Silence filled the room for several moments before Ji Lin’s gaze gradually changed.
If he looked at this function from another perspective, it might be far more useful to him at his current stage than he had initially imagined.
He lowered his eyes toward his palms.
He possessed strength now, and his cultivation was advancing at a speed ordinary cultivators could never hope to match.
But raw power was not everything.
What I truly lack is combat experience…
Ji Lin slowly tightened his fingers, realizing that he needed to make up for this weakness before it eventually became a fatal flaw.
I need to gain real combat experience as quickly as possible.
If the Fate-Changing Contract allowed him to enter another person’s life and personally face that individual’s conflicts and dangers, then it might be the best training ground he could possibly obtain.
He would experience situations that no amount of secluded training could ever replicate, where every genuine mistake carried genuine consequences.
Ji Lin raised his head toward the system window.
System, activate the Fate-Changing Contract and search for a suitable contractor.
[Ding! The Fate-Changing Contract function has been activated.]
[Searching for souls that meet the contractual requirements…]
Several moments of silence passed before the system window in front of him glowed once again.
[Ding! Search complete.]
[Four potential contractors have been found whose future souls have agreed to the Fate-Changing Contract.]
[Would the Host like to view the information of all four contractors or randomly select one of them?]
Ji Lin did not need to think.
Show me.
The window expanded before him, displaying four separate profiles.
[First Contractor]
[Name: Su Tian]
[Age: 18]
[Talent: Ordinary]
[Background: Labor Disciple of the True Dragon Sect]
Ji Lin’s eyes moved to the next profile.
[Second Contractor]
[Name: Gu Li]
[Age: 20]
[Talent: Extremely High]
[Background: Young Master of the Gu Family]
Then the third profile appeared.
[Third Contractor]
[Name: Han Meng]
[Age: 18]
[Talent: Average]
[Background: Member of the Han Family]
Finally, his gaze settled on the last person.
[Name: Yun Mang]
[Age: 30]
[Talent: Average]
[Background: Head of the Yun Family]
Ji Lin stared at the four names for some time.
Age, talent, and background alone were not enough to judge any of them.
After all, the fact that each of these people had appeared before him meant that, at some point in their lives, their future selves had fallen into such profound despair and regret that they were willing to accept the Fate-Changing Contract and surrender their bodies to a complete stranger in exchange for a single opportunity to rewrite their fate.
Ji Lin continued examining the four profiles for some time, but his interest in them quickly began to fade.
Names, ages, talents, and backgrounds—none of them were more than superficial information.
They told him nothing about the one thing he actually needed to know.
System, this information isn’t very useful to me.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued in a calm tone
What about the contract conditions?
At least tell me what each of them wants before I choose.
[Ding! The Host cannot view the contract conditions at the current stage.]
[The Host must first select a contractor and begin executing the contract. After the Host’s soul transfers into the contractor’s body, the contents of the contract will be unlocked and all agreed-upon conditions will be displayed.]
Ji Lin sighed as he looked over the four profiles again.
So I have to choose without even knowing what I’ll be asked to do.
[Ding! Correct.]
What an annoying function…
Ji Lin swept his gaze across the four candidates once more.
Since he had no additional information to rely on, there was little point in wasting any more time comparing them or attempting to deduce anything meaningful from a few superficial lines.
After several moments of consideration, his eyes settled on the first profile.
Alright.
I’ll choose Su Tian.
[Ding! Contractor selected: Su Tian.]
The other three profiles disappeared, leaving only Su Tian’s name and basic information on the system window.
Ji Lin shifted his gaze away from the window and lowered his eyes toward Xiao Yun.
She was still sleeping beside him, a faint smile of contentment and tranquility resting on her lips.
He quietly studied her peaceful features for several seconds before wrapping an arm around her and gently drawing her closer.
Then he closed his eyes.
System, begin executing the contract.
[Ding! Command confirmed.]
[Transferring the Host’s soul into Su Tian’s body…]
Ji Lin waited for the sensation of his soul being transferred.
Yet there was no pain.
No light appeared before him, nor did he witness space tearing apart.
He did not even hear a single sound.
In a single instant, all of his senses were extinguished at once.
Within the True Dragon Sect, inside one of the cultivation caves assigned to the labor disciples, an eighteen-year-old young man hung by his arms from a rope secured to the ceiling.
The robe covering his back had been torn apart, revealing charred red welts stretching across his skin, while the scent of blood mingled with the smell of burned flesh in the air.
Standing before him was another young man holding a long whip, thin strands of flame dancing across its surface.
Open contempt was written across his face.
You damned laborer!
He swung his arm, sending the whip slicing through the air with a sharp crack before it slammed into the back of the suspended young man.
Whoosh!
The body hanging from the ceiling convulsed violently under the blow, but the man gave him no chance to catch his breath.
He raised the whip again and stared at him with disdain.
Senior Brother Li is kindhearted enough to offer protection to people like you, and all he asks in return is a few spirit stones!
Whoosh!
The whip descended once more, sending another wave of searing pain across the torn flesh of his back.
And yet you dare delay paying the protection fee?!
The man raised his arm again, and the blazing whip lashed toward the suspended body.
But at the very moment the blow landed, Ji Lin’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
A scorching pain surged from his back to his limbs.
For an instant, it felt as though his skin were being torn apart beneath searing flames clinging directly to his flesh.
Mm!
His jaw clenched tightly, and his fingers tensed above his head as he blinked several times, struggling to regain his awareness and understand where he had found himself.
He was not even given those few moments.
Whoosh!
The whip struck him again.
Damn it…
Ji Lin gritted his teeth.
At the same time, unfamiliar memories began flooding rapidly into his mind.
Images, names, and events overlapped chaotically before gradually arranging themselves into a coherent whole, giving him a clear understanding of the identity of the body he now inhabited.
Su Tian.
Eighteen years old.
An orphan without family or background, possessing ordinary talent and living as a labor disciple of the True Dragon Sect.
As for the person currently torturing him, he was one of the followers of an outer disciple named Li Xian, who relied on his strength and status to impose what he called “protection fees” on labor disciples weaker than himself.
Anyone who failed to pay on time would receive a punishment severe enough to remind them of their place.
And every lash Su Tian had suffered today was not because he had committed some crime or violated one of the sect’s rules.
It was simply because he had been late in paying a few spirit stones.
Ji Lin’s eyelid twitched slightly as he finally comprehended his current situation.
It hasn’t even been a minute since I arrived, and my mission begins with me hanging from the ceiling and being whipped?
He slowly raised his eyes toward the man preparing to lash him once again, a trace of disbelief appearing in his gaze.
Is this really the True Dragon Sect, or some demonic sect’s lair?