Chapter 6 Stronger! Better!
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—
Looking at the book, Lei Bei smiled, 'This was the reason the Mc was such an ass and why his cheat was so massive… Not all books have the possibility of generating a Skill, but all books can contribute towards something.'
'For example, in this case, I can only get the skill if I read all the books on this shelf. The collection of books forms the Skill, Elementary Pill Refining.'
He opened the book and sat down…
[Reminder]
[Congratulations to the host for working hard in the right direction!
Working hard in the right direction can make the path toward immortality twice as successful!
]
[To assist the Host in learning, the function of Automatic Examination is now enabled]
As the System proclaimed in its gently, feminine voice, a blue sphere of light covered the book with many light particles flowing out of its pages and into Lei Bei's forehead like comets in the night sky.
'There it is. This is the key to success!'
[Host, sit down and prepare to cultivate]
"No need to tell me twice!"
'Time to get overpowered…'
When he sat down, the sphere of light suddenly increased in size, covering his entire body and the bookshelf. Suddenly, all the books floated in the surrounding air…
[Congratulations to the Host for acquiring the skill {Elementary Pill Refining}]
[Elementary Pill Refining Lv0]
'So this is how it is… I finally understand. Such a magical field!'
As he felt the words within the books move inside his head, his proficiency in the subject slowly rose, culminating in the System recognizing his efforts.
[Skill Level +1]
But that was only a fraction of everything left to be read…
[Skill Level +1]
[Skill Level +1]
[Skill…]
The time passed as the information was crammed inside Bei Lei's head…
…
/Half a day later…/
[DING!]
[The Skill {Elementary Pill Refining} has achieved Max Level]
[You have acquired as a special reward, {Elementary Herb Appraisal}]
[Elementary Herb Appraisal Lv1]
Bei Lei slowly opened his tired eyes and he shook his head.
"It's… done… fuck… Having several dozen books worth of information crammed into my head is a fucking chore…"
'But now I'm ready… I only need to leave this place. The Mc lost many days, perhaps even over half of his total time doing nothing because these girls were so tyrannical and kept suppressing him just because he was a dude… he was quite stupid too and utterly unable to defend himself.'
'This time, I at least left a good impression on them… I need to work soon as I have no interest in running by the clock. I already lost a full day and a few extra hours'
[Name: Lei Bei {Cursed}
Realm: Half-Step Fourth Layer of Qi Formation
Cultivation Method: None
Skills: Identification; Elementary Knife Proficiency Lv0; Elementary Pill Refining LvMax; Elementary Herb Appraisal Lv 1
Martial Arts:
…
]
'I got the basics down. If I could, I'd enter the library and continue my studies but I'm cursed so I have to be even more practice.'
"With this, things get simpler… Let's see… I should get some materials and make some Pills. After that, get stronger, prove myself to everyone including the Pavilion Master…"
'And beat the crap out of that guy… The first minor villain of the story.'
[It is detected that the Host is very confident and proactive and has a long plan already laid out. The first step has been taken. Now that you're in the Qinguan Sect, you must become one of them!]
[Chain Task: The only man in the Medicine Pavilion has been generated]
[Task Requirements:
Refine one flask of the Elementary Calbica liquid 0/1
Refine the Burst Pill 0/1
]
[Task Rewards:
Medicine Pavilion Favor +10
Hidden Task: {Shining Knight comes to bed the princess}
]
"Another change… I have no recollection of this."
'It's fine nonetheless; the System is here for me. It must have understood what I'm about to do.'
"Now or never…"
Lei Bei went to the door and knocked on it. It had been almost an entire day since he had come here, and although it was deep in the night, he still wanted to talk with someone.
/Knock knock knock…/
After a while, a girl approached him, asking with some concern, "… Is there something wrong?"
Thankfully, Lei Bei was lucky and didn't have to wait long, but above all, the girl seemed reasonable to talk to…
"I was wondering if there was something I could do, not right now, of course, but if possible, could you ask the one in charge? There is nothing to do in this room."
"You probably don't know, but the reason the Pavalion Master took me as a handyman was because I possessed some level of alchemical knowledge. And while the books are interesting, staying put all night long like this is quite… boring."
"... Okay, I can do that… No, why don't you talk with her right now?"
"!"
/Creaak…/
The door opened, revealing the red-haired girl and a girl with blue hair covering the left side of her face… She was quite cute, more so than the angry-looking red-haired disciple.
"You called? It hasn't even been a day…"
The first thing she noticed as she entered the room was the pile of books near the table. So she forced herself to ask, "Did you read those?"
"Hum?... Ah yes, there wasn't much to do. They're very elementary books with simple, widespread knowledge, so they weren't very interesting. I merely wanted to know if there's something I can do and potentially… you know… go to the bathroom?"
"I also wanted to know if you got the confirmation from the Pavilion Master Ling."
The girl shook her head, "Until she comes back, there is literally nothing you can do. With your measly cultivation, the most you can do is take care of the herb fields…"
Lei Bei frowned slightly, "My cultivation is at the 4th Layer. No offense, but as far as I know, that's almost the average here."
"I… I understand. Calling is measly wasn't the proper word. However, it's still too low for you to participate in any other activity… And even if it were high enough, I wouldn't permit it!"
Lei Bei smiled awkwardly. Now he understood why she had arrived so quickly. She was probably still suspicious of him, probably remaining around all day to see what he would do.
But from the looks of it, she seemed rather calm now. Perhaps she had noticed he spent the entire day reading and was now seeing him in a different light… Although the System had yet to register her or any other girl around him as a potential cultivation partner.
It seemed there was still a barrier between them left to be crossed… No matter, he'd break it eventually.
"Thank you, I'll do it. Anything is better than staying here, and I'm sure you won't allow me into the library until the Pavilion Master returns… Just let me clean the room first, then I'll follow you."
'That was easy… Success!'
[Qiu Yinghan Favor +5]
"I… understood. I'll wait outside."
The girl was once again impressed at how humble and easygoing he was. Most of the boys were always… a bit goofy and perverted, but not even once did he look anywhere apart from her eyes.
He talked simply and clearly. And most importantly, he was patient. Many boys would lose their patience and lash out at her, making her beat them up. She had lost count of how many times that had happened.
She often asked if she was the problem, but seeing him now, maybe that wasn't entirely the case.
Once he finished cleaning, he met with them outside. He gave the dark, blue-haired girl a polite nod, which she quickly reciprocated before she left somewhere else.
"Look, I've confirmed the authenticity of your claims. But I cannot allow you to roam around until Master Ling returns. You can stay there and go anywhere you want… as long as you don't leave its walls!"
"I'm fine with it as long as I have a functional home and something to do. I thank you for believing in me, but as I told you, there is no need to wait for her to come back. You can even ask the guards on the day we returned; they can act as eyewitnesses…"
"You just need to do as I say!" She replied as her cheeks grew red
"..."
'This is harder than I thought… It seems she isn't used to being rebutted like this.'
…
The girl led him through the mountains and into an isolated house. Next to it was a big and open herb field containing many sorts of herbs and plants growing.
The surroundings were protected with tall wooden walls that looked rather shabby… It was a simple but cozy home in the mountains.
"It's very pretty." Lei Bei said as he looked around
"Yeah… In any case, there is nothing much for you to do around this place. Disciples from the alchemy room will come here on their own to get what they need regularly, so you just need to take care of the place."
"For your information, this is but one of the several Herb fields lying around, so you may not many of them frequently. Even someone does come, I expect no issues!"
"Is that so?… Then, who plants the herbs and makes sure they grow healthy?"
"The formations around the place ensure the plants grow in their most suitable environments. They also collect their seeds, separating them over there as you can see." She said as she pointed at a large box near the house
"Disciples take care of the rest… You can plant them from time to time, but I would prefer if you touched nothing." She said with some spite as she looked at him up and down
"You said you knew something but I doubt that's of any worth… So, since you don't know much, it's better not to do much as well, right? Take your time learning and all of that."
Lei Bei nodded, no need to bicker with a brat.
"If that is the case, can I get some books to read?"
This confused the girl as her words got stuck in her mouth.
"Anything will do, although I would prefer if they were…"
She interrupted him.
"No need to worry about that; inside that house are many books for you… By the way, that is the place you'll be staying in from now on until second word from Master Ling. And I won't be hearing any counterarguments this time!"
"This home has everything you need. So if I see you outside for some reason, I won't take your excuses!"
Lei Bei bowed, "Thank you, miss. Unless something terrible occurs, I'll remain here until second notice… Also, I didn't ask for your name… Oh… and neither did I share mine."
"I'm Lei Bei, nice to make you acquainted."
She nodded faintly, "I'm Qiu Yinghan. You may call me Madam Qiu, or Lady in Charge Qiu."
[Qiu Yinghan Favor +5]
His forehead tensed as he looked at her self-loathing, but he kept his expression as much as he could, "Understood, lady in charge Qiu… If you don't mind, I'll take a nap for now."
'And perhaps a shower since I still smell of blood… In the Novel, the Mc didn't shower for almost two weeks as he was trapped in that room…'
As he left for his house, she added, "Just a reminder, but if you are seen out of this place, you're dead meat!"
But Lei Bei did not faze as he nodded and closed the door.
It is both a simple matter to deal with brats as it is to get them annoyed…
As he watched her leave through a gap in the window, 'At least now we're even. Previously she was at -15 but now she is at 0… Better than nothing.'
'The way Favor works is that until a character is unlocked, their favorability is pooled with the others of the area. Once it is unlocked… then they start to rise individually.'
'I don't know if the System has some influence over someone's consciousness, but I'd rather not think about that now.'
…
"Home sweet home…"
'For a while at least.'
As he got inside, Lei Bei saw a new and brilliant piece of clothing on top of the table amidst several lit candles, and he was greatly surprised how fast this had happened.
"Did that girl predict I was going to come here? How else would there be one here?..."
Of course, the truth is way simpler; the girl is always under the protection of a guard, the guard cannot interfere with anything unless she is in a serious risk, she doesn't know of its existence, but the guard would often act out of its own volition as to make up for the miss' problems.
'It must've been that guard of hers… both the Pavilion Master and that bratty girl have a higher background beyond this meager sect and are destined to return eventually. This is more of a proving ground for them… although she doesn't know that.'
'The Pavilion Master is only here to accompany her, although she too is under test.'
Lei Bei shook his head and removed his clothes before going to a bucket in the corner and filling it with water from a tap.
/Shaaa…/
'Technology in this world is always confusing… But I will just assume everything is done through formations…'
/Drip…/
"Oh? It's even rather hot… Perfect… I was ready to take a cold shower every day."
…
After washing his body and drying it, he put his dirty and torn clothes on the side and went to sleep in his new, smooth underwear… Yes, he preferred to sleep like this…
'So much happened… what will become of me in this world?… Sigh…'
"Tomorrow… there's so much to do…"
…
/Six hours later…/
/Chattering…/
Lei Bei eventually woke up to the sound of people talking outside his house. He knew it was the students, so he put on his clothes, washed his face, and hardened his will as his eyes grew used to the morning sunlight.
When he approached them, he was almost struck down. The girls weren't really fond of him and almost attacked him, but he thankfully explained things to them and told them to continue, and while they did so, he went back to his house to read.
[Introduction to Herbs]
[Skills can be improved after reading: {Elementary Herb Appraisal}]
Lei Bei sat on the ground and started automatic reading. But this time he asked the System to tone things down a bit since others could be around.
"It's best to ignore them and focus on myself. I'll check the place when I finish this…"
'This was something the Mc didn't do. If I remember correctly, he stayed about two weeks trapped, and then, he spent another month or so digging a hole from this place to the pill forge room so he could make some pills to raise his level and potentially improve a girl just enough so he could dual cultivate.'
'At that moment he just so happened to save the lady in charge from being attacked by disciples from another pavilion who were plotting to take down ours… Quite coincidental really.'
'Those exploding furnaces are the signs of their tempering… If the disciples can't get things in check, the Medicine Pavilion will be gone. Not that it matters when the Sect itself will vanish soon after.'
'I think this was the author's way of nerfing his Mc else he would grow too strong too quickly… Unfortunately, I have no interest in following his wishes… Not that it mattered either since the Mc grew quite fast chapters later.'
'It was probably just so he could be part of the stupid arc that destroyed the Sect…'
He stopped thinking about that and focused on his studies.
[Skill +1]
[Skill +1]
[Skill +1]
[Skill…]
…
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Notes
Chapter 7 Peak of Qi Formation!
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—
/Under his relentless studies. The first five days since he awakened passed quickly/
/Pluck… Pluck…/
/Humming…/
"And this… and that…"
Lei Bei could be seen grabbing a few herbs on the ground with a faint smile as he hummed a lullaby faintly.
"I think those were all the High-Quality herbs in this garden… so far at least."
'I can't allow them to be wasted... These disciples have no idea how to diferentiate their grades and this are unable to proprely use them.'
'Herbs and plants have their qualities. Many things go into how this happens, but for these people, it's merely luck-based. Of course, they rely on their methods to make pills but with how many things they disregard, how can you not call it luck-based?'
'From Trash/Inferior Grade to Low, Average, High, and Peerless… Unfortunately in this garden, I saw no peerless-grade plants, but I managed to collect a few high-grade herbs.'
'A material's grade can often indicate its properties… If you don't understand the properties, then you're just making way for disaster to enter your home.'
[Sanqing Grass {Quality:High}
…
]
'I can easily make these pills with these materials… if I don't make mistakes… which I likely will given I have zero practical experience… But I don't have to worry about that since the System has an Auto-Craft feature.'
'I can learn the process over time, but now I can't let such a good opportunity to waste… In any case, it always takes me studying and learning how to do things for the System to unlock their auto crafting method… So it doesn't matter how I feel; I'll have to study and learn it all regardless.'
'While someone would've needed to be a legendary pharmacist to make some pills, with the system, they can be done easily. Of course, that is under the premise I have all the necessary materials and skills to follow the procedure done by the system.'
'The way the System views the host's skills is different from what he can actually do. So that's that.'
'… For example, the basic Daoist Pill that I need to cultivate has 76 steps and 349 key points… So yeah. It takes a lot of focus and its the reason why the furnaces usually just explode when mistakes are compounded atop bad materials.'
"In any case, I have gathered all the materials, so there is no point in waiting anymore."
[Name: Lei Bei {Cursed}
Realm: Half-Step Fourth Layer of Qi Formation
Cultivation Method: None
Skills: Identification; Elementary Knife Proficiency Lv0; Elementary Pill Refining LvMax; Elementary Herb Appraisal LvMax
Martial Arts:
…
]
He checked his backpack; it was full of herbs. He then looked at Lyin's location, and it seemed she had already found her master, for she had already left the territory, being tens of thousands of kilometers away.
"Things are moving as planned… Time to finish the rest."
'I'll sneak into the Pill forging room and forge the pills. Once my cultivation becomes high enough, I can at least survive and flee from their attacks if the girls find me there. Even if they decide to punish me, it's useless since I would've been fine.'
'Power is everything that matters here. With enough power, I can just force my way to the furnace and make my things while the girls can't do anything but glare… I'd rather not do that since they'd probably be quite annoyed.'
'The perfect outcome would be to make the pills and return before anyone finds me…'
"I scouted the entire Medicine Hall by staying on the roof overlooking the sect from there. I am absolutely sure 95% of the girls will go to sleep around 8-9 Pm and they will wake up between 5-6 Am."
'I'll just go when it's between 12 am and 2 am. I'll sneak in instead of wasting time digging a hole like the previous me and I will make a single pill. Once that is done, I will eat it immediately, and I will be ready!'
'A single high-quality pill is all that is needed!'
[DING]
The Host is daring, but prepared. He is ready to take risks to move forward to get laid!]
[Hidden Task: Master Alchemist in disguise has been generated]
[Previous Task, The only man in the Medicine Pavilion has been delayed]
[
Task Requirements:
Refine Daoist Pill 0/10
Task Rewards:
Hidden Task, {Curious cat lost her flower}
]
"Ahem..."
'Why do these tasks all have sexual connotations? Tche!… As for the other task… It doesn't matter. The system has a bit of prophetic powers, meaning it can predict how things will happen within a certain time frame, it wasn't specified in the Novel, but it's probably at least two weeks for my current realm.'
'The Task, {The only man in the Medicine Pavilion} was probably related to the lady in charge due to the attack a few weeks from now.'
'But since the conditions have changed with my actions, the mission has no need to exist anymore… However, it seems the System thinks otherwise and merely delayed it…'
"So, I have two potential tasks to do. And two more waiting to be unlocked, huh…"
'So I have, {The only man in the Medicine Pavilion} and its sequence, {Shining Knight comes to bed the princess}… and {Master Alchemist in disguise} and its sequence… {Curious cat lost her flower}…'
'Why do they all sound like that? Sigh…'
…
/He waited for the right time to come. Within a few hours, it was time…/
He knew today the girls were going to sleep early again, why? Because they received a terrific task that involved refining many Pills for a special conference in a little over a month.
However, the preparations on their side were late, but that was all part of a plot…
But Lei Bei did not care about that for now. With all the girls dead tired and him having proven to do nothing but remain inside his room, even the guards standing outside had long left.
Of course, he didn't know if the hidden experts were going to do anything, but as long as he touched nobody, it was most likely fine. That was why being secretive was important. Otherwise, the System might be leaked.
In the original story, that did not happen despite the Mc's realization later down the line, but he wouldn't bet on that being the case anymore.
…
/Clack!/
Lei Bei pushed the door of Furnace Room N.7 open, stepping inside without making much noise.
"It was surprisingly easy to get in… As expected, that brat would never expect me to do this.'"
'And for good reason. There are many formations preventing intruders from walking around the place… but here's the thing she forgot to consider… I have the Pavilion Master's badge!'
'Those are useless to me, little girl… your insight lacks sharpness… The previous me avoided the formations by luck and by digging underground… He sure was lucky many times in the novel.'
"… Now, time to refine!"
Lei Bei rushed to the massive pill forge. An enormous cauldron large enough to be used as a pool and selected his recipe.
'I'll start with the ten Daoist Pills. The rest can be left for later… since it has the Medicine Pavilion Favor as a reward, it likely wants me to be more high profile for that one. But we'll see either way.'
[Daoist Pill refinement has begun]
[0/100]
"!"
Lei Bei felt his body act on its own as he ran around the place adding materials to the cauldron as he jumped and ignited the fire underneath it.
'It has begun… Now to wait and see how it goes.'
'With perfect execution without a single mistake… If one perseveres through the extremely tedious process with an iron focus, the chances of a mortal item becoming an immortal one are extremely low.'
'Even for a Daoit's Pill, the lowest cultivation pill in this sect, it already has an overwhelming number of steps and key points… That is why, if you become even a little careless you may lose it all.'
'But if I can focus perfectly, then there's the chance I may make something that taps into a greater power mere simple alchemists cannot even begin to comprehend.'
Lei Bei stopped his useless thoughts. Focusing on understanding every step and every feeling of the process so he could one day do it himself and maybe even reinterpret the process and make something new!
That was how hidden missions were done! By surpassing the expectations of the System.
…
/About ten minutes later…/
[Elementary Pill Refining, Daoist Pill {Completed}]
/Catcheng…/
Lei Bei opened the cauldron's lid, smiling as the golden light shone on his face.
[Daoist Pill {Quality:High}
A pill that slightly increases the spiritual power of cultivators in the Qi Formation realm.
*One in a thousand alchemy achievement! Over five times more effective!*
]
"..."
'Just as I planned. With the System I can constantly make perfect pills. This "one in a thousand" can become regular if everything is done with key precision… and if I have the right materials, more advanced knowledge, better tools, and the key environment… maybe I can even trigger better odds.'
/Gulp!/
Lei Bei ate the pill without hesitation, and as he felt the power course through his body, he smiled!
While he had no control over it due to his lack of a Cultivation Art, that didn't matter since Qi Formation was all about gathering Qi and nothing else!
[DING]
[Realm increased to the 5th Level!]
The pill was miraculous, but it had limits… The power eventually stopped and disappeared.
If he had a technique to properly absorb it, maybe he might've been able to raise multiple realms. Unfortunately, the power to Auto-Cultivate is only available at a very high level. It's not something he can unlock right now unless he does something amazing.
"Haa… Haa…"
Lei Bei was sweating, but he was smiling through the pain.
'Next! Next one! I can't rest! I'll make another and eat it!'
'Each pill will probably raise my layers by one, so it'll probably take me four more to reach the pinnacle. The stronger I get, the easier it'll be to make the next pill.'
'Let's go!'
…
/Over half an hour later…/
[DING]
[Realm increased to the 9th Level!]
[DING]
[Host has reached Qi Formation Pinnacle! Daoist Pills are now ineffective]
[It is recommended to find a Cultivation Manual and advance to Foundation Establishment]
[Host has unlocked the Skill {Spatial Awareness}]
[Spatial Awareness Lv 1
Description: Release your spiritual energy to search your surroundings, up to 50M
]
"Good, Phase One has been completed peerlessly…"
'Spatial Awareness… Every cultivator gets one when they get to the 8th Layer of Qi Formation. But now… To check my surroundings or not… I won't.'
'If I do so, there is a chance someone may detect it, and I am currently not fast enough to flee… The best would be to make the pill necessary to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and leave…'
'Honestly, I should stop being greedy and return while I still can… but then again, I should instead finish things here and move on.'
'I can't even use Spatial Awareness since I know little about it… I should take some time to learn cultivation when I can so I can make good use of my powers.'
'Anyhow… I have five pills left to forge.'
…
/About an hour later…/
[DING]
[Task: Master Alchemist in disguise {Completed}]
[Hidden Task: Curious cat lost her flower has been generated]
"Good, now it's time to leave… before it's too late."
'I could finish {The only man in the Medicine Pavilion}, but I don't think now's the time… In either case, one task down… Three more to go.'
Without being able to hold himself anymore, Lei Bei fled the scene like a petty thief. He wasn't the same handyman anymore; he was now a Peak Qi Formation Cultivator! One that was ready to break through and become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!
But not now… there are times when staying low is for the best.
"... He is…"
However, Lei Bei did not realize that there was a girl gazing at him running away from the Pill room, and when she got inside, she smelled the thick fragrance of pills and realized that there was no one but him that could've made them!
"Did he… Impossible, he is just a mere 4th Layer Qi Formation handyman… But then again… Who else?"
'I'll just find out then.' She thought with some confidence as her lips curled
…
/Later…/
Lei Bei was now in his room, enjoying his new power, "Now, I need a martial technique to make up for my lack of power."
'And after that, combat experience. Because if I rush too much, I may end up with a high realm, but low combat power. Even that dunce Mc went through the same thing, albeit forcefully…'
'I can technically break through whenever I want, but what can I do without a cultivation technique? The System has changed things and now I have no technique to support me if I wanted to or not.'
"For now… I suppose I can only wait."
'Once I can explain everything to the Pavilion Master and received her cooperation, everything will clear itself up... at least that's what I like to believe.'
As he said that, Lei Bei took out one of the Pills he had refined, 'I made two "legendary" Daoist Pills with twenty times the effects, and the rest were high quality with five times the effect of an ordinary one.'
"Sigh..."
'Maybe I'm expecting too much but I thought I would get more of them… Not that it matters anyway. If I take the two legendary ones even if they aren't that effective in Foundation cultivators, something will occur.'
"There are still some books lying around. I'll take this chance to learn a few more skills."
'Even if they're all about gardening, its something…'
Lei Bei grabbed the book and started to read through it… 'The original Mc took over half a year to reach Foundation due to his issues… How long will I take?'
'He may have been dumb in some things, but he was certainly better at cultivation then me… Can I keep up with his progress in the long run?'
…
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Notes
Chapter 8 What can I gain?
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—
As the next day rolled by, the first think Lei Bei did was ask the passing disciples to call the lady in charge so he could have a talk with her.
"You wanted to talk?"
"Yes, its been a few days since we last talk after all. How are things?"
"Terrible. Recently… that doesn't concern you!"
"I just wanted to make some small talk. I believe we should get to know each other at least. So I wanted to ask how was your day."
[Qiu Yinghan Favor +5]
"I still don't trust you!"
"Lady in charge. If I were a strange person, at least by now someone would've come looking for me. I am a new disciple of the Sect as I told you several days ago. Have you not confirmed it with the guards yet?"
"Is that all you wanted to say? Because I'm busy!"
"Not at all. You see, I wanted to ask for a simple favor if I can even call it that."
"I'm doing you no favors!"
"It's nothing complicated. It's already confirmed I'm a disciple of the Qinguan Sect. So I wanted to get thing started. It's okay if you don't want to share much with me about the Medicine Pavilion, I can understand that, but the basics of the Sect should be fine, no?"
"Well…"
"All I'm asking is for a few books on the basics of cultivation and the world. Things beyond just… gardening. If you could also add the standard cultivation manual of the Sect so I can at least get myself familiarized with it, I'd be immensely thankful."
"… I can do that… Very well. I'll bring those books to you since its reasonable."
"Thank you miss. I hope you have a phenomenal day." He said as he turned around
"Wait!"
"Hum? Is something else on your mind?"
"I just… forget it! Stay here and wait for your books!"
"…"
'This bratty girl… whatever.'
'I got what I wanted. Now to wait for the books to arrive.'
…
The days passed, and Lei Bei spent most of his time in his room studying the cultivation technique of the Qinguan Sect, the Stream of Stars Technique.
The Stream of Stars Technique was a Yellow Grade cultivation technique, so it was quite poor. It took a little but a day for Lei Bei to reach 2nd Mastery over its contents.
In this world, mastery over techniques was based on levels. 1st Mastery meant someone had reached full completion over its contents. 2nd Mastery meant someone had perfected it.
Anything above that was rare as it started to go into concepts far beyond lowers level cultivators present in the area. To find better things around more commonly, than someone had to go further into the continent into deeper areas where the energy was denser and the culture was richer.
Higher level of mastery usually meant higher performance. But sometimes, if someone achieved a high enough mastery over a technique, then they might even be able to rewrite it and create something new and stronger.
He didn't need to worry about that though since the Qinguan Sect likely had its fair deal of Yellow Grade techniques. Albeit he doubted he'd get his hands on anything higher… Actually, he was surprised he got a yellow technique to begin with.
That girl… despite her arrogance she could be quite kind. It seemed his words were indeed making effect on her… slowly but surely…
During this time, he would stop from time to time to see the state of the plants and to see if any plant became of higher quality, collecting the ones of high quality every time one appeared.
In this environment, high-quality plants were a miracle to be born. What to say anything better? He had to collect them all and store them inside his backpack before it was too late! He also tried to ask the disciples to lead him around the other herb grounds, but he was refused.
It seemed it was too early. A shame… thinking about all the high-quality herbs being thrown away made him quite sad… Oh well!
Amidst his studies, he also noticed something strange. A girl would observe him from outside the herb garden almost every day. She thought he couldn't see her, but his Spatial Awareness was revealing her position pretty much all the time to him.
With his cultivation being one of the highest among the disciples since very few in the Medicine Pavilion had even reached Foundation, it was far too easy for him to observe anyone.
This was the same girl who had stood outside his room when he first arrived at the Sect… To think she had grown interested in him for some reason.
It was only during the last day when he gave a disciple advice so she could get the right herb, that it happened…
[DING]
[Ei Xingda's favor +10]
[Discovered a Dual Cultivation Partner]
[Ei Xingda, First Class disciple of the Qinguan Sect's Medicine Pavilion. Extremely shy but curious by nature, she's a girl always looking for a mystery in the simplest of places. She has an aversion to boys, but not because of her preferences. She merely dislikes the behaviour of the men she had met so far.
She never had a Daoist Partner! Can obtain a large amount of spiritual power after Dual Cultivation.
Favorability: 15/100
]
'Who?! Was it the girl I just helped… No, that isn't her name. Could it be… the girl who was stalking me? Why did she of all people… No matter.'
'I'll figure things out eventually.'
Lei Bei shook his head, ready to go back to practice when a girl suddenly barged into the herb garden… "Lady in charge Qiu, what brings you here today?" He asked as he noticed her red hair waving in the wind
Truth was, he didn't even turn around, trying to act cool… But Qiu Yinghan didn't even notice the strangeness in his actions.
"It's him, master! He's the one who claimed to have been brought here by you!"
From behind her, a tall lady with purple glasses stepped forward. Her expression slightly more tense than usual.
"Pavilion Master Ling, it's been a while." Lei Bei said as he bowed
"Hello boy. It seems you… Hum…?"
She was about to ask how he was doing when she noticed his cultivation realm. Even with his proficiency in his technique, it was impossible to hide it from someone with a cultivation as monstrously high as hers…
She expected him to improve but not this much… It only made her incredibly suspicious.
With a light, dangerous air around her, she asked, "Are you going to explain it to me or should I do it myself?"
"Eh?"
Lei Bei immediately realized what she was refering to while Qiu Yinghan remained there confused.
"… So you noticed, master… I have nothing to hide, so let me explain how I progressed so fast… To be honest, I am also surprised."
'I prepared this narration for a long time. Now its time to show off!'
Lei Bei started by going through his fake but honest story about when he was locked away and how he felt when he first read the records within. He told her he was fascinated by them… he told her how he read them all in a day…
This made Qiu Yinghan a little embarrassed since she was the one that had asked him to be locked away…
After that, he went on about how he needed more… more information to complement his lacking knowledge. So he asked for more, and Qiu replied by transferring him to the herb garden.
Once again, this made her even more embarrassed since it made her seem quite evil… When Lei Bei wanted to learn the most, she instead sent him into isolation?… Come on…
Ling Meng didn't let his words dissuade her, though. She listened to everything with a deep glare.
He told her how the books inside inspired him even further… about how he decided to take things into his own hands and practice!
He told her how he had planned by gathering materials until the day he had infiltrated one of the furnace rooms and made a pill… The rest was history.
After that day, he convinced Qiu Yinghan to share the basic techniques of the Sect so he could practice, leading to his now stable cultivation of the 9th Layer of the Qi Formation Realm!
If she couldn't connect the dots, then… she wasn't apt to be the master!
All of this shook Qiu Yinghan to her very core, but despite her will to protest, she said nothing while her master wondered how to reply…
"So… you're telling me you forged a Pill after barely two weeks of studying and that was enough for you to go from the 4th Layer to the 9th?" She asked in a somewhat rare, deep tone
But as she said that, she remembered what he said to her about his great-grandfather being a Connoisseur Pharmacist… While she took it as nothing but the words of someone who understood nothing about the world, for a moment, it seemed to make things a bit more credible...
'Perhaps he inherited something? Perhaps his bloodline is indeed better than I originally thought... But I need to confirm if he is speaking the truth first.'
At that moment, Qiu Yinghan exploded, "Isn't that just a bunch of lies?! How could he pass through and enter the room with no one knowing?!"
Lei Bei raised the badge with a sigh, "I have this badge sister, remember? I can go anywhere."
"But that still proves nothing!" She said stubbornly with a red face as she stomped the ground, causing the garden to quake
She looked away in embarrassment when Ling Meng looked at her, but she quickly turned back to him when he continued to speak.
"If you had returned earlier, then I could've proved it rather easily since I smelled of medicine for a few hours… Still, let me show you some concret proof." He said as he took something from his robe
It was a brown golden pill. The moment he took it out, Ling Meng's eyes almost fell off her sockets as she grabbed it at light speed.
"Th-This… Did you make it?"
Lei Bei shrugged, "Isn't the proof in the pill itself? The Qi inside belongs to me... It was I who did it."
"so unless I have a clone, I was the one behind its confection, master." He said as his thoughts raced, time to press on, "I knew this pill was valuable, and that I had lucked out when I made it, so I ate one and kept the other one for myself exactly for this day."
'Truth is I still have the other "legendary" one in my inventory.'
"You actually made two of them at once?..." She asked as her expression tensed
Ling Meng stayed silent, but she soon continued, "Did you know I would ask this of you?"
"Yes, that is why I kept it, since I value my life."
After a moment, she smiled, "Alright, this is enough proof."
"?! HA?! What do you mean, Master Ling?!" Qiu Yinghan asked loudly as her eyes opened wide
But she was ignored… with reason.
Ling Meng tapped his shoulder with a proud smile, "Lei Bei, from now on you are a disciple of the Medicine Pavilion, I'm sorry for doubting you and from now on, you have access to all facilities of this pavilion like any other disciple."
"WHHHAAAAATT?!"
Qiu Yinghan almost fell to the ground in shock, while Ling Meng turned around to leave.
"Uh… Master Ling… My Pill?"
"... Didn't you gift it to me?" She asked with a smile as she faintly turned around, it almost looked… seductive
"... I was planning on exchanging it for resources though… Even in the Pavilion, not everything is free, so I was…"
/Thud!/
She dropped a large bag of spirit stones on the ground, where she removed it from was unknown.
She also gave him her personal badge back, saying, "Go to the library and say I allowed you to select three yellow Martial Arts. Is this enough for you petty boy?"
Lei Bei immediately kneeled on the ground in reverence, "Disciple Lei Bei greets his beautiful master."
[Ling Meng Favor +5]
"Oh my! You even added a cheeky word in there… I hope you continue to impress…" She said with a chuckle as she left with the pill in hand
"There is one more thing I noticed, Master." Lei Bei said as he interrupted her
'It's time to try to change the plot a little… since the original development doesn't go with my current wishes.'
"Oh? Not are you proactive but observant as well?" She asked with a faint chuckle, "Tell me what you found."
Lei Bei looked at Qiu Yinghan, "Recently, isn't it true that several pill crucibles broke down due to explosive failures?"
She frowned as she tried to connect the dots but couldn't think of anything, "Ye-yeah… But what has that to do…"
Lei Bei contined, "Failure is normal, but not to this degree. I believe there is a problem with the materials, and I can prove it once again." He said as he took a small leaf from his robe
When Ling Meng checked the leaf, her eyes sharpened as she realized the connotations of this revelation…
"Master, you understand what this means, don't you? I have read those books more than once, I know them back and forth…"
She didn't reply.
"Master… the Medicine Pavilion is already below schedule, and I can already see that someone is targeting us. Allow me to help you by participating in the production of the pills!"
"What?! Someone is targeting us? What does he mean master?!"
But she was ignored yet again. She felt like a complete child between two adults conversing…
Ling Meng was more than capable of understanding where Lei Bei was going, so she asked, "What are your conditions?"
"Ma-Master?! Why are you negotiating with this boy…"
But Lei Bei interrupted her before she caused more trouble, "I just want to be unbothered and have the materials at hand. If I can work as normal… I should be able to make more of them on time!"
'I already have access to the Medicine Pavilion's library which I need to stop by later…. and I also have access to the Sect's Martial Arts library where I can get three more combat arts… No need to be greedier.'
'What I need now is materials. I will prepare all the resources in order to break through Foundation Establishment like a rocket! And in the meantime, get some points with all the girls!'
'This is how {The only man in the Medicine Pavilion} is meant to be complete! And this situation is likely what the System wants me to resolve through {Shining Knight comes to bed the princess}!!'
'I have no idea what the Ancient Seal is referring to with the task, {Curious cat lost her flower} though…'
Ling Meng agreed almost instantly, "Alright, I'll arrange it so that Furnace Room N.7 remains exclusively yours until the next general conference around a month and a week from today, and I will give you access to the storage so you can get the materials… is that enough for you?"
Lei Bei smiled, "I will not let you down!"
"Ugh… h-how can this be…"
Qiu Yinghan's legs were trembling at this point, she had no place in this conversation at all and no one was missing her.
Seeing this, Lei Bei took out a small sack with four High-Quality Daoist pills and gave it to her. Keeping only the last "legendary" one.
"What… What is… This?!"
So Lei Bei did not let her think, "I betrayed your trust and overstepped my boundaries. Our first meeting wasn't very pleasant, but I hope we can continue to work well together from now on as fellow disciples."
"We'll be together for many years to come. Please accept this humble gift of mine." He said as he bowed
"..."
'Many years…'
With a red face and a small push from her master, she accepted the pills. With this, she would reach the maximum level of her stage and perhaps even breakthrough and become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, the only one amongst the disciples of this generation of the Medicine Pavilion.
There were other disciples at the Foundation Establishment realm but they weren't of this generation. This meant there was a ten-year gap between them, and that was quite large.
"I guess I have no choice…" She said shyly as she looked away
All of her memories with him passed before her eyes. At this moment, she was forced to admit it…
Lei Bei wasn't like the other men she had seen so far.
[DING!]
[Qiu Yinghan favor +40]
[Ling Meng Favor +10]
Lei Bei smiled mentally, but he maintained his focus, "If you don't mind, Master… I'll start right away then!"
'I'll make everything that is needed by today and have the rest of the time to practice… This way I… wait…'
He thought something was odd. So he went to her and asked
"Pavilion Master, may I ask how many Daoist and Foundation Establishment Pills we need?"
Qiu Yinghan was still a bit confused, but she replied:
"Let me think… around… 201 pills? About seventy Daoist Pills and one hundred and thirty Foundation Establishment Pills."
""...""
"A-Ahem… That's quite the number, huh…"
'I'm fucked.'
[DING]
[Special Task: Shiny balls for the beauties has been generated]
[Task Requirement:
Refine Daoist Pills 0/100
Refine Foundation Establishment Pills 0/500
]
[Task Rewards:
Ling Meng Favor +15
Qiu Yinghan Favor +30
Medical Pavilion Favor +20
{Special reward: Hidden}
]
[Task Penalties:
Ling Meng Favor -5
Qiu Yinghan Favor -15
Medical Pavilion Favor -10
]
Smiling a little and understanding the System and that it was in line with his thoughts, Lei Bei continued, "I'll try my best to alleviate the worries of the others!"
"But Master, in a hypothetical scenario... if I can make more than necessary… making enough for all our disciples to reach the peak of Qi Formation and break through to Foundation Establishment… do I get a special reward?" He asked with a small smile as she looked at the side
"!"
Qiu Yinghan's expression twisted as she screamed inside her mind, 'Pervert!'
"Hum..."
Lei Bei knew exactly what she was thinking "You have quite the imagination sister…"
Qiu Yinghan gritted her teeth in shame and anger... Ling Meng, on the other hand, looked at him for a bit before she smiled.
"Alright, if you can do it, I'll give you an extra… that is, if you can. And I'll hold you for it."
/Fwoosh!/
Lei Bei went to the herb garden and picked many Average-Quality plants before he turned around and rushed out.
And like the wind, Lei Bei jumped out of the garden for the first time, rushing towards the pill room.
"Y-YOU!! Wait for me, pervert!" Qiu Yinghan Exclaimed as she ran after him
"..."
Seeing this, Ling Meng held her hair as the wind brushed past her, 'Things are getting quite interesting… But now, it's time to find out who the traitor is.'
'Bastard wanting to mess things up… It must be those bastards.'
Ling Meng's eyes flashed with red light, but she soon returned to her carefree expression, turning around to leave.
…
.
.
.
Notes
Chapter 9 Hey miss, how do my balls taste?
.
.
.
—
Lei Bei and Qiu Yinghan rapidly made their way towards Furnace Room N.7. On their way, many disciples of the Medicine Pavilion were in confusion, and some even stopped Lei Bei thinking he was fleeing from Yinghan, only for them to get embarrassed and shocked when they learned the truth.
Of course they were… for the past few days, most of them talked with this new handyman, but now that he was officially accepted as a disciple, the record of 200 years of the Medicine Pavilion being a female-only pavilion had been broken.
All that aside, within a few minutes they arrived and entered the Pill room…
…
"… So? What now?" Qiu Yinghan asked as she saw Lei Bei drop his large bag of herbs on the ground
Lei Bei couldn't reveal his system inventory feature, so he had to use bags when in public until he got a reason like having a space inventory tool. Those exist, and they are expensive, but not impossible to get.
"Well… I will refine the pills as I promised Qiu… starting with Daoist Pills…"
This shocked her, but she had to make something clear, "First! It's not Qiu!" She exclaimed as her cheeks grew red, "And Daoist Pills?! Why? We are already pressed for time, and you wish to refine those?…"
Lei Bei turned around with a smile.
"Miss, you seem confused about all of this. Let me explain what I discussed with the Pavilion Master…"
Lei Bei went over why this was such a big deal… In the first place, the confection of Foundation Establishment Pills was already hard, but the problem wasn't that, it was the materials.
One of its materials, the Earth Spirit Leaf, was the cause of all of their problems. When Lei Bei talked with the Pavilion master, he showed her the possibility that these materials had been tampered with.
He showed her one such leaf he had found when he had sneaked inside the room. This caused her to realize that it was of inferior quality. One so low that it could directly interfere with the success chance of the Pill.
That was why there had been so many failures, and why three pill crucibles had exploded in the past few weeks alone… All of this pointed out towards a traitor in the Medicine Pavilion, someone was working with someone else outside of the Pavilion to screw them over for some reason.
That was where he stopped. But he knew where that led… This event is one of the several that eventually culminate in the coup and destruction of the Sect.
But that doesn't concern Lei Bei right now.
In the original plotline, this would've been found out only way later when Ling Meng went to try to remedy the situation. By then, there wouldn't have been enough time to fix things. However, you could point out that this was Ling Meng's fault for being so distant from the Pavilion's inner workings.
She keeps herself shut studying most of the time, and that was why such a trashy plot passed her eyes because it wouldn't have gone far had she been paying attention to it in the first place.
The same happened with the coup. If the factions within the Sect weren't so stupid, it wouldn't have happened… Not that it would've changed the fate of the Sect's destruction. A much greater force was on the horizon, and Lei Bei had to intention of stopping it.
Not now at least.
When Qiu Yinghan heard this, her eyes opened wide with both shock and anger. Followed by disappointment of her own lack of ability and discipline… together with some respect for Lei Bei for doing some even she couldn't do and in so little time.
[Qiu Yinghan Favor +5]
Lei Bei tapped her shoulder, "That was why I made this plan. The Medicine Pavilion is too weak to retaliate right now, the weakest of the Pavilions. If I can make these pills, we will go from the weakest to one of the strongest."
"However, that alone isn't enough."
Lei Bei turned around "I will start to refine, you can help me by bringing in more materials for me and distributing the pills once I make them… Also, keep an open eye on everyone, we don't know who could be the traitor."
'I know who it is, but they don't, the spy is hidden pretty well within them… although she revealed herself pretty easily once things got down and dirty… The main character killed her and so it became impossible to prove their ploy to the Sect.'
'Not that it would've mattered… again… this Sect is already done for. I'm just here to hitch a ride.'
"Qiu… It's best if we keep these things between us for now… You should also prepare by raising your realm and getting ready. In the end, power is strength!"
Qiu Yinghan stayed silent, but she nodded, "I'll break through first before going outside. My realm is already the highest of the Medicine Pavilion's disciples. Whoever is hiding won't be able to escape from me then!"
She may look confident, but she was only at the 8th layer of Qi Formation... Compared to what was out there…
Lei Bei smiled, sitting in front of the pill crucible, thinking, 'Now… How to do this… If I do one pill at a time, even if I work 24/7, there won't be enough time… I'll have to use the System.'
'The System cannot make things for me per se; Auto Mode is one thing… It's not instantaneous, it can only guide me a little and increase my chances of getting better pills with better effects… But there are also some neat features.'
Lei Bei selected the recipe for the Daoist Pill and clicked on a '+' symbol… Immediately after that, there was a decrease of half the chance of success.
'This is it. Just as I can increase the chances of confection by using higher-quality materials, I can also increase the number of pills produced in a single batch. In theory, the System is altering the technique used to make more at once, which is probably for the best here since I don't need them to be of such high quality!'
'If I use the best materials and limit the pill's quality to just about average, then I can make multiple pills per attempt and that will make it possible for me to meet the quota.'
'I can also force the time on the recipe to stretch and make more at once. Ten minutes? How about half an hour? One hour?…'
'I will fail a few times as well to make Qiu Yinghan not suspect me too much and slowly give her the impression that I'm learning. I might even finish the Daoist Pills before today's end…'
'By making three to five pills every ten or so minutes… Maybe around fifteen to thirty an hour, maybe in four hours I can get through them all… I'll raise it to five just to be safe.'
'After that, I'll make what I want and complete {The only man in the Medicine Pavilion}!'
…
As the hours passed, Lei Bei continued to make batch after batch under the surprised but impressed eyes of Qiu Yinghan. The more she spent with him, the more she understood how capable he was… and how much she had underestimated him.
When she asked a question he was patient and answered; when she got angry, he smiled and replied calmly… It made her feel as if she was talking with an understanding elder. And it made her feel like a kid even…
She expected rebuttal, she expected conflict but he gave none of it… Seeing him work hard in front of the hot crucible, sweating nonstop, made her feel inferior, so she also did her best in breaking through to the peak of Qi Formation and order the disciples outside to help her with material acquisition and to observe them.
As time passed, Furnace Room N.7 got filled with boxes of herbs and other items as Lei Bei's consumption rate wasn't able to keep up with it…
Qiu Yinghan tried to separate the batches to help him, but she didn't have a precise herb analysis like him so she couldn't differentiate the quality of the plants with perfect accuracy, but that was enough for Lei Bei who tried to help and give her tips whenever he stopped to rest.
It was slow, but Qiu Yinghan's impression of him was getting higher and higher…
By the end of the first day, Lei Bei had made 100 Daoist Pills. Way more than needed but just enough to complete his mission with Ling Meng.
Almost all of them were of normal quality as he wanted, albeit a few were of higher quality thanks to his luck.
He also took this time to finish {The only man in the Medicine Pavilion}. All he had to do was refine one flask of the Elementary Calbica liquid and one Burst Pill.
He did it just for the sake of it, but both items were of considerable complexity to make, so much so Qiu Yinghan couldn't help but praise him for succeeding first try. She knew he wasn't lying when he said it was his first time doing them; she had to admit it… he was an alchemist genius!
[DING]
[Chain Task: The only man in the Medicine Pavilion {Completed}]
[Medicine Pavilion Favor +10]
[Hidden Task: Shining Knight comes to bed the princess has been generated]
He didn't yet check the requirements for the Task just like {Curious cat lost her flower}, focusing instead on his mission.
As the day ended, Qiu Yinghan left reluctantly at his request as he stopped for now… Still, Lei Bei stayed in the pill room, forging pills. He wanted to make all of them as soon as possible.
When he was tired, he stayed on the corner and meditated. It was more than enough to refresh his body, and when he got super tired, he rested.
Unfortunately, he is simply a Qi Formation Cultivator; his body needs rest and food and not simply meditation…
By the time he was forced to return home… Of his mission, he had refined all 100 Daoist Pills and 80 out of the 500 Foundation Establishment Pills. They were harder to make and took a bit longer to produce. But even then, his speed was astounding… it seemed he'd have to slow down when around others if he wanted to remain without suspicion.
It was quite a view to see several glowing pills inside the box… a magical scene to some…
Like this, four days passed since he began refining. And it just so happened to have also been two weeks since he had entered the Sect…
At the same time, he had a month and one week until the Sect General Conference… and one week after that, his death countdown would end…
Would Lei Bei hit one more time? Let's see…
…
.
.
.
Notes
Chapter 10 Would you act as bait?
.
.
.
—
/Ploft!/
Lei Bei dropped his head onto the hard and cold stone ground of the pill forge room as he rested. There was no one besides him… only several large boxes filled with glowing pills.
He was done! In just about five days, he made enough pills for everyone… What an insane production rate!… He truly made use of his cheat.
In one day, he proved himself to the world. What it took to be the only man in a woman-only pavilion!
"Phew… I need to sleep…"
'I actually did it… Phew… Everything hurts.'
'But I can't stop here… After this… I will go to the library and read a few books… try to raise my Elementary Pill Refining to the next level, and gain more pill recipes… I need a strong formation for the future.'
'In this world, there is the concept of a proper foundation, of taking your time to grow stronger within your own level to become even stronger once you break through.'
'For example, I am currently an average peak Qi Formation Cultivator… I have no techniques/martial arts and no combat experience, the only thing I have going for me is the purity of Qi that was made with the high-quality pills and a high understanding of my technique.'
'You may think that the foundation gets wobbly if you continually break through with pills, and while that is true, its only when pills are bad or of average quality… and when you overdose too much.'
'In my case, I only used five high-quality ones… I'm fine. I'll focus on only consuming the best pills I can make, and even then, I can make a Qi Purification Pill to clean my energy and move on with life.'
'That is the power of a proper alchemist.'
"Lets see… by now, Qiu Yinghan should be looking around for the traitor, while Ling Meng is taking actions to prevent others from interfering with the Medicine Pavilion."
'Despite her carefree nature, she can be very decisive as she completely shut down the Pavilion's contact with the outside world to find out who it was. From what I know, the reason she gave to those outside was that she was focusing on making the late pills, so she wanted no interference...'
'I could try to help, but I don't remember her appearance… Anyhow, when she finds the traitor… Ling Meng will distribute the pills I made and have everyone grow stronger so that during the conference in a month… Heh.'
'The Medicine Pavilion will destroy everyone!… Once again… not that it matters since it'll all be futile.'
'If only I could make a pill to increase Ling Meng's cultivation… that would be ideal. But there is none that can do that from the ones I know… No… there are some, but the chance of making one is like… 1% and lower. I would've tried, but the materials are rare… Those recipes are ancient, and the Sect doesn't even use them anymore… They're more of relics for reference.'
'I'll have to go to the library and read more to figure that out.'
'There is something in pill making called the curve of difficulty, that the higher your realm, the harder it is to make pills and supplementary items for it. And it reaches a point where you need to be a realm or two above the item you want to make in order to succeed, but that is mostly because the techniques of this place are lacking.'
'If you are immensely skillfull, you can make up for it. The fact I can make these Pills a realm above them me with 100% accuracy is already insane, and I know things will get even more insane as I gather more knowledge and Skills.'
'But to others, without proper techniques, it's obvious the people of this land are going to suffer. When you reach the apex of the world, you'll quickly find out that some places are still lagging behind.'
'When you thread the dark alone, you have to pave the way.'
'This world is immense, and this continent reflects that. The closer you are to its center, the better the conditions get, but since the space decreases, competition becomes immeasurably fierce.'
'The Qinguan Sect is near the edge of the Continent, hence the levels of the cultivators around here are low, and the higher leveled ones are those old farts who have lived longer than they should've had like the Sect master. Although he too is a bit below their average.'
'In either case, it should be pretty simple for me to reach the Inner Core within a year, like the original me. I just have to follow the story and everything will be fine.'
'As I said, I will try to follow the path the Mc took since it's a path I know of. Be it relics and conflicts, I will try to get some and avoid the others while getting some maidens on the way since I need them to survive...'
Lei Bei scratched his head, 'The closest relic the Mc used should be here… Which makes sense since this whole area is the ancestral grounds of the Lei Clan.'
'But that is another issue…'
/Creeeak!/
"This place smells!"
Lei Bei's peace was suddenly disturbed by a loud voice.
"Hum… Miss Qiu! Nice seeing you here…"
Qiu Yinghan looked at Lei Bei sorry state and couldn't help but feel a bit sorry; a strange and stuffy emotion slowly sprouted within her… No, it wasn't a sprout anymore.
"Humph! Are you done resting?! What about your lousy promise?"
"Hmmm… I'm done."
"..."
She looked at the stacks of boxes with surprise all over her face, 'I'm sure he was still over hundred away when I visited him yesterday morning… It's been over thirty hours, but still…'
"Miss Qiu, just let me rest for a bit and I will help you move those back… My back hurts a little so I need some time to decompress…"
Her face grew a little red, but she didn't press him for more work, "Are you an old man?... I'll do the rest from here, so rest a little." She said in a rare soft voice as she walked past him
"Sure thing… I'll take a bath and eat something for real, tell Pavilion Master Ling that I will meet her… Once I'm done here…"
'Looks like my pitiful acting has paid off...'
"No need, I'm here."
The two turned their heads to see the silver-haired beauty entering the room graciously with a gentle smile.
She looked at the boxes and added, "You really did it, I'm amazed."
Lei Bei chuckle, "What about you? Did you find who you were looking for?"
Her eyes sharpened, "Of course, piece of cake... However, I did not reveal her yet, and in fact, I have no plans of doing that… So I came here to ask you something…"
[DING]
[Special Task: Shiny balls for the beauties {Completed}]
[Ling Meng Favor +15
Qiu Yinghan Favor +30
Medicine Pavilion Favor +20
{Special reward: Hidden}
]
[Displaying Special Reward]
"Would you take a risk with me?" She asked with a smile as she bent over to look at him on the ground
[Hidden Task: Pulling the snake from the head has been generated]
[Task Requirement:
Defeat Chu Nan 0/1
Defeat Chu Zong 0/1
]
[Task Reward:
Ling Meng Favor +20
Qiu Yinghan Favor (MAX)
Medicine Pavilion Favor +15
Qinguan Sect Favor +25
]
[Task Penalties:
Ling Meng Favor -20
Qiu Yinghan {Questline End}
Medicine Pavilion Favor -15
]
As he read the system prompts, Lei Bei quickly asked, "What sort of danger are we talking about here?"
She smiled, "I'm asking you to act as bait."
"... How so?"
'Bait?… Wait! Don't tell me…'
"I'm planning on drawing out the ones behind this; however, for this, I will need the help of the Vice Masters and perhaps even the Sect head, but they won't act unless I show them some level of proof."
Lei Bei guessed the rest.
"So you plan on revealing what happened inside the Medicine Pavilion, right? That's a very, very bold move… One that will put me in the spotlight..."
She shrugged, "So? You in?"
"Just one question before we go… If our enemy turns out to be one of the Vice Masters… or something even worse… are you confident in protecting me and everyone else from the repercussions of this action?"
'I might as well hint at something now. It's dangerous but my Favor with her and everyone is high enough… it has to be.'
"..."
He pressed at her silence, "You are being stubborn and seeking an enemy we know nothing about… it could simply be another Pavilion trying to bring us down, and as you said, the sect head will only act if we have proof, punishing the other Pavilion responsible for sabotaging us."
"But with the New Sect Master election coming, this may be connected to that and with the two Vice Masters…"
'One Vice Master supports us. She's a key character that will save the others while the Mc is away… But the other is rotten to the core and has taken control of the Sect Master by devouring his heart with a secret technique.'
'She needs to understand there is a chance all of this is meaningless and that her enemy might as well be the sect as a whole.'
"I'm confident." She replied with a serious expression
Lei Bei looked at her for a moment before he replied, "Then I'm in."
Ling Meng smiled, knowing this would be his response.
"I imagine you plan on revealing that at the conference, right?"
She nodded, "I'll do that, but I will not reveal you there, you will only be revealed in the Sect General Conference that will probably be held after that… in front of all the elders and leaders of the Sect."
"In fact, thanks to your actions, the Special Pavilion Conference will probably not happen anymore."
"Sigh… Am I that amazing?"
'The Special Pavilion Conference was raised by another pavilion when Ling Meng and the others failed to make enough pills for the Sect General Conference… Looks like I skipped that whole ordeal… Well, this makes things simpler than.'
'So my mission is just to defeat two brats… easy enough.'
She chuckled as she adjusted her glasses, "Child… Not everyone can make close to a thousand pills in five days."
"True…"
/Ploft!/
He dropped his head to the ground again, "When I asked for a special reward, I did not expect this…" He said with a bit of disappointment in his tone as he closed his eyes
"There isn't much more I can give you though… Ara? Do you perhaps want… Me?" She asked with a smirk as she reached for her lips
Lei Bei raised his head, raised an eyebrow, and asked in a serious tone:
"Is that possible?"
His face had suddenly changed, becoming super manly and sharp…
"#!"
Qiu Yinghan got pissed and moved to slap him when Ling Meng replied, "You're still short, but keep trying. Perhaps in another ten years I'll give you a chance…"
/SLAP!/
"Don't try to slap me!" Lei Bei exclaimed as he evaded the girl's slap
He looked at the side and saw that the ground had been shattered…
"I thought you were a cool guy, but you were just a pervert like all other guys, die!"
"But I did nothing!"
"Shut up!"
For the next few minutes, Qiu Yinghan and Lei Bei moved around the room as he fled from her disastrous slaps… He couldn't counterattack since she was now a realm above his... After all, in these few days, she had broken through Foundation Establishment!
Ling Meng smiled as they ran around, thinking of her next move… and Lei Bei's words…
…
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Notes
Chapter 11 No time to rest, I need to get laid!
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—
Following today's event, Ling Meng moved and called all the members of the Medicine Pavilion, explaining what had happened and what she planned to do.
She went over how Lei Bei had made the remaining pills and even more so that they could get stronger, putting his own body in harm's way for them… This made Lei Bei's reputation soar among them likely as a reflection of the System's rewards and the traitor's reputation to fall towards rock bottom.
Of course, there was nothing she could do since she was trapped inside a cage right now… She knew she was guilty, but with the pavilion on lockdown, there was little she could do!
She wouldn't reveal herself because that meant death but she knew that Ling Meng was on to her. With death breathing down her neck, what was she supposed to do if she couldn't even contact the outside?!
On that same day, all female disciples of the pavilion could be seen sitting inside a large hall in the lotus position. All of them were meditating, and some had just broken through towards new heights!
The entire Medicine Pavilion was leveling up with the pills Lei Bei made.
/Step step…/
Just when everyone was focused, Lei Bei opened the doors and got inside, carrying a large box in his hand.
The first to ask was Ling Meng, confusion at his arrival, "Hm? Shouldn't you be resting, Lei Bei?"
"Well… I ended up refining a few more pills, you see…"
This made Qiu YingHan ballistic!
"You need to rest!"
Her violent concern for him was appreciated nonetheless…
"Don't worry about me; I'm fine. Besides, they need these pills."
'I see her responses towards me have already changed… Rather then rebuttal, its concern… So this is what an 80+ Favorability looks like.'
'I know that 90 is almost love or great respect; if I reach 100, this means she loves me a LOT… It's a little embarrassing to admit and almost makes me feel bad for "manipulating" her…'
'After 100 there is nothing higher, but just like people differ from each other, what 100 means varies from person to person as well, so it's possible for me to make that 100 more solid so no matter what happens, it's never going down.'
Under everyone's eyes, Lei Bei but the box on the ground and showed what was inside. Several bottles full of Qi Purification Pills!
"These are for you all… I know that using pills makes the foundation wobbly, so I made these in the hopes you can make up for that and become Foundation Establishment cultivators as soon as possible!"
""...""
They all looked at him with different expressions, but the end result…
[DING]
[DING]
[DING]
[DING]
[DI…]
Multiple windows appeared in front of his vision, each showing that each girl's favor towards him had increased. In total, the whole Medicine Pavilion's Favor had risen by 10!!
Lei Bei knew he couldn't rely on the System every time for chances, so he had to make some himself. Most of these girls were unaware of the world outside as they grew sheltered inside the Sect, leaving only for nearby forests and places…
They may think he has ulterior motives, and he does, but deeming his recent actions, they will think he is truly helping them… which he was too.
He cared and wished to help them, but he also had goals that needed to be attained…
"Now… if you don't mind… I really need some sleep…"
He looked at Qiu Yinghan and gave her a thumbs-up as he left with a smile. She was embarrassed, but she soon sat down on the ground and focused her mind. It was time to break through…
Everyone thought the same.
…
/Meanwhile… at the shack in the distance…/
"Phew…"
'I did it! My plan was a success!'
'I made those pills last night in one batch, so I am fully rested already. I just had to act a bit and make them think I had stayed another night making pills... And here I thought I was going to fail miserably…'
'But all went well… Now, time to go to the Sect's Library and get some good martial arts… Or should I go to the Pavilion's General Library first?'
'... The general library is the better choice.'
…
Lei Bei finally arrived at the library. There was no one here as he expected, and probably there would not be anyone for the next day as well.
The library was quite decent. Being hexagonal… It was a four-floor pagoda with four floors dividing the books within by importance.
More important books stayed on the upper floors while the common books were on the lower floors.
"Alright."
'I'll use this chance to use the auto-reading function with no one noticing… But first, my Stats…'
[Name: Lei Bei {Cursed}
Realm: Peak of Qi Formation
Cultivation Method: Stream of Stars 3rd Mastery
Skills: Identification; Elementary Knife Proficiency Lv0; Elementary Pill Refining LvMax; Elementary Herb Appraisal LvMax
Martial Arts:
…
]
About the same as a few days ago.
'Time to fill this up with more Skills… Let's see what there's to learn here.'
With Identification, he looked around the bookshelves for possible Skills. There were many for him to learn, but there was no way to learn all of them. Some were useful, but others, like {Elementary Calligraphy} not so much…
Perhaps that example wasn't as good since writing well was in-itself something to be proud of, but the idea there… It wasn't his priority.
He kept looking around until his eyes fell on the first decent skill…
[Elementary Herb Cultivation]
"Oh? A Skill to Cultivate Herbs… It's decent, but I don't have the time to wait growing herbs, I will learn it if there isn't anything else… Put it on the table…"
'There is a surprisingly low number of Skills available for the number of books lying around… There are like… thousands of books here, but I've only seen a handful of Skills so far and most of them are too generic.'
'This must be because the System only focuses on a few books instead of the whole… Maybe the System requires a certain amount of information to form a closed off cycle good enough to be called a Skill… Even if {Elementary} it must have a bottom line.'
'Most of the books might contain wrong or incomplete knowledge. Maybe even be a repetition of another book...'
Lei Bei checked around, but after much observation, he found only two skills worth learning:
[Elementary Herb Cultivation]
[Elementary Herb Handling]
It made sense given this was the general library of the pavilion focused on medicine and the growth and study of medicine plants…
"A Skill to grow herbs and a Skill to handle them, from things like properly digging them from the ground to making sure they grow happily… They are interconnected and even a few of the books intersect…"
'That's it for this floor. If I have the time in the future, I could learn some of the other Skills but I'd rather not fill my Status Screen with unnecessarily clutter.'
'Next floor it is then…'
His second-floor findings were:
[Basic Herb Appraisal {Requires previous level)]
[Basic Herb Cultivation (Requires previous level)]
[Basic Herb Handling (Requires previous level)]
[Elementary Material Refining]
"Not much worth reading…"
'There are fewer Skills than I thought… Then again, the System may be just fusing multiple ideas and thoughts under a single Skill.'
'Herb Appraisal isn't that important when I have Identification, but learning it just so I can justify my ability to do so is necessary. I already have the elementary version anyway so might as well…'
'However, Elementary Material Refining… that is something I thought I would only find in the Refining Pavilion where tools and weapons are made… It seems some bits and pieces of knowledge end up crisscrossing between them.'
'Well, its just a general library open to all disciples so who knows…'
It was only on the third floor that he found what he was looking for:
[Basic Pill Refining]
[Basic Material Refining (Requires previous level)]
"There are only these Skills on this floor… Well, this floor only has a few bookshelves. Let me check the last floor and see if it has something interesting…"
Lei Bei arrived on the last floor, but there were only a few bookshelves left…
[Intermediate Herb Cultivation (Requires previous level)]
[Intermediate Pill Refining {Incomplete} (Requires previous level)]
Reading the Skills, he was neither disappointed nor happy. There was only so much he could expect from a Minor Sect on the verge of destruction; he was already more than happy to find the next level of pill refining here!
After all, if he were to reach Advanced Pill Refining, he would be comparable to some of the best alchemists in the land and even stand toe to toe with those at the center of the continent…
"I'll first master what is important; after that, I will master the others…"
'From higher to lower I need:'
'First comes [Basic Pill Refining] and its next level, [Intermediate Pill Refining {Incomplete}]'
'Then it comes [Basic Herb Appraisal] followed by the Material Refining Skill [Elementary Material Refining] and [Basic Material Refining].'
'After that, learn how to properly collect herbs and take care of them, [Elementary Herb Handling] and [Basic Herb Handling].'
'And lastly, the Herb Cultivation Skill, [Elementary Herb Cultivation], [Basic Herb Cultivation], and [Intermediate Herb Cultivation].'
"A total of ten skills… If the previous one took me half a day, then these would take me five continuous days, but I am not just a weak person anymore, I am a Cultivator at the peak of the Qi Realm!"
'It will take me at most three!… Although it may take way longer given the Intermediate ones… This is going to take a while…'
So Lei Bei did just as he said and sat his ass on a chair near the bookshelf and activated Automatic Examination…
…
/During the night, two days later…/
A few days later, the disciples of the Medicine Pavilion slowly left the main hall.
One of them approached Qiu Yinghan, asking, "Sister Qiu I… Did this really happen?"
Qiu Yinghan smiled awkwardly, "I still don't believe it either, but it did happen… Congratulations everyone. Now no one can look down on our Medicine Pavilion!"
/Cheers!/
All the girls cheered. They had proud smiles on their faces as they moved around happily.
The average for the Medicine Pavilion was now… Foundation Establishment Level 4!
In perspective, the three most outstanding disciples of the Sect were respectively between Level 5, and 7!
It was scary and even a bit intimidating for them! They couldn't believe it, but it was all true…
"Everyone! It's not the time to relax yet." Ling Meng said as she got up from her seat
All this time she remained there protecting the girls and guiding them, helping them make use of the pill's effects.
They all kneeled on the ground and exclaimed in unison:
""Pavilion Master!""
"For the next month, I want all of you to focus on stabilizing your realm and increasing your strength for the conference. Leave all other actions aside."
"If any of you have questions, you may come to me."
'Even you, traitorous brat… I'll make you pay.'
""Understood!""
"Now… Does anyone know where that little boy is?"
They all looked at each other before shaking their heads.
"It doesn't matter anyway… He needs to rest a little, but if any of you find him, make sure to thank him since he tried his best as well…"
"I'll look for him!" Exclaimed the red-haired girl, Qiu Yinghan as she ran out of the hall
Ling Meng looked at her with a cryptic smile, but she soon focused on her disciples, getting up from her chair to help them…
There was still much to do. Lei Bei's words still rang inside her head. The more she thought about them, the more she felt something was off…
…
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.
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Notes
CHAP 12 Remember to use Protection
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—
/Step step step…/
Qiu Yinghan ran around the place, but she failed to find Lei Bei.
The furnaces, the storages, the dorms… even his room… and that was when she realized it.
She knew close to nothing about him… how he lived, what he did every day, his hobbies and what he disliked… For a moment, she was disappointed in herself; she wanted to know more about him!
Her heart eventually led her to the ;ibrary where she saw a pile of books on the first floor.
"Who made this mess?..."
Feeling something was wrong, she went to the second and third rooms, and eventually…
"ZZZZzzz"
She saw Lei Bei sleeping on the ground with a smile on his face. Buried in a pile of books.
"Lei Bei?... Hello…"
She approached him and saw his face; he still had that faint smell of fresh herbs mixed in with the books around him.
Normally, she would try to wake him up, but today, she didn't…
She slowly approached him and kissed him, and when she was done, she ran away with a red face.
[DING]
[Qiu Yinghan Favor +10]
The system sound made the tired Lei Bei wake up, startled. When he read the system messages, he was rather confused.
'When did this happen?'
[Reminder!]
[Congratulations Host for achieving 90 favorability with a member of the opposite sex!]
[You have been given a Special Reward! Cloud Condom]
[Cloud Condom
Description: You want to survive and not reproduce, do yourself a favor and don't leave behind descendants.
Make them feel as if they are in the clouds, make them feel lightheaded, use the softest protection, use… Cloud condom.
(Can use Spiritual power to duplicate it, make sure to do it before the act else you will duplicate a used condom…)
]
As Lei Bei read his rewards, he couldn't help but frown.
"... Thanks…"
'Children are certainly a problem, although this was never a problem for the other me at the start of the novel, he did have a few towards the very end, I can't say I will be as lucky, so I will need this I guess…'
'Cultivators rarely have children anyway. But if I keep doing it, I guess it can eventually happen…'
'I don't know how her favorability increased, but it probably has something to do with the pills I gave them.'
"But I don't want to think about that… I want to sleep first… Yawwn…"
'Open Status Screen…'
[Name: Lei Bei {Cursed}
Realm: Peak of Qi Formation
Cultivation Method: Stream of Stars 3rd Mastery
Skills: Identification; Spatial Awareness Lv3; Intermediate Pill Refining {Incomplete} Lv1; Intermediate Herb Cultivation Lv1; Basic Herb Appraisal Lv1; Basic Material Refining Lv1; Basic Herb Handling Lv1; Elementary Knife Proficiency Lv0
Martial Arts:
…
]
'I'm getting there! Good… But my head still hurts… If it wasn't for the time I would've spent more time to max them all out.'
Lei Bei got up from the chair and left. He didn't bother about cleaning these things, someone would do it and they would gladly do it… Or so he thought.
He passed through a few disciples and waved at them. They, on the other hand, blushed and waved back, some ran away embarrassed while some others bowed gently at him.
He smiled, he knew some of these girls were starting to develop a crush on him and that was good for him.
The more the better!
'Although I wonder why they aren't considered Dual Cultivation candidates… Is it because they are too average with no special features? Or does it take direct interactions between me and then for that to occur?'
'It doesn't matter. As long as I practice Dual Cultivation with someone on the same level or above mine, I'll be fine.'
Thinking about these things, Lei Bei made his way back to his simple shed where he took a quick bath and went to sleep…
…
[Dual Cultivation Death Countdown: 41 days and…]
/Chirrp!/
/Chiirrrp!/
Under the chirping of birds and the noises of insects, Lei Bei got up from the bed feeling a bit refreshed, although his head was still in pain.
He took a quick bath and put on another pair of clothes he had.
During these days, he asked for a few spares and he got a few, including one that looked cooler than his last one. Probably because he wasn't a handyman anymore but a disciple.
He opened the door and saw something unexpected…
"Oh? I remember your name… Was it Ei Xingda?" He asked as he looked at the girl in front of him
[DING!]
[Ei Xingda's Favor +5]
When he said her name, her face turned red as she mumbled a reply, "Tha-Thank you for remembering my name…"
Now that she was close to him, he took a better look at her.
She was a small girl, and she had that distant expression… In plain terms, she was a Kuudere to Lei Bei. Cold and emotionless to others, her true personality was only shown to those she really cared about.
Her hair was short and blue, and her eyes were gray. Although her bangs covered them slightly. She seemed to like them, given that when they first met she was covered one eye instead.
She had a cute look with her glasses, and it was clear from her description that she was actually older than him; she just looked younger because of her height…
Most disciples of the pavilion were between the ages of 15 and 20. Lei Bei had no interest in those younger than him, but he was thankful that less than half were younger than 19, and even less was younger then 17.
"Do you need anything?"
She had difficulty talking, but the moment she went to say something, she tripped and fell on his chest.
Lei Bei smiled and stroked her head as he caught her, asking, "Are you okay? Or did you do that on purpose? I don't mind though…"
[Ei Xingda's Favor +10]
'... Isn't this going a bit too fast? Girl… Hold yourself a bit more…'
"... What would you do if I did it on purpose?"
"?!"
Lei Bei did not expect this, but he focused at her words, "You're very cute, but I know little about you, I have yet to find a Daoist partner, but I would like her to be someone I know and love… Would you like to know me better?"
[Ei Xingda's Favor +5]
'Damn girl! She is literally just throwing herself at me! Is this what these fangirls are like? But I did little… There was one time when her favor increased, and the last two were due to my actions to the Medicine Pavilion as a whole… How much does she have right now?... 55?!'
'If we remove these last few, she approached me with 40 favor, so that explains it. She is just a very daring girl who approached her crush and seeing how he didn't push her away, her love just continuously increased.'
'Hum… So what to do now?'
"... I would like to know senior brother more… personally…" She said with a few words as she pushed her head onto his chest
"!... How about we go over this… Slowly…"
[Ei Xingda's Favor +5]
'Are all girls this daring?! My god!'
…
"Mmmm… Ha!"
Well, Lei Bei wasn't a passive man, and seeing how she basically threw herself at him, what kind of men would he be if he didn't accept her? Much less one in his condition?
He started by talking about his life… He invented a few things since he doesn't remember much about Lei Bei's life in the village. This made her cry since when she heard his village had been attacked, she thought his family had died with it.
But he told her he was alone for longer, and that made her even sadder…
She also took turns to talk about her family. She told him about how her parents were cultivators from the Sect and that they were still here; He found it all quite interesting since her life was all about the Sect…
Ei Xingda was… your typical cultivator pretty girl; this made Lei Bei think about what made her special in the system's eyes… Or perhaps, the System had no requirements to begin with…
…
As time passed, Lei Bei grew confused about why no girls came to the herb garden, but she soon clarified they were cultivating and that she came here to see him despite the 'rules' made by the girls…
"Mnn~…"
"Ahhh~"
Lei Bei called her a bad girl, and she teased him back… Eventually, Lei Bei pushed her a bit and she accepted, and soon enough, he took her flower on his bed…
/Moan…/
It was amazing! And even if he gained little spiritual energy since he locked his cultivation to the pinnacle of his realm, his death countdown was still reset back to 60 days!
This made him both happy and sad as only a third of his total time had passed, and he had wanted more to pass to make sure he would never fall short of it… But it all went away as he let out his load…
/Moan…/
Time and time again, he made her feel bliss and light-headed. Now that he was a cultivator, he could shoot it out several times more… He let out all of his stress, and the girl did the same… He tried out even more techniques as he showed her what it meant to be a woman, and she let him do as he pleased.
They explored things they never thought possible before. Thankfully, the house was rather secluded; else others may have heard her moans…
/Moan…/
At the end of the act, she left shyly through the door, running away in embarrassment despite his attempts at keeping her there.
Well… he had to make things romantic.
[DING]
[Congratulations Host for performing Dual Cultivation!]
…
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Notes