Douluo Dalu: Ascension Across the Realms

"Whew... Calm down, calm down. You're a mature system host now."

Chen Xiaoming closed his eyes, taking a slow breath to steady himself. The temperament of his system wasn't new—this wasn't the first time it had thrown him a curveball. He had long grown used to its quirks.

It was peerless when it came to improving his cultivation—but anything else? Total mess.

Take his bloodline, for example. Would it kill the system to add a "One-Click Comprehend" function? He'd be willing to breathe in a few extra mouthfuls of fresh air, grind like crazy, pour in resources like there was no tomorrow. Was that not enough?

But no—the system insisted he comprehend it manually. Now he had barely grasped sixty percent of a mid-tier bloodline and didn't even dare upgrade it, despite having the experience points for it.

"Sigh… Whatever. No point asking for too much. It's still—"

He didn't finish the sentence. Chen Xiaoming froze mid-thought, eyes locked on his system panel. Below his primary stats, a new option had appeared—something that hadn't been there before.

Origin: None (+) 23.715 Trillion / 1 Trillion

Just as he had finished grumbling about not having any "Domain," here the system was, dropping a bombshell on him.

Chen Xiaoming was stunned. He hadn't expected it to actually deliver. But as his eyes settled on the upgrade cost, his heart tightened slightly.

A trillion XP? Was the system taking revenge for his complaints just now?

This was astronomical. If the bloodline experience model was anything to go by, then upgrading Origin might as well be an endless abyss.

Chen Xiaoming hesitated, but in the end, couldn't help himself. This was Origin—the path to the Grand Dao itself.

"What am I hesitating for? Worst case, I just hide in this realm for an eternity."

Time to walk the walk. He didn't come to the Renegade Immortal universe to sightsee.

"Whoosh!"

He tapped the [+] icon.

The moment he did, thunder boomed in his mind. His vision spun wildly. His soul felt as though it was torn from his body and hurled through the endless cosmos.

The scene changed.

The bustling tea house and imperial capital vanished without a trace. When he regained awareness, he found himself beneath a starless, chaotic sky.

"Boom!"

The heavens blazed.

Dazzling lights burst forth in all directions. Countless orbs of light floated before him—brilliant and boundless. And on every single one, he sensed a familiar aura… one that resembled his own bloodline's Origin Orb.

"These are Origin Orbs!"

Battle-hardened as he was, Chen Xiaoming instantly understood. His eyes swept across the cosmic void. The orbs were as countless as the stars—tens of millions at a glance.

"No way... Don't tell me I have to choose one myself?"

Startled by his own thought, Chen Xiaoming looked around cautiously. Always careful, he didn't touch any of the orbs immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused.

"Stay cool. Pick the strongest one."

He whispered to himself and began to search.

When his soul brushed against a crimson Origin Orb, it was as if he had plunged into an infinite sea of flames. Fire spirits danced in the blaze, morphing into countless forms. Within the burning currents, crystalline laws of fire formed vast mountains and lakes. At the heart of it all, a lone flame drifted—small, yet eternal.

An ancient, primordial energy radiated outward, stirring his soul to its core.

"Fire Origin."

The resonance came from his very soul. He forced himself to pull back, then moved on to other orbs—Water, Earth, Wood—feeling each one.

But none of them made the cut.

Across the myriad realms, one ancient adage had long etched itself into Chen Xiaoming's mind:

"Space reigns as king. Time rules as emperor. In the absence of Destiny, Karma stands supreme."

The system was being uncharacteristically generous. No way was he going to settle for anything less than the absolute pinnacle. After all, this cost him a trillion XP.

"Destiny, where are you?"

He searched patiently, whispering to himself. His left eye bore the word "Destiny," and his right eye did too.

Only by grasping destiny could one transcend fate itself.

Time passed—how much, he couldn't tell. Even with his vast soul power, fatigue crept in. By now, only three Origin Orbs hovered around him.

"Ugh… Don't tell me there's no Destiny Origin Orb at all?"

He exhaled deeply, brows furrowed. He had examined nearly 100,000 Origin Orbs, and none of them had even a trace of destiny.

"This can't go on. If I don't find it soon, I'll have to give up."

The longer he lingered in this chaotic space, the heavier the pressure became—not just spiritual fatigue, but also an active rejection by the space itself.

The repulsion grew stronger by the moment. Clearly, the system had no intention of letting him check every single Origin Orb.

"Damn it. So unsatisfying."

He lowered his gaze to the three floating orbs he had chosen from the thousands he'd scanned.

They were unmistakable—Lightning Origin, Light Origin, and Life Origin.

Among them, Chen Xiaoming favored Life Origin the most. While it was less potent in combat, it could dramatically extend his lifespan—something invaluable for someone cultivating a breathing-based system.

But even so, he remained reluctant.

No Destiny. No Karma. All these scraps of Origin… Was he really better off just leveling his bloodline instead?

The repulsion reached its peak. Chen Xiaoming sighed and was just about to choose the Life Origin when—

"Swoosh!"

A sudden stream of light flashed past him.

Chen Xiaoming blinked, startled. His soul power brushed the strange Origin—and in that instant, it felt like hours had passed.

"This is—!"

His eyes lit up. Without hesitation, his soul plunged into the light orb. Despite the mounting spatial repulsion, he made his decision in a heartbeat.

"Whoosh!"

The light orb surged forward, merging into his consciousness. A tremendous force pulled him down. The chaotic space spiraled, and then—

Chen Xiaoming vanished.

Inside the inn—

Chen Xiaoming sat in a shadowed corner near the window, a gentle warmth still lingering in the fruit wine he had just poured into his cup.

The ambient spatial energy around him quivered ever so slightly, rippling like water disturbed by a breeze. In the stillness of his meditation, Chen Xiaoming's eyes suddenly flared open, releasing two sharp rays of light that cut through the air.

A flicker of joy surfaced on his face, the corners of his lips lifting faintly as a wave of excitement stirred in his chest.

"As I thought—it's the Origin of Time!"

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