[You have spent the night reflecting on your new life while watching the idyllic scenery of the vast world. As such, you've been rewarded with the Nightfall Scripture.]
Kun Xing opened his eyes, but looking at the text that hovered in his vision, he lost the will to lift his body. He retrieved the Nightfall Scripture with a thought, instantly comprehending its entirety.
'It's incomparable to the technique my predecessor was practicing. If I can get rewards like this without leaving my room, what's the point of doing anything?'
[Host, the point of the System is to guide you through this new world, helping you while ensuring you live a fulfilling life. If you waste yourself away like this, not only will you not be rewarded, you will also lose access to the System.]
'... Fair enough.'
Kun Xing got up and opened the door to his meditation room, which was connected to his bedroom by a decorated door. In front of him laid a prayer mat with burning incense that could calm the mind and hasten the flow of thoughts.
Sitting on the mat and admiring its effects, he closed his eyes and began to draw upon the principles of the Nightfall Scripture. The energy of Heaven and Earth flooded into his pores, permeating his entire body and causing it to undergo monumental transformations. His muscles became as powerful as steel beams, his skin became as taut as wire, and his bones became as durable as steel. Blood essence pulsed throughout his body, and his spiritual energy surged to form a dark aura around his exterior.
An hour passed, and Kun Xing opened his eyes and exhaled, casting his Divine Will deep into his body to truly analyze his strength. Under his scrutiny, he could tell that every inch of his body was filled with power that, when erupted, could severely injure a cultivator of the same level.
[You've completely transformed your cultivation base, breaking the limits of your body and beginning the path to attaining an immortal foundation. As such, you've obtained ten bottles of Foundation Establishment pills.]
Kun Xing, now unsurprised by the System, silently retrieved a jade vial from the System's inventory. In its transparency, he could see five pills covered in a dense mist that could even be seen from the vial's green coloring. These were Foundation Establishment pills of the highest degree- pills that even the most prominent alchemists of the Myriad Fates City wouldn't be able to concoct.
'It's unfortunate I have to leave, though.'
The old Kun Xing rarely cultivated during the day. Understandably, meditation was a chore for him, and he preferred to practice archery and indulge in delicacies.
'I was too excited,' Kun Xing ruminated. 'Though, a simple cultivation session shouldn't be enough to draw any suspicion towards me. Additionally, if I don't make any subtle changes, I'll be forever bound to my predecessor's persona. If that's the case, won't I be destined to have no friends for the rest of my life?'
Kun Xing left the meditation room, drawing upon the Nightfall Scripture to conceal his true cultivation base. The intricacies of the scripture were simply too profound; even if his father directly scrutinized his body with his Divine Will, he wouldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
"Young Master Xing."
All of the servants and maids who passed by him gave him a respectful nod, which he characteristically ignored. His eyes were narrowed in utter dismissal towards the world, and his lips curled into a frown as if he disdained to even look at the passerby.
Eventually, he reached the back of the City Lord's Residence, opening the door to a stretch of land larger than multiple football stadiums gathered together. Sparrows used to fly around here without a care in the world, but after they kept getting shot down by arrows, they no longer dared to come.
Kun Xing briefly looked around him, seeing a bevy of teenagers around his age shooting arrows, training with swords and spears, and performing inhuman movements under the unsatisfied gazes of their instructors. He then promptly looked away from them, grabbing a practice bow and entering the archery formation.
In the training grounds, status was irrelevant. Just as Kun Xing didn't bother to involve himself with anyone, nobody tried to chat him up either. Ignoring this, Kun Xing raised his bow and drew his hand back, causing a blue ray of light to appear in place of an arrow. He closed his eyes, gently infusing his Divine Will into the air. His mind was incomparably stable, and his heartbeat seemed to thrum in accordance with the surroundings. He took a deep breath, and decisively locked onto his target.
Thwang!
He opened his eyes, releasing the arrow that had stretched the bowstring to its limit. The arrow flew at a speed imperceptible to the human eye, piercing the air as it closed in on its target.
Three-hundred meters away, a green sparrow comprised of energy had its eye pierced through, dissipating into the atmosphere along with the arrow that assailed it.
Seeing this, Kun Xing set down his bow in satisfaction.
'For my first time, it isn't too bad. I can see why my predecessor enjoyed it so much.'
Actually, he couldn't. The old Kun Xing was an avid fan of archery, indeed, but it was for a much different reason, one much more sinister. He enjoyed catching his targets off guard, watching their oblivious expressions change to that of extreme pain and helplessness.
Thinking of this, Kun Xing's expression darkened, and he picked up the bow to continue his archery. His posture was immaculate, and his aim was as meticulous as an artist's brush. His releases were filled with power, and his arrows always landed where they were intended to. After an hour of consistent performance, many of the others within the formation were looking at him with gazes of admiration.
'The Fifth Young Master indeed lives up to his reputation as an archery genius. He's only been training for about two months, yet he's already as experienced as those who've devoted themselves to the bow and arrow for years.'
...
[You have taken in interest in archery, taking on the mantle of your predecessor and gaining the admiration of the people around you. For this, you've been rewarded with the Sun-Piercing Battle Law.]
'Is it sunset already?'
Kun Xing reluctantly set aside his bow, placing it back in the wooden box it was taken from. He then looked into his inventory, silently deciding to assimilate the new technique into his mind. Immediately, a powerful piercing intent emanated from his body, making Kun Xing appear as if he was the embodiment of all bowmen. The feeling disappeared just as fast as it came, however, and his aura quickly faded into obscurity.
'It's time to go back. Now that I have the Nightfall Scripture, I have to cultivate much more than my previous self did if I want to quickly obtain a perfect foundation. Luckily, I have the aid of the System.'
He walked back to his room in silence, emulating his predecessor's actions as if they were natural. Ruminating upon the mysteries of the Sun-Piercing Battle Law, he decided that he would go out for practice after completing his foundation and forming his Qi Sea.
Entering his meditation room and sitting down on the prayer mat, he took a light-green pill from his inventory and immediately swallowed it. Torrential waves of natural energy swept through his meridians, but the Nightfall Scripture was easily able to process them. Perceiving this, Kun Xing decided to push his limits, downing the rest of the pills in the jade vial.
Boom!
His meridians were expanded to their limits by the extreme amounts of energy that was currently passing through them. If any other Foundation Establishment cultivator were foolish enough to perform a similar feat, their meridians would collapse in an instant, and their bodies would explode from the voluminous amount of violent energy.
Even for Kun Xing and his Nightfall Scripture, this was his limit. Beads of sweat poured down his face, and he had no room for any thoughts besides mobilizing his cultivation technique. His breathing was heavy, and his posture slackened in inattentiveness.
His willpower was truly tested to its limits. If he lost his focus for even a moment, his meridians would immediately bear the brunt of the violent spiritual energy and crumble in the process.
After five hours passed, the waves in his body slowly settled, and he returned to normal. Reflecting on his blind estimation and his predecessor's seemingly contagious arrogance and self-overestimation, he facepalmed.
[Even after obtaining a system, you blindly guessed your limits and almost died in the process. As a result, you've obtained the Death-Defying Immortal Scripture.]
[Luck and destiny are the only things that separate windfalls from disaster. Cultivators have a tendency to court death, and it's your responsibility to make sure you don't suffer the same fate as everyone else.]