Chapter 02 - I Can't Login

At the Eastern Pavilion, the servants were busy managing many things—placing items, tidying up, even cleaning every corner.

"Is someone coming to the Eastern Pavilion?" asked a young maid with a curious expression.

"I heard that young master Gu Xuanyi is coming for a closed-door training session."

"That must be just a trick of his; he'll run away like he did before."

Kim Joon-ho, who was clearly in the role of Gu Xuanyi, could only take a deep breath. He fell back into his role, his gaze sharpening and turning cynical. He passed the servants and entered the room.

Upon seeing Gu Xuanyi, the subordinates fell silent, not daring to speak even a word. Their heads lowered in shame, as if their throats were choked by something invisible.

Unlike the subordinates, Gu Xuanyi focused on the Pillar of Awakening Stone. If his memory of Gu Xuanyi was correct, this pillar could detect the innate talents of individuals, even revealing things they could learn.

[Triggering Hidden Mission!] [Test your talent on the Pillar of Awakening Stone.]

Kim Joon-ho smiled faintly, a slight grin forming on his handsome face. As if challenged by the mission before him, Kim Joon-ho closed his eyes. He tried to recall Gu Xuanyi's memories of his Cultivation Foundation.

Warm energy flowed through every vein in his body, his heart pounding. Kim Joon-ho tried to control the warm energy inside him, reaching the Meridian point corresponding to Gu Xuanyi's memory.

With every breath he took, his body felt as if it was being torn apart, his blood vessels nearly bursting from trying to take control of the Qi inside. He grimaced, sweat soaking his temples, biting back any sound as his brows furrowed, trying to open every Meridian within his body.

Gu Xuanyi's eyes suddenly widened, and he coughed, "Ugh, Ughhh." A faint wave began to move steadily, his breath short. He finally understood the Qi inside him.

Once again matching Gu Xuanyi's memories, Kim Joon-ho, as a player with the character's memories in his body, only needed to repeat the process more efficiently and effectively.

Standing, his left hand pressed against the Pillar of Awakening Stone, channeling Qi through his palm, attempting to understand the innate talents of Gu Xuanyi's body.

As the young master of the Gu clan, Gu Xuanyi had been so consumed with his desire to study Mystic Beasts and Spiritual Plants that he never tested his innate talents. He only cultivated to satisfy his hobbies and interests.

This was the reason Gu Xuanyi had no memories of his innate talent.

The Pillar of Awakening Stone trembled, its delicate carvings glowing a reddish color. As time passed, the color blended with darkness, causing an uproar around it.

Far from the Eastern Pavilion, in the Inner Courtyard.

In the clan leader's room, Gu Aotian turned to look toward the Eastern Pavilion. He stroked his chin like an elder, a faint but meaningful smile on his face. "Keep an eye on him, I don't want that old man to find out about this," said Gu Aotian without looking elsewhere.

The burly man standing before Gu Aotian knelt. "Understood, Master. Should I do anything else?"

Gu Aotian shook his head. "Just watch him from outside the Eastern Pavilion, I don't want him to escape again."

"Understood, Master." The burly man vanished, swallowed by dark energy, leaving behind a cloud of dark smoke that soon disappeared.

"That mischievous child, I hope he's actually training now," Gu Aotian muttered as he became absorbed in the paperwork on his desk.

"The state of the Tianyan Continent is so bad, even some of the smaller sects are starting to move," Gu Aotian sighed as he rubbed his temples, his mind occupied with both internal and external matters of the clan.

Gu Xianru gently opened the door, walking gracefully. Her black gown with red embroidery stood out boldly. She was worried upon seeing Gu Aotian's weary expression. "My husband, is there really no way other than getting involved with them?"

Gu Aotian looked up at the soft voice in his ear. He shook his head in response to Gu Xianru's question, his face showing exhaustion and frustration.

Back in the Eastern Pavilion, Gu Xuanyi's eyes widened, his face in disbelief.

[Innate Talent: Primordial Awareness.] [Primordial Awareness makes it easier for cultivators to understand and fix flaws in martial techniques just by studying them.] [Increases cultivation efficiency, a rare talent found once in a thousand years.]

The explanation on the holographic screen almost made him shout. "This talent hasn't been found in a thousand years?" he said, astonished.

He was clearly ecstatic, trying to hold his excitement in check. "Gu Xuanyi, with this talent, I'll create a golden generation for the Gu clan," he declared with determination.

Rushing to another topic, he entered the archives room, a stark contrast to the other rooms. Inside, there were magical formation arrays, as though connecting to another world.

As soon as he stepped in, he was transported. Dozens of floating bookshelves moved quickly and orderly.

In the center of the vast room stood a monument with a table before it, holding a piece of paper.

"How do I reach all those books up there?" Gu Xuanyi asked in wonder, squinting, trying to find a hidden button.

He approached quickly, reaching the table.

[Item Name: Monument of the Divine Library] [Item Type: Magical Artifact - Unknown] [Class: Heaven Tier] [Description: The Monument of the Divine Library is an intermediary for managing the entire magical formation array.] [Background: Black Qian Stone, discovered in a secret mine. Used as an intermediary to control and regulate the magical formation array.]

[Item Name: Ancient Writing Paper] [Item Type: Magical Artifact - Paper] [Class: Spirit Tier] [Description: The Ancient Writing Paper is an intermediary used to uncover knowledge within the Library.] [Background: Made by ancient paper craftsmen.]

Gu Xuanyi touched the paper, and a holographic screen appeared again. It displayed a search column where he could search for various types of books.

"First, I need cultivation techniques," he typed quickly in the search bar.

A rumbling sound echoed, and two bookshelves appeared around the monument. Gu Xuanyi hurriedly searched for the cultivation technique most suitable for him.

He flipped through the books rapidly, seeking something better from each.

[Manual Art of Music Successfully Learned.] [Manual Poison Body Emperor Successfully Learned.] [...]

The notifications kept coming as Gu Xuanyi read each book. "I really have such an insane talent," he said with a wide grin.

The stack of books he had read now resembled a small mountain. Now, he turned to the last book.

[Manual Art of Demon Successfully Learned.]

As more information poured into his mind, it felt as though he could easily cultivate using all the books he had read.

Kim Joon-ho nodded in satisfaction after flipping through so many books. He left the Divine Library.

While continuing to read the descriptions of each previous cultivation technique, "This isn't it, this also isn't it," his hand kept scrolling through the holographic screen.

"I found it, this is it," Gu Xuanyi's hand stopped at a cultivation technique.

After entering the meditation room, he immediately sat down on the magical formation array. Of course, he hadn't prepared any of this—it was all already set up for him.

Gu Xuanyi recalled the things he had read in the manuals. While understanding each page of the manuals, he naturally absorbed Zhen Qi.

Warm energy flowed through his veins, moving as if it were breathing. As he understood the structure of each manual, Gu Xuanyi continued cultivating.

"The first pillar, for a complete body, understanding the bones," he whispered, understanding the first stage of the martial arts manual.

Zhen Qi gently penetrated, transforming into Qi that reshaped every part of Gu Xuanyi's body. It felt very different, his blood boiling, his body burning, even his skin seemed to melt.

His brows furrowed as he groaned, holding back the intensity of the Qi within his body. He tried to merge the Qi with his own blood, overcoming the first stage understanding of the martial arts manual.

It felt as though thorns were growing inside him, the pain and heat merging, as though melting every organ.

Starting from his head, it felt like hundreds of nails were raining down on him. Blood flowed freely from his ears.

While enduring the process, Gu Xuanyi grimaced in pain. His mouth began to spill a little blood.

[The pain is unbearable for your body.] [Forced expulsion begins!]

[Processing the command!]

Back in his room, Kim Joon-ho's pod was off. Sweat streamed down his forehead, his face tense, and his breath labored.

"This feeling is so real," Kim Joon-ho muttered as he touched his chest. His heart was racing, beating faster than usual.

The pain he felt was insane, as if his body was truly experiencing it. "What's going to happen next? I'll be finished if Gu Xuanyi fails the mission. Damn, I need to go in!" he exclaimed in panic.

He lay down again, powering up his pod. He placed it properly and tapped on the Immortal Legacy option like before.

[You cannot enter Immortal Legacy.] [Waiting for cooldown!] [23:59:59] [Character is in a crisis!]

The countdown continued, and Kim Joon-ho's eyes widened. "What is this? I can't enter Immortal Legacy for a whole day?" he shouted in frustration. He couldn't wait any longer; he only had two months. He needed the information and money from there.

Otherwise, his savings would run out. He immediately exited the virtual world and placed his pod on the nightstand.

Leaving the room, he saw his sister sitting leisurely in front of the television, wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, engrossed in her phone while giggling.

"What's so funny, Ji-eun?" Kim Joon-ho asked with a wrinkled face.

The girl, Ji-eun, turned to look. "Oppa, what happened? You look so tired," she asked with concern. Ji-eun was Kim Joon-ho's younger sister, with a twin sister, Ji-won, who was slightly older.

Kim Joon-ho shook his head. "Just tired. How about your exams?"

Ji-eun rubbed her nose with a proud face. "Of course, it was easy. Oppa, do you know Immortal Legacy? A lot of my classmates are early access players, in the alpha test phase."

Kim Joon-ho nodded. "I'm also an alpha player. Why do you ask?"

"They keep talking about it, and I'm just curious about what it's like," Ji-eun said, looking down dejectedly.

Because of their family's finances, they couldn't afford more than one pod, which was why Kim Joon-ho always rented a capsule.

Kim Joon-ho sat beside Ji-eun on the sofa. "I got a pod as a gift; there are probably many other games besides Immortal Legacy that you could try," he said, ruffling his sister's hair.

Ji-eun's face lit up with a wide grin. She shouted, "Yeay!!!"

"Where's Ji-won?" asked Kim Joon-ho.

"Ji-won unnie went to buy something at the mini market," Ji-eun answered while still playing with her phone.

Kim Joon-ho went back into his room after getting a glass of water. He powered up his laptop, opening the Immortal Legacy forum. His eyes widened.

"Their levels are higher! I lost the fight. Damn!"

"I couldn't even fight back!"

"Are they NPCs? Or players? I can't tell!" "Are you stupid? There are only a thousand players. The others are probably just NPCs." "The clan war has already started! My clan lost without even trying."

There were so many complaints in there, which only made Kim Joon-ho more curious. "The clan wars have begun, what does that have to do with my forced expulsion? Why doesn't anyone else feel it?" Kim Joon-ho tapped the table several times.

He stared at the dim laptop screen, observing each comment.

"Did you guys find a way to befriend other players?"

"I can't find one!"

"Me neither!"

"Why did AR Group make this trash game?" "Same here!"

The forum, which had once been filled with simple greetings, was now flooded with complaints. Kim Joon-ho scrolled through it carefully.

"Early access, can't befriend other players. When I cultivate, I get forcibly expelled. Same mission for every clan. What's AR Group really trying to do?" Kim Joon-ho thought, his mind busy processing the answers.

There were many features that couldn't be used, but what was he supposed to do? Would it eventually make money?

His head was full of doubts, and in frustration, he threw himself onto his bed. He lay down, trying to think of a solution later.

The next morning, Kim Joon-ho woke up with a lazy face. He got out of his room to wash his face.

Kim Ji-won, seeing her older brother's weary figure, asked worriedly, "Oppa, what happened?"

Kim Joon-ho wiped his face and turned to see his sister looking at him with concern. "Nothing to worry about, Ji-won. Go to school," he replied casually, trying to hide his own worry.

Kim Ji-won nodded. "Alright." She quickly left with Kim Ji-eun to head to school.

Kim Joon-ho's phone rang, and he immediately answered, "What's the matter, Aunt Park?"

"Joon-ho, the Gu clan has been attacked. Several outer clan members have been killed. Can you help with the mission?" asked Park Kyung-ah, her voice filled with concern.

"Didn't you cultivate?" Kim Joon-ho asked, curious.

"What are you asking? Of course, I've cultivated to improve my character's abilities. However, the attack from another clan is massive, and I don't know how the inner family of the Gu clan is moving," Park Kyung-ah explained anxiously, running her fingers through her hair in confusion.

"I can't help you, Aunt. After cultivating, my character is locked for twenty-four hours, and I can't enter to assist. I also don't know what would happen if another clan attacks mine," Kim Joon-ho clarified. He couldn't explain that he was the young master of the Gu clan.

This would attract too much attention later on, and he needed to hide his identity when playing. He had to act like the young master of the Gu clan, who dominated everything.