Chapter 1

"I can be certain that under those circumstances, I was already dead, with no possibility of being revived."

"But when I opened my eyes, I found myself alive again in a very unfamiliar place. It was indeed an incredible thing, beyond my comprehension, but it was the truth."

Under the old wisteria, by the path, a young man sat on a green stone, pondering the process of how he came to this world.

Chen Cheng was sure that this was no longer his original world. In a colloquial sense, he had traveled through time and space.

He had been here for five days and was certain that this was not Earth.

At the foot of the mountain, there was a small town. The customs of the people in the town were similar to those of ancient China, but the language they spoke was incomprehensible to Chen Cheng.

...

Chen Cheng held a damaged machete, a gift from an elderly man when he went down to the town.

Accepting a new world was incredibly difficult. The language barrier made it impossible for him to communicate with anyone. For five days, except for his initial trip down the mountain to gather information, he had spent most of his time on the mountain.

Fortunately, there were many small animals on the mountain. With the machete given by the elderly man, he could manage to fill his stomach.

"It's getting late. I should hurry and catch something for dinner, or I'll have nothing to eat tonight."

After resting, Chen Cheng stood up from the stone, holding the machete, and walked down the path into the depths of the forest.

Two days ago, he had discovered a place where it was easy to catch edible small animals.

Chen Cheng moved cautiously, carefully observing his surroundings.

In the forest, besides the small animals with little offensive power, there were also many man-eating beasts. If he encountered one of those beasts, Chen Cheng could only run away.

"Clank..."

As Chen Cheng walked, he suddenly heard a clear sound. He was sure he hadn't misheard.

Such a strange sound in such a dangerous forest made Chen Cheng's heart tighten.

Chen Cheng gripped the machete tighter, his gaze focused, and slowly surveyed the surroundings.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a patch of grass about half a person's height.

The grass was gently swaying.

Chen Cheng, on high alert, held the machete with both hands and slowly approached the patch of grass.

"Judging by the movement, there must be something hiding here. The grass isn't very tall, but it can completely conceal its figure, so it must not be too large. I can handle it," Chen Cheng thought.

Chen Cheng believed that what was hiding in the grass was an animal.

His purpose in entering the mountain was to find food. Since he had encountered an animal on his way, why should he risk going deeper into the mountain?

The mountain was extremely dangerous, and a slight mistake could cost him his life.

Two days ago, Chen Cheng had seen a monster with eight legs and a height of three meters, with a mouth full of blood and a roar like thunder. Fortunately, Chen Cheng's physical condition was extraordinary, and he managed to escape.

"Clank..."

Another sound echoed in Chen Cheng's mind, but given his current situation, he ignored it.

Just as Chen Cheng was about to approach the patch of grass, it suddenly swayed violently, and a shadow jumped out.

Chen Cheng's mind was highly focused. The moment the shadow moved, he sensed it. He sidestepped and kicked the shadow swiftly.

The powerful force sent the shadow flying backward.

"A person?"

The figure that appeared was not the food Chen Cheng had imagined, but a human.

After kicking the person away, Chen Cheng did not stop his attack. He took a step forward, raised the machete high, and brought it down swiftly. The person, in a panic, tried to block with a short stick in his hand.

But Chen Cheng's strength was immense, easily cutting through the stick. The machete stopped precisely one centimeter from the person's neck.

The person was in his twenties, about 1.67 meters tall, with a slender build and a dark complexion. His clothes were severely damaged, making him look like a beggar.

He sat on the ground, still holding the broken stick, his eyes filled with panic.

Chen Cheng's physical condition was excellent. In his original world, he could easily take down three to five people with his bare hands. With the machete, he could easily subdue this person.

"￥#*@……￥##"

Chen Cheng couldn't understand what the person was saying and didn't want to guess. He tied the person to a tree with a vine and did not communicate with him.

There was no way to communicate.

"Clank... Replication System loaded successfully!"

At this moment, Chen Cheng finally heard the strange voice clearly in his mind.

It was a neutral mechanical voice.

"System?" Chen Cheng's gaze suddenly focused, a bit puzzled.

"Is this a late-arriving golden finger?" Chen Cheng's expression changed slightly.

Regardless of what the system was, it could improve his situation.

"Host, hello. It's nice to meet you. Let me introduce my functions to you," a voice echoed in Chen Cheng's mind.

"The main function of this system is to allow the host to randomly replicate someone else's ability at regular intervals, including but not limited to martial arts, cultivation techniques, and physical attributes."

"After each replication, you need to wait a month before the next replication."

"The success rate of replication is 80%. If the replication fails, one of the host's existing abilities will be randomly enhanced."

"The host can use this system to view brief information about themselves or others."

"This system comes with a storage space of 1024 cubic meters, limited to non-living items."

"Upon first activation, one replication opportunity is granted. The next replication opportunity will be available in half a month."

"This introduction is complete. If the host has any questions in the future, simply contact this system with your thoughts."

"Not bad," Chen Cheng thought after hearing the system's introduction.

The main function of the Replication System was to replicate others' abilities, while the information viewing and storage space were just additional features.

But even these were enough for Chen Cheng to establish himself in this world.

"System." Chen Cheng called out to the system with his thoughts.

"This system is here." The system responded quickly, its mechanical voice sounding a bit awkward.

"Can you check my current location? Am I still on Earth?" Chen Cheng asked.

"Querying..."

"Query successful..."

The Replication System began its work upon receiving the command.

"Host's current location: Douqi Continent, Northwest Continent, Yizun Empire, Daling Mountain Range."

"What?" Chen Cheng exclaimed in surprise, but his standard Chinese sounded like gibberish to the bound beggar.

"Douqi Continent? Yizun Empire? Have I entered Xiao Yan's world?"

With this information, Chen Cheng was certain of the world he was in.

"Check personal information." After a while, having accepted this fact, Chen Cheng continued to give commands.

Name: Chen Cheng

Cultivation: None

Ability: Basic Combat Skills

A new piece of information appeared in Chen Cheng's mind.

It was indeed very simple information, with nothing else added.

"Right, I should use that replication opportunity. The target will be him." Chen Cheng pointed to the bound beggar and said to the system.

"Executing..."

"Host has replicated the current target's ability: language."

Chen Cheng frowned, surprised but not entirely unexpected.

After all, among his skills, only his combat ability was recognized by the system. The other abilities were not considered significant in the system's database. What special ability could this beggar, who was easily defeated by Chen Cheng, have?

He had originally planned to let the system fail and enhance his combat ability.

However, being able to understand the language of this world would be very convenient. At least, he could now go to the town at the foot of the mountain.

"Let me go."

The beggar shouted, and Chen Cheng could now understand what he was saying.

This was the power of the system, which had modified Chen Cheng without his awareness.

Chen Cheng approached the beggar and asked, "Why did you attack me?"

Chen Cheng's tone was calm; he was not eager to get an answer.

He had only been in this world for five days, had not communicated with anyone in the town, and had not offended anyone. The attack by this ragged person must have been due to the person's own reasons, not related to Chen Cheng.

The beggar said something, but Chen Cheng did not pay attention. At that moment, the system's voice echoed in his mind again.

"Detecting abnormality in the host's body. Querying..."

"Query failed!"

"Performing second query..."

"Query failed!"

The system's prompts kept echoing in Chen Cheng's mind, making it difficult for him to hear what the beggar was saying.

This process repeated...

"Performing 100th query..."

"Host's body is normal!"

Finally, after 100 prompts, the system stopped. However, the continuous mechanical voice had annoyed Chen Cheng.

The system's ability to monitor his physical condition in real-time was a useful feature.

"System, can you change your voice? Switch to a gentle female voice." Chen Cheng gave the command.

"Executing... Switched to a gentle female voice." The first half of the system's response was still mechanical, but the second half was now a female voice.

The soft, gentle voice was much more pleasant to hear.

Chen Cheng, in his prime, preferred a gentle female voice over the synthetic mechanical sound.

At that moment, a different female voice suddenly echoed in Chen Cheng's mind.

"Clank, Multiverse Summoning System loaded successfully!"