The first sensation Ramiro felt was pain. It was not physical pain, but a deep sensation that seemed to run through every muscle, bone, and nerve in his body.
At the same time, an unusual weakness made it difficult for him even to breathe normally.
For several seconds, he remained motionless, trying to understand what was happening.
When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a dark wooden ceiling, made of carefully fitted planks and decorated with small flower-shaped carvings.
The soft morning light filtered through a window covered with translucent paper, spreading across the room in a golden hue.
The space was small but orderly, with a simple bed, a low table, a wooden cabinet, and several small ceramic boxes carefully arranged on a shelf.
The air carried a scent Ramiro did not recognize. There was the smell of dried herbs, medicinal oils, and flowers, mixed with a soft fragrance that seemed to have become embedded in the wood and fabrics of the room.
He tried to get up, but a sudden dizziness forced him to support himself with one hand against the mattress.
He took several deep breaths before managing to sit up, feeling his heart beating faster as he carefully examined every detail of the unfamiliar place.
"What place is this?"
His own voice surprised Ramiro. It was different from the one he knew, younger and slightly weaker, as if it belonged to someone who had yet to live through the years he himself had experienced.
He slowly raised one hand in front of his face and stared at it.
The fingers were thinner, the skin was young, and there were small marks on the palms, signs of someone who regularly performed manual labor.
He brought his hand to his forehead, trying to organize his thoughts, and that was when the memories began to awaken.
They did not appear as visions or disconnected images, but as information that simply became part of his mind.
The young man was named Yun Che and was eighteen years old. He was a disciple of the Profound Flower Sect, a predominantly female cultivation organization that possessed a great reputation due to its specialization in alchemy and pill production.
The sect possessed extensive gardens of spiritual plants, pavilions dedicated to the production of medicines, and numerous disciples responsible for different tasks.
Its cultivators followed a strict hierarchy in which talent, strength, and potential determined each individual’s position.
Yun Che, however, stood at the opposite end of the disciples considered promising.
At eighteen years old, he remained at the first stage of the Tempered Body, the lowest realm of cultivation, and showed no signs of possessing enough talent to reach higher levels.
Yun Che was not an alchemist, not a genius, and was not even considered a promising disciple.
To most people within the sect, he was simply a young man without a future, someone destined to remain at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Because of his lack of talent, Yun Che survived by performing simple tasks within the Massage House of the Profound Flower Sect.
The woman in charge of the establishment had noticed the young man’s situation and, instead of expelling him or leaving him abandoned, had offered him an opportunity to remain in the sect.
His tasks were humble but important to the establishment’s operation. He cleaned the floors, prepared the rooms, organized the materials, went shopping, and handled other small tasks that the more talented disciples considered beneath them.
Despite Yun Che’s insignificant position, there was one person within the sect who had never treated him as useless. Lian Yue was a twenty-year-old inner disciple, a cultivator at the tenth stage of Profound Nascent and one of the best disciples of her generation.
The difference between the two was enormous, but Lian Yue had never allowed that to determine how she treated Yun Che.
The memories made that clear.
Ramiro breathed slowly as he absorbed the information.
He now understood who the original owner of the body was, what his position within the Profound Flower Sect was, and why the young man had lived such a humble life.
But there was still something he could not understand.
Death.
The most recent memories indicated that Yun Che had begun to feel unwell. His body had lost its strength, his breathing had become difficult, and his consciousness had disappeared shortly afterward.
Ramiro frowned.
"So this young man died..."
He remained seated for several seconds, staring at the silent room. The more he thought about it, the more obvious the only possible conclusion became.
He was dead.
And Ramiro had awakened inside Yun Che’s body.
The idea should have seemed absurd, but at that moment, there was something even more absurd before his eyes.
A translucent interface suddenly appeared in the air.
[Supreme Dual Cultivation System installed.]
Ramiro froze.
The interface remained suspended before him without making a sound, as if it had always been there.
[Host identified: Yun Che.]
[Age: 18.]
[Current Realm: Tempered Body 1st Stage.]
[Physical condition: extremely weak.]
[Cultivation Core: unstable.]
Ramiro brought one hand closer to the interface, but his fingers passed through the luminous surface without encountering any resistance.
"A system..."
He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. The situation was already absurd enough that a floating screen was merely one more impossible thing.
"If you really are a system, then explain what happened. Why am I in this body, why did Yun Che die, and why was I the one who awakened here?"
No answer came to his questions.
Instead, another message appeared before his eyes.
[Soul transfer completed.]
[Host identity established.]
[Name: Yun Che.]
Ramiro remained silent.
After several seconds, he slowly exhaled.
"So Ramiro was left behind."
He looked at his own hands again.
"If this body is my new life, then Yun Che will be my name."
The interface changed again.
[Warning.]
[The host’s core is in critical condition.]
[The host requires Lust Essence to maintain core stability.]
Ramiro frowned.
"Lust Essence? Explain exactly what that means."
[Lust Essence is obtained through Dual Cultivation.]
Ramiro became serious.
"And if I don’t obtain this essence?"
[Core stability will progressively decrease.]
[Instability will cause deterioration of the body and cultivation.]
[When stability reaches zero, the core will collapse.]
[Result: death.]
Ramiro clenched his teeth.
"Then I have no choice."
The interface disappeared for a few seconds before displaying a new message.
[Initial Mission.]
[Objective: establish intimate physical contact with an adult woman for 20 minutes.]
[Reward: Unlock the Necromancy Art.]
Ramiro became completely motionless.
"Are you saying I need to do this to survive?"
[Correct.]
"And if I fail?"
[Mission failed.]
The next message appeared immediately.
[Penalty: death.]
Ramiro closed his eyes for several seconds.
His cultivation was at the first stage of the lowest realm. There was no room to regress, nor any margin to simply endure the penalty.
If he failed, he would die.
When he opened his eyes again, his expression had changed.
"Understood."
He slowly stood up and began preparing the Massage House. He needed to maintain a normal appearance while discovering how this world worked and, most importantly, how to survive.
The morning progressed.
Yun Che cleaned the floor, organized the bottles, prepared the oils, and checked the rooms. The smell of spiritual herbs became more intense as the establishment began to receive customers.
Shortly afterward, he heard footsteps approaching the entrance.
A female cultivator entered the Massage House. She wore an elegant cultivation robe, had her long hair carefully tied up, and carried an expression of exhaustion, while one hand rested discreetly on her own shoulder.
She looked around the establishment before asking:
"Is the person in charge of the Massage House available? I need a room, and I would like to finish the treatment before returning to my duties."
Yun Che maintained a respectful posture.
"The person in charge is occupied at the moment, but I can prepare a room for you. The materials are already available, and I can make sure everything is ready immediately."
The cultivator studied him for several seconds before nodding.
"Very well. Prepare the room, then. I spent the entire morning cultivating, and my muscles are completely tense. I don’t have time to wait until the person in charge finishes what she is doing."
Yun Che opened one of the rooms and prepared the environment.
The woman entered, settled down, and lay on the bed intended for the treatment. Yun Che remained near the entrance as the system interface appeared before his eyes once again.
[Initial Mission active.]
[Required time: 20 minutes.]
[Reward: Necromancy Art.]
Yun Che took a deep breath.
His new life had begun.
And before he could even discover who had caused the death of the former owner of this body, he had to survive the first demand of the Supreme Dual Cultivation System.