Chapter 1: Transmigration

Earth

In the pitch-black night, the city’s streetlights still shone brightly.
The entire metropolis functioned in orderly fashion,
while in a certain room of a high-rise building, a young man was finishing his late-night novel binge.

Lin Lingshu yawned, continuously swiping the screen of his phone with his thumb.

As for why he was called Lin Lingshu?
Originally, he was named Lin Lingsu, but shortly after his birth, his parents hired a Taoist priest.
That unscrupulous Taoist accepted 500 yuan from his parents, claiming,
“I foresee that Master Lin’s future growth path will be full of twists and turns. He is too rigid and prone to breaking. This is not good.
It would be better to change Lin Lingsu to Lin Lingshu, adding a sense of smoothness.”

Damn it.
If Lin Lingshu could transmigrate back in time, he would definitely tell that Taoist priest what it means to do things for money.
Since you’ve already taken the money, at least pick a proper name.

Lin Lingshu often thought,
Your master is called Lin Lingshu?
Such a sissy name—does that Taoist have tofu for brains?

The most absurd part was that his parents actually believed it and went to change his name the very next day.

However, eighteen years had passed, and by now he had grown used to the name.
After all, in his childhood, every time he caused trouble, either the engine would break down, or a torrential rain would fall.

It made Lin Lingshu somewhat doubt the meaning of life.

Looking at the last three large characters, “End of Story,”
Lin Lingshu cursed under his breath.
“The quality of novels nowadays is getting worse and worse.
I can’t believe I even waste time reading these mindless, wish-fulfillment trash.”

Lin Lingshu rubbed his slightly dark-circled eyes.
Quest for Immortality was a recently popular novel blending mortal-journey and harem tropes.
In short, it was that garbage novel where the protagonist Wang Shuheng, an ordinary mortal, kept leveling up, defeating monsters, collecting a harem, and eventually becoming a great power.

Lin Lingshu rubbed his eyes again, sighing,
If it weren’t for my few high-quality novels updating so slowly, I wouldn’t even bother reading this kind of garbage.

He glanced at the time: 4:03 AM.
Time to sleep.

Lin Lingshu yawned again, plugged his phone into the charger, placed it on the bedside table,
and adjusted into a more comfortable position under the blanket,
ready to embrace his sleep creed: sleep at 4, rise at 7, die early, reincarnate early, and do it all over again.

Not long after Lin Lingshu fell asleep,
a phantom-like giant hand slowly appeared in his room.
The hand was ethereal, seemingly harboring billions of stars,
with strands of light swirling around it.
The hand moved toward Lin Lingshu, the five fingers slightly bent as if to grab something,
then slowly vanished.

***

Lingjian Pavilion

In a secret chamber, a warm jade bed held a young girl.
She frowned slightly, stretching out her hand to grasp the space beside her,
but caught nothing.

Sensing emptiness in her grasp, the girl fought her drowsiness.
Did the blanket fall to the ground again?
She complained, reaching toward the bed edge, trying to grab it a few times, but still held nothing.

For modern people, a phone was half their life.
Instantly awake, the girl thought,
The phone wouldn’t fall to the ground, right?

She reached beneath the bed.
After some searching, she felt something was wrong.
Suppressing the strong sleepiness, she opened her blurry eyes.

All that met her gaze was a stone chamber.
Besides the bed she lay upon, the room was empty.

As a good youth raised under the Red Flag,
Lin Lingshu muttered to herself,
A dream?
Or a lucid dream?
This is a strange dream.

Lin Lingshu stretched out a hand, staring at the slender jade-like fingers,
feeling the two extra fleshy lumps on her body,
and chuckled,
What a perverted dream, imagining I turned into a girl.

Sitting cross-legged on the warm jade bed,
Lin Lingshu curiously examined her surroundings.
She had experienced lucid dreams before,
but never one this vivid.

She poked at the small flesh protrusions on her chest with a finger,
sensing a strange texture.

At that moment, a large orb of light slowly emerged in the air.
“Otherworld Visitor, this is not a dream.
I have brought you to this world.”
A mechanical voice echoed from inside the orb.

The moment Lin Lingshu saw the light orb,
she couldn’t help but scream,
“Holy shit, a Main God.”

As an old bookworm of the web,
she had read an endless number of infinite-system novels.
This basic reaction was entirely normal.

The light orb seemed to freeze for a moment in response.
“Otherworld Visitor, I am the Heavenly Dao of this world.
During this world’s operation, some problems occurred.
This world needs your help.”

“Can I refuse?
I want to go home.”
Lin Lingshu felt her materialistic worldview collapse,
but tentatively refused.

“I’m sorry, Otherworld Visitor.
This world requires your help.
The Child of Destiny also requires your help.”

Child of Destiny?
Lin Lingshu thought.
Although she had read countless novels,
this was the first time she encountered such a situation,
her mind feeling completely blank.

“If I were to use your world’s terminology,
this world is Quest for Immortality.”

“What?!”

“During the world’s operation, some problems occurred,
causing the Child of Destiny Wang Shuheng to fail to save the world.
I need you to assist him.”

Lin Lingshu listened calmly on the surface,
but inwardly, her thoughts churned like a raging river.
This world was Quest for Immortality—
that brainless wish-fulfillment novel.

So was this world real or fake?
Lin Lingshu was shocked, yet curious.

“If you assist the protagonist in saving the world,
you can return home.
Additionally, as a reward from the world,
I will bestow upon you one thing—immortality.”

The Heavenly Dao orb pulsed with faint white light.

Without a doubt, Lin Lingshu’s heart was stirred.
For carbon-based lifeforms, what temptation was greater than this?
Just like Sun Wukong bowed to the Bodhi Gate,
the ultimate goal of cultivation was one sentence:
To attain immortality.

“Fine.
I’ll assist that Child of Destiny in saving the world.”
Lin Lingshu agreed.
“But can you give me a male body instead?”

Only now did she realize—if this wasn’t a dream,
then she currently had to endure a female body.

“I’m sorry, Otherworld Visitor.
This body has the highest compatibility with your soul configuration.”

“No problem.
Just swap me into another body.”

“I’m sorry, Otherworld Visitor.
This body holds a significant role in the early stages of the Child of Destiny.
This will help you assist the Child of Destiny more effectively.”
The mechanical voice from within the orb continued.

“…”
Lin Lingshu swore. Although the Heavenly Dao said it in a serious tone, she heard nothing but innuendo.