Chapter 1: Black Roulette

"Damn it!"

When Xu Xiaoshou opened his eyes again, everything had changed.

What met his gaze was a cobweb-draped ceiling, a dust-covered wooden table, a burnt-out candle wick, and a distinctly spiritual black sword.

All of this was completely different from the hospital room's furnishings.

Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head, recalling vaguely that after optimistically battling his illness for three years, he had finally collapsed.

His suffering ended, and he waved goodbye to the clouds in the sky, yet his heart was heavy. Why were others' lives so vibrant, while his own consisted of nothing but nine years of compulsory education followed by a prolonged stay in a hospital room?

Schools and hospitals, two painful words, had seemingly dominated his entire life.

But now...

He looked at the unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar surroundings, pinching himself from head to toe, but found no painful spots.

"Heaven's blessing? A painless transmigration?"

Xu Xiaoshou leaned his face close to the bronze mirror on the table. Reflected back was a brand-new, yet still handsome, face.

It was the face of an eighteen-year-old youth, pale as if he hadn't seen sunlight in a long time. His nose was prominent, neatly separating a few freckles on his cheeks, and his lips were chapped and parched.

"Not bad, not bad. A bit more sun and some weight gain would add character, especially these freckles..."

Xu Xiaoshou smacked his lips, rubbing the dead skin from them, as he accessed the memories in his mind, deducing why he was so gaunt.

This person was originally an outer disciple of the Tiansang Spirit Palace. Unfortunately, his aptitude was mediocre. In three years at the Spirit Palace, he had only reached the third of ten stages of Spirit Refinement. To prepare for the "Wind and Cloud Contest," he had entered seclusion for a month, determined to break through.

It was breakthrough or death!

And he did indeed die...

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head in regret. This fellow actually knew he couldn't break through to the fourth stage. After three years of relentless ridicule, he had already developed a death wish. At this point, he had merely used the excuse of going into seclusion as a convenient reason to end his life.

Different worlds, different pains. Xu Xiaoshou suffered physical torment, while this fellow endured mental anguish. Both were equally miserable lives.

"However, since I've been given this opportunity, I won't be defeated by mere rumors and gossip," Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself. He continued to access the memory fragments, and then his face darkened.

It turned out that this "Wind and Cloud Contest" was equivalent to a final examination. This guy had been at the bottom for two consecutive years. If he lost one more time, he could pack his bags and get out of the Tiansang Spirit Palace.

No wonder he went into seclusion; it seemed he had no other choice.

Xu Xiaoshou felt a headache coming on. Why was he immediately faced with such immense pressure? A final exam? And a last-place elimination system? As someone who had "been there," he dreaded exams the most, especially when both his innate abilities and practical skills were subpar.

The most terrifying part was that there was no advanced technology here, so he couldn't cheat.

He mused inwardly, his memories almost fully loaded. With a jolt to his soul, he seemed to have completely merged with this body.

The next second, a black roulette wheel appeared in his mind.

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

So, the advanced technology *did* arrive?

He quickly delved into his mind, meticulously examining the black roulette wheel.

The black roulette wheel was incredibly crude, like something bought from a street vendor. It clearly wasn't valuable. Xu Xiaoshou seriously suspected this "advanced technology" was just a perfunctory attempt.

At the bottom of the wheel were two sections: one gold, one red. Interestingly, the gold section occupied almost ninety percent, while the red section was just a tiny corner.

"This is way too unfair..."

Xu Xiaoshou silently complained. Based on his past experience, the "exploited" red section was usually where the good stuff was.

However, the gold section was labeled "Active System," and the red section, "Passive System."

"Active and Passive?"

Xu Xiaoshou's expression grew strange. In terms of games, active skills were naturally better than passive ones. After all, how could one defeat enemies with only passive skills? He probably couldn't even defeat a wild monster!

Could it be that this black roulette wheel saw how pathetic his previous life was and expanded the "Active System" area as a reward?

Xu Xiaoshou grew excited. That must be it!

"What a thoughtful roulette wheel, a rare sight!"

He eagerly looked for a "Start" button or something similar, but found nothing. In his mind, there was nothing but this somewhat crude wheel.

Could he have to operate it manually?

He looked at the incredibly shabby black roulette wheel, afraid he might break it with one touch. But there seemed to be no other way; he had to force it?

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the pointer on the wheel. It was long and thin, appearing incredibly fragile. He tried it, gently nudging the pointer with his mind. The wheel wobbled, seeming to show a tendency to move.

—And then nothing.

"That's it?"

The tendency was merely a tendency; the pointer ultimately remained motionless. Xu Xiaoshou felt that whoever made this wheel was incredibly careless. It looked crude, fine, but how was it supposed to work without even lubrication?

He applied a little more mental force. The pointer seemed to tilt, but it still felt very stiff; not enough! Xu Xiaoshou pushed harder. The slender, long pointer tilted even more dramatically. He inwardly thought, "This isn't good," and tried to withdraw his mental force, but the pointer snapped with a "click" under the strain...

Snapped?

It snapped!

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. Damn it, this roulette wheel wasn't just *crude-looking*, it was genuinely crude! The pointer had originally been pointing to the edge of the gold section. With the snap, it immediately fell into the red section outside the edge.

Red... Passive System?

Xu Xiaoshou's face turned from dark to purple. This was no way to play with someone! Who made this roulette wheel? What a morally corrupt piece of junk.

Then he suddenly thought, could it be that this wheel wasn't operated by moving the pointer, but by turning the base?

"Huh... no way?"

Xu Xiaoshou flushed. He tentatively nudged the base, and indeed, it spun smoothly with a "whirr," showing no signs of lacking lubrication.

"This..." Xu Xiaoshou's eyes were dull, and his body staggered, making him fall directly onto the bed.

The next second, he sprang up, scrambling to use his mind to pick up the broken pointer, hoping to move it to the gold section before the black roulette wheel reacted.

Unexpectedly, the moment this thought appeared, the black roulette wheel seemed to snap out of his "shady operation" and instantly vanished.

A line of text appeared:

"Passive System activated. Loading..."

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to cry but had no tears. At this point, he could only go with the flow and accept reality.

The text vanished, replaced by a small red interface. Xu Xiaoshou looked at it, harboring a sliver of hope.

Inside, there was only one section, with a large line of text above it:

Basic Passive Skills.

Within the section, there was a familiar shabbiness and crudeness:

Breathing Technique (Acquired Lv.1).

Xu Xiaoshou instantly fell off the bed. His already pale face suddenly flushed crimson. This was a surge of qi and blood, exasperation, and indignant fury.

"What the hell is a breathing technique? Do I need you to teach me that? Even a baby knows how to breathe!"

Xu Xiaoshou had originally held a faint hope for the "Passive System," expecting a divine twist that would impress him. Now he was completely despondent. This was truly passive, and breathing... What the hell, breathing!

Annoyed, he couldn't help but take a few deep breaths, only to suddenly feel the spiritual energy within him surge violently.

"What's happening?" Xu Xiaoshou was startled. He was currently at the third stage of Spirit Refinement. Such a violent surge of spiritual energy wouldn't occur unless he was about to break through. Could he be about to break through?

He quickly sat cross-legged. Just as he was about to act, he saw spiritual energy, like a cocoon, envelop his entire body. A mysterious surge rose from his qi sea, like a fish returning to the ocean, breaking through its restraints. Invisible ripples of energy spread through the air, sweeping away even the dust on the table.

"Bro... broke through?"

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly bewildered. The bottleneck that fellow couldn't break through after a month of seclusion, he had broken through just by taking a few exasperated breaths?

No...

Breathing?

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up. "Breathing Technique?"

Could it be that this "Breathing Technique" was equivalent to a cultivation method, and every breath he took was absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, converting it for his own use?

"Oh... I've stumbled upon a treasure!"

Xu Xiaoshou had initially thought he'd messed up and gotten a useless system, but it turned out this was the most incredible one. He carefully analyzed the word "passive," gaining an insight.

"Passive breathing?"

"Passive cultivation?"

He focused on his breathing and indeed found that with every inhale, a trace of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was drawn into his qi sea. Not much, but enough! He had already reached a bottleneck, and those few extra breaths of spiritual energy became the final drops that broke the dam, leading to a natural breakthrough!

Xu Xiaoshou's heart burned with excitement. Indeed, the truly valuable things were often found in the seemingly "exploited" areas. If he had been given an active cultivation divine technique, he would still need to go through the process of cultivation. But this "Breathing Technique" even skipped the cultivation process. What did that mean?

Xu Xiaoshou swept his sleeve, tossing his long hair off his forehead, his face radiating confidence.

"I, Xu Xiaoshou, can become invincible just by standing still!"

What a pity, no one was there to appreciate his splendor at that moment, Xu Xiaoshou secretly lamented.

He looked at the red interface again, his feelings now entirely different.

"Breathing Technique (Acquired Lv.1)."

His gaze drifted to the suffix, and Xu Xiaoshou unconsciously mumbled: "Acquired... Lv.1..." This should mean it can be upgraded. So, what would he use to upgrade it?

He quickly noticed a line of small text at the bottom of the interface, which he had completely overlooked in his previous excitement.

"Passive Value: 0."

Xu Xiaoshou rubbed his chin. Passive Value? This should be what he uses to upgrade skills, but how would he acquire it?

Summer nights were always accompanied by the chirping of cicadas and the buzzing of mosquitoes. As Xu Xiaoshou fell into thought, the room became completely silent.

He suddenly felt an itch on his forearm and instinctively slapped it. When he lifted his hand again, sure enough, there were flecks of blood in his palm.

"Damn mosquitoes!" Xu Xiaoshou thought the room needed a thorough cleaning; after all, it hadn't been tidied in a month. The next second, he suddenly froze, a wry smile appearing on his face, as he saw an information bar appear at the bottom of the red interface in his mind:

"Attacked, Passive Value, +1."