Already feeling hungry, Lixin didn't feel shy as he started to devour the food on the plate. The pork was juicy and tender, as each bite gave him a refreshing feeling.
The soup was light but contained an earthy flavor; the chicken meat added to the flavor as he felt his body relax.
The fish was tender and melted like butter in his mouth. He didn't have to worry about the bones as they were as tender as the meat.
Within a few minutes, he finished his food as he felt a warm current rushing down his body. All the tiredness he felt was washed away as he couldn't help but burp.
Perhaps it was due to hunger or the quality of the food; it tasted hundreds of times better than the best food he enjoyed in his last life.
"How's the food?"
Old Shu asked as Lixin looked over. His plate had already become empty as he was using a toothpick to clean his teeth. The pot on the side was also empty, as every single piece of food was eaten.
"Delicious."
Lixin said with a smile. Hearing his words, Old Shu chuckled. It would be a wonder if he couldn't satisfy an orphaned boy with his food.
"Hahaha, Of course it's delicious. My fifty years of cooking experience isn't a joke after all."
"Hmm~"
"Hey, Lad. Don't practice the Body Building Manual for a week."
"Your body is currently too weak to handle such exercise. I shall cook this nutritious food for you for a week, and then you can start your practice."
"I am telling this for your own good, so listen to this old man's advice."
Old Shu said as Lixin nodded his head. There was no reason for this old man to lie to him, so this must be for his own good.
"I will heed your words."
"Good, go rest for now. Your body must be tired due to all the day's work."
"Thank you."
"Haa, no need for thanks. After a week, you will also have to cook. I shall teach you that much."
"Also, there is a book that contains information about Spirit Animals and some information about the outer gate in the living room."
"You can take them if you want to learn something."
Old Shu said before picking up the plates and bowls, Lixin gave him a bow and exited the kitchen. He quickly found the two books in the living room as he picked them up and walked up toward his room.
The room was dark with only moonlight lighting up a few areas. He walked toward the desk and lit the oil lamp.
The room brightened up a little as he looked at the three books on the desk. Before reading them, he opened his system.
He looked at the stats. Except for the body, everything was higher than that of Old Shu, but he doesn't know how much it compares to ordinary people.
He wondered if he could increase these stats. Just as this thought came to his mind, the system reacted.
[Would you like to increase Body to 1 point?]
[Cost: 10 yrs]
[Would you like to increase Comprehension by 1 point?]
[Cost: 100 yrs]
[Would you like to increase Will by 1 point?]
[Cost: 1000 yrs]
Such options appeared. Looking at the cost of the upgrade, he couldn't help but take a cold breath. Except for the first, all other options are enough to end a mortal's lifespan.
Thinking of the ten years he extracted from the pig, he tried to increase his Body.
[Lifespan -10 yrs]
A warm current flowed through his body as he felt that his body had become more flexible, and his muscle control had increased.
[Would you like to increase Body by 1 point?]
[Cost: 100 yrs]
Looking at the option that appeared, he understood the cost system; it seems that for every one-point increase, the lifespan cost will increase ten times.
If he didn't have a lifespan extraction feature, this function could be considered a death sentence. He wondered if he could gain a Spirit Root using the system.
[Would you like to create a Five Elemental Spirit root?]
[Cost: 40,000 yrs]
His eyes shone at the system's response, but then he looked at the cost. It seems he won't be getting a spirit root anytime soon. At least there was hope, but this was more than enough for him who almost fell into despair.
He tried to check if the system had other features, but it didn't respond. Even after an hour of asking various things, the system remained silent.
After a while, he sighed, putting aside the system for now. He opened up the Body Building Manual and looked through it. After all, this was a path of cultivation for him.
The first page contained information about the first realm of the Body Cultivation system. The realm is called the Body Strengthening realm.
It is divided into five sub-realms, which are: Skin hardening, Muscles Forging, Blood Qi, Bone Strengthening, and finally Golden Organs.
In the skin hardening realm, a person needs to eat a spirit-rich food every day and bathe in various herbs every week.
Each day, one must also complete all the forms given in the book to properly digest the medical properties.
A Mortal without a spirit root can complete this stage in ten years; those with a spirit root will take five years or less, depending on their talent.
After completion of this realm, the skin won't be able to be harmed by mortal blades and spears, and strength will also greatly increase.
The Muscles Forging realm is also the same, but one must bathe in herbs with spirit energy to practice it. The practice time also needs to be increased as one must consume a large amount of spirit-rich food.
It would take a mortal fifty years to practice this realm to completion, and those with spirit root can complete it in fifteen years or less, depending on their talent.
Then comes the Blood Qi realm. It can't be practiced by those without a spirit root as spiritual energy is required during cultivation.
Looking at this, Lixin stopped reading. Since he doesn't have a spirit root currently, he will focus on the first two stages for now.
He put down this manual for now and picked up the book containing information about the Outer Gate.
The Outer Gate is divided into two parts, one area for the servants and one area for Outer Gate disciples and elders.
Servants wear brown Taoist robes. There will be a hint of orange in the Director's Taoist robe; the department manager will wear a robe with a mixture of brown and orange.
Outer disciples wear orange colored Taoist robes, and outer elders' orange Taoist robes will also have sword patterns.
Those without any Taoist robes are civilians who work in the city; the common currency there is silver coins.
One Lesser Spirit Stone is equal to a thousand Silver coins. Servants are only allowed to wander around the city two times a week.
Servants aren't allowed to leave the mountain without the sect's permission, and a servant if they don't make a mistake will gain ten contribution points per year.
A single contribution point is roughly equal to a single lesser spirit stone, but they can buy things that are hard to buy using spirit stones.
These are all the information that is written in the book, Lixin closed it and put it on the desk. He picked up the last book, the book about spirit anima.
It talked about the Spirit Fat Pig and the information he had heard from Old Shu.
The second was about the Blue Feathered Chicken. It talked about what it needs to be fed. Its pregnancy cycle is a month long.
A single hen can lay about six or seven eggs, of which four or so will hatch. It will take eight months for a chicken to fully grow.
Every year, we need to give the sect fifty Blue Feathered chickens and two hundred eggs.
The Green Scaled fish breeding cycle is extremely short, as it can lay about a thousand eggs per month. One-fourth of these thousands of eggs will hatch, and it will take about three months for them to fully grow up.
We need to give the sect a thousand fish per year to meet the quota.
This book also contains information about some common diseases faced by these animals and a basic introduction to other spirit animals.
The book was short but quite informative. He put the book down as he stretched his body. He was feeling tired as he snuffed the oil lamp.
Opening his clothes a little, he entered the bed and closed his eyes. He thought of all the things that happened today and slowly fell asleep.
His breathing became steady as the night deepened, and the day ended as the first ray of sunlight woke him up.