Rain poured down like heaven's plumbing had burst. I stood there, drenched and aching.
Every inch of my body hurt. Why? Simple. My entire body it had been stabbed
Literally repeatedly by karma. As they say, "Every action has consequences." And mine? Well… I'm a thief
Laughing bitterly as the rain intensified—because the heavens clearly had a flair for drama—I let the downpour wash away my shame. Tears mixed with rain, trailing into my ears.
"I just wanted a little wealth… and maybe a breathtaking wife," I muttered pathetically.
My vision blurred, and for a moment I thought I was passing out.
Then:
[Ding! SSS-Rank System activated.]
[Host will receive 10x–10,000x return when gifting a disciple. Rewards for completing System Tasks. Punishments for failure.]
[Host Stats]
Cultivation Realm: Qi Gathering Realm [Early Layer]
Techniques: None
Body Refining: Skin Tempering
Disciple: None
Physique: None
Spiritual root: five Spiritual roots
"Great," I muttered. "I've been reincarnated into a cultivation world. Fantastic." My voice hint of sarcasm
Sen—now me—had read cultivation novels occasionally. Never seriously. Just enough to pretend I understood them at parties where no one cared. Still, those fragments of random knowledge were now my lifeline.
Names were overrated. But to blend in, I needed one. I recalled a random protagonist name from a novel I barely remembered. It sounded cool enough.
"Li Qinghai," I declared to the rain with all the confidence of a man who had absolutely no idea what he was doing.
I looked at my new body. Lean, healthy, and strangely handsome. Definitely not the potato sack I used to be. My face was unfamiliar, too. Reincarnation clearly came with a makeover.
Wearing a robe that screamed 'mysterious expert' and a pouch at my waist, I rifled through it. Inside were… pills?
Second-tier pills.
Now, in this world, pills were serious business. Ranked by quality—low and high—and tiered from 1st to 14th. The higher the tier, the rarer and more valuable the pill. I remembered that much.
The cultivation realms went something like this:
1. Qi Gathering
2. Foundation Establishment
3. Core Formation
4. Nascent Soul
5. Divinity Transformation
6. Return to Broken Void
7. Void Realm
8. Spirit Severing Stage
9. Immortal Ascension
I nodded grimly at my second-tier pills. Not bad for a man who just fell out of the reincarnation machine.
My house—if you could call a lonely mountain peak "a house"—was decent. Cozy. Quiet. Suspiciously high up above the clouds. Which also meant… I was stuck. Literally. I couldn't get down.
Sighing at the heavens again, the System chimed in.
[New Quest Available: Accept the person with the Cold Ice Physique.]
[Reward: Nascent Soul Aura and two 3rd-tier Mid-Quality Qi Nourishing Pills.]
Convenient. Just then, I spotted three figures climbing up the mountain path.
Two boys. One girl.
The boys looked like walking arrogance with haircuts that screamed "punch me." Smug faces, self-importance oozing out of their pores. Meanwhile, the girl had that aloof "I don't care, but I will destroy you" vibe. Blue eyes like frozen oceans, raven-black hair flowing like drama incarnate.
The boys looked average. The kind of faces you'd forget even while looking at them. Probably brothers. Meanwhile, the girl radiated beautifully like a cold flower.
I composed myself. Sat down cross-legged, lifted a teacup (which had nothing in it, but that's irrelevant), and stared at the clouds. A proper mysterious expert pose.
They reached the peak, got on their knees, and cupped their hands.
"Junior greets Senior!" they said in unison, clearly suspicious. I looked too young to be a hidden expert, but they were too scared to say it out loud.
I said nothing. The clouds were more interesting.
Then the boys spoke, their voices laced with disdain. "I'm Lu Ding. This is Lu Wushuang. And this girl is our servant, Xue Lian."
"Servant," huh? Her eyes didn't flinch, but I could feel the hatred simmering under that calm exterior.
Then, I finally spoke. My voice was cold, ancient, and absolute. The kind of voice that didn't just say things—it declared them.
"I will only take Xue Lian as my disciple. Now... scram."
Gasps. Drama. Shock.
Xue Lian blinked, stunned. Probably thought she'd be handed a mop, not an apprenticeship.
The boys were livid.
"Senior, she has low spiritual roots! We have high ones!"
Still staring at the clouds, I checked the System:
[Reward received: Nascent Soul Aura and two 3rd-tier Mid-Quality Qi Nourishing Pills.]
I turned to the three. The boys, still fuming, made a classic mistake.
"You don't even look like a hidden expert! We could take you down!"
"This generation" Shaking my head as if I'm dissatisfied or disappointed
I released a sliver of aura. Golden Core? No. Nascent Soul.
Their faces went white. Knees buckled. Cowtows initiated at light speed.
They were early-stage Qi Gathering cultivators. Compared to my fake Nascent Soul aura? Chickens before a tiger.
"Tsk, tsk," I said, shaking my head. "No manners these days."
My voice now dripped with divine detachment.
Looking closer, I saw the boys wore artifact gloves and boots—tools for climbing. Xue Lian, meanwhile, had bare feet. Nothing but sheer will and her Cold Ice Physique to get her here.
She hadn't even shivered.
I stood, eyes cold.
"Scram. Or I'll slaughter your entire clan."
No one questioned it.
They ran. No, they slid down that mountain, possibly leaking fluids. I heard one mutter something about changing his pants.
Xue Lian giggled. Not much, just a soft sound, but her eyes lit up with satisfaction. She'd clearly suffered under them.
She bowed deeply. "Disciple accepts Master."
Expressionless, yet filled with hidden excitement.
I nodded, mysterious as ever, and handed her a second-tier Recovery Pill.
She accepted with gratitude. Just as she did, the System chimed:
[Host gifted disciple a 2nd-tier Recovery Pill. Return reward: 156x multiplier – Reward received: 4th-tier Low-Quality Body Refinement Tempering Pill.]
[Remaining gifts for disciples: 6]
I didn't stop. I handed her one of the newly earned 3rd-tier Qi Nourishing Pills. A rare treasure at her realm.
She smiled—like a winter flower blooming for the first time—and thanked me repeatedly.
I nodded silently and looked at the new System update.
[Host gifted disciple 3rd-tier Qi Nourishing Pill. Return reward: 57x multiplier – Reward received: 4th-tier Mid-Quality Foundation Establishment Perfect Pill.]
[Remaining gifts for disciples: 5]
Nice. Useless for now—since I was still at Qi Gathering—but definitely useful for later. Each realm had nine layers, after all: early, mid, late, and peak.
Still staring at the sky, I took another imaginary sip from my empty teacup.
Sen? No. Li Qinghai now.
Hidden expert? Possibly.
Scammer with good luck? Absolutely.
Mysterious? Always.