SSS-Rank 10x Reward System: Accepting Disciples to Live Forever-Chapter 187: Earthling

Wang Chen’s eyes snapped open in surprise.

For a brief instant, his heartbeat quickened.

Then he forcefully calmed himself and shook his head.

Inside the Garden of Eternity, he was practically the Heavens themselves. The land, the laws, the cycle of life and death—all of it answered to his will. If he did not wish to be seen, then no being born within this realm should be able to detect him.

It had to be coincidence.

And indeed, it was.

The young soul’s gaze only brushed past Wang Chen’s concealed position before drifting elsewhere. The next moment, he began turning in circles like a headless chicken, his expression growing increasingly bewildered.

"Where is this place...? Hello? Anyone here...?"

His voice echoed strangely across the Nether Realm—not carried by air, but by will. Each word rippled faintly through the cold, shadowed expanse, only to be swallowed by silence.

The young man did not seem to realize the state of his body.

He did not notice that his feet hovered slightly above the ground.

He did not notice that his outline flickered faintly like mist.

He did not notice that there was no heartbeat in his chest.

And most importantly—he did not seem to realize that he was most likely dead.

Wang Chen observed quietly from above, his presence wrapped in layers of concealment. The Nether Monarch Soul Gathering Array hummed faintly beneath the young soul, threads of subtle law binding and stabilizing him.

The more Wang Chen listened to the words spilling from the young man’s mouth, the more his lips twitched uncontrollably.

"Is this some sort of prank set? Oi! You guys hiding behind the glass, come out! I can see you..."

Glass?

Wang Chen almost looked around reflexively.

The Nether Realm was a bleak and silent domain—dark skies, pale drifting mist, the distant glow of the Eternal Flame filtering faintly from above. There were no walls. No hidden chambers. No invisible spectators pressed behind transparent panels.

No one answered.

The young man cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted again.

"Hello?! Very funny! I know you’re there!"

His voice grew louder. Slightly irritated. Slightly nervous.

Still, no one came out from behind the imaginary glass.

Silence stretched long and heavy, pressing against him from every direction. The vast emptiness of the Nether Realm began to weigh down on his mind.

Eventually, he stopped shouting.

His shoulders slumped slightly.

"...Alright. Not funny."

He muttered the words to himself and began pacing—though his "steps" were uneven, occasionally sending him drifting awkwardly forward instead of walking.

After a while, he stopped again.

His expression shifted from annoyance to contemplation.

"Could it be that I am dreaming...?"

Rin asked out loud.

The name lingered faintly in the air.

Wang Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Last night before he fell asleep, Rin remembered reading his favorite cultivation novel. He muttered fragments of memory as if trying to anchor himself.

"I was reading... yeah. That Chapter. The one where the protagonist breaks through and shocks everyone..."

He rubbed his temples absentmindedly—his fingers passing faintly through his own forehead without him fully noticing.

"The next moment when my eyes opened... I was here."

His brows furrowed deeply.

The Nether Realm remained still and cold around him, the faint suction of the Soul Gathering Array pulsing rhythmically beneath his feet.

As this thought barely settled in his mind, Rin’s expression suddenly froze. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

His pupils shrank.

A completely unrelated possibility—one he clearly did not want to consider—flashed through his head.

His breathing quickened, even though he did not need to breathe.

"No way..."

The words escaped his lips in a strained whisper.

His gaze slowly dropped to his own hands.

This time, he truly looked.

His fingers were translucent. Edges blurred like smoke. There was no warmth in his palms. No pulse. No weight.

He swallowed.

"...Don’t tell me..."

His voice cracked.

For the first time, genuine fear crept into his expression.

"Could it be... there is no way that can be real... did I actually reincarnate?"

Rin muttered the words in disbelief, his voice trembling between hope and denial.

He was doubtful because he clearly remembered not dying.

The last thing he remembered was lying on his bed, phone in hand, reading the newest cultivation novel he had found online. Four thousand Chapters. A full four thousand Chapters. The number itself had been intoxicating.

Without even realizing it, he had fallen into the story completely. Day bled into night. Night into day. He read while eating. He read while pretending to work. He read while promising himself "just one more Chapter."

Then one more.

Then another hundred.

Sleep became optional. Food became an inconvenience. His eyes burned, but he ignored it. His head throbbed, but he laughed it off. He wanted to see the protagonist break through. He wanted to see revenge completed. He wanted to see the final arc.

Before he could realize what was happening, exhaustion swallowed him whole.

When his eyes closed that night, he had simply thought he was finally sleeping.

He had indeed fallen asleep.

Just... a different kind of sleep.

The eternal kind.

...

"For Heaven’s sake... how did an Earthling appear inside my spiritual space...?"

Wang Chen’s brows furrowed deeply.

He would be downright stupid if, even now, he could not understand what was happening. A soul. An Earthling. Not a cultivator from the Seven Cloud Convergence World. Not a demon. Not a reincarnated ancient.

An Earthling.

Inside his Nether Realm.

At first, he had considered the possibility of coincidence. Some strange karmic drift. A random transmigration. But that thought dissolved almost immediately.

After uncovering fragments of ancient conspiracies... after sensing gazes older than time... after realizing that Upper Realm immortals were meddling in lower worlds like chess players...

Wang Chen no longer believed in accidents.

A conspiracy.

This had to be a conspiracy.

His expression hardened.

Someone had placed this soul here. Or something had guided it here. No being simply "happened" to appear inside the Garden of Eternity—his Garden of Eternity.

To confirm his suspicions, he focused on the faint system prompt hovering in his vision.

He clicked.

A vast translucent window unfolded before him, radiating faint blue light in the dim Nether Realm.

---

[Name: Rin, Earthling (Soul Form)]

[Location: Nether Realm]

[Dao Providence: Great (Sealed)]

[Soul Tier: Transcendent Mortal]

[Soul Integrity: 73%]

[Heavenly Suppression: Partial]

[Traits:]

Ultimate-Grade Dao Resonance

Foreign to this World

High Comprehension

Karmic Protection

[Abilities:]

Dao Whisper (Passive)

Soul Manifestation (Locked)

Karmic Anchor

[Status:]

Stabilizing

Growth tied to Host’s cultivation