Chapter 1 Robert, the Wizard
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Somewhere in a bustling city, a young man who seemed to be in his early 20s sat in front of his computer with uninterested eyes. As he read through the wall of text in front of him, he finally arrived at the end and smiled.
"Finally!... This ass of a story is over…"
As he looked at the ceiling from the comfort of his gaming chair, his lips curled as he let his thoughts escape his lips, "It wasn't as bad of an ending as I initially thought… Nevertheless, no wonder this novel is just a 3.2 out of 5 stars… Sigh."
"Quite a disappointment. If the main character weren't like that and the first few characters weren't like that, then maybe things would've been different. I thought the world-building for once was quite solid."
'Well then, another novel on the list is done… What's next?' He thought with tired eyes as he scanned his computer
The young man saw what novels were available, so he chose one and left its tab open on the computer while he went out of his room to grab something to eat.
He lived alone in a rather nice apartment. It wasn't big but certainly not small, having around three rooms and a major area where the kitchen was jointly with the living room.
Opening the fridge and picking some cheese, the young man made himself a sandwich and sat on the couch to relax under the ceiling fan.
His name was Robert, 29 years old, single, unemployed and a virgin… It seems like quite the poor combination, and you couldn't be more correct, but his case was special.
Robert had a pair of very intelligent and responsible parents with their own level of foresight… I know, rare stuff, right?
From the day he was born, they kept a savings account for him that would end up accumulating quite an amount of money until he graduated from college. Not only that, but when he was tiny, Robert was lucky and bought several things with the legendary… Bitcoins.
The result was that several dozen Bitcoins survived for almost a decade and eventually reached his hands while he was in college.
Because of this, his life was set. There was no more need for him to finish university and get a job, to work every day for meager results, to live paycheck by paycheck...
Before he got into college, Robert had the pastime of doing art, such as painting and doing animations. Although he preferred writing, something he still does today.
Over a decade of accumulation later, Robert was already a pro with a great fan base, and just from that, he made more than enough money to live off of that. However, that was only his hobby as Robert had no need for that as he was… well, rich.
His day is all about waking up, going on a run, then going to the Gym, sometimes going to his martial arts classes since he was bored, and finally, spending the rest of his day on his PC.
His diet is rather balanced thanks to his responsible parents once again with their incredible teachings, and with the cooking he learned with his father, he is more than capable of cooking everything he needs.
The basics of course, but he is more than good enough to follow most recipes if he didn't feel like eating the same thing every day… But wait… Why does such a man not have a girlfriend?
He has money, a toned body, and a very good personality. Could it be that he is ugly, and that his taste in girls is quite bad?… Not exactly, in fact, he is decently handsome, and with a well-cared for body and face, he is rather attractive to most girls, especially with his double chin and immense 1.86M height…
The best way to explain why he doesn't have one is that… He is lazy, and unlucky. Mostly lazy and cowardly.
Since childhood, he stayed in the same school, from preschool to college, with the same friends and people. Because of this, he came to learn about everyone's personality, and since no 'attractive' girls ever got into the school, he ended up losing his chance to get a girlfriend around that time.
He tried a few times… three to be precise, one when he was small, one when he was a young teen, and another one when he had just entered high school, all ended up in failures before anything even began, and because of this, he developed a pessimistic look for relationships.
Especially since he was from a generation where both girls and boys were… doing some very suspicious activities on social media platforms. Making him have an even worse outlook on people.
His university wasn't anything special either. The first half was pretty boring since he had chosen something rather unpopular with girls on his city block… engineering.
By the time the second half of his university started, his life was starting to take shape since his popularity as an art maker was arriving at its peak, and he got access to his savings account his parents made for him.
He never approached girls, and to be honest, the ones that tried to approach him were repelled unconsciously by him… What he lacked was just one girl who could persist for even a bit and understand him.
But soul mates are like that; you may or may not find them, and most people never do, either messing up their chance or marrying someone else and making do with their lives. Sometimes you just have to accept things as they are.
… Because this is what being an adult is all about, you just make do with what life puts in your way.
However, for Robert, life was kind and allowed him to be a free man. You may call him a leech, but he is doing something every day... He gives entertainment to tens of thousands of people with his works, and even if his life may seen boring, he has enjoyed these past few years so far.
Despite his parents' protests, of course… They were right, after all; if things continued like this, then poor Robert would truly die a virgin and without an heir…
Robert fully understood this, but… He was a lazy and laid-back person. Society can be scary sometimes, so why go out of his way to seek to have his heartbroken when he already has everything he needs?
Does this mean he isn't mature? Of course not, Robert is much more mature than most men. Be it hearing other people's troubles, or simply understanding their situation, he was a master of listening and giving his opinion in a simple and gentle way.
Robert considered himself a central-lining person with common sense. If someone couldn't even sit down and listen to him, then Robert knew such a person wasn't worth talking to.
For the current Robert, most of his social contact comes from the Gym and his everyday runs around the park, and to be a bit honest, Robert had his eyes on a girl recently, someone he would always see on the park and in the gym. He even helped her a few times…
And from the looks of it, she wasn't particularly against it either, but to our Robert's luck and misfortune, the girl was just like him… With two stuck-out people, how could anything ever happen?
Perhaps they truly were made for each other, but just when were things ever going to change?…
It had been three months since things got awkward between them… Robert had been thinking for a long time about whether he should invite her out, but he himself was conflicted…
What is even calling out someone? His closest experience was calling his school buddies for some pizzas… Oh yeah, Robert doesn't drink, nor does he smoke, much less drugs…
He was never a fan of all of that. Somehow, his fruit juices with the occasional coke were enough for his daily intake of liquids, especially a rare drink called water; he is very fond of it.
What can Robert do? He is terrible with drinks and even worse in relationships… Should he call a friend and bear the humiliation for a few days in exchange for advice? Should he start reading the boring news again so he can have a subject to talk about? Should he drink more so he can get more comfortable in such scenarios?
Between the two of us… Is his dick big enough?...
"?!"
Well… perhaps Mother Earth had had enough, and she had decided to help Robert a bit.
/Clang!/
[19:00]
On this very moment when Roberts turns 30 and becomes a wizard… Mother Earth decides to lend him a hand…
As Robert struggled to get the piece of stuck bread out of his mouth, he tripped on a conveniently placed piece of cloth on the ground and tripped…
And like this, Robert left on his way. Mother Earth had done her job; now it was time to entrust his soul to somewhere else… somewhere his Soul would find itself at home!
…
"Huff… My ancestors… urgh… I am sorry. This is where I, Lei Bei shall die!"
A man grunted in pain as he stood with his knees on the ground, shovel in hand.
"Haa… haa… I have not left any descendants, but I tried my best. May this terrible curse… END WITH ME!" A young man said as he finished digging a grave hole inside a damp and dark cave
Next to the hole were many other graves, similarly placed one after the other. From father to great great great great… grandfather, all the male members of his family were here.
And it was now his turn.
"Urg!... It hurts! It hurts so much!" The boy exclaimed as a dark circular brand burned on his chest
The young man was rather handsome, but his features were rough. He looked malnourished, and he had many small wounds on his body; it was clear that life wasn't kind to him.
His eyes were depressed, and he had lost the will to live. How sad, deeming he looked no older than sixteen years old and barely had the time to experience life…
But perhaps that is for the best; In this cruel world, where those above had the power to dictate the fate of those beneath them, those of weak will be better off in heaven than suffering in the mortal realm…
As the minutes passed and the dark symbol dissipated from his chest, the young man's tears slowly fell onto the grave.
There was no one left to bury him… It was the end of the Lei line…
/CRACK!/
/BAM!/
Suddenly, the ceiling of the cave broke, and a person fell from it, landing in the middle of the graves, breaking most of the tombstones.
"Urg!... Ba-Baster-d-d… He-he'll pay… A-Ahhh… Mmm…"
The person in trouble was a rather gorgeous girl, her hair blacker than even the poor boy on the ground. Her clothes were simple yet fancy, displaying the elegance of her mature and sensual body…
She touched herself in ecstasy but soon stopped as her eyes sharpened and his spirit exploded.
"This… Dammit!... I… Losin… It… Ahhh…"
Being poisoned with an extremely potent aphrodisiac, the girl was now in a perilous situation that had claimed many before her… She was extremely horny!
"!"
Her body reacted on its own, feeling the presence of a man in her vicinity.
She lifted the poor boy from the ground and laid him on the ground next to her before feeling the lingering heat of his body… It made her tremble.
But she soon realized the boy was dead, so she gave him a strange spherical object she took from a small pouch on her waist and, miraculously… The boy took a breath!
".... Urg!..."
However, together with his resurrection, the mark on his chest reappeared, burning in the same place with an even higher intensity!
"Mmm!"
The girl tried to kiss him, but she soon recovered her sanity and went away, but she continued to advance and push him away, making the confused boy that was also in severe pain, dizzy.
The boy opened his eyes in confusion as he felt his body shake all around like a rollercoaster, but the only thing he felt was a slap in the face!
"Pe-Pervert!"
But the only thing the boy thought was:
'Wh-Where am I?!'
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Notes
Chapter 2 Cultivation? Like farming?
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Perhaps fate was playing a cruel joke on our poor Robert, but to think he would be reborn in the body of a child destined to die… Not everyone can live a good life, and it seemed Robert was going for an any% speedrun of life…
While still thinking of what happened and how he got here, trying his best to piece his broken memories amidst the pain. He suddenly felt cold...
"Urg… It hurts… Huh?!"
'Cold… My clothes?!'
Ahh… How cruel can fate be! It hasn't even been two minutes since his death at the hands of fate and his destined reincarnation. Not only did he die once, reincarnate, get struck with a curse, get slapped, have his first kiss stolen… It now seemed he was going to be abused!
In confusion, Robert only thought that he was lucky his assailant was a beauty, perhaps that way he may die once more in happiness and perhaps next time, reincarnate with a decent body…
He couldn't move his body, he didn't know if it was because he was being pinned down or because he was that weak, "I… E-Excuse me, lady…"
'The world's spinning… What is going on?'
Robert couldn't feel his body very well. It was as if he were stuck inside a dream, but he couldn't wake up… Not that he wanted to.
"Ye-Yes!"
In one fell swoop, the girl grabbed his schlong and brought it to her mouth. She was now completely out of her mind… Lady… it's not a popsicle!
As she had fun with it… With that one movement, Robert realized something…
'T-This isn't a dream… but… m-my sword! It's… It's literally 50% bigger than before!'
It was no sword anymore, but a mighty lance! A spear mighty enough to lay down a dragon, thick enough to rival an Orc, powerful enough to match a horse — it was at this time that Robert, to his despair, realized he wasn't in his body anymore…
Robert always prized himself for his observation and astuteness. He blamed the education system for making classes so boring. He could stay hours reading lore on games but not even half an hour studying math.
"L-Lady… I don't mind this but… arg… h-how about we talk a bit first…?"
However, despite the fact that he seemed to be halfway to accomplishing what he had never managed to do. There was no way Robert would allow the girl to have her way with him…
He had his principles. He wanted romance. Not merely carnal relief…
At least he wanted to talk a bit first, but the girl wasn't responding. She seemed to look at him for a few moments, but her eyes soon returned to what she was doing.
Truth is, she was quite awkward with it. She didn't seem to know what to do, so she just played around with it. But she was strong, and she often made mistakes. And with his body already in such pain, whenever she made even the slightest mistake, it was already enough to cause a bolt of pain to rush across his body.
/Tremble…/
"Arg!"
He tried to move, but the girl pushed him against the ground with such power he swore he felt the cave tremble. Just what was this woman? He'd think amidst the few lucid moments of thought…
As time passed, the girl grew frustrated. It seemed she wanted something, but nothing was happening. And with his pain heightening, he felt it was time for him to do something… At least end this so he could walk out strong!
'F-Fine then… I'll do this my way! I don't know what's going on, but this woman… she's extremely powerful!'
'I never thought I'd be the target of such an event… Man in these circumstances aren't taken well in society so I'll have to do things my way…'
As they say, if you can't go against it, you might as well enjoy it!
…
/Time passed…/
As the moans echoed in the cave, Robert let out the best load of his life, but he wasn't done yet as the girl was ferocious and near tireless… He did everything he always dreamt of doing, but by the time he did it for the fourth time, Robert felt as if his poor soul was about to reincarnate again.
Thankfully though, his techniques were enough to calm the girl down until she stopped. As he did it with her, he took the chance to ask her some questions, but given her trance-like state, she was utterly unable to respond.
He thought something was strange, but his thoughts were too clouded… just not enough for him not to enjoy the process.
… He didn't remember anything else from this point as he collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
Hours later, the girl would awaken.
"This… D-Dammit!!"
The girl looked at him with anger, pain, despair, helplessness, shyness, and many more conflicting emotions, and for a moment, she even raised her blood-stained sword.
"…"
'You too are a victim of this. You tried to stop me, but I…'
But perhaps the heavens took pity on Robert as the girl laid down her sword and fed him a small cylindrical pill before she left, flying in the sky like a fairy under the moonlight.
"ZZZzzz."
Ohh Robert… Poor Robert, this isn't the time to be sleeping. The village is soon to burn at the mountain's foot, and your little friend is still uncovered, trembling in the cold…
It might've felt incredible, but it's still not time to relax… As they say, never be caught with your pants down!
…
/Sometime later…/
"... Arg… My head… It's throbbing…"
'I…'
Alas, Robert woke up feeling both of his heads in pain.
"Huff… I need to… Huh?! Why are my pants down?... Why is there dirt around?… Wait, what are those pants?"
"No… Where the fuck am I?!"
He looked around in confusion. He seemed to be in some sort of cavern reinforced with wooden beams and other decorations… It looked like some sort of temple.
'Okay… Calm down… first… Clean off the… juice.'
He clutched his head, 'Okay, I remember things a bit…'
"I-I… was… assaulted by a beauty…"
'Did I drink anything yesterday? I don't drink though!! Also… how did I get here?! This isn't a wet-dream!'
But there was nothing to deny; it all felt real! The pain was real, the exhaustion he was feeling was real, and the feeling of hollowness on his lower body was also very real…
Robert looked behind him and saw several broken tombstones written in what he immediately recognized to be Chinese… Or was it Japanese… It certainly isn't Korean since that has a bit more 'edge'.
But what he found even more surprising wasn't that… but the fact he understood what was written there!
"Lei Bei… The last of the Lei Family… What?"
Memories of the past week suddenly flashed in his head, not from Robert… but from Lei Bei's past!
"Lei Bei… Lei Bei… LEI BEI! The protagonist of that dirty novel!"
It was all clear now what was happening, Robert had over a decade of experience to connect the dots.
Disbelief was written on his face as he sat on the ground with empty, hollow eyes. Was he supposed to be happy? In one moment, his life of luxury was switched for what could be a potentially dangerous life filled with life-threatening scenarios and an unending struggle for power.
"Haaa… Deep breaths… I need to think… If I am Lei Bei… this means…"
Robert started to think, and important moments of the novel went over his head.
Mind you, Lei Bei's story wasn't the last one he had read, but one he had read quite a while ago… At least three to four major martial art novels were read after he was done with it, so some events aren't particularly fresh, especially at the start.
He never even finished that one. It was so over the top due to the protagonist's actions that he dropped it. The rest was pretty good though.
"Wait… t-this means!!"
Robert jumped out of the ground and ran. He had remembered… not everything, but the very start… He knew it!
As he ran out of the cave, he saw a simple village in the distance. Everything seemed peaceful, but he could see torches approaching from the distance.
"It's all the same… a bit early though… I don't really remember the novel's start very well, but there was a comic made after it… And its events are much better imprinted in my head..."
Robert… or should we say, Lei Bei made his way down the mountain at high speeds as if he had done that path hundreds of times before.
"Lei Bei, the last descendant of the Lei line was cursed to die on his 18th birthday because he did not know the method behind the halt of his curse, and also because the curse was the strongest in all the previous generations."
'His bloodline was cursed a millennium ago when his family's ancestor was cursed by a being of unimaginable power after he committed an unforgivable act, and all of his offspring and relatives got affected by it no matter how distant they were.'
'As long as they were connected to the ancestor's last five generations, everyone coming from that line got targeted! Even people who never even knew who he was…'
'Most died without even knowing what happened. Now, only a few lines still exist with his being the only one who still retains the Lei surname!'
'Yes, this is a martial world. A novel where the world background was quite good, but the characters weren't properly fleshed out, and the original owner of this body was a rather dumb man!'
'The only reason I read through it at first was that I felt some decisions to be rather natural instead of forced, even if idiotic, they were in line with everything the author had built so far, and the author was also a master of doing choices and actions that people wouldn't think of.'
'So even if the story plot was predictable, the way it happens was not… at least until a certain part. Then I felt it grow stale… I read it sporadically here and there, but I have fewer memories of those times than the start, paradoxically… probably due to my lack of attention.'
"Huff… everything hurts…"
'I need to remember all details… Today, Lei Bei died after his curse activated earlier than planned. But because of his ancient bloodline, powered by the treasure fed to him by that girl… his life extended slightly as he bypassed the first layer of the curse unknowingly.'
'After that, his curse gets suppressed as he breaks through for the first time. Reaching a virtual level of power since he didn't understand it.'
"After he calms down and recovers, he goes down the mountain to find his village being raided by bandits, he struggles with a choice if he should intervene or not, but he eventually does and is fatally wounded because he couldn't decisively strike the bandit he tried to ambush."
'However, his death was the final trigger for everything to align as the ancient seal that lurked within the Lei's main bloodline managed, for the first time in millennia, to affect the mortal world again.'
'The ancient seal then took control of his body, causing it go through a basic reformation thanks to the miracle pill he was given, and this allowed him to defy his destiny and break through the first realm of Cultivation, Qi Formation stage.'
"Huff… or so things were supposed to go…"
'The comic is still imprinted on my mind, and some of these things are so repetitive that I can guess their plot easily, but I also hope I am not mixing things up with other novels… I don't remember very well since they were all so similar!!'
'Some things were hard to predict as well because of the author's dubious choices from time to time... Most were natural, but that was only because the protagonist was that stupid! He made the worst decisions, which justified the author's crazy ass-pulls and cliche scenarios!'
Breathing heavily as he tried to ignore the pain in his body, "There is a way to know if this is all true or not… and that is… Lyin! The childhood friend."
'If she truly exists, and the situation ends up being the same… then I just need to repeat it to get access to his cheat!… However… I am not that fond of dying…" Robert thought as he looked at his old shovel on his waist
'For a cultivation main character, even I was more buffed than him… How did I get in this situation?…'
"Urg… Huff… If everything goes well… then I can activate the ancient seal and from there… it's simple."
'I just need to follow in Mc's steps while not making the same useless decisions and mistakes as him; this should allow me to grow easier, stronger, and faster without unnecessary drama. And also, I am not as socially awkward as he was, so at the very least, I should be able to talk my way through things better than him, right?'
'So many problems were caused due to his terrible awkwardness… even if I'm forced to go through for the plot, then I can at least make it all flow more naturally!'
'Come on, head, think!…'
Ah, Robert… Good luck!
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Notes
Chapter 3 I am Lei Bei!
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Just before he arrived at the village…
"Wait… why should I follow his steps? Aren't I already changing things like this?"
'Why must I suffer like he did when I can already alter the flow of the world to fit my desires?' He thought as his expression changed, 'That's right… I can just do things my own way!'
"You! I know you're there! I am Lei Bei! The last of the Leis! Respond to me!"
/Silence…/
"Shit… Maybe this isn't enough… I'll have to do things the old-fashioned way…"
He took his shovel and pointed it at his neck… It was unbearably sharp.
/Gulp…/
'This is the only way to bring it forth…'
He stared at the sky in fear but was determined. He pushed the shovel against his neck…
"Enough! I've been waiting for it… for far too long for you to take your own life!"
A deep and majestic voice echoed inside Robert's head before his soul was sucked elsewhere…
…
"Huff… haa… huh?"
Robert regained consciousness inside a dark cave, and the moment he did so, he thought for a while before he smiled.
But he acted confused before he went through a massive door floating in the air… He touched the double doors and they slowly opened, and as they did so, it revealed a pair of green eyes staring at him from the darkness.
The massive size of the creature bound by chains made Robert scared, so much so he actually flew away instinctively…
"Wh-What A-Are you?!" He exclaimed
He knew what it was, but what he said were his genuine emotions, the emotions of someone that was confused about stabbing someone for the first time, and almost dying for the first time as well.
"Me? I am merely the manifestation of what you both fear and find most magnificent. I imagined not for you to think of this form suitable, but it seems you indeed carry the bloodline of Lei for even in this meager manner his form is retained."
"..."
But Robert couldn't be more confused, since the creature in front of him looked like a giant… black turtle. He thought it was meant to be a dragon…
"I AM NOT A TURTLE!" The creature proclaimed in anger as it tried to free itself from the chains
"DO NOT COMPARE ME WITH THOSE INFERIOR BEINGS!" The ancient seal proclaimed as the whole world shook
It scoffed out loud, "Humph! These chains… they're as much of a limiter as they are a preservative. I've lost so much power that I can't even maintain my true form and have to degrade myself into a shapeless form bound to your consciousness!"
But it calmed down soon enough, "We can talk about this later… Whatever I am, it doesn't matter right now."
"But I know what you are."
"!!! How?!"
/Tremble…/
"Urg… only partially… fragments were passed down… you are the door… the ancient seal…"
"…"
/Silence…/
"Correct, but severely lacking… It seems I misjudged you in a moment of passion. It is what I deserve after so long incarcerated… I offer you my apologies."
"Huff… I know you've been within the main line for as long as our history records…"
"Indeed… There is much to talk but little time. So long have I been sealed, but it seems the Leis have kept much of their legacy. I am both proud and saddened."
"Boy that carries the last traces of the Lei and has called to me upon shattering the last seal by chance. For me, you are currently a once-in-a-century opportunity!"
"Few were the times I awakened, and in the few hosts I did, none of them carried as much of a hint of the truth or the zeal to call upon me… It seems you are indeed the one I've been looking for."
Robert wanted to think about what to do now, but he knew that in this place the Ancient Seal could hear his thoughts, so he kept his mind shut and distracted with useless things.
Still, he needed to focus elsewhere, so he tried to stir the conversation onward:
"Oh, prestigious ancient seal… what happens now? Can you explain better why I am your once in a century opportunity? Much of our history has been long, and I barely even know what you are!"
The turtle seemed to smile, "You're much more composed than the previous ones that made it this far… You lived due to a series of coincidences. As for the reason I am here and need you, there is no need to go in depth now."
"You'll figure everything out over time, boy. That is… if you live. The last host that awakened me barely even reached the second stage. Merely a drop in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps this is why the Leis know so little now."
"…"
Robert already knew the reasons. It was explained early enough in the novel for him to know. But he tried to keep his thoughts grounded in reality.
Its voice grew heavy and serious, "I only need you to answer one question."
"Say it! I've barely been brought back to life… I want to keep living, and I know this pain will come back."
"You're sharp! You're right; this pain will follow you forever! To defeat it, you must conquer everything and surpass the limits of all Cultivators!"
"For that, you'll have to do what others might consider immortal… Boy, do you wish for a Harem?"
Robert stood silent, thinking about it before he asked, "Well… It's not a question of not wanting to and mostly… well… why?"
The black turtle smiled once more…
"So you want to; everything else doesn't matter. As for the why, why not? Which man doesn't want to sleep while surrounded by…"
/Crack!/
The black turtled said a few perverted things Robert tried to ignore, but in the middle of it, the cavern suddenly trembled.
"What's going on?!"
"Tsk, time is running out."
"WOAH?!"
Robert felt his body being pulled into the sky by an invisible force, but the turtle stopped him momentarily.
"There isn't enough time, so listen to me carefully."
The turtle raised its claw and touched its forehead with immense precision. Lightning exploded, creating waves in the air as some sort of energy rushed into his body.
"Kid, you already know the details. The black mark on your chest is a curse placed by a powerful cultivator that affects all descendants of the Lei Family."
"The fact you awakened me means you found the way to break this damned curse… by stimulating the spiritual power and absorbing it by uniting with a cultivator of the opposite sex."
"When both combine, a trace of the purest energy is created. It may dissipate in a time too short for mortal comprehension, but I can absorb it!"
"The black mark may have disappeared for now; however, it will appear again soon... When he was cursed, your ancestor thought long about how to free himself of the curse, and when he figured out how, it was too late."
"Instead, he made a long plan to turn the mark into your strength! But for that, you'll first have to overpower it."
"Remember the term. You're afflicted with the Seal of the Outer Heaven! I was made to counteract this curse on a promise long forgotten now…"
As he said that, the lighting in the air gathered towards Robert's forehead, and a red bead formed above his eyebrows.
"This is the last of my power. If you don't want to die, make good use of it and become a cultivator as soon as possible. You must continue to dual cultivate and create more of this energy that powers me, otherwise this seal will consume you."
"I only ask that you never give up on this path! You're the one with the greatest potential of all your ancestors! You must fulfill the promise and build…"
"Huh? What did you say? I couldn't hear you."
'His voice is getting vague…'
Robert saw his body be pulled away… and the turtle began screaming so he could hear it.
"… soul… I have taken the liberty of rebuilding your body with the medicinal power and lingering energies within you. Your body should now be within the 3rd to 4th layers of QI Formation! But you'll have to make do with knowledge if you want to make that stable."
The turtle continued to scream as he grew distant.
"… Your body's vitality is lacking, and your physicality is meager at best! You should go get some nutrition and take good care of yourself so you don't die from other sources!"
"This muc… should be eno… gh… to live a bit longer… now get… there… and…"
"Reach the pinnacle of the cultivation world!"
…
/Gasp!/
When Robert woke up, he found himself sitting cross-legged in a meditative position. He didn't understand exactly why, but he could feel a strange energy within his body.
He already knew why that was the case. The Ancient Seal had taken momentary control over his body to assist him in cultivating. For now, those simple details were overlooked in the face of more pressing issues…
"Haaa!… Huff… Huff… I'm alive… Haaa… hahaha!"
'It worked! I've changed the story's fate!'
'Even with the bonus from the ancient seal, the Mc's strength was only at the 1st layer when he first received its blessing. But since I was never fatally wounded and the energy within me wasn't used to fight the bandits, I now have the strength between the 3rd and 4th layers!'
'The seal should've entered a dormant state now, and it'll only awaken when I either break through a significant realm, or I find an ancient legacy. So I don't need to worry about my memories leaking.'
'I'll have to tell the truth eventually, but that can come later.'
"With this power… I can now change the rest."
'Time to alter the fate of the village.'
…
Robert ran to the village with such speed he felt like a bird running through the skies!
"So this is the power of a near 4th layer… I must be almost as strong as a car!"
/SLAM!/
He smashed his head against a tree. His world spinning, he spat out some leaves…
"Cough!… I definitely need some training… otherwise I'll end up losing an eye to these twigs." He mumbled out loud as he pulled a small branch from his nose
'In the original story. The Mc was said to be a genius, able to master his realm the moment he received it, being able to fight above it quite easily. But it was only later that he received some grounded training to make that possible since it was a plot hole.'
'It shouldn't have been so easy for the Mc to breach through realms like this… As for me, I'll have to take my time and train. I still have a lot of time to burn through if I want the story to progress as normal.'
'I need to enter that Sect if I want to at least follow the story somewhat. That is my greatest strength outside the Ancient Seal, of course…'
He focused on the world around him, and a string of numbers manifested before him, fusing to take the shape of a traditional video game screen.
As Lei Bei stared at the corpses, strings of numbers quickly passed through his eyes, and soon, words formed in the air organized like that of a system.
Lei Bei clenched his fist in happiness, he got it! The fucking cheat!
The first thing he did after that was check his Cultivation Level and rush to the corpses and see if he could find a weapon…
[Name: Lei Bei {Cursed}
Realm: Half-Step Fourth Layer of Qi Formation
Cultivation Method: None
Skills: Identification
…
]
Just a simple status screen. What mattered was the Identification screen. It tied directly to the Ancient Seal, allowing him to visualize and identify all things connected to the 'Will of the World'.
As the power of the Ancient Seal returned, so would this ability's true power return. In truth, it was nothing but the manifestation of the Ancient Seal's true purpose laid bare.
'The System is here! This is the true form of the Ancient Seal, and a mere portion of its true power. The System is only a manner through which its immeasurable power can be accessed by the ancestor's descendants.'
'He made it so even a weak mortal would be able to access its power!'
[DING]
[Introductory Task: Defeat the Forest Hawks Gang has been generated]
[Defeat the Forest Hawks Gang {Ongoing Task}]
[Another night, another plunder! The Forest Hawks Gang has been terrorizing the land for multiple months, yet the rulers do nothing! They came to steal the horses, plunder the food, steal the booze, kill the man, and take the women! Please try your best to fend off these abominable people!]
[Task rewards:
1-Simple introduction to worldly customs
2-Backpack Bar activation
3-Next stage Task activation
]
"!!"
'As expected, even this has changed. At first, the task was about killing a demonic beast born from the cultivation of an extremely powerful demonic creature nearby that was attracted to the flesh of all the people the Mc slew under the control of the Ancient Seal. But now that I awakened the system ahead of time, the mission changed.'
'This is better for me since I get the time to test my power against true scum… This world is ruthless in its people, and the weak are devoured without justice. Only in the author's later works, where he improves his writing style, is it explained why it is the case.'
'Cultivation is still early! It's only been a few centuries and a thousand years since the great disaster and the end of the old world and the birth of the new one. Not to say the disaster that came after the Mc's ancestor remade the world anew!'
'Law and order are still being made. Clans, dynasties, families, sects, and so on rise and kill each other everywhere. Yet the people's vitality only rises.'
'This is not the world the Mc's ancestor wished to make. But it was the world he predicted would come before his desired one came to be.'
"I must be ruthless here to preserve my life… I must…"
'I'll have to learn how to fight and… kill. There is rarely any other option… not in a world where demonic cultivation and the like is possible.'
There are many levels of cultivation, but they are rather generic as well.
QI formation.
Foundation Establishment.
Foundation Refinement.
Inner Core.
And more… much more for little Robert to grasp.
Each level is further divided into nine smaller layers, becoming harder to progress as you go. There are also several realms that envelop these smaller ones, but that is for later… Robert was still too green for those.
This is called Immortal Cultivation, and it's the most common form of cultivation available.
Interestingly enough, this method of cultivation isn't the only one available, as there are at least three others that are different enough to be put into their own system that Robert can remember. However, without a proper technique, they are useless to even consider.
/Chatter…/
As he breached past the forest like a bullet, he could hear the faint whispers of people in the distant.
'The villagers! Time for my grand performance…'
He ran inside, and rather than looking for someone, he began screaming!
"EVERYONE! QUICK! WE NEED TO RUN! I SAW HORSE BANDITS ON THE WAY HERE!!"
""!!""
The surrounding people were startled, but they soon fell into a panic. Soon enough, others approached him to ask what was going on, and he narrated a story about what he found… embellishing it of course.
In truth, he was rather worried. In the original story, there was never much development into who the Mc's parents were or what they did, only that they died early. When his village and everyone he knew died or left him for dead, he never really went after them to know what became of them.
In the story, the curse affected the host without exception, so if it was his mother or father who was cursed, it didn't matter, they were destined to die ten years after it first manifested.
Still, that didn't mean the partner would go with them, but which of his parents was meant to survive… it was never mentioned. As such, his connection and life with the people of the hidden village in the mountains was never fully explored.
The village was located in a valley between the mountains. It had seemingly existed here for centuries, if not a thousand years given the Lei's bloodline extensive records and the near hundred tombstones in the mountain. But none of that was ever explored.
Robert knew nothing about the people surrounding Lei Bei and their connection to him. Only that they probably had little connection with him given his curse was exclusive to him.
Thankfully, it seemed the people bought his warnings and began to prepare, but it was what came after that mattered… It was too late for them to run.
Even with his warnings, the bandits were already there! He only managed to have the villagers gather so they could better preserve themselves!
The minutes passed…
/SHA!/
/SHA!/
/SHA!/
"PILLAGE EVERYTHING!"
"TAKE THE HORSES AND THEIR FOOD!"
"I'LL TAKE THE WOMEN, HEHEHE!!"
"LEAVE SOME FOR US!"
A dozen men rushed into the village with weapons and torches in hand, but what they found was an empty place. The villagers had already gathered at the central portion of the land, with few still gathering their belongings.
"Hum? A brat?"
There was only one person between the center of the village and the bandits… Lei Bei!
"I'm eighteen actually. Although the legal age to be an adult here is sixteen…"
"Kill him for me! We need no such brats!"
"…"
'So cliché… then again, they need to be fast. If they let too many flee and reports about their activities start to pile up, then the authorities will move… but expecting this much from this world is quite rich.'
'I don't think the original author would've bothered to go into such detail about such a minor and useless bunch of characters only meant to show that the Mc is "cruel"… even though the one who killed them all was the Ancient Seal.'
/Crack…/
He cracked his neck, that was going to be quick.
"These guys are so slow… I suppose that's the difference between someone at the 4th layer of Qi Formation and a mortal."
Everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion, if not slower, while he was free to do as he pleased. How could he not win against them?
'I took this sharp knife from the village elder, but can I really use it to kill them?… I'll start by knocking them out. That much should be easy.'
/Fwoosh!/
Robert vanished as he kicked a dust cloud, reappearing behind the first bandit!
As the bandit slowly realized what happened, Robert looked at him from behind.
"I need to be careful. I almost slipped there… How do cultivators fight when their strength is so great nature can't handle it? Air resistance seems not to be a thing here to some degree, and I'm surprised I haven't caused any supersonic booms…"
All of this and the bandit had only twitched slightly, his eyes sharpening as he realized Robert was gone, "This dirt ground can't even remain upright when I walk over it at this speed. Every step cracked and split the compacted ground as if I weighed thousands of pounds."
"I'm so fast and strong I'm almost a danger to myself… haha… Well… Enough of this."
/Smack!/
He smashed the bottom metallic portion of his knife lightly against the back of the bandit's head, causing it to jerk forward!
Robert heard some dangerous sounds as the hair split with the skin beneath the handle. And he feared he had even cracked the skull… fearful he might've taken his life, he continued from one bandit to the other, delivering a flurry of dozens of strikes in but a few blinks of an eye.
Before even two or three seconds could pass, all bandits were gone. Either unconscious or writhing in pain.
"That's done. Now for my rewards…"
[Introductory Task: Defeat the Forest Hawks Gang {Completed}]
[Memories will be provided, {Backpack Bar} has been unlocked]
"!!"
The moment he finished his task, thousands of images passed by his eyes. Memories of places he hadn't been, things he hadn't done, people he didn't recognize…
He received years worth of memories! The knowledge of this world's language, from how to speak to read. Basic geographic knowledge, cultural norms and so on!
When everything was done, Robert clutched his head in pain, "Huff… Shit…"
[Beginner Task: The Hero has a ten-inch longsword! has been generated]
[The Hero has a ten-inch longsword! {Ongoing Task}]
[The first wave of the Forest Hawks Gang has been subdued! But the danger still lurks, and they're bound to retaliate! A wise strategist would say now's the prime time to strike preemptively and defeat your opponents while they're most unaware!]
[Task requirements:
Forest Hawks Goons: 0/33
Leader of the Forest Hawks Gang: 0/1
]
[Task rewards:
1-Elementary Knife Proficiency
2-Task Tracker activation
]
[Task penalties:
The possible loss of all villagers as they travel across the wilderness to the nearest city
]
"This…"
'Another quest that wasn't in the original story. By now, the Mc would be knocked out after the ancient seal took over his body. In the meantime, the villagers would've escaped so they wouldn't feel the retaliation of the gang.'
'The Mc would try to go after them but he would be caught up in a bunch of issues and it'd take quite some time before they met again… I'm uncertain what happened to the other villagers but I know what his childhood friend did.'
'So the Ancient Seal has detected what I wanted to do and is shaping the quests to fit my narrative… excellent. I wasn't interested in taking them all out, but I'll have to do it one way or another.'
"But killing them is still… I know I have to but…"
[DING]
[Discovered a Dual Cultivation Partner]
"!!"
[Lyin Dandan, daughter of Fagxin Village's Elder, a traditional countryside beauty with innate potential and a hidden constitution.
She never had a Daoist Partner! Because of her low cultivation, Dual Cultivation may prove ineffective given the difference between your realms. It is recommended to raise her realm or find another partner with a higher base cultivation.
Favorability: 0/100
]
"!!"
'She's here!'
Robert looked around to finally find a young lady with brown hair tied at her back who was running in his direction as she held her linen dress.
She had a jovial, countryside-girl beauty. Freckles with sparkly eyes and a pure expression… although right now, it was riddled with fear.
As he saw her appear, Robert's thoughts raced.
[Name: Ling Meng
Realm: Mortal
]
'Lyin Dandan, the main character's childhood friend. According to the plot, she would be the perfect candidate for him right now. She is pretty, gentle, and she was one of the few villagers that cared for Lei Bei.'
'Given her nonexistent cultivation, moving alongside him would've been the most effective for him. Unfortunately, fate drove them apart. After Lei Bei became unconscious and the villagers abandoned him because of fear of his power, Lyin chose them due to her family.'
'They would reach the nearest city after almost dying in the Forest Hawks Gang pursuit, but she would reach the city and attract the gaze of a passing cultivator of a more distant sect who'd take her in as a disciple and send her far away into another bordering land.'
'Right now, this land is on the cusp of a great war. Leaving this place is the wisest choice but right now I don't have the means to cross hundreds of thousands of kilometers into the next territory.'
'This world is way too big for its own good.'
"L-Lei Bei! What… what is going on?!" She asked in fear as she gagged
She looked around at the grunting bandits and faint blood traces on the ground and gagged, but Robert knew exactly what to do.
He approached her and hugged her, saying, "I'm sorry for hiding this for this long… I'm a cultivator."
"W-W-What?!"
[Lyin Dandan Favor +5]
"I'm sorry for this… Because of the curse of my family, I thought it was best if I went out alone, but against all odds, I managed to persevere and live! From now on I can have a somewhat ordinary life with you!"
"W-WHAAAT!!"
[Lyin Dandan Favor +10]
Embarrassed, she pushed him away as she took a deep breath. But before she could say anything, Lei Bei continued…
"We should move. The rest of the Forest Hawks Gang might come at any moment."
"Uh… Y-You're right… But what about them?"
Robert looked behind him to face the still fallen bandits, "I… I'm sorry Dandan. I wasn't strong enough to do what I'm supposed to. I know its dangerous but…"
Lyin hugged his back, "Don't be. You're strong enough already."
He smiled as he hugged her as well, "Thank you Dandan… Next time I won't hesitate. I can't risk you getting hurt."
[Lyin Dandan Favor +20]
Her face was crimson red… In truth, Lyin already liked Lei Bei. If it wasn't for how he acted given his curse. He might've responded to her advances long ago. But in face of his inevitable death, he chose to spare her the grief of losing a partner so early in life.
Now it was up to Robert to do what he couldn't.
"Y-Youngsters!"
At this time, some of the villagers began to gather around them when they realized something was off. Seeing this, Robert took the initiative to lead the villagers to bind all of the bandits and take their weapons and horses in preparation for their migration.
He told them the "truth" about him. How he hid his cultivation and that now it was time for them to divert paths. While Lyin knew he was partially lying, Robert didn't want that many people knowing he had a curse at some point.
Of course, he wouldn't even tell Lyin he still had it…
These people were just common villagers that never treated Lei Bei that well. He was just an ordinary depressed orphan that never tried to associate into their community due to his eventual downfall. Only Lyin and her father tried to give him some comfort and education. But that was far from enough.
Once they all prepared. They got ready to leave. The bandits were all buried from neck to toe in dirt and their possessions taken. If they lived or not it would be up to their luck… Robert felt this much punishment was good enough.
Maybe some of them were less guilty than others, but the villagers were scary when in group… they wanted to hear none of it. To be expected from the people who abandoned their hurt savior for dead.
Robert didn't seem to mind, but he was worried for the continuity of the story… in either case, he knew what to do to make sure he got his ticket. For that, he would have to depart from the caravan, as he told them before.
This might be the last time they'd ever meet.
…
"… Dandan… I'm sorry for this. But I have much to do." Robert said as he hugged Lyin
"… Can't you come with us? What could be so important?"
"A cultivator's journey is a long one. In my case, my foundation is shaky due to my conditions being unsuitable… if I don't correct them, I'll be in danger in the long run."
"My body is already ravished by the curse and my vitality is weakening. I need to enter a Sect and correct my foundation so I'll live a long and fulfilling life!"
"… I… I'll go with you!"
Robert caressed her hair, causing her to blush even more…
"Dandan…"
'This girl is utterly entranced… Or was her love for Lei Bei that high? Well, I didn't see that many young boys in the village and Lei Bei is by no means ugly even by this world's standards.'
"Cultivation is a dangerous path. I wouldn't want you to risk yourself like this… besides… you have to look after the old man."
"I want… I want to follow you!"
"!"
'She's more willed then I thought… But I know what she needs to do. I can't hint at her having a unique power or I'd be exposed sooner or later… She's better off finding her own path.'
"Let's do it like this… I'll go to the Sect and balance my base. Meanwhile, you go to the nearest city and settle down. Once my foundation is sturdy I'll go looking for you."
She nodded eagerly.
"But Dandan, there's one thing you need to keep in mind… I fear something is occurring in the dark. Something beyond both you and me."
"If you find yourself with the chance to pursue cultivation then do so! Out there an uncountable number of masters awaits you… Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get the attention of a master in the city who can teach you while I'm away."
"Many mortals have the means to go after cultivation, but only a few can ever get something out of it even if they spend their entire lifetimes on it… I want to explore the world Dandan… you understand what this means, don't you?"
"… Yes… Yes I do."
'If I don't cultivate then… I'll never be able to follow you.'
"Dandan… Lyin. I hope you find peace out there. I will return no matter what, but even if you take your own path, I will find you." He said as he took out a handful of hair from his head
"Take this. A cultivator of significant power can use this to find my location. If we're ever too far from each other, you'll find me with a strong enough master."
"T-Then take mine as well!"
She plucked some of her own hair as well, giving it to him.
"I'll take it, gladly."
"…"
"…"
They looked at each other under the moonlight… how romantic.
'… Now's the time to kiss her… Shit… Even though I brushed my teeth in the village and changed my clothes for better ones, I still didn't wash properly. Just some water on my face… Can… can I even do this right? I say that after I already screwed that cultivator…'
Oh Robert… can't you notice the girl before you is just as bad at this as you?
"Lyin…"
"Uumn…"
Robert bent down slightly to kiss her, sealing a connection between them.
[Lyin Dandan Favor +30]
They kissed each other for quite some time under the moonlight. When they were done, Lyin was breathing heavy as she averted her eyes from him shily. Robert knew what he had to do, but now wasn't the time to do anything!
[DING]
[Hidden Task: Forever Promise {Completed}]
[From now on, you can perfectly track the location of all registered Dual Cultivation candidates with Favor of over 50]
"…"
'That's a hidden boon. I expected to unlock it way later. I just didn't expected Lyin's favorability to rise so quickly… It seems she already liked Lei Bei quite a lot and the favor just settled down to where it should be realistically.'
'There's the question if this value will remain as it is in time though… Staying too far from each other can cause the value to drop over time… But that doesn't matter now.'
Robert enjoyed the touch of a woman for a few more moments before he gently pushed her away. There was much to do if he wished to somewhat follow the story and benefit from that.
After he let her go with another romantic kiss which raised her Favor to 70, Robert followed the guidance of the bandits he questioned to their hideout as the villagers vanished in the dark woods.
His mission was simple. To take them all down and wait for 'it' to arrive… Even if they at a different place, it was bound to appear eventually! Then all he had to do was defeat it the same way the Mc did and things would progress from there.
After a few minutes traversing in the dark, his eyesight strong enough for him to see well under the strong moonlight, he arrived at the gang's hideout in the woods.
'Time to exterminate them.'
…
/CLANG!/
"AARRRG!! HUFF… Just… just who the hell are you?! What did we do to offend you?!"
At the center of the forest outpost, Robert stood face to face with the leader of the Forest Hawks Gang, a burly man with a feather hat and a long dark coat… It was almost as if he was trying to cosplay as a raven.
The man wasn't just a joke though as he had the power and cultivation of a 2nd Layer Qi Formation cultivator. But before Robert with his might 4th Layer power, he was nothing. A bandit with a little but a trashy technique and lousy movements couldn't defeat an even lousier man with double his cultivation level.
That didn't mean it was just double the power. It was far more then that…
/SMASH!/
Robert smashed through the man's sword just to see if he he could break it, sending the man crashing down against the outpost's wooden wall.
[DING]
[Beginner Task: The Hero has a ten-inch longsword! {Completed}]
[Memories will be provided, {Task Tracker} has been unlocked]
"!"
Memories rushed inside his mind, simple teachings on his to use and hold a dagger. Soon enough, he recovered, taking a deep breath as he adjusted his grip over his knife.
'At least now I won't fight like a buffoon.'
[Name: Lei Bei {Cursed}
Realm: Half-Step Fourth Layer of Qi Formation
Cultivation Method: None
Skills: Identification; Elementary Knife Proficiency Lv0
Martial Arts:
…
]
"Alright. That's a start."
'I've knocked out all of the bandits… Some with more violence then others. I think its time to prepare for the next Task.'
'The Ancient Seal hasn't triggered anything yet so its likely expecting me to move and leave for another region. Don't worry friend, let me take the ropes.'
First, Robert released all of the captives within the bandit outpost and helped them with whatever they needed to journey away. There were dozens of them but none were worth his attention, just the common folk being abused.
While they got read to leave, he dragged all of the bandits to the cages were the captives once were. Seeing this, they all helped him do the same thing and apprehend them, tying them in place as they spat on them.
He appreciated the help, but he couldn't have them see what he was going to do. Once they were all gone, Robert went to the bandits… and killed them one by one so their blood would spill.
He left only a few conscious ones alive. Killing the others, including their leader.
Amidst their confusion, he turned around and holed himself inside the leader's tent. Gathering all of his remaining "treasures" as he waited for his fated encounter.
The beast that prowled the woods, it wouldn't be able to resist the smell.
…
/Hours later…/
"!!!"
Robert woke up as the morning sun shone on his face. He looked around at the shabby yet orderly wooden furniture and smiled widely.
"Phew… I did it… I'm still alive… and I can finally ditch this smelly bed goodbye."
'I survived, I talked with the Ancient Seal, and I think I did well enough for it not to realize that something was wrong. The Ancient Seal is not an evil being by nature despite its appearance… although it has some evil schemes.'
'The Ancient Seal is actually more than just that; it is a powerful construct given ego with a powerful Soul.'
'Long ago, when the Lei Family ancestor was cursed, and he created the Ancient Seal, he needed an ego to perfect it since he couldn't wait for it to form one naturally. So his Spiritual Beast offered to seal itself while abandoning its old body in order to contain part of the curse and gain considerably lifespan due to altering its nature… but as time passed, it grew resentful of the master that never came back for it.'
'It was meant to ascend as a new entity of immense power and remain beside its good friend, yet it was only used to seal a curse within its descendants… how vile!'
'The truth is… its master was barely hanging on at the time… how could it do anything to save it? For the poor Mc, this ends up becoming a terrible plot that would cause him great trouble. I have no plans to fall into it though.'
'As for how… I will have to figure that out…'
As Robert got up from the bed and felt his body soreness, he thought about the original plot of the story.
'The plot is pretty simple… as one would've expected from a cultivation novel. The Mc awakens his power, fights bandits, then someone stronger, and stronger, his dad, grandfather, ancestor… And so on until he becomes the ruler of all… not this exaggerated but a little around that.'
'The Mc was meant to join the Qinguan Sect… or whatever its name was, then fall into the plot of the Iguinio Sect. The very Sect that lady I met before belongs to.'
'Truth is, there is a secret plot to engulf the Qinguan Sect and all the nearby Sects in a secretive and fast way. Sowing chaos everywhere so as not to alarm the higher authorities of these lands on time. Everything would occur so fast that by the time anyone noticed what was going on, it would've been too late.'
'Things is, I would prefer if the Qinguan Sect stood or at least some part of it remained so I could make use of its powers… A shame that there's a considerably small chance of that being possible.'
'I do need to continue the story to benefit from it, and that'll include the eventual downfall of the Qinguan Sect. With their strength as a Minor Sect, there's little they can do even if I thwart every single plan that's already halfway to completion within.'
'I also need to join the Iguinio Sect somehow to get in touch with that girl too… I didn't like how we first met, but I know her personality. She is somewhat righteous in a Sect of demonic cultivators. That Sect is also my key to growing even stronger and doing my absolute plan…'
'Why try to follow and direct the story where I want to if I can take full control of it like a mastermind? If I can do that, then there's nothing in this world that can stop me! I just need to play my cards right, and even if I fail, I can still achieve a path to success far smoother than the Mc's.'
"In any case… this is it. Leaving this tent, my adventure will start…"
'Who I want to be, and what I want to achieve… I can't continue to think and see things through my old common sense… It will take a while, but I will adapt. This is the world of brutal cultivators where there is no central power.'
'Wars are everywhere and at all times… You're either the one giving orders or the one doing them… and I'd rather cultivate in peace!'
"But before all of that… I have to accept it… this is the first step… I am… Haaaa… I'm sorry, Father… Mom…"
"I am Lei Bei."
Lei Bei took a step into the new world!
…
.
.
.
Notes
Chapter 4 The First Beauty!
"Shit…"
Lei Bei stared at the scene in front of him. It was a scene of pure carnage spread around the camp site, as if a typhoon had passed by.
"Urg… How did I keep quiet throughout this? Was my body that tired from everything that happened?"
'There are traces of a fight. It seems the bandits did manage to free themselves and tried to face whatever left these claw marks before they were unceremoniously ripped to pieces.'
"I still can't stand this… Maybe my cultivation has made me slightly stronger mentally since it's a miracle I can even stand after seeing this."
'I need to get ready… It's almost here.'
[DING]
[Beginner Task: Defeat the Blood Wolf {Ongoing Task}]
[Large amounts of corpses have attracted a Great Wolf from the forest. After a full meal, your presence has disturbed it and interrupted its mutation into a full-fledged Red Sea Wolf! It's now stuck at the intermediate phase, also known informally as a Blood Wolf! Please, try your best to kill it!]
[Task rewards:
1-Full recovery of injuries
2-Low-Mortal Artifact: Red Fang Knife
3-Next stage Task activation
]
"It's here!"
"AWUUUUUU!"
Lei Bei looked at the mountain nearby to see a massive dark wolf howling at the sky!
[Blood Wolf {Overheat}]
[2nd Layer of QI Formation. A rare demonic beast from the forest, often born during the dissimilation of a Wolf King]
[The Blood Wolf is in an abnormal state {Overheat} due to its iminent transformation and its speed has decreased significantly. One minute until the status is lifted]
[00:59…]
"Defeating it with my current power should be easy, but I have another goal."
'Follow me if you can!'
Lei Bei immediately turned around and ran toward the forest as he trying to taunt it to follow him.
/BAM!/
The Wolf rushed while the ground cracked beneath its feet, running after him…
…
"Where is it… Here!"
At the end of the forest was a tall precipice. Even with his power, faling this much was an instant death sentence!
But with the wold behind him, Lei Bei knew what he had to do. With his superior speed, he ducked beneath one of its attacks and jumped onto its back, driving his knife onto its back before directing it to the abyss!
And as the mindless beast it was, it jumped without a second thought…
/BAM!/
…
[Beginner Task: Defeat the Blood Wolf {Completed}]
[All injuries have been healed, Red Fang Knife has been added to the Backpack Bar]
"... Urg, fuck… I did it… Everything hurts…"
'How did the Mc even survive this? Did the System just resurrect him or something?…'
But the system had no intention of letting him relax yet.
[Chain Task: Join the Qinguan Sect has been generated]
"Urg…"
'It's here! Just as I planned… But first… my token of acceptance…'
[Demonic Pill]
Lei Bei stared at the wolf's head, and immediately, a small window appeared. The System was telling him there was something valuable for him to collect.
/Splat!/
He carefully stabbed the beast's head and extracted a massive, ball-sized red pearl from within its brain. It was disgusting having to pull out the brain matter attached to it, but he did it in the end.
/Fwush…/
As he looked at the pearls, Lei Bei suddenly shuddered as he felt hot air blow faintly on his back…
"What a precious and rare Demonic Pill."
A feminine voice echoed behind him. It didn't take much deduction for him to understand who was behind him…
"..."
Lei Bei slowly turned around, alert. And he immediately saw a massive centipede looking at him menacingly.
On top of it was a beauty with long silvery hair and thin purple glasses, staring down at him with a carefree smile.
He gulped down, trying to maintain his composure, "H-Hello miss… May I inquire if there is anything you need? I'm still a little shaken from… well… falling down this precipice."
"Oh my, you're a polite one. It's simple then; I want that pill."
Lei Bei looked at the pill. He was already going to give it to her, but he didn't want to sound like a pushover. Not when he knew what the result of this was going to be.
It was, however, the perfect chance to begin crafting his story…
"To be honest, I do not know how valuable this is. I only know it's a Demonic Pill… I've spent much of my life training in isolation and only now have I left my home… Could I perhaps inquire who are you?"
"Oh me? I am the eighth head of the medicine pavilion of the Qinguan Sect, Ling Meng."
She had silver hair and a nice body with smooth white skin. Her eyes were sky blue, and she wore a pair of scholarly glasses in front of her eyes, giving her a mature feel.
She also had a red diamond circlet around her head. As for her clothes, they were easy to describe. She was holding a long blue scythe and high heels. Her clothes were a mix of white and blue… just standard cultivator clothes, just a lot fancier, deeming her position.
This much he knew thanks to his knowledge.
"I'll repeat myself again. I want that Pill." She said as she looked at him with a gentle smile
She had a carefree aura about her, and she didn't seem intent on killing him at all, although she might not even put him in her eyes if he were to step too far.
Seeing his hesitation, she added, "Don't worry, kid, I will give you an opportunity. Give me the Demonic Pill, and I'll let you work under me. How's that for you?"
"..."
'That's exactly what I wanted.'
"Well… I won't throw away the chance to learn…" He replied as he gave the stone to her directly, making her smile a bit as her gaze seemed to change slightly
[Name: Ling Meng
Realm: ???
]
Lei Bei saw her happily gazing at the Pill. His plan was completed, but it didn't mean everything he wanted to do was over.
"Are we not going to collect the rest?"
She looked at him and then at the beast before saying, "That is not necessary, most of the energy is contained within the Demonic Pill, but… since I am happy today, I'll buy it from you since those maretials aren't useless. Besides, its a waste to leave them there… Here, take these spirit stones."
She gave him a series of green finger-sized stones, about nine of them. He added them to his list of items inside the Backpack. A bunch of coins, and the equipment he took from the bandits.
/Fwoosh!/
The beast's body was dragged from the crater on the ground and completely encased within the centipede's… silk? And like luggage, the beast carried it on its back.
[DING]
[Discovered a Dual Cultivation Partner]
[Ling Meng, the 8th-generation head of the Qinguan Sect's Medicine Pavilion, a female pharmacist obsessed with refining Demons and perfecting medicines.
She never had a Daoist Partner! Can obtain a large amount of spiritual power after Dual Cultivation.
Favorability: 5/100
]
She pulled Lei Bei onto her Spiritual Beast's back and proclaimed, "That's great! Little Fang, let's go!"
/Fwush!/
The centipede marched onward while Lei Bei calmly thought of the future…
'Now then, I need to remember as much as I can.'
…
/Sometime later…/
While they moved across the forest into the beyond, Ling Meng mistook his expression for something else, "Kid, don't be sullen, you managed to break through the fourth realm of Qi Formation without the help of a Sect, so you have great potential."
"Someone like you is greatly desired in most Sects, with this Pill you got a VIP entrance. Consider yourself lucky you won't have to go through the hassle of the entrance tests."
"… Miss Ling, if you allow me to call you that, I have a question to ask."
"I'll allow it, say it. But call me Pavilion Master."
"Understood Pavilion Master… Are you perhaps a pharmacist?"
She was decently surprised at his question, "Yes I am, are you aware of this profession? I thought you were a village boy."
Although a bit offended, Lei Bei knew she was right. But he kept himself calm and collected, this was the perfect time to build a connection with her.
He already noticed her first impression of him was positive, potentially due to his high cultivation and manners. If he kept at it, she was bound to open up a little more.
"You see, Pavilion Master. My family line is rather long. I know a few of my predecessors were cultivators like you, so some texts mention such details… and I think one of my recent great grandparents was once a Pharmacist as well… I think it was called… Connoisseur?"
She tensed when she heard that, but she kept her faint smile nonetheless.
"You probably heard it wrong kid, it is impossible for you to be the descendant of a Connoisseur Grade Pharmacist… Although the mere fact you know it means your ancestors were likely deeply connected to the cultivation world."
"The strange thing is that I do not feel a cultivation technique in you… You must've achieved this through your bloodline."
"I think? It is true that I possess no cultivation art to guide my progress, but I always put great effort in my physical training and scholarly pursuits… if that means much." Lei Bei replied as he thought slightly
'She's difficult to speak to. She assumes things and takes them as true without much thought… no… She puts quite some thought into it, but her cultivation is so high above mine that it seems like she just takes things as they are.'
'She always assumes the worst in me and the situation… But that's her personality trait. She's deeply pessimistic due to her circumstances.'
"Uhum... Once you stabilize your cultivation, I wager you'll reach Foundation soon enough. Still… a shame… you're not enough to be my disciple."
She seemed genuinely disappointed. Which only made Lei Bei's eyebrows twitch… Still, he knew the reason why that was the case.
"Am I not a disciple?" He asked as he feigned ignorance
"How come? You're just a little overqualified to be a handyman, much less a disciple."
This did not annoy him, for Lei Bei's patience was immense compared to other main characters... But he was getting considerably annoyed.
He knew he wasn't that bad… It was just her standards that were too high.
"So, Pavilion Master, what do I need to do to become one?"
"Become at the very least a 6th Layer… No, 5th stage should be enough to be taken as the lowest grade disciple in the pavilion."
She looked at him up and down… "You are 18, right? Most disciples in your age group are around the 6th to 8th Layer… but that's on the Sect as a whole. The Medicine Pavilion disciples are a little lower given their focus on medicine creature."
"As such, since you are lucky, you might even become a disciple once you reach the 5th stage. If you can correct your unstable cultivation that is fluctuating and master the basics of the Pavilion, I'll permit your integration."
Lei Bei nodded. That was all he needed to hear… Already far better than the Mc who was only dragged around without being able to make a single rebuttal.
[DING]
[Chain Task: Join the Qinguan Sect {Forced Completion}]
"Pavilion Master, I still have a few things I'd like to clear up with you if you don't mind…"
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Notes
Chapter 5 Skills
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—
"Pavilion Master, I still have a few things I'd like to clear up with you if you don't mind…"
"Say it."
"So, first of all… I know a little of the Qinguan Sect since its dominant force in the area. It has multiple pavilions like the medicine pavilion… Wasn't our pavilion female-only?"
"There has never been such a rule. It's only because of the 3rd generation Head 200 years ago who had a habit of only recruit females. After a while, the Medicine Pavilion was known for only recruiting such as to not cause too much trouble."
"However, recently, there have been some issues so I'm not concerned about that anymore." She said as her expression changed
"I see… It may look like too much, but I heard members of each pavilion usually receive some sort of identification… would it be okay for me to receive it now to not cause misunderstandings later?"
'The main character did not know this and because of that he was locked up as a misunderstanding for many days. I have no such time to play around.'
"Oh! You reminded me of something rather important… I was planning on immediately refining this Demonic Pill but you're right. With how many issues there are in the Sect, I'd rather not have more… Here, take my identification tag and use it to request one to be made for you."
She smiled, "I'll need it back eventually though."
"Of course!" He said with a smile as he received the golden tag with multiple symbols on it
'With this, I will not be troubled. And since she'll go into seclusion for the first few days after we arrive, I can just lie a bit to get access to some resources and speed up my training since given the personality of the Head Disciple, she'll try to get in my way at first.'
'With this I can force her back.'
Lei Bei tried his best to keep his face tight. Now there was only one thing left for him to do…
He looked at his clothes, and she noticed it, "Don't worry about your attire. Once we're there, I'll have the disciples give you a set of fresh clothes before you enter the Pavilion. Wouldn't want you to give your fellow disciples a bad first impression now, would we?"
"T-Thank you!"
'Right as planned!… And also… Lies! You definitely forgot about it! In the original story, she just dumps him at the entrance of the Sect with nothing! He's then forced to go to the herb fields where he's mistaken as a pervert and is locked up for nearly half a month without food until she returns!'
'There's no way I'm going through that!'
…
/A little less than half an hour later…/
The centipede was like a plane in the air but in the forest. They crossed dozens of kilometers in no time at all. In no time, they arrived!
They had finally arrived at the Qinguan Sect, and as Lei Bei looked at it, he realized why it was called a low-level sect. It looked beautiful but in no way comparable to what he would think of a so-called cultivation sect.
The sect was mostly built on a mountain, so you could see many of its buildings around the place, and most of the mountains on the horizon were also part of the sect.
There were even a few small floating mountains, and if he wasn't mistaken, those were the Elders' private houses. Working both as houses and as fortresses, and the more floated in the sky, the stronger the sect usually is.
To become an Elder, one must first become an Inner Core Cultivator, or at the very least a High-Level Foundation Refinement expert. And he didn't know for sure, but he was pretty sure the Sect head was either a High-Level Inner Core cultivator. Or someone beyond that level.
"Woah…"
'The power level of this world wasn't properly explained in the novel, but things are much more down to earth than what you may think.'
'Even an Inner Core master would only be strong enough to deal heavy damage to one of those floating mountains. Compared to some novels where the power level scales to the planetary level, here things are based more around Qi control… at least until the higher realms.'
'Given this is a very formulaic story, it does eventually end rather ridiculously.'
…
/Stop…/
Two guards could be seen waiting in front of the sect's entrance…
/FWUSH!/
/BANG!/
Ling Meng's centipede jumped in the air and crashed in front of the entrance, making the two guards jump to the side, startled.
"I'm back!" She proclaimed with a smile, eager to go refine the pill she "found"
"..."
Meanwhile, Lei Bei was about to lose it… 'Hold it in… I think I'm going to puke…'
Lei Bei tried his best to keep himself steady…
"Greeting… Pavilion Master Ling."
As they exchanged greetings, the other guard informed her, "Oh! Master Ling! The Vice Master told us to relay to you that the item you wanted has been found, so please head to the Spirit Treasure Hall as soon as possible."
"What I wanted?... Don't tell me it's the remnants of the Cloud Crane Pill?"
/Smack!/
She suddenly smacked Lei Bei away, "Kid! Something urgent came up! So go to the Pavilion yourself!"
She flew into the skies, vanishing soon after amidst the distant buildings.
"Little brother, you're the handyman captured by Pavilion Master Ling, right?" One of the guards asked with a smile as he helped him get up
Lei Bei looked up to see the two guards with a helpless expressions as he dusted off his clothes.
"Hahaha!… Welcome to the Qinguan Sect."
"Little brother, the floor is cold. Come on, get up."
"Thank you…"
'Despite it all... there are indeed good people among the cultivators, another reason why I found this Novel interesting… Not everyone is against the Mc… which is quite something to say given most take it as the norm.'
"Little brother, the Medicine Pavilion is right over there." The guard on the left added as he pointed at the forests past a certain wall
The other guard nodded, "We have to guard the gate, so you'll have to go on alone."
"Thank you, brothers!" Lei Bei replied as he turned around and went on his way
…
Lei Bei followed the road and eventually arrived at a small forest. This was the entrance to the Medicine Pavilion; he could even see it in the mountain behind the forest.
"This must be the forest where they let plants grow in the wild…"
'This time, I won't commit the same mistake as the Mc.'
/Rustle…/
Lei Bei heard the leaves moving, and he knew it was someone nearby, but he ignored it as he continued to follow the path. He could even see a strong color shining in the woods, but it wasn't his problem!
…
He passed through the forest with no trouble and climbed the stairs…
/BOOM!/
As he did so, a small explosion happened in the medicine pavilion above him! Sending splinters of burning wood down the stairs and beyond as a heavy smell of charcoal spread.
Most would run before such a disaster… But he did not. And as expected, she appeared.
"What happened?!… Huh?!"
She had a voluptuous body and her face screamed naivety; her hair was bright red and fashioned into twin tails.
She had a troubled expression as she looked at the pavilion, but her angry gaze soon fell on him.
"Who are you?! Another pervert?!" She pointed out as her face grew more distorted
[DING]
[Discovered a Dual Cultivation Partner]
[Qiu Yinghan, Lady in Charge of the Qinguan Sect's Medicine Pavilion. A fiery-spirited girl with a deep passion for cultivation. Someone who loves honesty and her companions but hates dishonesty. She is repulsed by egocentric actions and perversion, but her naivety and spoiled upbringing causes her to overlook her own actions.
She never had a Daoist Partner! Can obtain a large amount of spiritual power after Dual Cultivation.
Favorability: -15/100
]
'Starting in the negative, huh…'
"No, but before that, we need to figure out what happened!" He said with some concern as he ran inside the pavilion
"E-EH? Right!!"
His focus and simple words shook the bratty girl as she saw him running up. But despite him being slow, she followed him, and they both entered the pavilion at the same time.
…
The Medicine Pavilion had a simple layout. There were multiple sections in different parts of the mountain.
One contained the medicine furnaces, massive cauldrons meant to fuse materials and extract the energy within them and form a medicinal pallet with their properties condensed following their secret arts.
Another held the materials they collected from the nearby mountains, another was the dormitories, and so on…
Seeing the smoke coming out of one of the furnace rooms, the girl asked loudly:
"What's going on?! Is anyone hurt? Where is the supervisor?!"
A pretty girl with blond hair approached them, "Reporting to the lady in charge, Furnace N.3 has exploded again!"
The pink-haired girl let out a sigh while Lei Bei took his chance to ask, "Is this frequent?"
"Not exactly… But recently things have become quite dire… Oi! You still didn't tell me who you are! Explain yourself!"
All of the girls looked at him with a dangerous glare, so Lei Bei decided to act dumb, "Is there something wrong? I just arrived at the Qinguan Sect, and I don't even have any clothes… Pavilions Master Ling told me to come work here as a handyman, but…"
"YOU'VE GOT SOME NERVE! How dare you bring up the name of the pavilion master? The Medicine Hall hasn't taken any males in 200 years!"
Lei Bei said as he took out a badge:
"Calm down, sister… I really just arrived and knew not of the rules. If there is any misunderstanding, I shall take my leave and wait for the due process. I apologize if I caused you all an issue."
"You seem to be on edge given these issues… but I am telling the truth, and I hope we can work together well."
He bowed as he said that, speaking calmly and clearly so no one would snap out at him all of a sudden.
"This is… Master Ling's badge… What did you do?" She said as she pointed at him
Lei Bei frowned as his forehead tensed. Was this girl really thinking he did something to the Pavilion Master?
"... Miss… Pavilion Master Ling is a cultivator of immense power. I am merely at the 4th Layer of Qi Formation, so please…"
'Please use your damned brain!'
The girl couldn't refuse anymore, and the other girls seemed to agree, so she just frowned. She reached for her nose and thought deeply before looking at the smoking furnace room, "Alright! However, I still don't trust you! So until the Pavilion lord is back, you'll be locked up, is that okay with you?" She asked with a serious expression as she pointed her finger at his chest
"I'm just a handyman. At best, a disciple to be… so your order is my duty. But may I ask for some clothes and food? It's been a while since I ate anything… I wouldn't mind having something to do either."
He tried his best to be formal and respectable without downplaying himself too much. But that was difficult to do when his clothes were this shabby. Still… his efforts paid off.
[Medicine Pavilion Favor +5]
[Qiu Yinghan Favor +5]
Hearing his reply made her relax a bit. She looked at the other girls, and they went to pick some things for him. In the meantime, he followed another pair of girls patiently to his room at the edge of the pavilion.
'Things are going well. It seems we've jumped the probation period of me being stuck inside a cell and went straight to being stuck inside the room… Better than nothing.'
'I will slowly build an impression on these girls, and with today's meeting, I went from a pervert to a suspicious handyman… I am much better than the Mc, my words are at least listened to. And I wasn't slapped once!'
'Actually, scratch that. I doubt they think I'm a suspicious handyman. As long as I put in some effort… hah!'
…
Lei Bei was left inside a room beyond the furnace area. He was given food, clothes, and the room itself was quite nice… although the door was locked from the outside.
Still, he was fine with it, this room seemed to be one of the main disciples room. A vacant one kept in good condition… It was perfect for him.
There was also a table filled with some fruits, they sure were quick.
He took a seat and went into deep thought.
[DING]
[Dual Cultivation Death Countdown: 59 days…]
"There's still some time until the end of the first day."
'It probably started counting the moment I took over since I technically took over his body, causing the countdown to restart.'
[Reminder]
[It's recommended for the Host to look for a target with a similar cultivation level. This way, if you get refused, you'll at least be able to keep your life]
"... Thanks."
Lei Bei checked the inventory and checked his knife. It was quite decent with a black outer spine and a red edge. But it was just a mortal artifact. The kind of thing only mortals would use.
Maybe he can sell it in the future for something else. With his cultivation, this knife wasn't going to last much longer. He'd have to replace it sooner or later… that is… if he even used it.
'In the original story, this was about the time when the main character received his primary cultivation technique. The {Final Sutra of the three Beast Gods}… This technique is actually an Immortal technique beyond the rankings known to mortals; it's just that it was toned down by the system in order for the Mc to learn it.'
'This wasn't done according to the ego of the Ancient Seal. This is because the Ancient Seal's main goal is to raise its host as much as possible, and the ego wasn't responsible for its creation, so it isn't entirely in line with it.'
'It didn't want to give me that technique exactly… because the {Final Sutra of the three Beast Gods} that the ego knows is different from the version the Ancient Seal itself gave me.'
'In simple terms, the Ancient Seal's ego plan was to use me to fulfill its revenge by controlling my body once I achieved the maximum stage of the technique. This plan was born from its hatred to my bloodline due to my ancestors "abandoning" it.'
'But I will fix that misconception of it and show it the truth. The previous me destroyed it; I will make it my ally.'
'The {Final Sutra of the three Beast Gods} was adapted by the Ancient Seal itself. Making it suitable for me to use… That is why and how the fundamental problem of this technique was fixed.'
'But I have little to worry about thanks to the modifications… Still… I don't plan to cultivate the {Final Sutra of the three Beast Gods} since I know the Ancient Seal's true powers… Linking myself to that technique, albeit it'll grant me immeasurable power, will only end up limiting me in the long run, although there is the possibility of removing said limitations like the previous me did.'
'So it's a question of time. Should I go with the ancient almighty technique, or should I follow my own path?'
"Phew…"
Lei Bei looked at the bookshelf in the room and smiled deviously as he saw it…
[Introduction to Pills]
[Skills can be acquired after reading: Elementary Pill Refining]
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Notes