Chapter 1: Released

"100,000 years, 100,000 years, do you know how I spent these 100,000 years?"

Sky Origin Continent, before White Emperor City.

A hunched old man—a crooked wooden sword hanging at his waist, barefoot, dressed no better than a beggar—stared up at the 3 words "White Emperor City" as tears streamed down his face.

The old man's name was Lu Chuan, an unfortunate transmigrator.

When Lu Chuan had first transmigrated, he'd activated a system without incident.

He'd thought he was about to rise to the pinnacle of life—but the idiotic system had matched the wrong plane of existence.

Lu Chuan, who should have transmigrated to a high-martial plane, had been dumped by the moronic system into this terrifying cultivation plane instead.

What made it even more infuriating was that, to ensure the host's safety, the system had sealed Lu Chuan inside a small pocket realm for a full 100,000 years—100,000 years!

The wretched system couldn't interface with this world's cultivation framework, so it had forced Lu Chuan to keep practicing the sword arts of the high-martial world without end.

Over a full 10,000 years, Lu Chuan had become the greatest Sword God in all of history—and had also become a madman.

Of course, there was one other absolutely maddening thing: Lu Chuan had grown old.

The system only had templates from the high-martial world. It could ensure Lu Chuan lived a long life, but it couldn't stop him from aging.

Now that Lu Chuan had finally emerged from his confinement, his first order of business was to seek out a cultivation sect in this world and beg for a medicinal pill to restore his once-handsome looks.

……

"You are now the greatest Sword God beneath the 9 Heavens and across 10 Lands. You could beat down even cultivators. What does all this weeping and sniveling accomplish?"

A donkey beside Lu Chuan spoke in a human voice, delivering a sharp rebuke.

The donkey was scrawny and small, looking severely malnourished.

Most striking of all was that one of its eyes looked straight ahead while the other drifted off to the right—an expression brimming with "wisdom."

This donkey was none other than Lu Chuan's insufferable system, manifested in physical form, known by the nickname Afu.

Back then, to keep Lu Chuan from going completely insane from isolation, the system had shown a rare moment of consideration by taking the form of a donkey and accompanying him through those 100,000 years.

But that companionship didn't seem to have done much good.

As for the relationship between the man and the donkey—well, heh…

"Shut your mouth."

Bam!

Lu Chuan struck without warning, driving a fist straight into Afu's eye.

Poor Afu had no time to react—the punch sent him spinning through the air in a full 720-degree rotation.

"You decrepit old thing, if it weren't for me, would you have achieved everything you have today?"

Afu clambered up from the ground, cursing up a storm, his eye seemingly even more "wise" than before.

"If it weren't for you, you worthless disaster, would I have ended up like this?"

Lu Chuan extended a hand, and a terrifying suction force erupted from his palm, pulling Afu right into it.

Crack!

Afu's neck was twisted a full 360 degrees and flopped limply downward.

"Now get moving."

Lu Chuan followed it with a kick that sent Afu flying.

"You old fossil, just you wait!" Afu's furious threats carried back from the distance.

Creak!

"Ahhh…"

A sharp sound rang out from his waist as Lu Chuan clutched his hip, grimacing in pain.

He was simply too old—every time he made a move, there was a real risk of something snapping.

After quite a while spent recovering, Lu Chuan finally shuffled shakily through the gates of White Emperor City.

According to that foolish donkey, White Emperor City was the most prosperous city in the western reaches of the Sky Origin Continent—and the place where one was most likely to encounter cultivators.

Right now, Lu Chuan wanted nothing else but to restore himself to the youthful looks he'd once had, as quickly as possible.

……

"Smells amazing!"

The moment he entered the city, a delicious aroma caught his attention, and Lu Chuan remembered that it had been many, many years since he'd eaten ordinary food.

Inside the pocket realm, he'd subsisted entirely on Power Pills dispensed by the system.

"Boy, bring out the best food and the best drink you've got."

Lu Chuan strutted into a lavishly decorated restaurant, throwing on the airs of a wealthy patron as he barked at the staff.

The waiter stared blankly at the imposing old beggar before him, uncertain how to proceed.

"What are you standing there for? If this old master eats well, you won't go without your share."

Lu Chuan shook the tattered cloth pouch hanging at his waist, sending the clink of metal ringing from within.

The waiter's face lit up at once, and he hurried over to show Lu Chuan to a seat.

"Boss, where'd this beggar come from? Are you even running a business anymore?"

"What is that smell? Did he crawl out of an outhouse?"

"Waiter, throw this old geezer out—how's anyone supposed to eat with him here?"

The overpowering stench Lu Chuan carried on him drew a chorus of complaints from the other patrons.

Staring at the looks of revulsion and the hands being held over noses, Lu Chuan tilted his head to one side and twitched the corner of his mouth in a faintly unhinged way.

A torrent of savage energy erupted from his aged body.

Every person in the room broke out in goosebumps at the exact same moment and instantly fell silent.

"Keep talking, why'd you all stop? Pfft—pathetic, you lot."

Lu Chuan spat fiercely on the ground and tottered over to a seat by the window.

"Hey, pretty girl, give this old man a smile!"

Spotting 2 veiled women with slender figures seated at the next table, Lu Chuan couldn't help himself and started acting improperly.

"Fine, won't give me one? Then this old man will smile for you—heh heh heh…"

Lu Chuan split open a gummy grin, missing his front teeth, grinning like a fool.

"Shameless lecher!" The woman in the yellow dress couldn't hold back and rolled her lovely eyes.

The other woman shook her head gently, signaling her companion not to make a scene.

"Boy, bring a full spread of food and drink to these 2 lovely ladies—put it on my tab."

Noticing the 2 women were only drinking tea without ordering anything to eat, Lu Chuan called out with magnanimous flair.

"We appreciate the kind gesture, elder, but we're only staying briefly and will be on our way—please don't trouble yourself."

The woman in the blue dress rose from her seat, offering Lu Chuan a graceful bow, her bearing elegant and noble.

Lu Chuan waved an old arm. "It's just a bit of coin—don't worry about it. Waiter, bring the food."

"Right away!"

The waiter, eyeing the bulging cloth pouch at Lu Chuan's waist, decided this must be a generous patron—the tip alone was sure to be something.

The food arrived quickly. Lu Chuan dug in bare-handed, wolfing everything down.

This sight of him eating like a starved ghost left everyone around him dumbstruck.

"Eat up. Why aren't you eating? Giving me no face?"

In the middle of his meal, seeing the 2 women still hadn't touched the table of food laid before them, Lu Chuan's madness flared up again.

"Senior Sister, is this old coot in his right mind?" The woman in the yellow dress' eyes twitched.

The woman in the blue dress laughed softly. "Never mind—it really has been a long time since we've eaten ordinary food. Trying a little won't hurt."

"What?"

Though Lu Chuan's age had grown to a point well beyond reasonable, his martial power sat at its absolute peak.

Despite his constant shambling about, the truth was that his hearing and eyesight remained sharp and his appetite strong—it was just that his old bones couldn't take much punishment.

Every word of the 2 women's exchange reached Lu Chuan without missing a syllable.

Lu Chuan didn't even bother finishing his meal—he darted straight over to the women's table.

"Are you immortal ladies?"

"Go away—immortal ladies, my foot." The woman in the yellow dress covered her nose in disgust.

Even the composed woman in the blue dress grew slightly flustered, glancing up toward the upper floor.

Just at that moment, a sleek-haired, powdered young man appeared at the top of the staircase.

Hearing Lu Chuan call the 2 women immortal ladies, the young man froze for an instant—then, as though realizing something, he leapt straight out through the window and was gone.