Lu Chenge stood on the precipice of the Azure Cloud Peak, the crisp mountain air tugging at the simple grey robes of a minor inner-sect elder. For forty arduous years, he had toiled. His skill was respectable—Peak Foundation Establishment—enough to command a secluded cave dwelling and a modest stipend, but far from the soaring heights of the Golden Core or Nascent Soul realms that defined true power in the cultivation world. He was a cultivator of competence, not destiny.
"Ah, if only I had better innate roots, or perhaps a lucky encounter with a heaven-defying treasure…" he mused, gazing at the distant, mist-shrouded peaks of the mighty sects.
It was in that moment of mild, familiar self-pity that the world stopped.
A chilling, crystalline voice, alien yet intimately within his soul, pierced the silence.
[Binding complete.] [Welcome, Host Lu Chenge, to the 10,000-Fold Return System.]
Lu Chenge staggered back, nearly tumbling down the cliff face. He frantically searched the empty sky. "Who's there?! What sorcery is this?"
[Analysis: Host is suitable. Commencing introductory sequence.]
A translucent, shimmering interface materialized only within his sight. It was simple, professional, and terrifying.
📜 System: The 10,000-Fold Return
Purpose: To accelerate the Host's cultivation base and influence by encouraging beneficial interactions with designated personnel.
Core Rules:
Designated Targets: Only specific individuals recognized by the System (Disciples, Protectors, Companions) can trigger returns.
Qualifying Contributions: The Host must provide a tangible benefit to the Target (e.g., resources, skills, cultivation advice, healing, guidance).
Return Mechanism: Upon a qualifying contribution, the Host receives an amplified return of the gift's essence, quality, or quantity. The standard amplification rate is 10,000-Fold (10,000X).
No Direct Benefit: Direct use of the System's power to advance the Host is forbidden. The Host must earn all power through the Return.
A cold bead of sweat traced a path down Lu Chenge's temple. This wasn't sorcery; it felt like a celestial contract. A system that turned giving into overwhelming receiving? It sounded like a cheat, a true stroke of destiny. He swallowed hard and accepted. What choice did he have?
Later that afternoon, Lu Chenge sat in his humble courtyard, nervously awaiting the arrival of the sect's newest intake of outer-sect hopefuls. The only way to test the System was to follow its logic: Take a Disciple.
A small, thin girl, no older than twelve, with matted hair and tattered clothes, eventually shuffled into the courtyard. She clutched a worn wooden token. Her spiritual roots were graded as 'Mortal-Grade, Lower Tier'—the worst in the entire intake. She was the one no senior cultivator would touch, destined for a life of chore duty.
"Elder… Elder Lu?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Lu Chenge looked at the girl, whose name, according to the intake list, was Wei An. The System immediately displayed a notification:
[New Potential Designated Target Detected: Disciple – Wei An.] [Accept?]
Lu Chenge took a deep breath, his heart hammering against his ribs. He had intended to take someone talented, perhaps a high-tier spiritual root, to maximize the initial return. But the System had led her here. Maybe destiny had a sense of dark humor.
He softened his gaze and offered a faint smile. "I am Lu Chenge. You are Wei An. From today, you are my first disciple."
The girl's eyes widened with sheer shock and gratitude. She immediately prostrated herself. "Thank you, Master! I… I will clean your cave and fetch water every day!"
"Rise, child," Lu Chenge said gently. He knew his contribution had to be tangible. He reached into his storage pouch—a painful decision, as he was quite poor—and withdrew a single, mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, an item worth a fortune to an aspirant.
"Take this. It will cleanse your meridians and greatly improve your chances of reaching the first level of Qi Condensation," he instructed, placing the smooth, amber pill in her trembling hand. "It is my first gift to you as your Master."
The moment the pill was fully in her possession, the System exploded with activity.
[Host Contribution Detected: 1 x Mid-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill.] [Contribution Essence: Cultivation Purity.] [Commencing 10,000-Fold Return…] [Return Acquired: 10,000 x Top-Tier Meridian Cleansing Pills.]
Lu Chenge nearly choked on his own breath. An instant later, a colossal mountain of pills, shimmering with a pure, jade light, appeared in his storage pouch, so numerous and potent that the space crackled with spiritual energy.
Then, a secondary, more profound notification flashed:
[Host has received 10,000X return of Cultivation Purity. Host's own Foundation Establishment Stage is deemed Incomplete.] [Host's Foundation will now be purified and perfected.] [Cultivation Advance: Host has been forcibly pushed to the Peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm (Perfected), establishing a flawless foundation for Golden Core breakthrough.]
A tide of warm, radiant energy surged through Lu Chenge's body. His forty years of mediocre cultivation were instantly refined, polished, and perfected. His meridians felt wider, purer, and stronger than he had ever dreamed. His power had not just increased; its quality was now heaven-defying.
He looked at the tiny, grateful girl holding a single pill.
A single pill for a perfected realm?
Lu Chenge felt a profound, exhilarating realization. He was no longer a cultivator of competence. He was now a Master of Destiny, and his fate was inextricably linked to the prosperity of his students. He looked at Wei An with a completely new intensity.
"Wei An," he said, his voice now ringing with new confidence. "We begin your training tomorrow. You will cultivate, and you will cultivate well."