Pain.
That was the first thing Li Fan felt.
A stabbing, burning kind that made him grit his teeth as consciousness returned. It felt as though someone had taken a hammer to every part of his body.
He groaned, trying to lift an arm, and found that it actually responded—albeit shakily.
"Oh? You're awake already?"
The familiar voice floated over like the sound of rain tapping on rooftops. Soft, teasing, and unmistakably female.
Li Fan blinked through the haze and saw her standing by the wooden cabinet, arms crossed, lips curled into an amused smile.
Yun Mei, the sect's junior healer. Not much older than him, but already infamous for her quick tongue and sharper herbs.
"You really have a hobby of getting beaten half to death, don't you" she said, strolling over. "Third time this week, Li Fan. At this point, I should just reserve you a private bed here."
"…Am I dead?" Li Fan croaked.
"Not yet. Though I did consider letting you bleed out a little."
He grinned, weakly. "Still charming as ever."
She rolled her eyes, then leaned in to check the bandage around his torso. Her fingers moved fast, practiced.
"I'm serious though," she muttered, brow furrowing. "This is… strange."
"What is?"
"Usually, when you get yourself thrashed in a duel, you're wheezing in bed for whole night. But this time… your wounds are already closing." She tugged at the edge of the bandage. "Some bruising, yes. Minor internal strain. But you shouldn't be this stable this soon."
Li Fan blinked. "Wait, really?"
Yun Mei nodded slowly. "Either I've finally brewed a miracle potion by accident—unlikely—or your body's doing something new."
He tried to sit up. A sharp jolt of pain shot through his ribs, but it was… manageable.
"Maybe I've just grown tougher?" he offered with a grin.
She wasn't smiling.
"You didn't feel anything strange before you passed out?"
Li Fan hesitated. He opened his mouth. Then closed it again.
There was something… just before he blacked out.
A voice. Not spoken aloud, but… inside him. Clear as day.
[Initial scan complete.]
[Suitable host found.]
[Limitless Tempering System: Binding in progress…]
The memory came back in a rush, like a gust of cold wind cutting through fog.
"...Actually," he murmured, staring at his hands, "there was something. I thought I was hallucinating, but…"
He trailed off, unsure if he should say more.
Yun Mei narrowed her eyes. "Don't play dumb. If you've awakened some kind of rare body constitution, the sect elders need to know."
Li Fan flinched. "Wait, no! I mean—it's nothing like that. Probably."
"Then what is it?"
He opened his mouth to explain—but before he could, the voice returned.
[Binding complete.]
[Welcome, Host.]
Li Fan froze.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered.
"Hear what?" Yun Mei frowned.
"…Never mind." His heart was pounding.
Not again…
[Greetings, Host.]
[Limitless Tempering System has been successfully awakened.]
Li Fan's entire body stiffened. His fingers curled into the sheets. "Wh-who's there?"
Yun Mei raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"I-I mean," Li Fan stammered quickly, forcing a smile, "thanks for the help. You're the best, Mei. Really."
She lingered a moment, as if debating whether to press him further—then sighed. "Rest, idiot. I'll be back later."
She stepped out, throwing him one last suspicious glance before sliding the door shut behind her.
Silence.
Then—
"…Okay," Li Fan muttered, still staring up at the infirmary ceiling, his body aching all over. "Who—what are you?"
A pause.
Then, a calm, precise voice echoed inside his mind. Not loud, not cold, just… present. Like someone speaking right behind his thoughts.
[I am the Limitless Tempering System.]
Li Fan's eyes widened. He bolted upright—and immediately winced as pain shot through his ribs. "Ow—damn it… I've gone mad, haven't I? Or worse… I'm possessed."
[Negative. I am neither a hallucination nor you are possessed]
"…Then what the hell are you?"
[I am a unique cultivation system. A system designed to bind to individuals whose bodies are incompatible with spiritual cultivation. You were randomly selected from a narrow set of candidates.]
Li Fan blinked. "So… because I can't cultivate… I won some kind of… broken lottery?"
[Correct. Your meridians are too damaged to circulate qi. You have no affinity for elemental energy. In short, you are useless.]
"…Wow. You really know how to cheer a guy up."
[Yet despite that, your body has shown an unusual resilience to physical trauma. That's what made you eligible for the Binding.]
Li Fan slumped back onto the infirmary bed. His head was spinning, and not just from the pain anymore. "So... what do you do, exactly?"
[I convert physical pain—specifically injury and damage to your body—into Body Tempering Energy.]
"...Wait, you're telling me I get stronger by getting hurt?"
[Precisely. Each blow you endure, each bone that breaks, each drop of blood spilled—it all refines your physical form. Pain is the hammer. Your body is the forge.]
A sudden warmth stirred in his chest. His heartbeat slowed, and then—
whum.
A soft pulse echoed through his senses, followed by a glowing interface that shimmered into his mind's eye. He didn't see it with his eyes, but felt it—like an imprint seared across his thoughts.
---
Limitless Tempering System
Host: Li Fan
Age: 16
Constitution: None
Physical Condition: Weakened | Internal Damage Present
Current Realm: Skin Tempering — Early Stage (4%)
Pain Conversion Rate: 1.0x
Passive Regeneration: Elementary (Based on realm progress)
Physical Traits: [Locked]
Body Tempering Energy (BTE): 40 Units
---
Li Fan read through the glowing lines once. Then twice.
"This… This is actually happening," he whispered. "I really have a system?"
Li Fan looked down at his hands. They were still the same—bruised, swollen—but now they carried a new weight. A quiet strength simmered beneath the surface, as if his skin remembered the pain and had already begun reshaping itself, hardening in response.
He flexed his fingers slowly.
"…So you're saying… if I let people beat the crap out of me—I'll get stronger?"
[In essence, yes. The greater the physical damage, the greater the reward.]
"And the more I push myself, the faster I grow?"
[Exactly.]
He let out a shaky laugh. "This might be the dumbest cultivation method I've ever heard of."
Li Fan lay in silence for a while, watching the ceiling.
Then, slowly, a grin tugged at the corner of his lips. A grim, tired grin—but real.
[Welcome to your second life, Host.]