Seized by the System

As a matter of fact, Fang Ning soon paid the price for his mindless words.

In the lounge, just moments after his head hit the pillow, a bone-chilling surge of icy wind came out of nowhere, and the cold overwhelmed him.

Fang Ning instinctively reached around for a blanket, but then immediately came to realize that he was in the System Space and in a soul state at the moment. How could the common concept of cold apply here?

Therefore, he said impatiently, “Rice Bucket, you’re being mischievous again. Hurry up and turn off the air conditioner.”

“I don’t understand. Are you dreaming and sleep talking again?” Sir System feigned ignorance.

“Ahchoo!” Fang Ning abruptly sat up in his bed, sneezed violently, and then hugged himself while shivering.

“How can this be? How can I be feeling so cold? Shouldn’t the System Space be completely unaffected by heat and cold?”

He asked three questions in a row.

“I don’t know. I can’t feel cold anyway. Ever since we entered the core of this glacier, you’ve been experiencing this surge of extreme cold, but aren’t we supposed to experience the essence of the wind? Why do we need to experience the feeling of cold first?” Sir System asked, feigning confusion.

“Stop changing the topic and altering the concept. I’m asking you; how can I still feel cold when I’m in the System Space right now? Shouldn’t your System Space be shielded from all forms of external damage?” Fang Ning complained frustratedly.

He felt as if his soul was becoming frozen.

“Uh…” Sir System was momentarily at a loss for words to explain the situation, so it pretended to have crashed instead. “…”

“Why aren’t you answering me?” Fang Ning rushed into the blacksmith’s forge with the hope that the burning-red furnace would bring him some comfort.

However, for some reason, he felt the cold becoming even more piercing, as if his whole body was being soaked in ice water.

“Are you intentionally taking revenge on me? Is this, this, this still a hero system? Can’t you have a broader mind and heart?” Fang Ning choked out these words with great difficulty. Then his body continued to shake uncontrollably.

“Oh, I understand now,” Sir System said, overjoyed. “Earlier, that Wind Dragon told you to enter into this hundred-million-year-old glacier to cultivate and experience the essence of the wind. As for how much you can gain from this, it depends on your luck. So, aren’t you experiencing it right now?”

“No way!” Fang Ning finally understood the situation as well, realizing that he had to personally experience it after all.

“Well, I’ve no other idea. Either you let go of this great opportunity, or you experience this personally. This is an unfathomable Ancient Guardian Dragon after all. You can hide yourself in the System Space and let only your body enter into the core of this hundred-million-year-old glacier, but if you want to make full use of this opportunity, you’ll still have to endure this adversity. Actually, I can let the System Space cut off this icy wind, but in that case, such a great opportunity will then fly away,” Sir System nagged.

“Then can I just give up? Hurry up and get out of that glacier. If this goes on any longer, I’ll freeze to death.” Fang Ning could not stand the freezing cold.

The opportunity was indeed a big one, but in his opinion, the great suffering that came with it would be simply too much to bear for most normal human beings.

It was just like how many people who read books would think that they would be able to endure similar disasters, but in reality, when they were placed in such situations, most of them would fall apart.

System Notification: [The System has entered forceful seizing status. The Host is unable to override it.]

“What do you think…” Sir System said teasingly.

“Damn it, you, you really want to see me freeze to death!” Fang Ning became furious.

“I have no choice. The dragon clearly said that only you can receive this opportunity, so this is my only option here,” Sir System gloated, and then adopted a helpless tone. “Ah, the world is so cruel…”

Fang Ning started to fall into a semi-conscious state and was no longer able to argue back. At the moment, he felt dark spots entering his vision.

It felt as if he was falling through a tunnel of wind where bone-chilling icy wind was blasting at every single particle of his soul.

Gradually, it felt like some particles had been blown away while others were still persistently holding on.

If he was able to maintain his consciousness, he would realize that this was an extremely profound type of quenching method.

Unfortunately, with a temperament that had only undergone three to four years of cultivation, he was completely unable to remain in a conscious state.

Nevertheless, there was someone else there helping him stay awake.

“Hey, why are you falling asleep? You shouldn’t close your eyes!” Sir System was shouting at him. “Come on, Dalang, take this medicine and you’ll get better.” ¹

Then, a red-colored pill was forcefully stuffed into Fang Ning’s mouth.

Fang Ning felt a warm sensation flowing from his forehead all the way down to the soles of his feet, instantly helping him regain some consciousness.

However, this might not have been a good thing for him, as he would now have to continue experiencing the agonizing feeling of this powerful wind surging at his soul…

“Damn, damn it, you must be using this chance to take revenge. I, I will remember everything you’ve done to me today,” Fang Ning said weakly.

“You can remember whatever you want. I’ve already stopped worrying about my many debts,” Sir System said fearlessly, knowing very well the forgetfulness of Host…

…

He did not know how much time had passed, since for Fang Ning, every second felt like a day from his previous gaming days.

Toward the end, he felt as if his entire soul had gone limp…

Just as he had finally begun to adapt to the initial extreme cold, he felt it suddenly turning into extreme heat…

Before, it felt like he was in an ice cave. Now, it felt like he was thrown into the sun.

Gradually, Fang Ning came to some realization.

The wind was a process from stillness to movement.

Cold was extreme stillness whereas heat was extreme movement… This had been explained by the laws of thermodynamics.

Anyone could grasp such theoretical reasonings, but he was most likely the only mortal who was able to personally experience the entire process.

System Notification: [The soul of the Host has undergone quenching by the hundred-million-year-old icy wind. The System has comprehended “Essence of the Wind”.

Mythical Level Dragonization Ability upgrade progress has increased by 10%.

Power of Wind Attribute Dragon Series Martial Arts has increased by 100%.

The System obtained Wind Attribute Esoteric Skills “Absolute Zero” and “Ultimate Boiling Point”.

The Host’s soul resistance to various harmful states has increased immensely.]

When Fang Ning finally woke up from the alternating cold and heat, he began to stare blankly into space while sitting in his bed…

“Hey, you’re not having a mental breakdown now, are you?” Sir System said worriedly. “That can’t be it. I’ve been monitoring your spiritual and mental state all this while. I’ve even been feeding you some very rare pills from time to time. It’s impossible for you to come out broken.”

“Ah, damn it, I’m so stupid really…” Surprisingly, Fang Ning was not blaming Sir System, but was slapping his own head, saying, “There was clearly a better way. How could I have let the cold confuse me? Why didn’t I think of it earlier and allowed myself to suffer so much pain instead?”

“Oh no, Mr. Rich Boss, you’ve really gone crazy.” Sir System was stupefied and unable to understand what was going on.

According to its inference, the other party would have definitely wanted to settle scores with it after waking up. Why was he suddenly entering a self-critical Kenja Mode?

This was too unlike Host!

“Get out. I’ve really understood it now!” Fang Ning was at a loss for words. “If I wish to be the best of the best, I must be able to suffer the worst of the worst first. That’s the reality. At least from today onward, when I go out, I won’t have to worry too much about those curses of the soul.”

“Oh, now that sounds familiar. I don’t have anything to worry about then. Three more places are waiting for you,” Sir System said excitedly.

“Don’t worry. This time, you’re going to see me in a new light.” Fang Ning said confidently.

Then, the Azure Dragon flew out of the glaciers and got the great green insect to come out and continue to give directions. This time around, it was to head west.

Of course, to be more accurate, they were flying in the southwest direction.

“The west side is a huge desert land with nothing much to eat. Ah, the last time I came here, I didn’t go very far in that direction, so we may get lost. Don’t blame me if that happens,” the great green insect rambled.

“It’s okay. If we get lost, we’ll just deduct the cost from your meals,” Sir System said light-heartedly.

“Damn it, Great Azure Dragon. You shouldn’t be so petty. As a dragon, you have to be generous to be able to make friends,” the great green insect sulked.

“No, this is the principle of distribution according to work performed. How can it be equated with pettiness?” Sir System said shamelessly.

Even Host had no way of dealing with Sir System. What could a little green insect do?

The great green insect could not argue with that, so it sullenly stared ahead into the distance instead. Suddenly, its nose twitched, and it said in surprise, “I smell a familiar scent.”

“Now’s not your mealtime yet.” Sir System quickly crushed the idea.

“How annoying. What I meant was there are some people I know nearby.” The great green insect stretched out a front leg and pointed into the distance.

Just as it had said, a vast brownish-yellow land was slowing entering their field of vision some distance ahead, signifying that the desert would soon be within their reach.