When Li Wang willed the spiritual energy around him to enter his body, it slowly began to flow toward him, assimilating with his own.
"This isn't right." After sitting there for a while, Li Wang opened his eyes, which were filled with confusion.
Li Wang's expression darkened. "What the hell's going on? Wasn't a Heaven Grade Spiritual Root supposed to make me super OP? Why is the absorption process so slow?"
[That's because you are trying to hammer a nail with your hands, idiot.] Just as Li Wang was feeling confused, the system's voice sounded in his head.
"What do you mean by that?" Li Wang got even more confused when he heard the system's words.
[It means that although you have the best spiritual root, you don't have a cultivation technique to channel it.]
"Let me guess, you have a cultivation technique for me and it's going to cost me an arm, a leg, and my firstborn child?" Hearing the system's words, Li Wang's face turned sour as he prepared to get ripped off.
[Oh no no no, I am not that cruel, the complete Celestial Vortex Genesis Art only costs five hundred million CP,] hearing the system's words, Li Wang sucked in cold breath, but the system was not done yet, [but since I'm so generous, I can sell to you only the Qi cultivation part.]
"But why did I have my current cultivation of Qi Refining fifth stage if I never learned a cultivation technique?" At this moment, confusion filled Li Wang's face.
[Host, you haven't gone through all of the original's memories, have you?] The Creation System questioned, [You only have your current cultivation because Bai Meilin force-fed the original host cultivation-enhancing pills.]
"…She force-fed him pills?"
[Yep. Like fattening up a pig for slaughter.]
"What a charming woman," Li Wang muttered, eyes twitching.
[Isn't she?] the system's voice chimed, [it is really hard to find women so beautiful these days.]
"Of course you would say that," he said, standing up and dusting himself off. "You are both cut from the same cloth."
"Alright then, System. Hit me with it. How much for the Qi Refining part of the Celestial Vortex Genesis Art?"
[Ten CP, and I'll even throw in the experience of the cultivator with the best foundation at Qi Refining Stage to sweeten the deal.]
Li Wang froze. Ten CP. Exactly his entire remaining balance. The System might as well have held up a neon sign flashing "RIGGED!"
"Ten CP," Li Wang repeated, his voice flat. "For the Qi Refining part and some dead guy's experience? And wouldn't you know it, that just happens to be exactly what I have left? What a shocking coincidence." Sarcasm dripped from every word.
[Ahhh, why does the host always have to hurt my feelings?] Just as Li Wang finished speaking, the system instantly went into defensive mode, its tone coyish. [The original price of this technique was 15 CP, but just for my super broke host, I reduced it to 10.]
As Li Wang imagined an old man trying to act coily, his face immediately turned to disgust.
"Bah, bah, don't ever use that tone when talking to me," he barked as he tried his best to remove the image from his mind.
[Removing cute mode will cost you 20 CP.] The system didn't let go of the chance to try and rip Li Wang off.
Ignoring the system's words, Li Wang spoke through gritted teeth, "fine, I'll buy the technique, but it better be worth it."
[A wise choice, host,] the system quipped.
[Deducting 10 CP, remaining balance 0 CP] as the emotionless voice once again sounded in his head, Li Wang felt a flux of information in his mind.
[Now imparting the Celestial Vortex Genesis Art (Qi Refining Stage) and relevant experience. Pleasure doing business with you, host.] The voice, uncaring of Li Wang's condition, continued.
The next second, he clutched his head with one hand as he felt a mild headache from the amount of information.
Slowly massaging his temples, Li Wang digested the information he had just received.
Various insights about the Qi Refining Stage kept pouring into his mind, overwhelming him a little.
After a few minutes, the torrent of knowledge started to slow down before completely coming to a stop.
As the pain receded, and what replaced it was a deep, uncanny sense of… understanding as if someone had hammered years of knowledge in his head.
Skimming through the knowledge in his mind, Li Wang sat down on the spot, eager to apply it to practice.
He quickly guided the spiritual energy in his body to converge at a single point in the center of his dantian, leaving his meridians dry and devoiding his body of any cultivation, returning back to being a mortal.
Meanwhile, the Spiritual Energy inside his dantian started to swirl in circles, slow at first, but as time went on, it got faster and faster.
Soon, a vortex of Spiritual Energy Formed inside his dantian, slowly rotating on its own, drawing spiritual energy from around his body and accumulating it.
But the next moment, Li Wang actively willed for the Spiritual Energy to enter his body, and as though someone had added fuel to the fire, the vortex suddenly turned into a tornado, sucking all the spiritual energy around him.
Qi Refining Realm 1st Stage…
Qi Refining Realm 2nd Stage…
Qi Refining Realm 3rd Stage…
Qi Refining Realm 7th Stage
In an instant, Li Wang surpassed his previous cultivation by two small realms without any signs of stopping, though his progress started to slow down.
Not because he was nearing his limits, but because he was deliberately suppressing himself.
He was doing it because the experience he received from the system informed him that if he broke through too quickly, it might lead to a shaky foundation later on, and so, he needed to spend at least a week in the Qi Refining Realm to attain a stable foundation.
After a few moments, the vortex in his dantian stabilized, gradually returning to the slow spin it was doing previously.
Although he was on the verge of breaking through the 8th stage of Qi Refining realm, Li Wang deliberately suppressed his breakthrough, intending to use the system's experience to the fullest.
Feeling the surging power through him, Li Wang took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening as he calculated his future plan.
"Although I have gotten stronger, based on the original's memories, I am still little more than an insect in this world," Li Wang whispered, his voice barely audible.
"But it doesn't matter, with the Creation System's aid and my genius, I'll soon be a powerhouse here," he continued, his confidence growing, "just need to keep my head down till then."
Growl
Just as Li Wang was having his monologue, the sudden growl of his stomach broke him out of his reverie as a sudden pain assaulted his empty guts.
'World domination can wait; first, let's do something about this hunger.'
Thinking this, Li Wang quickly moved, breaking off a branch from a nearby tree and using vines to create a makeshift fishing rod.
After attaching a worm he plucked from the nearby mud as bait, he sat on the river's side and began fishing, a hobby he had picked up in his past life.
Sitting there for some time, Li Wang finally caught something, which he quickly pulled out.
Looking at the struggling fish in front of him, Li Wang's mouth started to salivate at the thought of satiating his hunger.
He moved quickly, gathering dry branches that had fallen off the trees and placing them neatly in a stone enclosure to avoid setting the whole area on fire.
After he was done, he channeled his spiritual energy to create a small spark in the wood, a trick commonly used among the lower-level cultivators.
'I never thought that the survival shows I took part in to kill time would come in handy here.'
Looking at the steaming fish, Li Wang thought to himself, 'Too bad I don't have any spices for flavoring this.'
[Host, why do you fret when I am here?] The system chimed in, interrupting Li Wang's thoughts, [I will give you the world's finest spices, just for the low cost of 20 CP]
Hearing the system's pitch, Li Wang's lips twitched, "You are doing this on purpose, aren't you, or have you already forgotten that I am broke?"
[Of course not, host.] The system replied, its tone just like a sly banker, [That's why I can offer you a loan at just a small interest of 300% per day, what do you think?]
"Fuck you," hearing the system's offer, Li Wang's blood started to boil, but he was starting to get used to the system's personality and didn't let it get to his head.
[That would cost 500 CP per minute, and extra charges would be added based on your preferred appearance.] The system, ever the greedy businessman, didn't fail to try and make money.