9: Chapter 9 This purchase is outrageous!

Across the boundless firmament of the Source Realm, a solemn and vast will swept forth, resonating in the heart of every living being.

[World Announcement: A new civilization inheritance system has been detected. System expansion completed.]

[New Class Path Added: Immortal.]

[All Adventurers have one minute to choose. Upon selection, all current levels and skills will be cleared, starting anew from zero within this new inheritance.]

This sudden announcement was like a massive boulder dropped into a tranquil lake, stirring up towering waves throughout the entire Source Realm.

In a magnificent city floating above a sea of clouds, a burly man clad in ornate armor and wielding a greatsword abruptly shot up from his seat in the tavern, heedless of the ale spilling all over him.

"What the hell is this? 'Immortal'?"

The elven archer sitting opposite him, who had been elegantly polishing her longbow, paused her movements upon hearing this.

"A new class path? That hasn't happened for centuries."

"The key point is, switching classes wipes everything! Are you kidding me? All this [Immortal-tier] equipment, all the skills I've painstakingly leveled to 180 as a [Templar Knight]... all gone?" the burly man roared, drawing the attention of every player in the tavern.

In a corner, an assassin shrouded in a black cloak murmured to himself, "A brand new civilization... which world's coordinates were captured by the 'Source Realm'?"

Elsewhere, in the abyssal demonic domain where molten lava churned, a demon lord with horns sprouting from its head and bat-like wings on its back ceased whipping the imps under its command, lifting its gaze to the bloody sky.

"'Immortal'? Sounds like a weak and powerless word. However, for the 'Source Realm' to carve out an entire class system for it... this new civilization is somewhat interesting."

Its crimson tongue licked its lips, a cruel interest gleaming in its eyes.

"Switch classes? Abandon the abyssal magic power I've accumulated over a millennium? Unless the will of the 'Source Realm' has gone mad."

In nearly every corner of the Source Realm, from the bustling human capital to the hidden elven forests, from the desolate orcish wastelands to the frozen dragon mountain ranges, all beings were discussing this unfamiliar word.

"Immortal."

This word held no meaning for them; it was utterly incomprehensible.

Power? Magic? Divine arts? Or some kind of energy system they had never heard of?

No one knew.

A class selection interface materialized in everyone's consciousness. On the left was the familiar path they had already traveled far along. On the right was a solitary, mysteriously glowing character: "Immortal."

The price of choosing was to wipe everything clean and start over.

This was a crazy gamble.

For those powerhouses already standing at the pinnacle of their respective fields, this was not even an option worth considering.

"Abandon a godhood within easy reach to pursue some vague and elusive 'Immortal'? Foolish." A grand mage on the verge of apotheosis snorted coldly and dismissed the option outright.

For the ordinary Adventurers struggling at the bottom, the choice was equally difficult.

"Wipe everything? Then the [Fine-quality] longsword I spent months saving up for would be a complete waste!"

"I'm only level 20, but I earned every bit of it swing by swing! Who knows what this 'Immortal' thing is? What if it's just a crafting class?"

"Exactly! There's not even a skill description. Only an idiot would choose it!"

Thus, after a brief uproar and commotion, ninety-nine point nine percent of the Source Realm's beings unhesitatingly chose "No."

That class change option, in their eyes, seemed more like a ridiculous trap, a joke to test one's intelligence.

They did not know that this option they scorned contained, behind it, a dimensional reduction strike potent enough to overturn the entire Source Realm's rules.

They knew even less that one "player" had already been selected by this system.

And, in a way they could not comprehend, had been escorted by the "developer" onto this unique path to the heavens.

...

[System resource update complete.]

[Transmission commencing...]

Chen You's consciousness plunged into a dazzling white light along with this prompt.

This time, there was none of the previous eerie sensation of being disassembled into a data stream. It felt more like passing through a warm curtain of water.

The sensation of his feet touching solid ground arrived, accompanied by a rush of fresh air, fragrant with earth and grass, flooding his nostrils.

Chen You immediately opened his eyes, his body instinctively tensing.

He swiftly scanned his surroundings.

However, before he could get a clear look, a sudden, gaudy golden pop-up window exploded right in the center of his vision.

"Ding ding ding! Clang!"

Accompanied by the tackiest possible sound of clinking gold coins and music reminiscent of a slot machine hitting the jackpot.

A massive, luxurious, multi-colored glowing gift package icon domineeringly occupied the very center of his entire field of view.

The gift package icon had a pure gold frame, studded with blindingly bright, gigantic diamonds, set against a background of constantly showering gold coins and rose petals.

The whole image was saturated with the strong implication of "Buy me now!" "I'm a steal!" "You're not human if you don't buy this!"

The flavor was way too strong!

Chen You froze completely.

He hadn't even seen where he was, hadn't figured out if there were monsters nearby, hadn't even adjusted his breathing yet.

The game's first reaction was to pop up a top-up ad?

Could you be any more direct!

Is your company that desperate for money!

It felt as if ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart.

Suppressing the urge to rant, he focused his mind to read the text description beneath that enormous gift package icon.

[Limited Time Offer! Immortal Cultivation Starter Pack!]

Beneath the huge title were several bright red numbers dripping with a blood-like countdown.

[Time Remaining: 00:09:59]

Ten minutes!

Chen You's attention was instantly captured.

His gaze swept over the pack's contents, and his breath hitched.

[Immortal Cultivation Starter Pack]:

[Nine Revolutions Primordial Chaos Art x 1 (Heaven-tier cultivation technique, capable of absorbing the spiritual energy of all things, forming the direct foundation for the Great Dao.)]

[creation pill x 1 (Upon use, allows immediate breakthrough to the first layer of Qi Refining Stage, regardless of foundation.)]

[qi gathering pill x 10 (Upon consumption, increases spiritual energy absorption efficiency by 300% for one hour.)]

[Storage Pouch x 1 (Contains one cubic meter of space, allows free storage and retrieval.)]

[Permanent Limited Title 'immortal path pioneer' (Upon unlocking, increases all attributes by 5%)]

[Gold Coins x 100 (You'll make your money back as soon as you buy! Huge profit, no loss!)]

[Original Price: 1998 Gold Coins (Strikethrough)]

[Limited Time Discounted Price: 98 Gold Coins]

What kind of gift pack was this?

This was clearly a complete "Immortal Cultivation Newbie Solution Kit"!

How could you level up without a cultivation technique?

How could you get stronger quickly without pills?

The key was that storage pouch—it might very well be usable in the real world too!

Looking at this string of rewards so ridiculously splendid, Chen You's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.

A Heaven-tier technique, a level-up pill, a permanent title... and a 100 gold coin rebate!

From a gaming perspective, this pack was like manna from heaven, with an explosively high cost-performance ratio.

Especially that 100 gold coin rebate. It was equivalent to spending 98 gold coins to buy a pile of top-tier equipment and attributes, and then actually making a profit of 2 gold coins—which was two million huaxia coin!

This... what kind of saintly capitalist was this?

Running a charity?

But the problem was, the prerequisite was that you had to first fork over those ninety-eight million!

Chen You's heart was in a frenzy of struggle.

Just as he was locked in an internal battle.

In the real world, within the command center codenamed "Pay-to-Win," a piercing alarm suddenly blared.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Warning! Warning!"

"Target's vital signs showing extreme fluctuations! Heart rate soaring to 185! Blood pressure 190/110! Galvanic skin response index exceeding threshold!"