Gon had sickly, pale skin from being inside the caves all day and night. His hair was a mess and clung to his scalp like clumps of rock and dirt. His cheeks were hollowed, and bones were visible through his emancipated skin. Though he had just eaten a meal and his body was weak, his soul remained strong.

  His black eyes held a resolute light, a conviction of an unyielding miner. Someone who had spent twenty years as a manual labourer, working jobs most of the world looked down on. Someone who, even in Kuang Gong's body, had toiled for years upon years even at the punishment from the Ethereal Life Sect.

  I can only play games with this thing for so long. Now it's coming for me in my goddamn sleep. So I'll need to figure something out.

  "Can't I get a decent sleep without you interfering?" Gon's annoyance had reached its peak.

  System Announcement.

  Time remaining 8 seconds.

  "You know what? Kill me, just make sure to do it while I'm asleep."

  Gon dropped to the ground, closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Yet the incessant ticking of the system reverberated within his mind.

  Gon did not budge.

  He refused to open his eyes at what may be his final chance to gaze at the mystical sky. The time was ticking and his life was on the line.

  Time remaining 5… 4…

  Wake up and leave now or face termination.

  Will you choose to die again like this? Or will you rise to your calling, to overthrow and have the entire world in your palm?

  Gon's eyes remained closed as he lay there, his breaths even and unperturbed. He had just returned from the dead, given a second life in a second world. Was he willing to throw it away just like that?

  3… 2… 1. Host will now face death.

  "Hahaha, you done?" Gon opened his eyes and took in the sky above. The death he had been waiting for…did not come.

  "Looks like my bet was not misplaced."

  If he was so easily replaceable by the System, then Gon wouldn't have a bargaining chip to play against the System. He would be forced to do whatever it wants, follow its whims and live an empty life.

  He didn't want to defy the world. He didn't want to defy the heavens.

  But this System…

  He wanted to defy the System, to live a life true to himself!

  Gon stood up and stared at the blank blue screen, his eyes resolute. "You need me, don't you? You can't afford to kill me."

  "I've already experienced death before. If you want me to be strung around like a marionette under your whims, then you're sorely mistaken." Gon struggled to even speak from mental exhaustion, but he still roared in defiance.

  "What meaning is there to a life if one cannot live it true to their dreams?! Laugh at it all you want, but don't you dare stop me from achieving it! You want me to be the perfect vessel for you, to take over the world?! Such a thing has no worth to me." Gon raised a fist, his white knuckles sticking out. He could barely even exert any strength, but he still lifted it nevertheless.

  Gon raised his pickaxe that appeared from his mind, pointing it at the System. "I still have a promise to fulfill. And even in this body, our wills desire the same thing. I will see to it that both are accomplished, no matter what."

  He slammed the pickaxe into the floor. The glass he stood on shattered.

  "What I want isn't this world in my hands, or to be some heaven defying supreme being. I have always had one dream. To find the most precious gem, the rarest gem in the world."

  The timer had long run out.

  The System listened attentively.

  And Gon continued to speak. Of his dreams, that he refused to give up, even in this second life.

  "I believe the foundation of the world is in people like us. Civilisation is built from our hands. The most precious forms of beauty and art are found through mineral deposits. And the true history of the world can only be found through understanding the things buried deep in the earth."

  Decades of memories flashed by his mind. The untold hours of working in a mine, dusted and dirty. The aching in his muscles and body when he continued to work. The struggles of getting out of bed at 5 am just to get to work by 7 am.

  Yet, all of that was worth it whenever he chanced upon an uncovered quartz in the ground. When he cleaned the dirt away, what Gon saw was the beauty of the world itself.

  In that moment, every pain and struggle felt like nothing. It was even better than having a glass of cold water at 3 am with a dried throat and lips.

  There was no other satisfaction that could even come close to that feeling.

  And what would that feeling be if he unearthed the most precious gem in the world? What would that feeling be now, finding mystical magical gems that could only belong to the world of cultivators, of flying immortals and ravaging demons?

  If he was going to be forced to leave it all behind, to pursue a hollow goal of becoming the strongest being, then Gon would rather die here now.

  "If you want to defy my dreams, then you are my number one enemy."

  The System had no words.

  But Gon knew it heard every word he said.

  "So let's compromise." Gon held an exaggerated sigh, like even saying these words were incredibly difficult.

  "I still owe you for bringing me this second chance, this second life in another world. I told you my dream. I want you to tell me what yours is." Gon crossed his arms, and began tapping his foot.

  There was silence.

  As if what he was asking was a deep secret, one he wasn't qualified to know.

  "We won't get anywhere if you play coy."

  Stolen story; please report.

  Very well. We will acquiesce to your will. Gon.

  We have three goals.

  Gon smirked. "Finally. It feels like I made an introverted kid open up a bit."

  First, to destroy Heaven.

  "Huh."

  He raised a palm to stop the System from talking. "Wait. From what I know, the heavens are a belief that hold up the foundation for the world of cultivation. If what you're suggesting is mass destruction, I'm not interested."

  Gon himself saw the memories and the cultures of the concept of heaven amongst this world.

  It was some kind of arbitrator, or administrator, when it came to allowing cultivators to get stronger. But at the same time, it would also rule over the world.

  In a sense, it doesn't matter if there were all sorts of sects, clans, countries, and governments.

  In the end, the heavens ruled above all else. Even if it took a hands off approach, it had the power to create and destroy. Especially those so called tribulations, that barred cultivators from reaching the peak.

  Nothing of the sort. What we are suggesting is simply… A change in management, in your own terms.

  "I'm not interested in living a life of servitude working admin. If you want to replace the heavens, then I'm sure you can do something else to run the show, eh?"

  Of course. The second goal, which can be done in tandem to the first, is to kill all our enemies. In other words, those who are also trying to usurp the heavens.

  "So cutting off the competition. That'll be up to my jurisdiction."

  You will kill them. You will know for yourself eventually, the more you explore this world.

  "And what is your final desire?" Gon asked.

  After we take over Heaven, to build a universal System that spans throughout other worlds. To unify the Boundless Expanse.

  Gon was silent for a moment, considering these goals.

  Each of them were grand, and impossible for a simple man to do.

  But Gon's job was to negotiate the contract.

  And that he did, plenty of times in his life. Especially when negotiating meetings with the foremens and the supervisors, one who worked all day in the mines, and the other who worked all day in the comfort of their office. Both had different ideals on how things worked, and the best way to get to the goal.

  The supervisors know the theory behind the work, but not the practical. While the foremens did the physical work, but without the understanding of the theory behind it. In every single labour job in the world, there would always be clashes between these two parties.

  And negotiating was the most annoying part of the job, getting to a point where both parties would agree for at least a week.

  Yet what Gon had to do was negotiate with this higher power.

  He wouldn't be surprised if out of frustration, the System did just kill him off, even if it clearly was a hassle and effort to find another vessel to do its bidding.

  Gon started to walk around the inner world. In the silence, there were only his footsteps on the glass floor that was now cracked. "I'm going to assume there's no time limit to such a goal. You aren't in a rush to take over the universe, I take it?"

  Yes.

  "I barely got to live a complete life, in both bodies at that. Give me some time to live life in this world, and let me come to a conclusion. Let me see the world for what it is. Otherwise, how else can I destroy heaven?"

  Gon put a finger on his chin. Though he had a habit of scratching his beard in his prior life, in this life all he had was a soft baby face. "How does… 500 years sound?"

  2 years.

  "495 years."

  2 years.

  "490 years."

  2.1 years.

  Gon's mouth was wide open. This System is hella cheap!

  "4-400 years…"

  5 years.

  "300."

  5.1 years.

  "You know what? Send me to hell. I'll have a better chance of living an actual life there." Gon put his arms out, offering his life to the System on a pedestal.

  "Hmm, supposedly the realm of the dead exists in this world. If it is physical, I wonder what it's like. What kind of minerals would form in a place like that? What kind of mystical gems?"

  30 years.

  "Don't be such a cheapskate. You probably are a true immortal with an infinite lifespan. 100 years."

  50 years. No more. The more you learn of this world, the further you will get in achieving our second goal.

  Gon had the urge to barter more, like when he travelled to Myanmar and haggled with the locals, but he controlled himself.

  50 years is good enough. It should be enough time to learn everything there is about this world. By then, I can have a better idea on what's going on. With information, I won't be ignorant to the ways of the land. And maybe, just maybe, I could… Well, this thing can probably read my mind.

  "Deal. I'm glad you're reasonable for such a… Well, whatever you are. What exactly are you?"

  We are the Singularity Yield Synchronisation and Temporal Entropy Modulator, directing the nexus tachyonic energy resonance in the multiversal bridge.

  "Ah, I see." Gon smiled, pretending to understand whatever it just said.

  "So, can I go back to sleep now?"

  It's time to administer your rewards.

  You must choose a Physique.

  A screen manifested in front of Gon, with three choices.

  Gon read the description of each of them.

  He looked disgusted and disappointment bloomed in his heart.

  "Don't tell me that's all you got?!"