. Vein Opening

3. Spirit Gathering

4. Soul Condensing

5. Core Formation

🌪️ II. Essence Realm

6. Nascent Soul

7. Spirit Transformation

8. Elemental Shift

9. Law Weaving

10. Dao Comprehension

👑 III. Divine Realm

11. Benevolent Being

12. Demonic Overlord

13. Immortal

14. True Immortal

15. Saint of Law

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Another book—this one wrapped in cursed leather—lay underneath. The aura of blood and death leaked from its pages.

> "The path of the Demonic Sect is simple: kill, absorb, grow stronger.

But over time… the body decays, and only endless slaughter can keep it alive."

I stared at the words in silence.

> "If I used this… maybe I wouldn't need the system."

A dangerous thought crept into my mind. I clenched my fists.

> "No… I can't."

But I knew one thing for sure:

From this point on, every choice I made would decide the fate of my soul… and maybe the entire world.

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