Chapter 2: Rewriting the Dao

Chapter 2: Rewriting the Dao

The golden data streams pulsed around Erevan like living rivers of energy, shifting and twisting as if responding to his very presence. His body still felt alien—stronger, lighter, yet infused with something beyond simple biology.

He wasn't just reborn in this world. He was integrated into it.

[Quantum Dao System Activated.]

Status: New Host – Erevan Kane

Path Selected: Quantum Hacker

Initializing Core Directives…

Erevan's vision flooded with data. Unlike the basic HUD systems he had hacked back on Earth, this was alive—lines of shimmering code forming intricate Dao scripts, ancient cultivation techniques rewritten in a language of raw information.

His mind buzzed with potential.

"I can work with this."

Then, a voice—deep, artificial, yet somehow… ancient.

"You are an anomaly. A deviation from the designed path."

Erevan turned.

Before him stood a floating figure, wrapped in a robe woven from circuits and glowing inscriptions. His face was masked, but his very presence exuded an overwhelming pressure, as if reality itself struggled to define his existence.

The figure lifted a hand of pure energy, fingers etched with flowing code.

"What are you, hacker?"

Erevan smirked. "Someone who doesn't follow the rules."

The space around him fractured.

First Encounter: The Architect of Data

Without warning, the robed figure attacked.

The air itself fragmented, forming crystalline shards of digital energy. They launched toward Erevan at speeds beyond human perception.

His instincts screamed.

"Dodge."

His body reacted before his mind did, twisting mid-air as a surge of Qi circuits activated within him. The shards missed by mere inches, but the force sent him spiraling backward.

Warning: Combat Mode Initiated.

Analyzing Enemy Data…

Erevan's hacker mentality kicked in. He didn't just see an attack. He saw data, raw and exposed. Every move had a pattern, an exploit.

"Let's test this system."

His hands moved instinctively, forming a gesture he had never known yet felt natural. A pulse of energy surged from his core—lines of shifting code materialized before him, rewriting the flow of the attack.

The next wave of shards glitched mid-air, redirecting back toward their source.

The masked figure narrowed his glowing eyes.

"You are rewriting the Dao?"

Erevan grinned. "I prefer the term hacking."

The Architect raised his hand again, and the world rippled. Entire sections of the floating cityscape erased themselves, replaced with new formations.

The very laws of this dimension were being rewritten in real-time.

Erevan's heart pounded. This wasn't just a cultivation world. This was a living system—one he could exploit.

Quantum Dao System Update: Unlocking Core Abilities

[Quantum Hack: System Exploit] – Identify weak points in reality and rewrite them to your advantage.

[Cyber Qi Integration] – Convert spiritual energy into raw data and manipulate it as code.

[Glitch Step] – Temporarily phase through system constraints to move unpredictably.

His mind expanded.

"If this world runs on data, then I just need to break the code."

As the Architect launched another devastating attack, Erevan moved without thinking—his body phased out of sync, the attack passing through him as if he were never there.

He reappeared behind the Architect, hand raised.

Lines of golden script flowed from his palm, embedding themselves into the fabric of space. A forced system override.

Reality trembled.

The Architect turned, his glowing eyes now filled with something that resembled acknowledgment.

"Interesting," he murmured. "Perhaps you are not a mistake… but an evolution."

The energy around them stabilized.

A new notification flashed before Erevan.

[Combat Evaluation Complete.]

Host Potential: Unclassified. Threat Level: Undefined.

Status: Approved for Entry into the Quantum Sects.

The Architect stepped back, his form flickering.

"You will need guidance if you wish to survive this world, hacker. Seek the Quantum Sects. They will either train you… or erase you."

Erevan straightened. "I've never been good at taking orders."

The Architect vanished.

A new pathway of golden light opened before him, leading to the towering floating palaces of the Quantum Sects.

Erevan exhaled, feeling the raw power within him stabilizing.

"I hacked my way into this world. Now, let's see how far I can break it."