Sword Among Us - Chapter 9: South China Martial Arts Ranking Board

Fu Yu awoke from a big dream, feeling like the heavens stuffed his mouth with a pie.Everything familiar suddenly became virtual.The work kitchen, the tools he used, the colleagues he cooperated with, and the customers he faced.Everyone and everything has become walking NPCs and auxiliary tools.Daily life and work have turned into main quests that need to be completed and key clues for advancement.A customer ordered a dish of loose sautéed meat slices.Fu Yu took out a piece of fresh tenderloin: [Pork: Freshness: 90%]Held an egg in one hand: [Egg: Freshness: 85%]Heated oil in the pot, prepared starch, and got ready onions, ginger, and garlic.First frying, then stir-frying; the meat is cooked and taken out of the pot, plated and served to the customer: [Ding! Task of one portion of loose sautéed meat slices completed. Reward received: Cooking Experience +10, RMB +100, one oil-draining spatula!]As a chef constantly fed by the heavens, as long as he cooks, he levels up!

[Sys--... ini--tializing...][Err0r: M3m0ry c0rru--ion d3tect3d. Pr0c33ding 4nyw4y.][Miss10n: Unkn0wn. Purp0s3: Und3f1n3d. Proc33d.]Laverne never believed in the supernatural. To him, life was already complicated enough without worrying about things like ghosts or reincarnation. But when a reckless act of bravery ends in fire and chaos, he wakes up to something far worse than death—an unfamiliar world governed by an unfathomable system.Marked as an Anomaly, an existence that shouldn't be, he finds himself entangled in forces beyond mortal comprehension. The world he is reborn into runs on the concept of Ka, the essence of life and fate itself. Yet, unlike others, his Ka does not conform—it rebels. The system that governs this world struggles to define him, its very framework warping around his presence.With each step forward, he realizes that his mere existence is enough to tip the scales of destiny. Some will seek to control him. Others will try to erase him. But one truth remains:'In a world where fate reigns supreme, what happens when something stands outside of its design?'

The world is a sea of bitterness.

The mortal swims in the sea.

The body is the vessel.

The soul is the mortal on the vessel.

The vessel carries the mortal as it sails endlessly towards the other side of the sea.

Does cultivating the body strengthen the vessel enough to reach the other side of this sea of misery?

Or does cultivating the soul give the mortal on the vessel the ability to master swimming?

Cultivating according to the martial path allows one to become an Earthly Immortal.

Cultivating according to the immortal path allows one to become a Divine Immortal.

Which path should be chosen?

- Description from Novelupdates

A merciless and unforgiving world where a common cold could kill you, a world where survival of the fittest applied—A world where humans aren't at the top of the food chain.A world where the roar of predators echoes through the wilderness, and the threat of being hunted lingers around every corner. A world where the natural elements are both beautiful and deadly, with raging storms and scorching heat waves that can wipe out entire communities.Every day is a battle for survival, with individuals and groups fighting tooth and nail to secure food, shelter, and water. The weak and vulnerable are often left behind, their fate sealed by the brutal law of the jungle.And in this same age, same jungle there was a young boy, whose fate changed when he heard an unknown voice in his head.Garnt woke up feeling a little better after he was on the verge of death because of a single wound he suffered from hunting, and the first thing he noticed was that everything around him looked foreign to him, even though the cave he was lying in was supposed to be his home.While he was unconscious from the injuries, Garnt saw several things he couldn't even understand.He saw people using brick-like equipment to communicate with each other and flying monsters that happily served humans by taking them inside their bodies. A bizarre world where everyone covered their bodies. He saw giant structures that stood even taller than the largest caves he had seen and suddenly a voice questioned his mind about what he witnessed.[Why do these waters look muddy? Why don't you filter them?]What are you talking about? This is how they are supposed to look.[Why are these weapons so blunt?]They are sharp enough for me.[Where are your clothes, Don't you get cold?]What are clothes, I don't know.[Why do men and women look like they don't feel anything while having sex? Wasn't it supposed to be romantic and sensual?]What do you mean? It is just an activity for procreation.After witnessing such a world, Garnt felt like they were missing something important. His current status looked like a living hell when he compared it with the vision he had. But was that vision real? Does something like that really exist?[Yes, it exists. Do you want to see that world? I will help you, but in exchange, you should make my dream come true.]