Dao Online

The light faded, leaving Lin Fang momentarily disoriented as his feet met solid wooden planks. He stumbled slightly, the sensation of weight and balance rushing back to him all at once. 

Blinking rapidly, he checked his surroundings. The air smelled like pine, and the space around him was simple and unadorned. 

His eyes landed on a modest table in the corner, accompanied by a single chair. A thin mattress, neatly folded, rested against the wall. The room was quiet, but the silence felt alive—charged with something he couldn't quite explain.

His chest rose and fell as he steadied his breath.

 It felt real. All of it. 

The texture of the floor beneath his feet, the faint creak of the wooden walls as they settled, even the coolness of the air against his skin. Too real to be a dream.

Then, the voice returned—calm, and almost too perfect.

"You may say 'Status' to view your attributes," it intoned, the words echoing in his mind as though they were being spoken directly to his soul.

Lin Fang froze. His lips parted slightly as the realization began to dawn on him. The voice wasn't just in his head—it was part of this world. A game-like world. His mind raced, trying to process it all. 

It was impossible. And yet, here he was.

"Status," he whispered hesitantly, the word escaping his lips before he even realized it.

Immediately, a translucent screen materialized in front of him, glowing faintly in the dim light. His eyes widened in shock as lines of text appeared, hovering as if etched into the air itself.

Name: Lin Fang

Realm: Mortal

Spiritual Root: Chaos (Ancient)

Special Physique: Dao Body

Luck: Maximum Fortune

Cultivation Manuals: Qi-Gathering Art

Skills: None

He stared at the screen, his heart pounding in his chest. 

His fingers twitched, as if itching to reach out and touch the glowing words, but he stopped himself. It wasn't just that the screen appeared—it was how natural it felt, as though this was the way the world had always worked.

"This..." he murmured, his voice trembling slightly. "This is real?"

His gaze locked on the line: Spiritual Root: Chaos (Ancient).

The words sent a chill down his spine. "Chaos," he repeated, the syllables tasting foreign and familiar all at once. It wasn't just a label; it felt like a piece of him, something buried deep within finally revealed.

He shook his head, trying to make sense of the whirlwind of emotions surging through him.

 "It's just like a game," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. 

His mind flickered back to the rumors, the promises, the impossibility of Dao Online. He had doubted everything until the ring appeared on his desk. But now? Now he stood here, inside the game—or perhaps something far more real than that.

The system, the voice, the screen—it was all too much. His breathing quickened, and he took a step back, the wooden floor creaking beneath him. He stared at the glowing status screen as if it might disappear at any moment, leaving him to question his sanity.

"No way," he whispered.

He forced himself to breathe deeply, calming the storm of disbelief that threatened to overwhelm him. His gaze drifted back to the screen, lingering on his spiritual root and physique.

According to what he had read on the website, spiritual roots were everything. They determined a cultivator's entire future—the speed of their progress, their ability to overcome bottlenecks, their ultimate potential.

Spiritual root grades are initially categorised from grade one to grade nine.

Low-grade roots are grades one to three. They are barely useful, and you will struggle to cultivate them.

Mid-grade roots are grades four to six. They are decent, and with enough effort and resources, you will be able to make progress.

People with these roots can go a long way on the path of cultivation if they work hard enough, alongside decent resources.

High-grade roots are grades seven to nine. They are rare and prized, and the hallmark of elites.

Cultivators with high-grade spiritual roots are the leaders in the world of cultivation. Each person with such spiritual roots can single-handedly create a large sect and build a strong foundation in the world of cultivation.

Lin Fang's brows furrowed as he repeated the words. "Ancient-grade Chaos Dao?" he murmured. "This grade wasn't on the website. It must be… beyond anything listed. It sounds stronger, after all."

A grin crept onto his face, a mix of disbelief and exhilaration flooding his veins. His heart raced as he took in the implications. With a talent like this, cultivation wouldn't just be easier—it would be effortless. He could advance faster than anyone, reach heights others could only dream of.

The idea of of gaining immortality didn't seem like a lie anymore. 

Still, Lin Fang clenched his fists, forcing himself to rein in his excitement. His breathing slowed as he muttered, "Don't get ahead of yourself."

He looked around the sparse hut, his voice steadying as he spoke to himself. "You just entered this world. Right now, you're nothing but a toad in a small pond."

His grin faded into a smirk. There was no room for arrogance, not yet. Whatever potential he had, whatever strength lay dormant within him, it would mean nothing if he didn't work for it.

His gaze shifted to the next attribute.

Special Physique: Dao Body

"Dao body??" Lin Fang frowned. The term wasn't something he remembered from the game's descriptions. "Is it special?"

Shrugging, he moved on to the next attribute.

Luck: Maximum Fortune.

Lin Fang laughed. "Well, at least this world seems to like me."

The skills section caught his eye.

When he first entered Dao Online, a strange sensation had filled his mind, as if knowledge had been downloaded straight into his brain. That must've been the Qi-Gathering Art, the foundational cultivation technique.

As for his realm? Still mortal. Naturally, there weren't any magical abilities or techniques unlocked yet. He wasn't exactly expecting rainbows and sunshine on day one.

Satisfied with his quick overview, Lin Fang closed the attribute panel and decided to explore the game system further. It was simple, with only three functions.

Personal Attribute Panel

Chat Channel

Log Out Option

Switching to the Chat Channel, Lin Fang was immediately bombarded by a rapid flood of messages. The single-channel system combined with nearly twenty million players worldwide made it a chaotic storm of text.

Looking at the Log Out option, Lin Fang sighed in relief. 'Luckily the people behind this aren't as evil as the people who made a certain game with swords. I can log out without worrying about dying from malnutrition.'

"Damn, these guys are really spamming already?" Lin Fang muttered, scrolling through the endless chatter.

"This isn't a game at all—it's a real world!"

"Are you serious? Who in their right mind is thinking about science and its laws when we are cultivating?"

"My spiritual root is third-grade fire. Guess I'm doomed."

"Third-grade? That's fine. I've got first grade. Just kill me now, why wait for beasts or whatever swarms this world to do it."

"Hahaha, I've got sixth-grade fire! Girls, Come find me if you want to hitch a ride to immortality!"

Lin Fang chuckled at the mix of excitement and complaints. For a moment, he considered joining the conversation but decided against it.

'There's no need to show my hand,' he thought. 'Let them think the best spiritual root here is sixth grade. I don't want to hurt their feelings so early on, and most will ignore my comments, thinking I'm lying to them.'

All the players seemed to have been dropped into a wooden hut on top of a mountain.

 No one had yet reported interacting with Dao Online's native inhabitants, which struck him as a strange phenomenon.

The lack of useful information was disappointing, so he closed the chat channel and focused on his immediate surroundings.

Outside the wooden hut, dense forests seemed to lengthen for hundreds of meters. The calls of unknown beasts echoed through the trees, sending a chill down Lin Fang's spine.

He took a deep breath, calming himself.

"No use worrying about it. First thing's first—start cultivating. I can't stay weak in an unknown world, i need to get stronger!"