Lu Kai awoke with a gasp, the crushing sensation from the dream replaced by the biting chill of mountain air. He found himself lying on a rugged cliff face, the wind whistling past his ears. The rocky cavern, the collapsing dungeon, and his terrified roommates were gone. Gone, too, was the familiar hum of the academy's training facilities. This was… different.
A voice, the Authy System's, echoed in his consciousness, tinged with a tone that was both ancient and pragmatic. **"Host, welcome to the World of Cultivation."**
Lu Kai's divine mind processed the statement instantly. This was not his original world, nor the Ranker world he had just entered. This was something else entirely.
**"Your objective is to reach the Divine Immortal level,"** the system continued. **"Only then can you return to your own world. Your sister's coordinate in that world is currently the farthest possible. Only a Divine Immortal can traverse dimensions to reach her."**
The immensity of the task settled upon him. A Divine Immortal. The gulf between his current F-Class Platinum human form and that cosmic level felt like an eternity.
**"First, host, you must join a minor sect and rise above the Fifth Realm,"** the system instructed, laying out the immediate path. **"This world operates on a different power scale."**
The Authy System then displayed a new set of power levels, a hierarchical ladder of cultivation:
1. **Mortal**
2. **Qi Refinement Realm**
3. **Foundation Establishment Realm**
4. **Golden Core Realm**
5. **Nascent Soul Realm**
6. **Soul Refinement Realm**
7. **Martial Master Realm**
8. **Grand Martial Realm**
9. **Martial King Realm**
10. **Martial Emperor Realm**
**"That is all for this little world,"** the system explained. **"Once you reach the Martial Emperor realm, you can ascend to higher places. This world is divided into five layers by levels, ascending in difficulty and power."**
The system projected a visualization of these layers:
* **LOWER REALM**
* **UPPER REALM**
* **MIDDLE REALM**
* **HEAVENLY REALM**
* **IMMORTAL REALM**
**"Ascending through these five layers will lead you back to the world where you can meet your sister."** The system then offered a critical piece of temporal information: **"According to our calculations, ten years in this cultivation world equates to approximately ten seconds in the Ranker world. Give your best effort, Host."**
Lu Kai absorbed the information, his divine mind already calculating the impossible odds. Ten years for ten seconds. The urgency was immense.
**"Your first task from the System is: Join a sect nearby and reach the Qi Refinement Realm."**
**"Reward:**
1. **A Sword Technique.**
2. **One of your 18 Origin Elements will be unlocked.** Each breakthrough will unlock your Origin Elements with countless skills that you already know within your mind, created by your own divine consciousness."
A new journey was about to begin. Lu Kai pushed himself up from the cliff face, his gaze sweeping across the vast, unknown landscape before him. The world was cloaked in mist, with dense forests stretching below and jagged peaks piercing the sky. If there were people within this forest, he would sense them. He needed to find a sect, to start his ascent. His divine senses extended, searching, waiting for any sign of life, any hint of civilization in this uncharted realm.
**To be continued...**