1: Being dressed as cannon fodder, will you give up at the start?

Lin Gou stared at the water basin.

The water in the basin was murky, reflecting a sallow, unfamiliar face.

Gaunt, haggard.

In those eyes, there was an indelible, bone-deep fear.

This was him.

And yet, it wasn't him.

Three days ago, Lin Fan, an office worker who had died suddenly after an all-nighter, woke up in the body of this young man also named Lin Gou.

He had Transmigrated.

He had arrived in a bizarre, yet incredibly cruel, cultivation world.

And he was the lowest dust in this world.

Lin Gou, an Outer Sect Disciple of the Qingyun Sect.

The dark, damp shack was his only shelter.

The air was a mix of moldy straw mats, the strange scent of cheap Medicinal Pills, and a faint, almost imperceptible, smell of blood.

That was left by Steward Li Hu yesterday.

A cold, emotionless Sect decree resounded throughout the entire Outer Sect area yesterday.

"All Qi Refinement Stage Disciples, three days from now, will enter the Blackwind Valley Secret Realm to search for Materials for the Sect."

"Those who disobey will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the Sect."

Blackwind Valley.

Just chewing on these three words, countless terrifying images surged from the depths of Lin Gou's memory.

It was a fragment of an ancient battlefield.

Yao Beasts ran rampant, resentful Souls were everywhere, and there were countless natural Restrictions that killed people.

Outer Sect Disciples entering were just throwing their lives away.

One in ten would survive.

This was the survival rate given by the Sect.

To put it plainly, they were just cannon fodder for scouting, consumables.

His stomach churned, and he almost vomited.

He had already died from overwork once on Earth.

That cold feeling of his heart stopping and his consciousness sinking into endless darkness, he didn't want to experience it a second time.

Even less did he want to die so ignominiously, so silently.

But what could he do?

The original owner's Aptitude was extremely mediocre; after years of arduous cultivation, he was still only at the first level of Qi Refining.

An ant.

He didn't even have the right to struggle.

Going in was suicide.

He had also thought about faking illness.

He practiced weak coughing on the bed all night, and researched seven or eight poses that would make him look ashen.

The result was only a merciless whip from Steward Li Hu.

That dark, long whip, soaked in tung oil, was as hard as iron.

With a sharp whistling sound, it lashed fiercely across his back.

"Acute illness?"

Li Hu's fleshy face was full of disdain and contempt.

"I think your only acute illness is being afraid of death!"

Crack!

Excruciating pain suddenly exploded on his back, like being branded with a red-hot iron.

Burning hot.

He screamed on the spot, his legs went soft, and he fell to his knees.

Around him were the numb, gloating, and even slightly delighted gazes of the other Outer Sect Disciples.

"Useless! The Sect spends resources to raise you, just so you can shirk responsibility at a time like this?"

Crack!

Another whip!

Skin split and flesh tore, and warm blood instantly soaked through his coarse cloth clothes.

The smell of blood permeated the air.

Li Hu's greasy face leaned close to him, his voice like a poisoned knife, scraping against his eardrums word by word.

"Lin Gou, I'll make it clear to you today."

"Blackwind Valley, you'll go whether you want to or not."

"If you dare to pull such low-class tricks on me again, I'll break your legs first and throw you to the back mountain to feed the dogs!"

"Or..."

Li Hu grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and smiled eerily.

"I'll finish you off now, and save the Sect a portion of rations."

A thick gob of phlegm, mixed with contempt, was spat onto the ground near his face.

"Scram!"

Amidst the faint laughter around him, Lin Gou, dragging his pain-racked body, used all his strength to scramble up, looking disheveled.

He didn't dare to look back.

He was afraid that the hatred in his eyes would be seen by Li Hu, inviting even more vicious beatings.

Humiliation, like countless steel needles, pierced into his heart.

It hurt more than the wound on his back.

Escape?

This thought only appeared for a second before he extinguished it.

How far could a Qi Refining first-level useless person escape?

Escaping the Sect would only make him a snack for Yao Beasts in the wilderness, or be captured by passing evil cultivators to be used as Artifact Refining Materials.

That would be an even more tragic dead end.

He was trapped.

Like a fly caught in a spiderweb, no matter how much it struggled, it couldn't escape its ultimate fate of being devoured.

Night.

Deep as ink.

Lin Gou lay on the tattered straw mat, the wound on his back and the cold reality throbbing at his nerves.

Two days.

Only two days left.

In two days, he would be pushed into the Blackwind Valley, that giant slaughterhouse, like livestock.

He buried his face deeply in the moldy-smelling pillow, suppressing the sobs that were almost bursting from his throat.

Why?

Why him of all people?

Why did he have to experience this bone-deep despair again?

He was just an insignificant piece of cannon fodder.

Garbage that could be discarded at any time.

Hot tears finally could no longer be held back, silently sliding down and soaking the rough pillowcase.

He clenched his fists, his fingernails digging deep into his palms until blood seeped out, bringing a sharp stinging pain.

An intensely strong will to survive, like a volcano suppressed to its limit, roared wildly in his chest.

He didn't want to die!

He absolutely, absolutely didn't want to die!

It couldn't be like this!

He absolutely couldn't die so silently again!

Just as he was completely engulfed by despair, and his consciousness began to dissipate.

The air in the shack seemed to freeze.

The wind stopped.

The sound of insects disappeared.

Time, at this moment, seemed to be paused.

A cold, emotionless mechanical voice, like a thunderclap from beyond the heavens, exploded directly in his mind.

[Ding!]

Lin Gou's entire body stiffened abruptly.

His heart, after stopping for a moment, began to pound wildly, almost leaping out of his throat.

An illusion?

Was it an auditory hallucination caused by being on the verge of death?

[Detecting host's intensely strong will to survive...]

[Detecting host's intensely thick despair...]

The voice sounded again, clear and undeniable, every byte striking deep into his Soul.

[Meets the highest priority conditions for System binding...]

[Infinite Resurrection Reward System is binding...]

[Binding successful!]

Lin Gou's mind buzzed, a complete blank.

Sy... System?

Like the protagonist's exclusive cheat in web novels?

Trembling, he used all his strength to send a faint thought in his mind.

"...System?"

[Host, what are your questions?]

It was real!

All of this was actually real!

The next second, an unimaginably vast stream of information, like a bursting flood, instantly poured into his mind, and quickly transformed into the most direct understanding he could comprehend.

One, **[Infinite Resurrection]**: After the host dies, they can resurrect at the original location or a preset "Soul Anchor Point." Resurrection will retain all cultivation and memories, and clear all injuries and negative statuses. Initial resurrection cooldown: one hour.

Two, **[Death Reward]**: Each time the host dies, a value assessment will be conducted based on comprehensive factors such as the method of death, cause of death, the strength of the target causing death, and the sensationalism of the death process, and corresponding rewards will be issued. The more tragic, valuable, and sensational the death, the richer the reward!

Three, **[System Points]**: Completing special "Death Achievements," or "daily low-key survival" when no one knows, will earn System Points. Points can be used to shorten the resurrection cooldown, strengthen Soul Anchor Points, or exchange for special items in the future marketplace.

Lin Gou lay there dumbfounded, even forgetting to breathe.

The wound on his back seemed to no longer hurt.

The fear in his heart also disappeared.

After a few seconds of dead silence.

An uncontrollable, intense tremor started from his fingertips and instantly spread throughout his entire body!

That wasn't fear.

It was excitement!

It was ecstasy!

It was an extreme exhilaration that made him want to rush out of the shack and scream at the heavens!

Infinite Resurrection!

Death Reward!

The blockage of despair in his throat was instantly washed away and crushed by this wave of ecstasy!

In its place, from the ruins, a wild-growing vine of hope burst forth!

Afraid of death?

Of course he was afraid of death! Terribly afraid!

But what if... what if death was no longer the end, but a step towards becoming stronger?

A twisted, crazed, somewhat neurotic smile slowly bloomed on Lin Gou's sallow face, growing wider and wider.

Blackwind Valley.

That desperate place, which in his eyes was like Hell, like a certain death slaughterhouse.

Now, in his vision, it radiated a new, dazzling brilliance.

How could that be a graveyard?

That was clearly an inexhaustible, endless super treasure trove!

A boundless, fertile field of leeks waiting for him to harvest with his own hands!

The Yao Beasts, traps, and resentful Souls within... they were no longer deadly dangers.

They were walking experience packs! They were glittering equipment! They were easily obtainable cultivation and Cultivation Techniques!

He could die.

Then resurrect.

Then become stronger!

Die again, resurrect again, become stronger again!

Again and again!

Endlessly!

Li Hu... that high and mighty steward who beat him, humiliated him, and treated him like dirt... Lin Gou's smile deepened, but a bone-chilling cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He had noted this debt in his small notebook.

However, no rush.

A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years.

Moreover, he had plenty of time.

The most urgent task was the trip to Blackwind Valley in two days.

He was even... already a little impatient.

He, Lin Gou, was going to die.

And he was going to die spectacularly, beautifully, earth-shatteringly, and with immeasurable value!

On that sallow face, fear had long vanished.

In its place was a nearly pathological, chilling anticipation of death.

This world would soon understand one thing.

Revering his every "withering" would be its only, and final, choice.