Death and Rebirth

"Do you think someone like you deserves to live?"

The voice was cold, sharp, and laced with scorn. Chen Yuxin barely had time to react before the truck's blinding headlights swallowed him whole.

Then...nothing. Darkness stretched endlessly, an abyss swallowing his thoughts, his body, his very existence. There was no pain, no sound, no sense of self. Just… emptiness.

He was dead. There was no heaven, no afterlife, just an eternal void. His mind flickered between memories, the mundane struggles of a university student, the late nights spent devouring cultivation novels, the ache of an unfulfilled life.

But just when he thought he would sink into oblivion forever—A pull. Like being dragged from the depths of an ocean. A gasp. A desperate, shuddering breath.

His eyes shot open.

Only—these were not his eyes.

A Body Not His Own

Pain.

A dull, aching pain settled deep within his chest. His lungs burned as if starved for air, his limbs felt impossibly frail. A cold sweat clung to his skin. His body was wrong.

Chen Yuxin struggled to sit up, but his limbs barely responded. His head throbbed as unfamiliar sensations flooded in. His fingers trembled as he reached up to touch his face, softer, smaller than before.

His breath caught.

Silver-white strands of hair slipped between his fingers, smooth and delicate. His skin was pale, almost sickly.

This… isn't me. Panic flared, but before he could spiral, a sharp wave of memories crashed into him.

•A girl, born into nobility but cast aside.

•A sickly, weak body, unwanted by even her own family.

•A name spoken only in hushed whispers.

Chen Yuxin's consciousness reeled as foreign sensations crashed into him like tidal waves. His limbs felt smaller, his skin colder. There was a dull ache in his chest, and when he reached up, his fingers trembled. Something was wrong.

He struggled to sit up, but his body was frail, weak, nothing like the healthy university student he had been mere moments ago. Memories, not his own, poured in like a rushing river.

A girl. A noble daughter. A failure.

"Xiao Lian."

That was her name. His name now.

Chen Yuxin—no, Xiao Lian—sucked in a breath.

Reincarnation.

His heart pounded against his ribs. He had read about it a thousand times before, protagonists dying only to awaken in another world, granted second chances. But this wasn't fiction. This was real. And he had been reborn into the body of a discarded noble daughter.

A noble daughter with no power. No talent.

A waste.

"No, no, no—this can't be happening!"

He clenched his fists, his fragile body trembling from the effort. He had been given a second life, yet it was one already teetering on the brink of death. His breath hitched.

Reincarnation. Transmigration. Like in the novels he had devoured late into the night. But this wasn't fiction. it was real.

A surge of panic rose in his chest. Why this body? Why this life? Xiao Lian...no, he...was lying on a hard, damp bed in a small, musty chamber. The walls were cracked stone, the air thick with the scent of medicine and neglect.

"She was born sickly, talentless. A waste of space."

"A disgrace to the Xiao family."

The echoes of past whispers, sharp and cruel, slashed through his mind. Chen Yuxin...no, Xiao Lian...gritted his teeth. This wasn't just reincarnation. It was punishment.

Before panic could swallow him whole. A mechanical chime rang in his mind, crisp and cold.

[Supreme Intelligence System (SIS) Activated.]

[Analyzing Host's Current Condition…]

[Conclusion: Severely Malnourished. Qi Veins Damaged. Lifespan Estimate: 3 Years Without Intervention.]

Three years.

A cold dread settled in his stomach.

"Am I really that close to death?" Xiao Lian clenched his fists. He had just been given a second chance at life, and yet…Before despair could sink its claws into him, the system's voice spoke again.

[Host's Current Cultivation Aptitude: Zero.]

[Potential: Locked.]

That stung.

Before reincarnation, he had dreamed of entering a world of cultivation, imagining himself wielding legendary swords, defying the heavens. But now, he was at rock bottom, worse than a side character destined to die in the first few chapters.

"No. I refuse to accept this."

Xiao Lian took a deep breath. If he had a system, that meant he had a chance. There was always a way.

He forced himself to sit up, ignoring the dizziness threatening to pull him under.

"SIS… What can you do?"

The System's Purpose

[The Supreme Intelligence System is designed to optimize the Host's survival and growth. Unlike traditional cultivation systems, SIS focuses on strategic intelligence, combat analysis, and knowledge acquisition.]

Xiao Lian's brow furrowed.

"So, no instant power-ups? No divine techniques thrown my way?"

[Correct.]

The system did not hesitate.

Xiao Lian exhaled sharply.

This wasn't the overpowered cheat he had hoped for. But intelligence… Intelligence could be lethal.

Xiao Lian had spent his past life dreaming of cultivation, of strength, of carving his own destiny. And now, with a second chance, he would not die as a forgotten side character.

He inhaled deeply, forcing his trembling hands to steady.

He had read enough cultivation novels to know that brute strength alone wasn't enough to survive in this kind of world. Those who ruled from the shadows, those who manipulated, those who planned five steps ahead, they were the ones who truly won.

"Can you help me cultivate?"

[Affirmative. However, Host's Qi Veins are damaged. A customized path must be created.]

A pulse of cold energy spread through Xiao Lian's mind, and new text appeared before his eyes.

[Generating Unique Cultivation Path…]

[Path Established: Mind Over Matter – The Scholar's Ascension.]

His heart pounded.

[Unlike brute force cultivators, Host will excel in analysis, formations, and alchemy. By combining intelligence with unorthodox methods, Host will defy traditional limitations.]

His hands trembled, not from weakness, but from something else... excitement. A sharp, unexpected laugh escaped Xiao Lian's lips.

So that was it. He wasn't going to be a sword-wielding war god or an unstoppable powerhouse. He wasn't doomed. He wasn't powerless. He just had to play by different rules.

No. He was going to outthink them all. A slow grin tugged at his lips.

"Fine. Let's begin."

A Hostile World. The past and the future, A loud bang against the wooden door jolted him from his thoughts and back to reality.

"Still wasting space in there?" A sharp, female voice sneered from outside.

Xiao Lian's fingers curled into the thin blanket draped over him. Another memory surfaced.

Madam Liu. The head servant assigned to 'watch over' him. She had no love for the weak, unloved daughter of the Xiao family.

Footsteps retreated, leaving behind silence. Xiao Lian exhaled slowly. This family wanted nothing to do with him/her.

That could be an advantage.

"No one expects anything from me. That means I'm free."

Free to grow. Free to plan. Free to break past their expectations. Free to carve his own path. His golden eyes flickered with new determination. His lips curled into the first hint of a smirk.

"Fine then. If the world sees me as weak, I'll use that to my advantage."

With the Supreme Intelligence System in his mind and a new path to walk, Xiao Lian swore. He would not remain the discarded daughter.

He would rise. And they would never see him coming. Xiao Lian turned his gaze toward the cracked window. The moon hung low in the sky, casting silver light over the darkened courtyard.

This world had cast him aside. That was fine. Because soon, it would regret ever doing so. He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the faintest pulse of warmth, his lifeline, his second chance.

"This time, I will rise."

And nothing, no noble family, no cultivation sect, no arrogant geniuses, would stand in his way.

Because knowledge was power. And he was about to become the most dangerous mind this world had ever seen.