Returning to the city after her exile in the bamboo forest felt like stepping onto a different planet. The noise, the pace, the constant hum of energy—it was overwhelming. The retractions had been published, her assets were unfrozen, and the world had moved on to the next scandal. But Ye Xia felt a permanent shift within herself. The confrontation with the Mo matriarch had carved something out of her, leaving a space that was both emptier and more resilient.
She threw herself back into her life with a new focus. The Gaokao was only a month away, and while it was still a personal milestone, it now felt like a minor administrative task compared to the existential threats she'd faced. She managed her empire, continued funding Project Mnemosyne, and maintained her cryptic, daily communications with Mo. Their relationship had deepened into a quiet, unshakeable alliance, a fortress against their respective families.
It was during one of her now-routine "wasting" sessions—this time, purchasing a bankrupt theme park in Eastern Europe—that the system delivered its latest evolution.
[Ding! Host has successfully weathered a foundational threat to her existence. Mental and spiritual fortitude have reached a new threshold. System Level 7 unlocked. Adapting to host's expanded awareness of world's hidden layers.]
The familiar blue screen materialized, but the text was different, shimmering with a faint, golden light.
System: Money Wasting System (Level 7)
Host: Ye Xia
Todays Wasting Quota: 10,000,000 RMB
Conversion Rate: 20%
New Function Unlocked: Spiritual Capital Conversion.
New Function Unlocked: Basic Cultivation Primer.
Ye Xia stared, her breath catching in her throat. Cultivation? The word belonged to the xianxia novels she'd vaguely known about in her past life, tales of immortal heroes and energy manipulation. It was fantasy. Myth.
[Spiritual Capital Conversion: Host may now convert wasted funds into 'Kai' (炁), the fundamental energy of cultivation. Conversion rate: 1,000,000 RMB = 1 unit of Kai. Kai can be used to strengthen the host's physique, enhance mental faculties, and unlock cultivation techniques.]
[Basic Cultivation Primer: This module contains the foundational knowledge of Qi (Chi) circulation, meridians, and the initial stage of cultivation: the Body Refinement Stage. Access requires an initial investment of 10 units of Kai.]
The world tilted on its axis. The system was revealing a layer of reality she had never imagined. The "hidden giants" like the Yun and Mo families… did their power extend beyond wealth and influence? Did it include this… this cultivation?
A thrill of terrifying excitement shot through her. This was a new frontier, a source of power that had nothing to do with money or influence. It was personal, physical, primal.
She didn't hesitate. She had 10 million RMB to waste. She immediately directed the system to convert 10 million of it into Kai.
[10,000,000 RMB wasted. 10 units of Kai generated.] The usual conversion to personal wealth happened concurrently, adding another 2 million RMB to her coffers, but she barely noticed.
[Activating Basic Cultivation Primer. 10 units of Kai consumed.]
A wave of knowledge, unlike anything she had ever experienced, flooded her mind. It wasn't like reading a book; it was as if the information was etched directly into her soul. She understood the concept of meridians—pathways of energy within the body. She felt the location of her Dantian, a core of energy below her navel. She learned simple breathing techniques designed to draw the faint ambient energy of the world into her body to refine it into her own Kai.
That night, instead of managing her portfolio, she sat cross-legged on the floor of her penthouse, following the primer's instructions. She breathed in slowly, focusing on drawing energy into her Dantian. For hours, she felt nothing but a growing sense of frustration and leg cramps.
Then, just as she was about to give up, she felt it. A faint, almost imperceptible warmth blooming in her lower abdomen. It was a trickle, a single drop of energy in a vast desert, but it was real. She had taken her first step into a larger world.