Chapter 1: The Ultimate Funeral System?
Northern Territory, Dongyang City.
“Today, I’ve come here for only three things…”
“Burying people, burying people, and damn it, still burying people!”
In front of the city gate, a young man dressed in black swaggered in.
On his back, he carried a peachwood box, and at his waist hung a suona.
His name was Ye Changsheng. Eighteen years ago, he crossed over into this world of cultivation. Here, people soared through the clouds, the strong were as numerous as cattle, and geniuses were as common as carp crossing the river.
Like many transmigrators, as soon as he arrived in this realm, he awakened the “Strongest Funeral System.”
Ye Changsheng originally wanted to rely on his years of reading web novels to carve out a great career in this land.
But fate played a trick on him. This damned system required him to conduct a hundred funerals before it could be activated.
What made it even stranger: the system didn’t count people he killed and buried himself—it had to be funerals he conducted personally.
He had no choice. To activate the system and set out on his path to glory, he apprenticed himself to an old Taoist and learned the arts of burial.
Because Ye Changsheng was a transmigrator, he had no spiritual roots, no cultivation talent at all, and could only live as an ordinary mortal.
Ye Changsheng looked at the notebook in his hand and muttered, “I’ve already buried ninety-nine people. Now, just one more and the system will be activated…”
To attract more clients, he set up by the city gate, picked up a black gong, and began to shout:
“Don’t just pass by! Professional funeral services! No matter alive or dead, all can be buried!”
His loud drumming and shouting soon drew a crowd.
“Brother, I see your brow is dark; it seems your time is almost up. Why not make a reservation with me now? When your time comes, I’ll see you off on your last journey.”
“Screw you! I’m alive and well, and you want me to book a funeral? Are you cursing me?”
Just then, an old man with snow-white hair led his granddaughter over to watch.
Ye Changsheng stepped forward, smiling. “Uncle, you’re getting on in years; it’s time to prepare for the next world. Since fate brings us together today, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount, what do you say?”
The old man forced a bitter smile, “Wait, you can even give discounts on burials?”
Ye Changsheng wondered, “Does he think I’m too expensive?”
He turned to the little girl and continued, “How about a buy-one-get-one-free? I’ll make sure you both have a lively send-off!”
“Get lost!”
After hawking his services for quite a while, Ye Changsheng finally landed a job.
He followed the family home. Upon entering, he set down the box and took out his tools.
Standing by the bed, Ye Changsheng looked at the cold corpse lying there, and a faint smile crept onto his lips.
“The hundredth one. Finally, you’re here.”
His heart was pounding with excitement. In his mind’s eye, he already saw himself dominating the world with the system.
“What’s with that look? Is he grinning at our grandmother’s corpse? You think he likes her or something?”
“She was eighty, and she’s dead. Surely his tastes aren’t that heavy…”
The family had no idea what Ye Changsheng was really thinking.
Suddenly, someone stepped forward and patted his shoulder. “Sir, when can we begin?”
“Right now,” he replied.
With the gong beating and the suona blaring, he performed the entire burial rite smoothly and expertly.
“Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth. The Yellow Springs offer no way back!”
Having buried so many people, Ye Changsheng was more than familiar with the process.
With the old lady laid to rest, he let out a long breath.
“At last, it’s done.”
A middle-aged man, eyes red, stepped forward, clasped his fists, and bowed to Ye Changsheng. “Thank you, sir, for sending my mother on her final journey.”
Ye Changsheng accepted the silver, smiling faintly. “It’s all in a day’s work for a funeral master. Amitabha!”
“Amitabha?”
By the time the man came to his senses, Ye Changsheng was gone.
“Where did he go?”
At that moment, Ye Changsheng shouldered his box and hurried down the mountain road.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, “I’ve done a hundred funerals now—why hasn’t the system activated? Is it playing me for a fool?”
[Ding!]
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a cold, mechanical voice rang out:
[Congratulations, host, on conducting a hundred funerals. The Strongest Funeral System has been activated!]
[Importing host information…]
[Name: Ye Changsheng]
[Age: 20]
[Cultivation: None]
[Talent: Useless]
[Fate: Bad luck]
“System…”
Ye Changsheng was so excited his voice trembled.
He had been waiting for this moment ever since he transmigrated. Twenty years had passed, and at last, the system was awakened!
[System summary: By conducting funerals and burials, the host can receive corresponding rewards. The stronger the buried, the greater the rewards.]
To Ye Changsheng, this meant the more he buried, the stronger he’d become.
[Funeral ranks: White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, Red, Rainbow]
“So that’s how it is…”
Ye Changsheng nodded, suddenly enlightened.
“No, after all these years, I have to get something worthwhile out of this—consider it compensation!” he thought.
The next moment, Ye Changsheng threw himself to the ground, wailing and sobbing.
“Twenty years! System, you’re finally here!”
“Do you know what I’ve been through these twenty years?”
“System, every minute, every second, I’ve been thinking of you!”
As he sobbed and wiped his tears, he poured his heart out.
After burying a hundred people, he was no stranger to putting on a performance.
Perhaps the system was moved by his display, or perhaps simply annoyed…
[Beginner’s package is being distributed…]
At those words, Ye Changsheng stopped crying, a smile spreading across his face.
[Reward One: Host’s cultivation raised to Peak Spirit Origin Realm!]
As the words fell, light radiated from Ye Changsheng’s body as spiritual energy surged into him.
In that instant, torrents of spiritual power roared wildly through his body, his cultivation soaring to the peak of the Spirit Origin Realm!
“I’ve become a cultivator?” Ye Changsheng was stunned.
In this world, the strong preyed on the weak, and cultivators revered power above all.
Cultivation was divided into three tiers: lower, middle, and upper.
Lower five realms: Spirit Refinement, Spirit Foundation, Spirit Origin, Spirit Pill, Spirit Infant.
Middle four realms: Profound Spirit, Earth Spirit, Heaven Spirit, Spirit Abyss.
Upper three realms: Myriad Laws, Sage, Emperor.
The higher the realm, the fewer could attain it; achieving the Emperor realm meant becoming a legend for the ages, standing alone in the river of history.
Though Ye Changsheng was only at the Spirit Origin Realm, in this place, he was already a formidable figure, with few rivals.
[Reward Two: All-in-One Funeral Service Set]
“What the heck? All-in-one funeral service?”
As soon as he spoke, the peachwood box on his back sprang open.
The suona, shovel, and gong all flew out, hovering in midair.
“Come on, what’s this about?”
Suddenly, the air twisted violently. Ancient runes emerged, then quickly flew out and branded themselves onto the three items.
Panels of information appeared before his eyes:
[Ten Thousand Souls Suona: Blowing it allows control over ghosts.]
[Soul-Calming Gong: Its sound pacifies wandering spirits, expels evil, and banishes demons.]
[Sorrowful Shovel: In a word, shovel! Whatever needs shoveling, shovel it!]
[System reminder: The three burial treasures have no set rank; their power grows with the host’s strength.]
Standing there, Ye Changsheng could hardly suppress his smile—it was about to split his face.
“The system’s activated, the goods are in hand…”
“All is ready—now I just need more dead people!”