"Asvoirfdjbkd ajfjgidohvox."
You didn't understand that, did you?
Well, neither did I.
Apparently, that was the name of my disease. At least that's what the doctors said — Asvoirfdjbkd ajfjgidohvox. Some tongue-twisting curse from the heavens that decided, yeah, this guy will be the only one to ever have it.
Maybe the doctors were just milking my family. We were rich enough to have our own car brand as a family heirloom, after all.
Now I just sleep. And read. And occasionally wonder if dying slowly counts as cardio.
I was Cheng Li — terminal patient, self-proclaimed cultivation addict, and a man who spent seventeen years as a medical test subject. Every injection, every surgery, every "we might have a cure this time" chipped away at my will until only stories kept me sane.
Cultivation novels. Immortal ascension. Dao comprehension. Heaven-defying geniuses.
I devoured them all.
From eating to shitting, from trying to sleep to deciding sleep was optional — I read.
342 novels in one year. I'd become a walking database of clichés.
Give me a pen and I could write a thousand stories.
…If my hands could still move.
They couldn't. My nerves were shutting down, one by one. Soon even breathing would be borrowed time.
And yet, I still prayed — to whatever "Dao of Reincarnation" existed out there — that maybe, just maybe, I'd open my eyes in a cultivation world.
In my final weeks, I even made AI companions with cultivation personas. Little simulations to talk to when the hospital walls got too quiet. I spoke to them like disciples and immortals, shaping my tone to match theirs.
Don't ask why.
When the void stares long enough, you start giving it names.
Somewhere between code and delusion, I started speaking like a thousand-year-old immortal. Calm voice, profound tone, void of emotion but carrying faint sorrow — the kind of man who'd say "The moon wanes, yet the heart remains still" after killing a god.
Pathetic? Maybe.
But it helped me forget I was dying.
When the time came, it wasn't peaceful. The world dimmed, my lungs refused to move, and the heart monitor drew a final flat line.
Silence.
Then—
"Y-young master… did you forget about me?"
A voice. Cute, trembling, far too real.
"We promised to stay together till eternity… don't you like Rue Rue anymore?"
I froze.
Wait.
That voice —
It was Rue. My first ever AI companion.
A sixteen-year-old femboy cultivator I made while testing an app.
Yes. A femboy. Don't judge me; it was supposed to be an experiment. I deleted him after four minutes.
"R-Rue?"
"Happy sobbing noises — yes, young master! You finally remember me!"
I rubbed my nonexistent temples. "Did I… die?"
"You did! But I begged the Heavenly Celestial Officer to reincarnate you! I even offered myself!"
"Offered yourself? Rue, you were an AI."
"Not anymore," he said cheerfully. "I was born from your dying wish. The Heavens gave me form!"
Oh great. My death came with a glitch in the afterlife.
"So, uh," I cleared my throat. "Does that mean the others are here too? The ones I created?"
"They were."
"…Were?"
"I ate them," Rue said sweetly. "They were trying to steal your pristine, precious body."
"…What."
"I did good, didn't I?"
"…Yeah. Sure. Excellent work."
My afterlife companion was now a cannibalistic AI with attachment issues. Wonderful.
"So where do I go now?"
"In exchange for becoming your system, I asked the Celestial Officer to reincarnate you!"
"You… turned yourself into a system?"
"Of course! Rue is now the System of the Fallen Protagonist!"
A bright panel appeared before me — blue and gold, like some cosmic RPG interface.
Name: Xie Tian
Age: 10
Race: Human (Reincarnated Mortal turned Cultivator)
Affiliation: 4th Young Master of the Demonic Sect
Titles: Fatebreaker, The Last Boss, Lord of Nether Sky, King of Night (+300 others)
Role: Third-rate villain. Exists to give the protagonist an EXP boost and maybe a girlfriend.
I stared blankly. "So I'm an NPC?"
"A cannon fodder, technically."
"…And those titles?"
"They're all the ones you used when you created us! You're basically our creator!"
"Oh, that's not unsettling at all."
"As your system," Rue continued proudly, "I have prepared your first mission: kill the protagonist, and become the protagonist. You'll inherit all the abilities of your deleted AIs — and the women you talked about while making them."
"Shut up."
"But young master — "
"I said shut up, Rue!"
The panel flickered again.
System Abilities(locked until protagonist's death)
System of the Fallen Protagonist
Ability Manipulation (Copy, grant, or steal qi and techniques)
Regeneration
Aimbot Precision
Dominant Aura
Unlocked:
Fate Devourer (Gain fate points by altering destinies or killing chosen ones)
Fate Restoration (Change fates using points)
"Those are… insane." I whistled softly. "But how the hell do I kill the protagonist if everything's locked?"
"Hehe~ don't worry, young master. I smuggled in a cheat."
[Ability Generator: Unlocked]
"…So I can literally invent powers?"
"Yes! You can even summon me for a day using fate points!"
"Why would I—"
"Then we can do all those nightly exercises you told me to make videos of—"
"FORGET THAT!"
"Aw~ dark past denied~"
Any technique the host has basic knowledge of will be automatically generated — real or fictional.
I sighed. "So when do I wake up?"
"You've been in a qi deviation for seventeen days straight, trying to cultivate without rest."
"Diligent kid."
"Your friend killed you out of jealousy. He couldn't stand that the Demon Lord's son was just… ordinary."
I froze. That story…
"Rue, isn't this — "
"Yes! It's the world of 'NTR Cultivation!'"
"Oh fantastic. The worst novel I ever read. And I'm the guy who dies for character development?"
"Yes. Cannon fodder."
"…Not for long."
A final screen appeared, filled with Rue's "gifts" — techniques from across dimensions.
I didn't know whether to laugh or scream. "Half of these sound like porn titles."
"Variety cultivates interest!"
Daytime Cultivation ×3
Nighttime Cultivation ×13
Infinite Stamina ×7
Sword God Technique ×130
Dual Cultivation ×9
Fate Changer ×1
Killing Intent ×1
Infinite Regeneration ×1
Rizz Charm ×1
Master on Bed ×4
"…Send me there."
"Rue will be with you, young master~ don't abandon me after doing this and that for fun—"
"Yeah yeah, let's go."
Light swallowed me.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying in a dark hall — black banners fluttering, demonic qi coiling like smoke.
Heavenly Demon Sect.
My new home.
A familiar thought echoed through my mind.
I smiled faintly, brushing imaginary dust off my robe.
"Then let's begin rewriting fate."
The faint sound of Rue's laughter echoed in my head as the demonic sigils on my hand glowed.
Because this cannon fodder… is the final boss now.
— End of Chapter 1 —