Chapter 3

As evening approached, Zhou Yi evaded his mother's questioning, tidied up his bedroom, connected all the systems of the virtual pod, and found the invitation letter for the beta users among the pile of documents. He activated the system on the right side of the virtual pod, completed all the procedures, and finally lay down inside the pod.

According to the series of documents he signed with the Tianliang team, the machine belonged to the team, which was a shared asset. Zhou Yi himself was also a member of the team, subject to more restrictions than other members. After carefully reading through the documents, Zhou Yi's mother felt reassured. Having lived a simple life in the Bailu District for most of her life, she was afraid that Zhou Yi might have done something wrong. Now that she understood, she only complained that he acted rashly without consulting his parents, but did not say anything else.

The ceiling of the pod glowed with a dim yellow light, making one drowsy. In the dim light, the dark night sky was faintly visible, with countless meteor showers streaking across the horizon. When Zhou Yi came to his senses, he saw auspicious clouds rising beneath his feet, and a vast, misty paradise slowly appeared in the universe.

"Activate the recording system and document the entire process."

With Zhou Yi's first command in the world of "Pianyan," a majestic Heavenly Gate emerged from the clouds. Behind it were pavilions, immortal islands, and celestial palaces, faintly visible from the distant star regions. The carved railings, jade pillars, immortal herbs, and divine trees were a sight to behold, only found in "Pianyan."

On the two pillars of the Heavenly Gate, ancient regular script inscribed the couplets: "The way of heaven, to diminish what is excessive and to supplement what is insufficient" on the right, and "The way of man, to diminish what is insufficient to serve what is excessive" on the left. The plaque in the middle read, "The Great Way is impartial and without sentiment."

A white figure approached from the clouds, its face obscured by rippling water, but its outline revealed a peerless beauty. The white robe could not hide the graceful and delicate figure.

"You, my young friend, being a fallen immortal, I need not explain much. First, choose your name and the race you will belong to in this life, and then we can discuss other matters. If there is an opportunity in the future, we can catch up on old times on the Immortal Platform."

The immortal's voice was clear and elegant, captivating yet alerting. The title of "fallen immortal" had a special origin. Every user who participated in the three-year beta test of the "Pianyan" virtual project could receive the title of "fallen immortal" and some benefits. Zhou Yi had included these benefits in his plan after his rebirth.

Zhou Yi, Human.

As in his previous life, he chose the same race and name. After selecting his race and name, the next procedure appeared.

A massive reincarnation wheel floated out from the clouds. The immortal smiled and said, "Please, my young friend, determine your destiny for this life."

Determining one's destiny meant setting the initial four attributes: Insight, Constitution, Fortune, and Health. The total value of these four attributes was entirely dependent on luck, with a maximum of 120 points, averaging about 30 points each.

However, some users found that individual attribute values could exceed 30 points. According to the experience shared during the beta test, only "Insight, Constitution, and Fortune" were available, and the beta team had all three attributes at 40 points, totaling 120 points. Now, with the official launch, it was not hard to guess that the maximum value for each attribute was 40 points.

This created a conflict: the maximum value for each attribute was 40 points, but the total value for all four attributes was only 120 points. It was clear that a high value in one attribute would necessarily mean a lower value in another, a characteristic of "Pianyan."

"This is the main event. Success or failure hinges on this."

Since it was a matter of luck, Zhou Yi was prepared to take a risk. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and stood before the reincarnation wheel. Without waiting for the immortal to say more, he simply said, "Start!" The massive reincarnation wheel slowly began to spin, and soon it stopped, with the values determined.

"Insight 24, Constitution 35, Fortune 26, Health 27, total value 112 points. Congratulations."

The immortal's clear and elegant voice carried a note of joy. She continued, "According to the rules, anyone who passes through the reincarnation wheel will receive 5 floating points. Since you are a fallen immortal, you receive an additional 2 points, totaling 7 floating points, which can be added to any of the four attributes."

It was clear that with these 7 points, Zhou Yi would have an initial attribute total of 119 points, which was extremely lucky.

Zhou Yi's expression remained calm, showing no sign of joy. He shook his head and said, "This doesn't count. Let's try again."

The immortal's smile faded, and her eyebrows arched. She asked solemnly, "Three times is the limit, my young friend. Think carefully! Deleting your destiny means deleting your character. You only have two more chances. If you are not satisfied after the second attempt and delete it, you will have to wait a month before you can enter 'Pianyan' again."

NPCs, being intelligent beings, could not understand human thoughts. Zhou Yi smiled but did not respond. The reincarnation wheel was a gamble, and if one was not willing to take the risk, they had already lost. The basic attributes were the first step in his plan as a Qi Practitioner, and he could not compromise easily, no matter the consequences.

"Start!"

Ignoring the immortal's advice, Zhou Yi gave the command again. With a long sigh from the immortal, the reincarnation wheel spun once more and quickly stopped.

"Insight 13, Constitution 36, Fortune 30, Health 19, total value 98 points." This time, the immortal's voice was filled with regret, clearly indicating that the points were lower than the first time.

"Insight 13..." Zhou Yi muttered, quickly calculating in his mind. He was pleased: "Not bad, I got the right points on the second try." He nodded to the immortal and pulled up the attribute list, adding the 7 points to Constitution and Fortune. Constitution was raised to 40 points, the maximum, and Fortune became 33 points.

The immortal showed no sign of joy, clearly indicating that even with the 7 points, the total was far lower than the previous attempt. She said coldly, "If that is your choice, I will cast your life star into the mortal world for purification!" She then made a hand sign and began to recite a spell.

"Wait!"

Zhou Yi suddenly shouted, interrupting the immortal's spell. He strode to the Heavenly Gate pillar and asked loudly, "Do you remember saying that the 7 points are floating points?"

"So what?" The immortal was taken aback, and her frown was visible. Zhou Yi raised his right hand and pointed to a line of large characters on the pillar, saying, "If they are floating points, they can be high or low. Please repeat that sentence!"

"The way of man, to diminish what is insufficient to serve what is excessive... You don't mean to..." The immortal followed, suddenly realizing what Zhou Yi was doing. She looked at him with surprise as he deducted 5 points from Insight and 2 points from Health, totaling 7 points, and added them to Fortune.

Insight 8

Constitution 40

Fortune 40

Health 17

Total value 105 points, far from the maximum of 120, but Zhou Yi nodded in satisfaction. Constitution and Fortune were at their maximum, Insight was low, and Health was average, which was more than enough for him.

"Are you sure about this? With such low Insight, it will be extremely difficult to navigate the mortal world, and you may never return to the Spirit Sky Immortal Realm!" The immortal's advice echoed in his ears, but Zhou Yi did not respond. Instead, he pointed to the plaque on the Heavenly Gate.

"The Great Way is impartial and without sentiment!"

The seven large characters on the plaque seemed to overlook the entire universe. Seeing this, the immortal sighed and stopped advising, only to make a hand sign and recite the spell.

"End the recording system and send the video to the team's information storage center."

As the immortal finished her spell, Zhou Yi used the team organization system of the virtual pod to report his attribute information to the upper management of the Tianliang team.

Reporting the basic information to the team was a mandatory part of the agreement between Zhou Yi and the Tianliang team. He had to make significant adjustments to his attributes and report the information, both for record-keeping and as a test subject for the Tianliang team's exploration of the official launch of "Pianyan."

For major studios that relied on "Pianyan" as a profession, adjusting attributes was no longer a secret. Even wealthy individuals who treated "Pianyan" as a leisure activity would not easily adjust their basic attributes, let alone these studios. Most of their members came from areas like the Bailu District and had to be cautious about their livelihood in "Pianyan." Before a mature path was chosen, few studios were willing to make significant adjustments to their basic attributes, as these four attributes would determine their journey in the entire "Pianyan" world.

A high value in one attribute necessarily meant a low value in another, even for teams that made significant contributions during the beta test. Without suitable basic points, the additional 2 floating points were useless.

The Great Way is impartial and without sentiment. "Pianyan" gave everyone a chance, and this was the operating principle of the alliance: to let fate treat everyone fairly.

For the Tianliang team, he was a test subject, but for himself, he was not. He had a mature plan, the growth path of a low-Insight Qi Practitioner.

"A mere NPC trying to deceive me. I exchanged the secret of achieving physical immortality for this plan with that guy from Zhongnan Mountain. Even if it doesn't work, I would rather explore the path myself. So-called balance is just a cover for incompetence."

Everything went according to plan, and Zhou Yi felt a surge of excitement. In his previous life, he had the courage to specialize in one attribute and explore the path to physical immortality, and now he was even more determined.

The difficulty brought by low Insight would be immense, but only the most challenging path could produce true strength.

Basic attributes determined the path, and a mature path would take at least three to five years to emerge, becoming a closely guarded secret among the major teams.

The auspicious clouds dissipated, and Zhou Yi's entire body transformed into a burning meteor, hurtling towards the lower world. Inside, it felt like being in a warm bed, comfortable and soothing, making one drowsy.

After an unknown amount of time, when he awoke, he found himself in a village. Birds and bees chirped, and flowers and grass were abundant. Not far away was a small pavilion, and beyond that were houses and courtyards. Farmers, dressed in simple clothes, carried hoes and walked along the country paths, and a wisp of smoke rose into the sky, creating a scene of a utopian paradise.

This scene was all too familiar to Zhou Yi. Despite the different times, he still felt a sense of nostalgia. He had his own thoughts, and the old man in the pavilion had already come forward to greet him.

"Guidance..." Zhou Yi smiled and approached, listening to the old man's instructions. He had many things to learn from the old man.

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