Seized by the System

Fang Ning was unwilling to take any kind of bitter medicine, but did he have any alternative? No.

System Notification: [The System has seized the Host’s body.

The System has consumed three high-level Heart Cultivation Pills.

The Host has entered the Land of Heart Cultivation.

]

“What the heck?! The pills are consumed by the System, but the effects are on me…” Fang Ning was aghast when he heard the notifications.

An intensely pungent and bitter smell wafted in the air and seemed to follow him everywhere. He would never forget that scent, no matter how many years had passed.

As the smell spread continuously, Fang Ning’s head felt heavy. It was as if his whole body had plunged into a deep chasm.

It took him quite a while before he reached solid ground.

Fang Ning looked around him. He was surrounded by a forest populated with vegetation. Right beneath his feet was an empty plot of land with a few rocks scattered beside him. It was a sight typical of the wilderness.

When he scrutinized the area, he realized how life-like the scenery was. He could hardly perceive any trace of an illusion. It was like actually stepping into the wilderness.

A gentle wind caressed the leaves and emitted a faint rustle. Chirps of birds and insects could be heard from the depths of the forest.

With his hearing as a Lake-level powerhouse, Fang Ning could even perceive the slithering sounds that showed up occasionally in the distance.

Snakes?

When he thought of this, Fang Ning was struck with terror.

If not for the System Notifications, with this sort of situation, he would have assumed that he had traveled through time.

At the moment, he was doing good for himself, so he had no intention of traveling back through time and restarting everything.

He wondered about this and yelled hastily. “Sir System, are you still there?”

“Of course I’m still here. I’m alive and kicking.” Sir System jeered. “As for you, my, tough luck for you.”

“Hey, we’re brothers, aren’t we? We’ve known each other for about three years. You can’t behave like that…” As soon as Fang Ning confirmed the System’s presence, he was relieved before feeling nervous again and quickly pleaded to it.

“That’s why I spent so much effort, because of our strong friendship. Each of those three Heart Cultivation Pills is priceless and invaluable. Other people have no chance of consuming them, so be grateful…” Sir System announced.

“Eh, Brother System, could you explain what kind of place this is, this Land of Heart Cultivation?” Fang Ning asked weakly.

Sir System declined at once. “Impossible. You’re already here and you still want to cheat? You cheat all the time when you play games and no one’s around to stop you. Now, you are going to cultivate your heart and naturally, everything has to be real. I can give you a simple introduction. In this Land of Cultivation, you attract what you fear…”

“F*ck.” Fang Ning was at a loss for words. Next, the slithering sound drew even further and the unknown terror was slowly encroaching upon him.

“No, are you serious? Aren’t you worried that the terror will make me ill?” Fang Ning immediately moved away from the area with the slithering sound.

“That’s impossible. Don’t worry, I’ll monitor the entire process. Anyway, you’re already a Lake-level powerhouse who can communicate with Heaven and Earth and has converged the Heavenly Axiom of an arcane realm. Your mental resilience is too weak, unfortunately, and you couldn’t express your true potential. I used to think such terrors wouldn’t harm you, plus you’re always lazy, so I didn’t set this up. However, since you’re now ready to push yourself to your limits, it’s only logical that I want to help you.” Sir System said firmly.

Fang Ning gave in when he heard Sir System’s words. He knew the System’s perseverance. Once it had made a decision, it was difficult to change its mind.

Moreover, it was not like Fang Ning was someone who did not know what was good for him. As long as Sir System truly wanted to help him, even if Fang Ning got beaten in the process, he would understand and not hold a grudge.

Just like in elementary school, students who did not pay attention in class were beaten. Despite arguments that teachers should not hit students, outsiders who genuinely wanted you to learn and better yourself were probably only limited to teachers.

Once you set foot into society, other people could not wait to witness your downfall. There were many competitors and very few people to comfort you…

Fang Ning took a deep breath, turned around and ran.

He also read a number of horror novels. The first principle stated that one should never approach an area of danger. It was true that curiosity killed the cat. Curious and obstinate characters were always the ones who died early in novels and movies.

There was an exception and that was the protagonist. Sometimes, the protagonist did not survive in the end…

He ran and asked. “System, you said I attract what I fear. Can you tell me the pattern of appearance?”

“There’s no pattern, you can only rely on yourself. You can only get out if you beat this level alive, or else you’ll respawn each time you die. If you want to suffer less, you’d better toughen up. A friendly reminder, to beat this level, you must conquer yourself.” Sir System eventually relented and gave Fang Ning a tip.

“Huh, conquer myself?” Fang Ning was confounded. This condition was the hardest to meet.

An Ancient Greek philosopher once said that man’s greatest wisdom was to see himself clearly, whereas man’s greatest challenge was to conquer himself.

Fang Ning ran and observed his environment, desperately thinking of a way to get through this level.

As a gamer, he knew the methods of beating a level, which included defeating the boss, finding an essential item or completing a particular storyline.

However, these methods were unusable. Sir System provided just one hint, that was to conquer himself.

Unless he had to face the terrifying snakes on his own?

An idea crossed Fang Ning’s mind.

He stopped running and sat down on a boulder.

“I’m a boulder, I’m a boulder…”

With his eyes shut, he hypnotized himself in his heart.

He became one with the boulder. In the eyes of living beings, he was a boulder.

Some time passed and he heard a slithering sound.

A gigantic king cobra that was about six meters in size appeared ten meters away. It had both eyes fixed on Fang Ning, who was sitting still on the boulder.

His eyes were closed, yet Fang Ning was currently in a soul state and could see things through his spirit. Of course, he saw the king cobra…

“Hey, wasn’t that the poisonous snake that Sir System slaughtered in the Land of Heritage? So that’s the incarnation of the Indian Trinity in the human realm? Don’t tell me I’m still afraid of it? It’s rather intimidating, indeed.”

The thought had only just formed in Fang Ning’s mind when the king cobra suddenly moved and sprayed a jet of venom towards his direction.

“Game Over…”

“F*ck, too early to die.” Fang Ning respawned on another piece of land. He felt discouraged and laid still on the ground. The venom disoriented him and it was agonizing.

“Silly you. Your method was correct, but you couldn’t even stay focused.” Sir System mocked.

“Enough, I still have a debuff from this death.” Fang Ning suppressed the gnawing pain and forced himself to speak.

“Nonsense. If there’s no pain in death, will it still be called the cultivation of the heart?” Sir System argued. “I’ve come up with a myriad of ways for you to die. You’ll just have to experience them slowly.”

“You’re diabolical… I was wrong, you were never a simple, honest System.” Fang Ning grunted.

“You’re making false accusations again. I’m a simple, honest System. I always mean what I say, unlike you with your endless excuses.” Sir System emphasized.

“…” Fang Ning had nothing else to say, so he could only lie on the ground and wait for the effects of death to subside.