The snowstorm howled like a wild beast, its icy breath clawing at everything in its path.

  In the heart of the mountains, a boy no older than fifteen knelt before the ancient temple gates.

  His clothes were tattered, barely enough to cover his thin body. His lips were purple, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

  “Please… let me in…” he whispered.

  There was no response. Only the groaning wind.

  The temple, with its dragon-carved gates and timeless aura, stood like a giant relic of another age—silent, unmoved, and cold.

  The boy’s name was Li Xuan. Once a young servant boy in a remote village, now a nameless orphan cast into the mountains by fate itself.

  His only family—his mother—had died protecting him from raiders. Since then, he’d wandered alone, surviving on scraps, enduring beatings, and running from monsters both human and not.

  The temple was said to be sacred—“The Sect of the Ascending Heaven”, a place only the chosen could enter. The legends spoke of cultivators who could fly through the skies and shatter mountains with a thought.

  Li Xuan didn’t care about those legends.

  He only wanted to live.

  The cold seeped through his bones. His vision blurred. His fingers were blackened from frostbite.

  He clutched a wooden pendant around his neck—his mother’s last keepsake. It glowed faintly, as if reacting to something unseen.

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  Just as he was about to lose consciousness—

  [Sign-In System Activated]

  [First Sign-In Successful: Reward - Heaven-Tier Physique]

  A blinding warmth surged through his body.

  His skin flushed. The frostbite receded. Muscles reknit. His tattered lungs expanded with new strength.

  What… what’s happening to me?!

  He felt something awaken inside him—like a dormant dragon stretching for the first time in a thousand years.

  He stood.

  Not as a beggar.

  Not as a victim.

  But as someone… chosen by the heavens.

  His senses sharpened. He could hear the snowflakes falling. See the temple’s carved runes flicker with dormant energy.

  Then, with a loud boom, the temple gates opened.

  Just a crack.

  Enough for one person to pass.

  “Welcome… Chosen One,” a voice echoed within the temple halls.

  Li Xuan didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward.

  The temple was enormous. Inside, lanterns ignited by themselves, illuminating stone corridors filled with murals of past heroes, wars against demons, and divine beasts.

  “Where… am I?” he whispered.

  [New Sign-In Location Detected: Inner Gate Hall]

  [Do you wish to sign in?]

  “Y-Yes.”

  [Sign-In Successful: Reward - Spirit Cleansing Pill ×1, Basic Cultivation Manual ×1]

  A small jade bottle and a scroll materialized before him.

  He was stunned. This… was beyond anything he could have imagined.

  He opened the scroll. It was a basic cultivation method—simple, yet solid. Unlike the grand legends, it emphasized balance, breathing, and control.

  He sat down cross-legged and consumed the Spirit Cleansing Pill.

  A whirlwind of energy surged within him, clearing blockages he didn’t even know existed.

  His body vibrated with power. The mist inside the hall stirred, drawn toward him.

  He entered Qi Refining Stage 1 in a single breath.

  Cultivation… it’s real… and I’m doing it!

  At that moment, a figure emerged from the shadows. An elder in silver robes, his eyes like stars.

  “You are not on any registry,” the elder said.

  “I… I just followed the voice.”

  The elder studied him for a moment, then turned. “Follow me.”

  Li Xuan didn’t question it. He followed, still overwhelmed by the system in his head and the power now coursing through him.

  “You’re not the first to stumble here. But you might be the first… accepted by the Gate itself,” the elder murmured.

  They entered a large chamber where five figures sat around a glowing table. All of them exuded pressure that made Li Xuan’s knees buckle.

  “A mortal entered the temple?” one of them scoffed.

  “No. Not a mortal. Look closer.”

  The glow from the elder’s sleeve revealed a mark on Li Xuan’s palm—a glowing Heaven’s Mark.

  The council members exchanged glances.

  “Another Heaven’s Chosen… after a hundred years.”

  “What do we do?”

  The silver-robed elder spoke. “We observe. And if fate favors him… we train him.”

  Li Xuan knelt, fists clenched.

  He didn’t know what any of this meant—but he knew one thing.

  He would never be powerless again.