"24,800."
Ginn stared at the transparent screen floating in front of him with a serious expression, his fingers tapping against the wooden table while a jar of wine sat comfortably beside his other hand.
"That's actually not that bad."
If anyone from the Lin Clan were standing beside him right now, they would probably cough blood after hearing those words.
24,800 Qi.
For an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator, such an amount was not something that could simply be described as not that bad. Even if one possessed decent talent and cultivated diligently every day, gathering enough Qi to continuously break through several levels was something that required time, resources, pills, spirit stones, and most importantly, actual cultivation.
Ginn required none of those things.
He only needed to wait.
And if there was one thing Ginn was confident in doing, it was absolutely nothing.
Sitting comfortably inside the guest courtyard provided to him by the Lin Clan, Ginn looked around once more before returning his attention to the system. The courtyard was far better than the rundown apartment he used to live in back on Earth. There was a small garden outside, a stone path leading toward the entrance, a separate bedroom large enough to fit almost half his previous apartment, and servants occasionally passed outside in case he needed something.
The food was free.
The room was free.
And most importantly, the wine was also free.
'Maybe saving people isn't that bad after all.'
Ginn immediately shook his head.
'No. Dangerous thinking. That's how protagonists get dragged into trouble.'
He reached for the wine beside him and took another drink.
"Helping people is troublesome. Free wine is good. Keep the two separate, Ginn."
Satisfied with his conclusion, Ginn looked back at the system.
Ginn (Qi Refining Lv.4)
Qi Pool: 63,742
Efficiency: 4/s
Senses: 4
Physique: 64
Charm: 4
Comprehension: 4
Luck: 4
Potential: 4
Unassigned Points: 0
-Breakthrough
-Qi Refining (Lv.4)
-Flesh Refining (Lv.1)
-Qi-gathering array (Lv.1)
-Inventory (Lv.1)
-Recharge
Ginn watched the number beside his Qi Pool.
63,742.
A second passed.
63,746.
Another second.
63,750.
Ginn smiled.
"Beautiful."
He had already known how the system worked. He was the idiot who designed the thing in the first place.
Still, knowing something and actually watching it happen were completely different matters.
Back on Earth, those numbers were never real.
They were simply values stored somewhere inside a computer.
Players would close the game, go to sleep, go to work, pretend to have a productive life, and return several hours later to discover that their character had accumulated resources while they were gone.
Simple.
Convenient.
Addictive.
At least, that had been the idea.
Ginn scratched his chin.
'Now that I think about it, this thing is completely unfair when it's real.'
He took another drink.
"Not that I'm complaining."
If the heavens wanted to make a mistake, Ginn was more than willing to benefit from it.
His eyes moved toward the Breakthrough option.
He had already calculated everything.
Qi Refining Lv.4 to Lv.5 required 800 Qi.
Lv.5 to Lv.6 required 1,600 Qi.
Lv.6 to Lv.7 required 3,200 Qi.
Lv.7 to Lv.8 required 6,400 Qi.
Lv.8 to Lv.9 required 12,800 Qi.
Altogether…
24,800 Qi.
Ginn currently possessed more than twice that amount.
And the number was still increasing.
He pressed Breakthrough.
The familiar interface expanded.
-Breakthrough
-Qi Refining (Lv.4)
-Flesh Refining (Lv.1)
Ginn's eyes briefly moved toward Flesh Refining.
"…"
He stared at it for several seconds.
Then completely ignored it.
"One problem at a time."
He had enough headaches already. There was no need to investigate another cultivation path when he barely understood the one he currently possessed.
Instead, Ginn selected Qi Refining.
[Qi Refining Lv.4 → Lv.5]
[Required Qi: 800]
[Breakthrough?]
"Yes."
[800 Qi consumed.]
[Breakthrough queued.]
Qi Pool: 62,978
Ginn blinked.
The number was slightly higher than what simple subtraction would suggest.
Then he remembered that several seconds had passed while he was staring at the interface.
"Right."
4 Qi every second.
Even while he was spending Qi, the system continued generating more.
Ginn waited.
Nothing happened.
His body remained exactly the same.
No exploding aura.
No spiritual wind.
No mysterious light descending from the heavens.
Ginn nodded.
"Good."
That might have sounded strange coming from someone who had just spent 800 Qi and apparently received nothing, but Ginn now understood the system better than he did when he first arrived.
The breakthrough wasn't broken.
It was waiting.
Sleep first.
Upgrade afterward.
"Still don't remember making that part."
Ginn leaned backward and tried thinking about it.
There were fragments.
A computer screen.
Empty bottles scattered beside his keyboard.
Some horrible music playing from a cheap speaker.
Him staring at code at 3:00 in the morning while wondering why the hell the character model had suddenly started rotating upside down.
Ginn frowned.
"…Yeah. I was probably drunk."
He selected the next breakthrough.
[Qi Refining Lv.5 → Lv.6]
[Required Qi: 1,600]
[Breakthrough?]
"Yes."
[1,600 Qi consumed.]
[Breakthrough queued.]
Qi Pool: 61,414
Ginn continued.
[Qi Refining Lv.6 → Lv.7]
[Required Qi: 3,200]
"Yes."
[3,200 Qi consumed.]
[Breakthrough queued.]
Qi Pool: 58,250
He barely hesitated before selecting the next one.
[Qi Refining Lv.7 → Lv.8]
[Required Qi: 6,400]
Ginn lifted the wine jar and took a drink.
"Yes."
[6,400 Qi consumed.]
[Breakthrough queued.]
Qi Pool: 51,886
Finally, the last minor breakthrough appeared.
[Qi Refining Lv.8 → Lv.9]
[Required Qi: 12,800]
Ginn stared at the number.
12,800 Qi.
To him, it was simply another number on the screen.
He had no idea how absurd that attitude would appear to an ordinary cultivator.
For cultivators, every breakthrough represented months or years of accumulating Qi, strengthening meridians, stabilizing cultivation, overcoming bottlenecks, and carefully preparing themselves for advancement.
For Ginn?
He took another drink.
"Yes."
[12,800 Qi consumed.]
[Breakthrough queued.]
Qi Pool: 39,126
For a moment, the interface remained still.
Then five notifications appeared one after another.
[Qi Refining Lv.5 queued.]
[Qi Refining Lv.6 queued.]
[Qi Refining Lv.7 queued.]
[Qi Refining Lv.8 queued.]
[Qi Refining Lv.9 queued.]
Ginn stared at them.
Then at his remaining Qi.
39,126.
39,130.
39,134.
His lips slowly curled upward.
"Done."
That was it.
No meditation.
No sitting beneath a waterfall.
No absorbing the essence of heaven and earth.
No mysterious old master beating him with a stick while explaining the Dao.
No risking his life inside some dangerous secret realm just to obtain a flower that only bloomed once every 100 years.
He had just queued five cultivation levels by pressing the same button repeatedly.
Ginn picked up the wine jar.
"Cultivation really is easy."
If any cultivator heard him, there was a reasonable chance Ginn would be murdered before reaching Foundation Establishment.
Fortunately, Ginn was alone.
His attention returned to the screen.
Even after spending nearly 25,000 Qi, he still had more than 39,000 remaining.
More importantly—
39,142.
39,146.
39,150.
It was already recovering.
4 Qi.
Every second.
Every minute meant another 240 Qi.
Every hour meant another 14,400 Qi.
Ginn paused.
He lowered the wine jar.
"14,400 an hour…"
For the first time, he actually thought about what that meant.
If he slept for 8 hours…
115,200 Qi.
Ginn's eyes widened slightly.
"…"
Then a smile slowly appeared on his face.
"I knew sleeping was productive."
For most of his life, people had treated sleeping too much as laziness.
They were wrong.
Sleeping was cultivation.
At least for him.
Ginn suddenly felt vindicated on behalf of every afternoon nap he had ever taken.
His happiness lasted approximately 10 seconds.
Because then he looked at the next breakthrough.
[Qi Refining Lv.9 → Foundation Establishment Lv.1]
[Required Qi: 128,000]
Ginn froze.
"…"
He blinked.
Then leaned closer.
"128,000?"
The system remained merciless.
[Required Qi: 128,000]
Ginn rubbed his eyes.
Still there.
"Are you kidding me?!"
His voice echoed throughout the courtyard.
A bird resting peacefully on the tiled roof immediately flew away.
Ginn stared at the requirement with betrayal written across his face.
"From 12,800 to 128,000?!"
He stood up.
"What kind of shameless progression wall is that?!"
No answer.
"Who the hell multiplies the requirement by 10 between realms?!"
Silence.
Ginn's mouth remained open.
Slowly…
Very slowly…
His expression changed.
"…Ah."
A memory appeared.
3:00 in the morning.
His rundown apartment.
An overdue electricity bill sitting beside his keyboard.
Several empty bottles on the floor.
A spreadsheet filled with progression numbers.
Ginn remembered staring at the player-retention curve while wondering how quickly he should slow down progression.
Players needed fast advancement early.
Give them rewards.
Give them numbers.
Give them dopamine.
Let them become invested.
Then…
Slow everything down.
Ginn slowly sat back down.
"…I did."
He looked away from the system.
"Past me was an asshole."
Then another memory surfaced.
A button.
A very particular button.
A button placed conveniently near progression mechanics whenever players became impatient.
Ginn's eyes slowly moved toward the bottom of the system.
-Recharge
"…"
He stared at it.
Recharge.
Back when the system was merely a game, the meaning had been obvious.
Players who didn't want to wait could pay.
Players who wanted resources could pay.
Players who wanted faster progression could pay.
Players who wanted convenience…
Could pay.
Ginn narrowed his eyes.
"No."
He pointed toward the transparent interface.
"Don't even start."
The system naturally didn't respond.
Ginn continued staring at Recharge.
Something about seeing the feature now made him uncomfortable.
He remembered designing it.
Or at least pieces of designing it.
He remembered thinking about premium currency.
He remembered trying to figure out how aggressive the monetization could be without causing players to immediately uninstall the game.
He remembered alcohol.
A lot of alcohol.
And he remembered desperately needing rent money.
Ginn slowly rubbed his face.
"What kind of idiot creates a pay-to-win cultivation game?"
He paused.
"…A broke idiot."
Unfortunately, he was still broke.
Which somehow made the situation worse.
Ginn dismissed the Recharge option without touching it.
He would investigate that nightmare another day.
"Whatever. I don't need Foundation Establishment right now."
That wasn't entirely him coping.
At 4 Qi every second, waiting was hardly a problem.
If his calculations were correct, he could earn more than 100,000 Qi simply by sleeping through the night.
And doing absolutely nothing while becoming stronger was exactly what his system was supposed to accomplish.
There was, however, another problem.
A much more immediate problem.
Ginn raised his hand.
He stared at his palm.
According to his system, five breakthroughs were waiting to activate.
After sleeping, he would become a Qi Refining Lv.9 cultivator.
Peak Qi Refining.
That sounded impressive.
According to the people of this world, cultivators could perform all kinds of ridiculous things with Qi.
Strengthen their bodies.
Use techniques.
Activate artifacts.
Fight monsters.
Fly around eventually, probably.
Ginn didn't particularly care about most of those things.
There was only one ability he desperately needed right now.
"How the hell do I use Qi?"
Ginn concentrated on his palm.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
He imagined energy moving toward his hand.
Nothing.
He clenched his fist.
Nothing.
He held his breath.
Nothing.
He tried thinking of the Qi Pool.
Nothing.
Finally, feeling increasingly stupid, Ginn whispered:
"Qi."
Nothing.
"Come out."
Nothing.
Ginn looked around to make sure nobody was watching.
"Please?"
Absolutely nothing happened.
His eyebrow twitched.
"…Worthless."
He dropped his hand.
He had tens of thousands of Qi stored inside his system and couldn't consciously move even a tiny amount of it.
It was like having a bank account filled with money but forgetting the password.
Actually…
Ginn frowned.
That comparison was too painful.
Then his eyes moved toward the jade ring resting on his finger.
His entire expression changed.
Inside that ring was liquor.
Not the ordinary wine provided by the Lin Clan.
Not the cheap alcohol he used to drink back on Earth.
This was liquor carried by Yan Di.
A Core Formation cultivator.
An Inner Elder of the Blazing Sun Sect.
Ginn didn't know much about cultivation yet, but even he understood that someone like Yan Di probably wasn't walking around carrying cheap alcohol.
He had been thinking about that liquor ever since waking up.
Unfortunately, the spatial ring refused to cooperate.
Ginn had tried twisting it.
Pulling it.
Tapping it.
Rubbing it.
Talking to it.
At one particularly desperate moment, he had even bitten it.
Nothing worked.
Qingxue had already explained why.
Spatial rings required Qi.
The cultivator needed to guide Qi into the ring before accessing the space inside.
Simple.
Except Ginn had no idea how to guide Qi.
He stared at the jade ring.
The jade ring naturally did nothing.
"You know…"
Ginn lifted his current wine jar and pointed it toward the ring.
"I'm going to open you."
Nothing.
"And when I do…"
His eyes narrowed.
"I'm drinking everything inside."
Still nothing.
Ginn leaned closer.
"This is personal now."
A knock suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
"Brother Ginn?"
Ginn immediately recognized the voice.
Lin Qingxue.
His head turned toward the entrance.
"Come in."
The wooden door opened.
Qingxue stepped inside wearing a pale blue robe. Her long dark hair had been tied neatly behind her back, and her complexion had recovered significantly compared to when Ginn first encountered her.
The exhausted woman covered in wounds and dirt was almost impossible to see in the graceful young lady standing before him now.
For a brief moment, Ginn stared.
'Rich people really recover fast.'
Then he remembered the existence of cultivators, medicinal pills, spiritual herbs, and whatever other magical nonsense this world possessed.
'Right.'
'Fantasy healthcare.'
Qingxue smiled when she saw him.
"Did you rest well?"
"Not yet."
Qingxue tilted her head slightly.
Ginn raised his hand.
The jade ring caught the light.
"I have a problem."
Her eyes immediately moved toward the ring.
"The spatial ring Senior Yan Di gave you?"
"Exactly."
Ginn's expression became unusually serious.
"I need you to teach me how to open it."
Qingxue blinked.
She had expected Ginn to eventually ask her about cultivation.
After hearing that his memories seemed damaged, she had already prepared herself to explain basic cultivation knowledge to him.
Still, his seriousness surprised her.
Her eyes returned toward the jade ring.
A spatial ring personally given by Yan Di.
An Inner Elder of the Blazing Sun Sect.
Perhaps something important was inside.
A cultivation inheritance?
A technique?
A treasure?
Maybe Senior Yan Di had seen Ginn's potential and secretly left something that could change his future.
Qingxue's expression gradually became serious as well.
"I understand."
Ginn nodded.
"Good."
Qingxue had absolutely no idea what was actually going through his head.
Ginn stared at the ring with determination.
'Hold on.'
Somewhere inside that tiny piece of jade was alcohol.
Possibly very expensive alcohol.
Possibly very delicious alcohol.
Alcohol that had been trapped away from him for far too long.
Ginn clenched his fist.
'Hold on, liquor.'
'I'm coming.'
....
"First, you need to feel the Qi inside your body."
Lin Qingxue sat across from Ginn inside the small pavilion in the middle of his courtyard. Between the two of them was the same wooden table Ginn had been sitting at earlier, although the jar of wine had now been pushed to the side after Qingxue insisted that drinking while learning how to control Qi was probably not a good idea.
Ginn disagreed.
Strongly.
But since she was currently the only person willing to teach him how to open the spatial ring, he reluctantly allowed the wine to remain untouched.
For now.
"Feel the Qi," Ginn repeated.
"Yes."
"How?"
Qingxue opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
She stared at Ginn.
Ginn stared back.
"…You feel it."
Ginn's eyebrow twitched.
"That's your explanation?"
Qingxue's face reddened slightly.
"It is difficult to explain something that becomes natural after cultivation."
"That's not an explanation at all."
"Brother Ginn…"
"I'm serious. Imagine I'm an idiot."
Qingxue hesitated.
Ginn leaned forward.
"A complete idiot."
"…I wouldn't describe Savior that way."
"Don't worry. I would."
Qingxue didn't know how to respond to that.
Ginn sighed and leaned backward.
This was already becoming more complicated than expected.
He had assumed controlling Qi would be simple.
There was energy inside his body.
Move energy.
Done.
Apparently, cultivators had decided that even moving invisible energy required philosophy.
Qingxue composed herself.
"Close your eyes."
Ginn reluctantly obeyed.
"Now calm your mind."
"…"
Several seconds passed.
Qingxue waited.
Ginn opened one eye.
"How calm?"
"Completely calm."
"That's impossible."
Qingxue frowned.
"Why?"
"My brain doesn't work like that."
"Everyone can calm their mind."
"You clearly haven't met enough game developers."
Qingxue obviously didn't understand what a game developer was, but by now she had already accepted that Ginn occasionally said things that made absolutely no sense.
"Just try."
"Fine."
Ginn closed his eye again.
He inhaled.
Exhaled.
Then attempted to think about nothing.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
A peaceful empty mind.
No worries.
No problems.
No thoughts.
…
'What kind of wine is inside the ring?'
Ginn's eyebrow twitched.
'No.'
'Nothing.'
Several more seconds passed.
'Maybe it's stronger than the Lin Clan wine.'
'Stop.'
Silence.
'Yan Di is a Core Formation cultivator. Would Core Formation cultivators drink expensive alcohol?'
Ginn frowned.
'Obviously they would.'
'Wait, I'm supposed to be thinking about nothing.'
He took another breath.
Empty mind.
Peace.
Calm.
Nothing.
…
'Would the wine taste better cold?'
Ginn's eyes opened.
"This isn't working."
Qingxue stared at him.
"You haven't even tried for half an incense stick."
"I've tried enough."
"Brother Ginn, cultivation requires patience."
Ginn's expression immediately turned ugly.
There it was.
The word he hated.
Patience.
Waiting.
Effort.
Persistence.
Everything his Idle Cultivation System was supposed to eliminate.
"Isn't there an easier way?"
Qingxue blinked.
"An easier way?"
"Yes."
Ginn gestured vaguely with his hands.
"A shortcut."
"…To sensing Qi?"
"Exactly."
Qingxue looked genuinely confused.
"Brother Ginn, sensing your own Qi is already one of the most basic parts of cultivation."
Ginn clicked his tongue.
Of course.
He could accumulate 14,400 Qi every hour by doing nothing, but apparently using any of it required actual effort.
'Terrible game design.'
Then Ginn remembered who designed the game.
"…"
He decided not to continue that thought.
Qingxue looked at him for a moment before speaking again.
"Perhaps we should begin differently."
"Please."
"Give me your hand."
Ginn immediately extended it.
Qingxue paused.
She had expected at least some hesitation.
There was none.
For Ginn, there was currently alcohol imprisoned inside a ring.
Social boundaries were secondary.
Qingxue placed two fingers against his wrist.
"Do not resist."
"Alright."
A faint stream of Qi entered Ginn's arm.
His expression immediately changed.
It wasn't painful.
It wasn't even uncomfortable.
The sensation was simply…
Strange.
Something warm moved beneath his skin.
Not blood.
Not heat.
Something else.
Ginn's eyes narrowed.
"There."
Qingxue spoke softly.
"Can you feel it?"
"…Yeah."
"That is my Qi."
Ginn concentrated.
The warm sensation slowly traveled from his wrist toward his forearm.
"Your meridians are pathways inside your body through which Qi circulates. When cultivating, we absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, refine it, guide it through our meridians, and gather it within the dantian."
Ginn's concentration immediately broke.
"Wait."
Qingxue stopped.
"What?"
"Say that again."
"We absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth—"
"No, the other things."
"Meridians?"
"Yes."
"They are pathways through which Qi flows."
"Pathways…"
Ginn looked down at his arm.
"And the dantian?"
"The center where a cultivator gathers and stores Qi."
Ginn became silent.
Something clicked.
Pathways.
Storage.
Energy.
He looked toward the transparent interface only he could see.
Qi Pool: 40,214
Efficiency: 4/s
Ginn watched the number change.
40,218.
40,222.
Then his eyes narrowed.
'Wait.'
The system called it a Qi Pool.
Cultivators called their storage a dantian.
Meridians moved Qi throughout the body.
His expression slowly changed.
'So the dantian is basically the resource container.'
Qingxue continued explaining, unaware of what was happening inside Ginn's head.
"The meridians allow the Qi within the dantian to circulate throughout the body. Different techniques require different circulation routes. Improper circulation can injure the meridians, so you must never recklessly—"
"Got it."
Qingxue stopped.
"…What?"
"I got it."
"You got what?"
Ginn raised his hand.
"Qi is mana."
Qingxue stared.
"…Mana?"
"Forget that."
Ginn pointed toward his abdomen.
"Dantian is the resource storage."
Then toward his arm.
"Meridians are the pathways."
Qingxue blinked.
"That is… an unusual way of describing it."
"But I'm right?"
"Technically."
"Good enough."
Ginn closed his eyes again.
This time, he stopped trying to think like a cultivator.
No heaven and earth.
No mysterious spiritual river.
No becoming one with nature.
No enlightenment.
He imagined something much simpler.
A game character.
Resource bar.
Energy storage.
Pathways.
Input.
Output.
His system already had more than 40,000 Qi stored.
All he needed was access.
'Come on.'
He concentrated on the strange warmth Qingxue had introduced into his arm.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then—
Something moved.
Ginn's eyes snapped open.
"Oh."
Qingxue immediately noticed his reaction.
"You felt something?"
"Maybe."
"Close your eyes."
Ginn did so again.
This time he searched for the sensation.
Qingxue's Qi was easy to recognize because it was foreign.
Warm.
Controlled.
It moved through his arm like a thin stream.
But around it…
There was something else.
Something much larger.
Ginn frowned.
It was difficult to describe.
He couldn't properly sense its shape.
Couldn't tell where it began or ended.
But now that he knew what he was searching for, he became increasingly aware that his body wasn't empty.
Far from it.
There was something everywhere.
Ginn swallowed.
'Is that mine?'
He focused harder.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Ginn consciously felt the Qi inside his own body.
It wasn't like Qingxue's.
Her Qi moved smoothly.
Naturally.
Like water flowing through a carefully dug channel.
His?
His felt like someone had filled a water tank to the top and forgotten to install the pipes properly.
There was plenty of it.
He just had no idea what to do with it.
Ginn almost laughed.
'Of course.'
He had resources.
He didn't have controls.
Typical unfinished game.
"Brother Ginn?"
Qingxue's voice pulled him back.
"Yeah."
"Can you sense your Qi?"
"I think so."
Qingxue smiled.
"Good. Try guiding a small amount toward your hand."
"Small?"
"Very small."
"How small?"
"Just enough to feel it."
Ginn frowned.
That was incredibly vague.
If she were writing documentation, he would have rejected it immediately.
Still, he tried.
Storage.
Pathway.
Hand.
Simple.
Ginn imagined selecting a tiny amount of Qi from the enormous pool inside him and directing it through his arm.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Nothing.
His eyebrow twitched.
'Come on.'
He focused harder.
This time something responded.
A tiny strand of Qi moved.
Ginn's eyes widened.
It traveled slowly through his arm.
Unsteady.
Awkward.
But it moved.
"Ha!"
The sudden shout startled Qingxue.
"I did it!"
"Keep concentrating!"
"Right."
Ginn immediately closed his eyes again.
The strand nearly disappeared.
He caught the sensation and pushed it forward.
Slowly.
Slowly.
Until—
A faint pressure gathered in his palm.
Ginn opened his eyes.
There was no light.
No visible aura.
Nothing dramatic.
But he could feel it.
Qi.
His Qi.
Sitting inside his hand.
A grin appeared on his face.
"Finally."
Qingxue looked surprised.
Not because Ginn had succeeded.
Guiding Qi was basic.
Any cultivator at Qi Refining Fourth Level should already know how to do it.
What surprised her was how quickly Ginn had adapted after supposedly forgetting everything.
Perhaps his body still retained some instinct from before his memories were damaged.
That was the explanation Qingxue settled on.
It was far more reasonable than assuming Ginn had learned basic Qi control by comparing his body to something called a resource container.
"Very good," Qingxue said. "Now release it slowly."
"Why?"
"So you can practice control."
Ginn looked at her.
Then at the jade ring.
Then back at her.
"No."
Qingxue blinked.
"…No?"
"I didn't learn this to practice."
Before she could stop him, Ginn pressed the hand containing Qi against the jade ring.
"Brother Ginn, wait—"
The moment his Qi touched the ring—
Something happened.
Ginn froze.
The world around him didn't disappear, but suddenly he became aware of something that wasn't physically in front of him.
Space.
A dark empty space.
Roughly 5 meters across.
His consciousness seemed to brush against it.
Ginn's mouth slowly opened.
"Holy…"
Inside were several objects.
Clothes.
A few small containers.
Some miscellaneous items Ginn couldn't recognize.
A pile of pale stones tucked into one corner.
And then—
Ginn stopped breathing.
Jars.
Several sealed jars rested quietly inside the spatial ring.
Ginn's eyes widened.
Qingxue immediately became worried.
"Brother Ginn?"
No response.
"Brother Ginn?"
Ginn slowly raised one trembling hand.
"There."
"…What?"
"I found it."
Qingxue followed his gaze.
There was nothing there.
"What did you find?"
Ginn's expression became emotional.
"Liquor."
Qingxue fell silent.
"…"
For a moment, she wondered if she had heard incorrectly.
"Liquor?"
"Liquor."
Ginn's entire face lit up.
All the concentration.
All the frustration.
All the talk about meridians.
All the nonsense about resource storage.
Worth it.
Completely worth it.
He reached toward the space with his consciousness.
Nothing happened.
His smile disappeared.
"…"
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Ginn's eyebrow twitched.
"What now?"
Qingxue looked confused.
"What happened?"
"I can see what's inside, but I can't take anything out."
"Ah."
"Ah?"
"You only learned how to send Qi into the ring."
Ginn stared at her.
Qingxue continued.
"Now you need to learn how to use your spiritual sense to lock onto an object and guide it through the ring's spatial formation."
Ginn's face slowly collapsed.
"There's another step?"
"Of course."
"…"
Ginn looked toward the ring.
Then toward Qingxue.
Then toward the untouched jar of ordinary wine sitting on the table.
He grabbed it.
Took a large drink.
And sighed.
"Why does everything in this world need a tutorial?"
Qingxue tried not to laugh.
Ginn placed the jar back down.
"Fine."
He straightened himself.
"Teach me."
Qingxue smiled.
"First, you must understand spiritual sense."
Ginn closed his eyes.
'Hold on, liquor.'
He could already see the jars sitting inside the ring.
They were close.
So close.
Yet somehow still unreachable.
Ginn clenched his teeth.
'I swear, if there's another step after this…'
The jade ring remained peacefully on his finger, completely indifferent to his suffering.
For the first time since arriving in the cultivation world, Ginn was voluntarily sitting down and seriously learning cultivation.
Not for power.
Not for immortality.
Not for revenge.
Not even for survival.
There were several jars of unknown alcohol less than 5 meters away from his consciousness.
And that was apparently all the motivation he needed.
...
"Spiritual sense is an extension of your consciousness."
Ginn stared at Qingxue.
"…Right."
Qingxue stared back at him.
Several seconds passed.
"You didn't understand that, did you?"
"Not even a little."
Qingxue sighed.
For the past several minutes, she had been trying to explain spiritual sense to Ginn and was slowly beginning to understand why teachers occasionally developed terrible tempers.
Teaching Ginn wasn't necessarily difficult because he was slow.
It was the opposite.
The moment he understood something, he understood it surprisingly quickly.
The problem was getting him to understand the explanation in the first place.
Traditional cultivation terminology seemed to enter one of Ginn's ears and immediately escape through the other.
Qingxue thought for a moment.
"When you looked inside the spatial ring, did you use your eyes?"
"No."
"Then what did you use?"
Ginn opened his mouth.
Stopped.
Then frowned.
"My brain?"
"…Your consciousness."
"Same thing."
"It isn't exactly the same."
"Close enough."
Qingxue decided not to argue.
"That sensation you experienced when looking inside the ring is similar to spiritual sense. Your physical eyes were not seeing those objects. Your consciousness was perceiving them."
Ginn looked toward the jade ring.
"So I just need to grab the jar with my brain."
Qingxue's lips parted.
"…That is an extremely crude way of saying it."
"But am I wrong?"
Qingxue hesitated.
"No."
"Good."
Ginn immediately closed his eyes.
Qingxue stared at him helplessly.
Somewhere along the way, centuries of cultivation knowledge had apparently become grab things with your brain.
She wasn't sure whether to laugh or become offended on behalf of every cultivation teacher in existence.
Ginn didn't care.
His consciousness had already entered the spatial ring again.
The strange dark space appeared before his perception.
Clothes.
Containers.
Miscellaneous objects.
The pile of pale stones.
Ginn ignored everything.
His attention immediately locked onto the jars.
There were 6 of them.
Each jar was slightly larger than his head, made from dark ceramic, and sealed tightly at the top. Strange markings covered portions of their surfaces, although Ginn couldn't understand what they meant.
He didn't care.
There was only one important question.
'Which one first?'
His attention moved between them.
They looked nearly identical.
Ginn thought seriously about the matter.
Then chose the closest one.
'You.'
He concentrated.
Nothing happened.
Ginn frowned.
'Come here.'
Nothing.
His eyebrow twitched.
'Don't do this to me.'
Outside the ring, Qingxue watched Ginn's expression change despite his eyes remaining closed.
His brow furrowed.
His lips tightened.
Then his face gradually became increasingly annoyed.
Qingxue could only imagine what kind of difficult spiritual exercise he was attempting.
Inside the ring—
'Come here, you bastard.'
The jar didn't move.
Ginn concentrated harder.
Qingxue had explained that he needed to surround the object with spiritual sense and then pull it toward the ring's spatial entrance.
Simple enough.
Except Ginn couldn't actually tell where his spiritual sense began or ended.
It was like trying to move a hand he had only discovered existed 10 minutes ago.
He focused on the jar.
Imagined selecting it.
Then—
Something clicked.
The sensation was faint.
But Ginn suddenly felt connected to the jar.
His eyes opened.
"Got you."
Qingxue leaned forward.
"Brother Ginn, slowly—"
Ginn pulled.
The space above the table distorted slightly.
Then—
Thud!
A dark ceramic jar appeared out of nowhere and slammed onto the wooden table.
Ginn shot to his feet.
"YES!"
Qingxue jumped slightly from his shout.
Ginn didn't notice.
He stared at the jar.
It was real.
Finally.
After all the suffering.
After learning about Qi.
After learning about meridians.
After learning about dantians.
After learning about spiritual sense.
His reward had arrived.
Ginn placed both hands around the jar almost affectionately.
"My precious."
Qingxue's expression became strange.
"Brother Ginn…"
"Shhh."
Ginn ran his hand across the ceramic surface.
"Don't ruin this moment."
"…"
Qingxue decided to remain silent.
Ginn examined the seal.
Up close, he could see several symbols written across a strip of yellow paper covering the lid.
"What's this?"
Qingxue leaned closer.
"A preservation talisman."
"Can I remove it?"
"Yes, but—"
Ginn ripped it off.
Qingxue froze.
"…you should probably inspect the wine first."
"Too late."
Ginn grabbed the lid.
There was a faint resistance.
Then—
Pop.
The seal opened.
A fragrance immediately escaped.
Ginn froze.
Qingxue froze.
The courtyard seemed to become silent.
A rich aroma spread through the pavilion.
It was alcohol.
There was no mistaking that.
But Ginn had never smelled alcohol like this before.
Sweetness came first.
Not the artificial sweetness of cheap flavored liquor, but something deep and natural, like ripe fruit left beneath warm sunlight.
Then came something floral.
Something herbal.
Something Ginn couldn't identify.
And beneath all of it was the unmistakable sharpness of alcohol.
Except even that smelled clean.
Smooth.
Almost impossibly pure.
Ginn slowly leaned toward the opening.
"…Oh."
His entire demeanor changed.
The joking disappeared.
The complaints disappeared.
Even his usual lazy expression disappeared.
Ginn inhaled again.
His eyes widened.
Back on Earth, he had drunk almost anything he could afford.
Beer.
Gin.
Whiskey.
Vodka.
Rum.
Cheap convenience-store alcohol.
Questionable homemade liquor offered by people he probably shouldn't have trusted.
He had experienced enough alcohol to believe he understood what liquor could taste and smell like.
Apparently, he knew nothing.
"This…"
Ginn swallowed.
"This is alcohol?"
Qingxue wasn't paying attention to him.
Her face had changed as well.
Unlike Ginn, she could feel something else inside the fragrance.
Spiritual energy.
An enormous amount of it.
Her expression immediately became serious.
"Brother Ginn."
Ginn didn't respond.
"Brother Ginn."
Still nothing.
His face was hovering dangerously close to the jar.
Qingxue reached toward him.
"Wait."
That finally got his attention.
Ginn turned.
"What?"
"Do not drink that yet."
Ginn stared at her.
Then at the wine.
Then back at her.
"…Why?"
"I don't know what kind of spirit wine this is."
"That's why I'm going to taste it."
"That's exactly why you shouldn't!"
Ginn frowned.
Qingxue stood and examined the jar carefully.
There was no label.
No obvious name.
Only several markings she couldn't recognize.
But the spiritual energy coming from the wine was unmistakable.
"This isn't ordinary spirit wine."
Ginn's eyes brightened.
"Even better."
"No."
Qingxue immediately shook her head.
"Senior Yan Di is a Core Formation cultivator. Something he casually carries may be completely unsuitable for someone in Qi Refining."
Ginn looked at the wine.
Then at Qingxue.
Then back at the wine.
His expression became thoughtful.
Qingxue relaxed slightly.
Perhaps he understood the danger.
Then Ginn asked:
"Will it kill me?"
Qingxue froze.
"I… don't know."
"Will one sip kill me?"
"Brother Ginn, that's not the point."
"That's exactly the point."
"No, it isn't!"
Ginn sighed.
"Qingxue."
She stopped.
Ginn pointed toward the jar.
"I spent the last hour learning invisible kung fu because of that."
"…Qi circulation."
"Same thing."
"It is absolutely not the same thing."
"I learned how to move energy through organs I didn't even know existed."
"Meridians aren't organs."
"I learned how to grab things with my brain."
"Spiritual sense!"
"And now you're telling me not to drink it?"
Qingxue stared at him.
"Yes!"
Ginn looked genuinely offended.
"That's cruel."
Qingxue rubbed her forehead.
How had the man who saved her life become like this?
"At least let someone knowledgeable inspect it first."
"How long?"
"I don't know. We can ask Father or the Second Elder."
"How long?"
"Perhaps tomorrow."
Ginn's face hardened.
"No."
"Brother Ginn."
"Absolutely not."
He looked at the wine.
Tomorrow?
The greatest-smelling alcohol he had encountered in his entire life was sitting less than an arm's length away and she wanted him to wait until tomorrow?
Impossible.
Unreasonable.
Inhumane.
Ginn grabbed a small cup from the table.
Qingxue immediately moved.
"Brother Ginn!"
"Relax."
Ginn poured only a small amount.
The moment the wine left the jar, its appearance surprised him.
Clear.
Almost completely transparent.
But under the sunlight, faint golden threads seemed to move inside the liquid before disappearing.
Ginn stared.
"…Pretty."
"That isn't the important part!"
"It helps."
Qingxue reached toward the cup.
Ginn moved it away.
"Just one taste."
"No."
"One."
"No."
"A tiny one."
"Brother Ginn!"
Ginn stared at her.
Qingxue stared back.
Then Ginn smiled.
Qingxue immediately had a bad feeling.
"Cheers."
He drank.
"Ginn!"
The wine touched his tongue.
And the world stopped.
Ginn's eyes widened.
For the briefest moment, he forgot Qingxue existed.
He forgot the cultivation world.
He forgot the system.
He forgot Foundation Establishment.
He forgot the people he had killed.
He forgot everything.
Flavor exploded across his tongue.
Sweetness.
Then warmth.
Then something resembling peaches, except no peach Ginn had ever eaten possessed such depth.
A floral fragrance followed.
Then a subtle bitterness.
Then another flavor appeared beneath it.
And another.
And another.
Every time Ginn thought he understood the taste, something changed.
The wine was incredibly strong, yet there was almost no harsh burning sensation.
Instead, warmth flowed smoothly down his throat and spread through his chest.
Ginn slowly lowered the cup.
His eyes trembled.
"…"
Qingxue watched him nervously.
"Brother Ginn?"
Ginn looked down at the cup.
His hand began trembling.
Qingxue became alarmed.
"Are you alright?"
Ginn whispered.
"…Amazing."
"What?"
"This is amazing."
His eyes slowly moved toward the jar.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Ginn looked genuinely enlightened.
Not cultivation enlightenment.
Something far more important.
'So this is spirit wine.'
Everything he had drunk before suddenly seemed cheap.
Primitive.
Incomplete.
This wasn't merely stronger alcohol.
It was better.
Far better.
If this was what high-level cultivators drank…
Ginn suddenly understood something.
Maybe becoming stronger wasn't such a bad idea.
If cultivation allowed him to drink things like this—
A transparent notification appeared.
[High-grade spiritual substance detected.]
Ginn blinked.
"Huh?"
Another notification appeared.
[Foreign spiritual energy entering body.]
[Processing…]
Then—
[Qi absorbed: +25,000]
Ginn's eyes widened.
"What the—"
His Qi Pool changed.
Qi Pool: 65,742
Efficiency: 4/s
Before Ginn could properly process what had happened, another notification appeared.
[Special nourishment detected.]
[Physique +1]
[Potential +1]
[Enhancement queued.]
Ginn stared.
"…"
Qingxue noticed his expression.
"What's wrong?"
Ginn didn't answer.
His brain was trying to catch up.
25,000 Qi.
From one drink.
+1 Physique.
+1 Potential.
From alcohol.
Ginn slowly looked toward the wine jar.
Something dangerous appeared in his eyes.
'Drinking makes me stronger?'
This…
This changed everything.
All those years.
All those people telling him drinking was unhealthy.
All those mornings waking up feeling like someone had smashed his skull with a hammer.
All those lectures.
All those regrets.
They had all been wrong.
Ginn's lips slowly curled upward.
'I knew it.'
Alcohol was medicine.
He had simply been born in the wrong world.
"Brother Ginn?"
Qingxue noticed his smile.
For some reason, it frightened her.
Ginn reached toward the cup again.
"Wait!"
Too late.
He took another mouthful.
The flavor struck him again.
Even better now that he knew what to expect.
Ginn closed his eyes.
"Ahhh…"
He finally understood happiness.
Then—
His face turned red.
Extremely red.
Ginn opened his eyes.
"…Huh?"
The pavilion moved.
He blinked.
No.
The pavilion definitely moved.
Ginn grabbed the table.
"Why is the table…"
Qingxue rushed toward him.
"Brother Ginn!"
"…moving?"
"The table isn't moving!"
Ginn stared at her.
There were 2 Qingxues.
Then 3.
Then somehow 4.
Ginn frowned.
"Why are there so many of you?"
Qingxue's eyes widened.
"You're drunk!"
Ginn looked offended.
"Impossible."
He tried standing.
His legs disagreed.
Ginn immediately sat back down.
"…Maybe a little."
Qingxue grabbed his shoulder.
Her expression became increasingly strange.
She had expected violent spiritual energy.
She had expected Ginn's meridians to become overwhelmed.
She had expected him to suffer from the medicinal strength of the wine.
Instead…
He was simply unbelievably drunk.
Ginn stared at the jar.
The wonderful flavor still lingered inside his mouth.
He wanted another drink.
Desperately.
His hand moved.
Qingxue slapped it away.
"No!"
Ginn looked at her with betrayal.
"Why?"
"You can barely sit!"
"I'm fine."
"You just asked why the table was moving."
"It stopped."
"It never moved!"
Ginn considered this.
"…Good table."
Qingxue didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Ginn tried reaching for the wine again.
His hand missed the jar entirely.
"…"
He stared at his hand.
Then tried again.
Missed.
His expression slowly became horrified.
"No."
Qingxue blinked.
"What?"
"No, no, no."
Ginn grabbed the edge of the table.
He could feel it.
The alcohol was winning.
His eyelids became heavy.
His body became warm.
His thoughts began drifting apart.
He knew this feeling.
He knew it far too well.
"Not yet."
Ginn looked toward the jar.
The greatest alcohol he had ever tasted.
6 jars.
He had barely tasted one.
"No…"
Qingxue caught him as his body leaned sideways.
"Brother Ginn!"
Ginn struggled.
"Wine…"
"You need to rest."
"No…"
His eyes were already closing.
Ginn reached weakly toward the jar.
"I didn't…"
His hand dropped.
"…even get to enjoy it…"
Qingxue stared at him.
"Ginn?"
No response.
"Ginn?"
His breathing became slow and steady.
He was unconscious.
Qingxue remained frozen for several seconds.
Then she looked toward the cup.
Then toward the jar.
Then toward Ginn sleeping peacefully against her.
"…"
She didn't know what to say.
A Qi Refining cultivator had just consumed spirit wine carried by a Core Formation elder.
And instead of suffering a cultivation backlash…
He had gotten drunk.
Qingxue sighed.
"You really are strange."
She carefully moved Ginn away from the table.
What Qingxue couldn't see, however, was the transparent interface still floating beside him.
[Sleep state detected.]
[Applying queued enhancements.]
[Physique +1]
[Potential +1]
[Processing queued breakthroughs…]
[Qi Refining Lv.5…]
[Qi Refining Lv.6…]
[Qi Refining Lv.7…]
[Qi Refining Lv.8…]
[Qi Refining Lv.9…]
One after another, the enhancements Ginn had purchased earlier began activating.
The Qi inside his body silently changed.
His meridians strengthened.
His flesh improved.
His senses sharpened.
His cultivation climbed.
All while Ginn slept completely unaware.
Outside, Qingxue carefully sealed the jar again.
She looked at the unconscious Ginn.
Then at the wine.
Then back at Ginn.
A strange thought appeared in her mind.
Perhaps she should hide the jar before he woke up.
Meanwhile, deep inside his drunken sleep, Ginn had only one regret.
The wine had been incredible.
Absolutely incredible.
And he had lost to it almost immediately.
"Ugh…"
Ginn groaned.
His head felt strange.
Not painful.
That was the first thing he noticed.
Normally, after drinking enough alcohol to completely knock himself unconscious, Ginn expected punishment.
A pounding headache.
A dry throat.
A stomach threatening rebellion.
Regret.
Lots and lots of regret.
He was intimately familiar with the consequences of his terrible drinking habits.
This time, however…
Nothing.
Ginn slowly opened his eyes.
A wooden ceiling greeted him.
"…Where am I?"
He stared blankly upward.
Several seconds passed.
Then his memories returned.
The courtyard.
Qingxue.
Qi circulation.
Spatial ring.
Wine.
Ginn's eyes widened.
"The wine!"
He immediately sat up.
Or at least, he intended to sit up.
Instead—
Whoosh!
Ginn's upper body shot forward with so much force that he nearly launched himself off the bed.
"What the?!"
He grabbed the wooden frame beside him.
Crack!
Ginn froze.
A piece of wood broke off inside his hand.
"…"
He looked at it.
Then at the bed.
Then back at the broken wood.
"That's coming out of my bill, isn't it?"
Ginn suddenly remembered that he didn't have any money.
"…I'll blame the bed."
He carefully placed the broken piece beside him as though doing so would somehow erase the evidence.
Only then did Ginn notice something else.
Everything felt different.
The room was unusually clear.
Not visually.
Or rather, not only visually.
He could hear birds outside.
That wasn't strange.
What was strange was that he could hear several different birds and somehow distinguish where each sound was coming from.
One was somewhere on the roof.
Another was inside the tree outside his courtyard.
Two more were farther away.
He could hear footsteps outside.
A servant.
Light steps.
Probably carrying something.
Somewhere farther away, water was moving.
Ginn frowned.
'Was that fountain always this loud?'
Then came the smells.
Wood.
Flowers.
Food.
Morning air.
And—
Ginn's head snapped toward the table.
Wine.
His eyes widened.
There was wine nearby.
Not the wine.
Unfortunately.
But alcohol nonetheless.
Ginn slowly climbed out of bed.
This time, he deliberately controlled his movement.
His feet touched the floor.
His body felt light.
Too light.
No.
That wasn't right.
The world didn't feel lighter.
He felt stronger.
Much stronger.
Ginn looked down at his hands.
"Ah."
The breakthroughs.
Then he remembered.
He had queued 5 of them before Qingxue arrived.
Qi Refining Lv.5.
Lv.6.
Lv.7.
Lv.8.
Lv.9.
And then…
The spirit wine.
Ginn immediately summoned the system.
The familiar transparent screen appeared.
Ginn (Qi Refining Lv.9)
Qi Pool: 281,946
Efficiency: 10/s
Senses: 9
Physique: 70
Charm: 9
Comprehension: 9
Luck: 9
Potential: 10
Unassigned Points: 0
-Breakthrough
-Qi Refining (Lv.9)
-Flesh Refining (Lv.1)
-Qi-gathering array (Lv.1)
-Inventory (Lv.1)
-Recharge
Ginn stared.
"…"
Then leaned closer.
"281,946?"
He blinked.
The number changed.
281,956.
Then—
281,966.
Ginn's eyes moved downward.
Efficiency: 10/s
"…Oh."
His eyes moved farther down.
Potential: 10.
Then toward Physique.
70.
Ginn stood completely still.
Slowly, everything came back together.
Before sleeping, his stats had been:
Senses: 4.
Physique: 64.
Charm: 4.
Comprehension: 4.
Luck: 4.
Potential: 4.
He had queued 5 Qi Refining breakthroughs.
Every breakthrough increased all his stats by +1.
That should have brought everything except Physique to 9 and Physique to 69.
But the wine had given him another:
+1 Physique.
+1 Potential.
Which meant—
Senses: 9.
Physique: 70.
Charm: 9.
Comprehension: 9.
Luck: 9.
Potential: 10.
Ginn's eyes returned toward Efficiency.
10/s.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
"So Potential really does affect Efficiency."
That had been his assumption from the beginning, but seeing the numbers directly made it much clearer.
Potential increased.
Efficiency increased with it.
His system was now generating:
10 Qi every second.
600 Qi every minute.
36,000 Qi every hour.
Ginn became silent.
"…36,000 an hour."
His expression slowly changed.
"That's disgusting."
He meant it as a compliment.
At 4/s, he had already thought his system was ridiculous.
Now it was generating 10/s.
While he slept.
While he ate.
While he walked.
While he drank.
While he complained about how difficult cultivation was.
The system didn't care.
Qi simply continued appearing.
281,986.
281,996.
282,006.
Ginn stared at the number.
Then remembered something.
Foundation Establishment.
His eyes moved toward Breakthrough.
He selected it.
[Qi Refining Lv.9 → Foundation Establishment Lv.1]
[Required Qi: 128,000]
Ginn stared at the requirement.
Yesterday, 128,000 had looked like an enormous wall.
Now?
He looked at his Qi Pool.
282,056.
Then back at the requirement.
128,000.
Then back at his Qi Pool.
"…"
Ginn scratched his cheek.
"Well, that was fast."
He could afford it.
Right now.
Not only could he afford it, he would still have more than 150,000 Qi remaining afterward.
Ginn's finger moved toward the breakthrough option.
Then stopped.
He stared at it.
Foundation Establishment.
He barely understood Qi Refining.
He had only learned how to consciously move Qi yesterday.
He had spent almost his entire cultivation career believing he was dreaming.
And now the system was already offering to throw him into the next major realm.
Ginn slowly pulled his finger away.
"…Later."
For once, Ginn exercised restraint.
Not because he was afraid of Foundation Establishment.
Not because he wanted to stabilize his cultivation like a responsible cultivator.
And certainly not because he suddenly respected the sacred journey of cultivation.
He simply had something much more important to deal with.
Ginn looked around.
"Where's the wine?"
His eyes moved across the room.
Table.
Chair.
Shelf.
Nothing.
His expression changed.
"No."
He checked the spatial ring.
The moment he guided a small amount of Qi toward it, the internal space appeared far more easily than yesterday.
His spiritual sense was still clumsy, but compared to his first attempt, it felt significantly more natural.
Ginn immediately searched.
Clothes.
Containers.
Pale stones.
Miscellaneous items.
5 sealed jars.
His eyes narrowed.
5.
There had been 6.
Meaning Qingxue had placed the opened jar somewhere outside the ring.
Ginn's face became serious.
"Qingxue."
He stood.
At that exact moment—
Knock. Knock.
"Brother Ginn?"
Ginn's eyes narrowed.
Speak of the devil.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Qingxue entered carrying a tray containing breakfast.
She smiled.
"You're awake."
Ginn stared at her.
Qingxue stopped.
"…Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Where is it?"
Qingxue immediately knew what he meant.
Her smile became slightly stiff.
"Where is what?"
Ginn's eyes narrowed further.
"Don't play games with me."
"Brother Ginn…"
"The jar."
Qingxue sighed.
"It's safe."
"Where?"
"Safe."
"That's not a location."
Qingxue placed the breakfast on the table.
"After you lost consciousness, I sealed it and had it placed somewhere secure."
Ginn stared at her in horror.
"You took my wine?"
"I protected your wine."
"From who?!"
Qingxue looked directly at him.
"You."
"…"
Ginn became silent.
Qingxue crossed her arms.
"You tried to drink more even when you could barely sit upright."
"It tasted good."
"You couldn't even reach the jar."
"It was moving."
"The jar wasn't moving."
Ginn frowned.
"…Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
Ginn clicked his tongue.
High-grade spirit wine apparently possessed some sort of movement technique.
Dangerous stuff.
Qingxue stared at him.
"Do you remember what happened?"
"Of course."
Ginn paused.
Fragments appeared.
The smell.
The taste.
The system notifications.
Qingxue multiplying.
The table moving.
Then…
Nothing.
His expression slowly became dark.
Actually…
That was the problem.
He remembered the first taste.
He remembered how incredible it was.
Then the alcohol hit him so quickly that everything after became a mess.
Ginn sat down.
His shoulders dropped.
"…Damn it."
Qingxue blinked.
"What?"
Ginn looked genuinely depressed.
"I barely got to enjoy it."
Qingxue stared.
Of all the things he could be worried about…
"You consumed a spirit wine meant for a cultivator far stronger than you."
"I know."
"You lost consciousness almost immediately."
"I know."
"Your body could have been injured."
"It wasn't."
"That's not the point."
"It is to me."
Ginn rested his forehead against the table.
"This is bullshit."
Qingxue became increasingly confused.
"Shouldn't you be relieved?"
"Relieved?"
Ginn raised his head.
"Do you know how good that tasted?"
"…No."
"Exactly."
He pointed toward her.
"You don't understand."
Qingxue's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Ginn leaned back.
For years, he had drunk whatever alcohol he could afford.
Usually cheap.
Sometimes terrible.
Occasionally decent.
Once in a while, something genuinely good.
But that spirit wine?
It was different.
The flavor still lingered inside his memory.
The sweetness.
The fragrance.
The warmth.
The way the taste seemed to change after every moment.
It had completely changed his understanding of alcohol.
And he had been defeated after barely drinking any.
Ginn clenched his fist.
"70."
Qingxue blinked.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Ginn looked at his system.
Physique: 70.
70 Physique.
He had dumped his original 60 unassigned points into Physique for one reason.
To drink more.
At the time, even Ginn had known that decision was stupid.
Senses could help him.
Comprehension could help him learn.
Luck sounded useful.
Potential increased his passive Qi generation.
Yet he had thrown everything into Physique because he wanted better alcohol tolerance.
And somehow…
It still wasn't enough.
Ginn's eyebrow twitched.
"What kind of monster made that wine?"
Qingxue sat across from him.
"Senior Yan Di is at least a Core Formation cultivator. If the wine was intended for someone at his level, your ability to drink it at all without suffering serious harm is already unusual."
Ginn slowly looked at her.
"Core Formation?"
"Yes."
Ginn became silent.
Qi Refining.
Foundation Establishment.
Core Formation.
His eyes slowly sharpened.
"So if I reach Core Formation…"
Qingxue immediately sensed something was wrong with that question.
"…What?"
"I should be able to drink it properly."
Qingxue stared at him.
"That isn't what I said."
"But it makes sense."
"No, it doesn't."
"Stronger body."
"Yes, but—"
"Stronger cultivation."
"Yes."
"Better tolerance."
"That isn't necessarily—"
Ginn slapped his palm onto the table.
"Good."
Qingxue jumped.
Ginn leaned backward with a satisfied expression.
He had found it.
A goal.
A genuine cultivation goal.
Until now, becoming stronger had mostly been useful.
Strength meant survival.
Strength meant fewer people could bother him.
Strength meant he could live comfortably.
Those were good reasons.
Very good reasons.
But they weren't exciting.
Ginn didn't dream about standing at the peak of the world.
He didn't care about becoming the strongest under heaven.
He had no interest in challenging geniuses, conquering sects, defeating ancient monsters, or screaming about defying the heavens every time something inconvenient happened.
But this?
This was different.
There were better wines.
Stronger wines.
Wines that tasted far beyond anything Earth could produce.
And apparently, if Ginn wanted to properly enjoy them…
He needed a body capable of surviving them.
Ginn's lips curled upward.
'Fine.'
If a single gulp could defeat him now…
Then he would become strong enough for 2.
Then 3.
Then a cup.
Then a jar.
Ginn looked toward the spatial ring.
'You won this time.'
The jars remained unaware that Ginn had declared war on them.
'But I'll be back.'
Qingxue watched the changes in Ginn's expression with increasing concern.
"What are you thinking?"
"Nothing."
"That doesn't look like nothing."
Ginn smiled.
"I'm going to cultivate."
Qingxue froze.
That was…
Unexpectedly responsible.
A relieved smile appeared on her face.
"That's good. With your talent, if you cultivate diligently—"
"Until I can drink that entire jar."
Qingxue's smile disappeared.
"…"
Ginn nodded confidently.
"Maybe 2."
Qingxue lowered her head.
For some reason, she suddenly regretted encouraging him.
Then Ginn remembered something else.
"Right."
He looked toward her.
"The library."
Qingxue raised her head.
"What about it?"
"Your father said I can use the first floor."
"Yes."
"Take me there."
Qingxue blinked.
"Now?"
"Now."
"What are you looking for?"
Ginn gave her a look as though the answer should have been obvious.
"Ice."
"…Ice?"
"Ice Art. Cold technique. Freezing technique. Anything that makes things cold."
Qingxue stared at him.
Then slowly looked toward the ordinary wine jar sitting nearby.
Understanding appeared in her eyes.
"…This is still about wine, isn't it?"
Ginn looked offended.
"Of course not."
Qingxue continued staring.
Ginn lasted 2 seconds.
"…Mostly."
Qingxue sighed.
Still, she stood.
"Fine. I'll take you."
"Good."
Ginn immediately followed.
As they left the courtyard, Ginn glanced once more at his system.
Qi Pool: 283,416
Efficiency: 10/s
The number continued increasing.
283,426.
283,436.
Ginn smiled.
Foundation Establishment could wait a little longer.
The Qi wasn't going anywhere.
In fact, it was doing the opposite.
It was increasing every second he wasted.
For once in his life, wasting time was profitable.
The Lin Clan library was located toward the quieter eastern section of the estate.
Compared to the enormous halls Ginn had already seen, the building wasn't particularly extravagant. It stood 3 stories tall, surrounded by old trees and a small stone courtyard. Two guards stood outside the entrance, and an elderly man sat behind a wooden desk just inside.
The moment Qingxue entered, both guards bowed.
"Young Miss."
Qingxue nodded.
"This is Ginn. Father granted him access to the first floor."
The elderly man looked up.
His eyes moved across Ginn.
For some reason, his gaze remained on him slightly longer than expected.
Ginn noticed.
'Here we go.'
An old man.
A cultivation library.
A mysterious gaze.
Ginn had read enough novels to know where this was going.
The old man would probably notice Ginn's incredible hidden talent.
Then say something mysterious.
Then perhaps secretly be an ancient expert hiding inside the Lin Clan.
Ginn prepared himself.
The old man spoke.
"Don't damage the books."
"…"
Ginn waited.
That was it.
The elderly man lowered his head and continued reading.
Ginn stared.
'Seriously?'
Another cultivation cliché had betrayed him.
Qingxue walked ahead.
"Come."
Ginn followed reluctantly.
The first floor was larger than he expected.
Rows upon rows of wooden shelves stretched across the room.
Books.
Scrolls.
Jade slips.
Manuals.
More books.
Ginn stopped.
His expression slowly became horrified.
"…I have to read these?"
Qingxue looked back.
"You wanted an Ice Art."
"I thought they'd have labels."
"They do."
Ginn looked toward the shelves.
Small wooden plaques divided them into sections.
Cultivation Fundamentals.
Body Techniques.
Sword Techniques.
Movement Techniques.
Elemental Techniques.
Miscellaneous Arts.
Ginn's eyes immediately locked onto one.
Elemental Techniques.
His horror disappeared.
"There."
He walked faster.
Qingxue followed.
Ginn began examining the shelves.
Flame Palm.
Earthen Skin.
Flowing Water Art.
Wind Step.
Burning Finger.
Stone Fist.
Ginn ignored them one after another.
"Where's ice?"
"Cold-element techniques are uncommon in our clan."
"Why?"
"Few members possess suitable affinity."
Ginn stopped.
"Affinity?"
Qingxue nodded.
"Different cultivators possess different spiritual roots and affinities. Although some basic techniques can be learned by many people, stronger elemental arts usually require compatibility."
Ginn frowned.
"What happens if you're incompatible?"
"You may simply fail."
"That's fine."
"Or injure your meridians."
"…Less fine."
Ginn continued searching anyway.
Qingxue shook her head.
"Brother Ginn, you should first determine your spiritual affinity before attempting anything dangerous."
"I just want ice."
"That doesn't make it safer."
Ginn ignored her.
Scroll.
Book.
Manual.
Nothing.
Then—
His hand stopped.
A thin, worn manual sat between 2 thicker books.
The cover was faded.
Dust had gathered along its edge.
Nobody appeared to have touched it in quite some time.
Three words were written across the front.
Frost Palm Art
Ginn's eyes widened.
"There you are."
He pulled it from the shelf.
Qingxue leaned closer.
"Frost Palm?"
"You know it?"
"A little."
"Is it good?"
Qingxue hesitated.
"…Not particularly."
Ginn's excitement faded slightly.
"How bad?"
"It's a low-level cold technique. It gathers cold Qi into the palm. The offensive power is mediocre, the Qi consumption is inefficient, and without sufficient cold affinity it is difficult to learn."
Ginn stared at the manual.
Qingxue continued.
"Most clan members choose something else."
"So nobody wants it?"
"Essentially."
Ginn's excitement immediately returned.
"Perfect."
Qingxue blinked.
"Perfect?"
Ginn opened the manual.
The first page contained an illustration of a hand surrounded by frost.
His eyes shone.
Cold.
That was all he needed.
Attack power?
Didn't care.
Efficiency?
He generated Qi while sleeping.
Prestige?
Completely worthless.
What mattered was that the technique made things cold.
Ginn imagined holding a jar.
A layer of frost forming around it.
Cold wine.
His expression became peaceful.
'Beautiful.'
Qingxue stared at him.
"Brother Ginn, I really think you should choose something more practical."
"This is practical."
"For combat?"
"No."
"For cultivation?"
"No."
"Then how?"
Ginn closed the manual.
"Wine."
Qingxue rubbed her forehead.
Of course.
Ginn carried the Frost Palm Art toward one of the nearby reading tables.
He sat.
Opened the manual.
And stared at the first page.
Several breaths passed.
His expression slowly changed.
"…"
Qingxue sat nearby.
"What?"
Ginn pointed toward the page.
"What does this mean?"
Qingxue leaned over.
"'Gather the Yin-cold essence through the lesser meridian, circulate through the frost channel, guide the cold breath—'"
"Stop."
Ginn's head was already hurting.
He stared at the manual.
Cultivators truly had a talent for making everything unnecessarily complicated.
Ginn sighed.
"Fine."
He placed both hands on the book.
"Let's translate this nonsense."
The moment his fingers touched the diagram—
The transparent system flickered.
Ginn froze.
"…Huh?"
Qingxue looked toward him.
"What?"
Ginn didn't answer.
A small notification appeared before his eyes.
[External cultivation technique detected.]
Ginn's expression changed.
Another line appeared.
[Frost Palm Art]
[Technique data incomplete.]
[Analysis available.]
Ginn stared silently at the notification.
Qingxue couldn't see it.
The library remained quiet around them.
Ginn's eyes slowly narrowed.
'Analysis?'
His attention moved toward the system.
For the first time since arriving in this world, something that had never existed inside his original game had been placed directly in front of it.
A real cultivation technique.
And somehow…
The system recognized it.
Ginn looked down at the Frost Palm Art.
Then back toward the notification.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"Interesting."
Qingxue immediately became suspicious.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Brother Ginn."
Ginn ignored her.
He stared at the word floating before him.
[Analysis available.]
He had no idea what would happen if he selected it.
He had no idea what it would cost.
He had no idea whether his unfinished system could actually understand a cultivation technique from another world.
But one thing was certain.
Ginn suddenly wanted to find out.
And for once…
It wasn't entirely because of alcohol.
Mostly.
But not entirely.