# Chapter 2: The System
Chen Wei limped across the courtyard, rain soaking through his grey robes. His ribs ached with each breath. The cut on his palm had stopped bleeding but it still hurt badly.
He needed to find shelter so he could sit down and process what had just happened.
Just then, a sharp sound rang inside his skull, it was like a bell made of crystal
Chen Wei froze mid-step.
Then words appeared in his mind.
[DUAL CULTIVATION SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[Welcome, Intiate]
Chen Wei's breath caught and a smile grew on his face. This was it, the holy grail, the cheat. Every reincarnation story had one, the cheat system that would let the protagonist rise from nothing.
More text scrolled across his inner vision:
Name: Chen Wei
Rank: Initiate
Phantoms: —
Spirit Cores: 0/100
Sigils: —
More text appeared below the status panel
[PHANTOMS: These are formed when the host defeats a beast in combat. There is a chance to absorb the beast's essence as a shadow servant. Phantoms can be summoned and commanded by Host]
[SPIRIT CORES: These are gained when the host defeats opponents in combat.]
[SIGILS: Titles granted after significant achievements.]
As soon as he was done reading the status panel, Chen Wei wondered how to close the panel. "Close," he thought.
The glowing text vanished from his mind.
"Open."
It reappeared instantly.
He smiled wider.
The rain was falling harder now, turning the courtyard into a landscape of grey stone and dark puddles. Chen Wei's wet robes clung to his skin, He needed to get inside so he could rest and think.
But first, he needed to test if this system actually worked.
He closed the status panel and headed toward the outer disciples' quarters.
The wooden building was long and low, with a covered walkway running along its front.
Chen Wei's memories told him that the outer sect disciples lived here, the they were twenty to a room, sleeping on thin mats with barely enough space to sit up.
As he approached, a figure emerge from one of the rooms, a young man who looked no older than seventeen. He was lean and gangly with a mop of black hair that covered his eyes, he wore the same rough grey robes that Chen Wei wore, although his were slighty neater.
Chen Wei remembered him instantly, this was Liu Feng, one of the few outer disciples who had been kind to him. Liu Femg wasn't a friend exactly, but he was an enemy either, he was a sort of occasional ally.
When Liu Feng looked up and saw Chen Wei, his eyes widened. "Chen Wei! I heard Feng Kai and his group cornered you again, are you okay" He took in Chen Wei's wet clothes, his bruised face and the way he was holding his ribs. "Shit. Come on, get inside or you'll catch cold."
"Liu Feng." Chen Wei walked toward him, each step deliberate. "I need to ask you something."
"What? Now?"
"I need you to spar with me."
Liu Feng blinked. "What?"
"I need to spar with you, just a quick match. We don't need weapons, just hand to hand." Chen Wei's heart was pounding again, from anticipation this time. "Please."
"You're injured, Feng Kai"
"I know but I need to do this anyway." Chen Wei met Liu Feng's eyes. "Trust me."
Liu Feng stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head. "You're acting strange, did you hit your head?"
"Maybe. Will you spar with me or not?"
"Fine, fine." Liu Feng glanced around. The courtyard was empty, everyone else having fled the rain. "But just for a few minutes and if you collapse, I'm dragging you to the healer."
"Deal."
They moved to the center of the courtyard and rain pelted down on both of them. Chen Wei's robes were already soaked through, but Liu Feng's were getting drenched now too.
"Ready?" Liu Feng settled into a basic martial stance with his feet shoulder-width apart and his hands raised.
Chen Wei copied the stance. "Ready."
Liu Feng moved first, he sent a slow jab at Chen Wei.
Chen Wei stepped to the side, dodging the punch. Although his body was much smaller and lighter than Alex's had been it moved with an instinctive grace of a someone who had been a martial artist for five years.
He threw a punch at Liu Feng's ribs but didn't use all his strength, so he wouldn't injure him.
Liu Feng blocked the punch and countered with a sweep at Chen Wei's legs
Chen Wei jumped back although his ribs screamed in protest. He ignored the pain and darted forward, breaking past Liu feng's guard and shoved hard at his chest.
Liu Feng was surpised as he stumbled back, his foot slipped on the wet stone and he went down, landing on his ass in a puddle.
Chen Wei stood over him, breathing hard and then the crystal bell rang in his mind again
[Combat Victory Confirmed]
[Spirit Cores Gained: +1]
[Current Progress: 1/20]
"Chen Wei?" Liu Feng was staring up at him, water streaming down his face. "What the hell was that? You've never moved like that before."
Chen Wei extended a hand and helped pull Liu Feng to his feet. "I don't know. Something just… clicked."
"Clicked?" Liu Feng brushed water from his robes, though it was pointless in the rain. "That wasn't the Chen Wei I know. You actually looked like you knew what you were doing."
"Maybe getting beat up by Feng Kai knocked something loose." Chen Wei forced a smile, but his mind was racing.
The system worked just as expected, he had gotten a spirit core for defeating Liu Feng. If he fought and won against more disciples, he could fill up his spirit cores and level up
However he hadn't gotten a phantom or a relic, which made sense, since liu Feng wasn't a beast or a woman.
This meant that if Chen Wei really wanted to get stronger, he needed to focus on killing beasts and bedding women. And since the turning of beasts into phantoms was random, his only true way to get stronger was to sleep with women for relics
Chen Wei's face got red as he thought about it.
"Chen Wei." Liu Feng was looking at him with concern now. "Seriously, are you okay? You're acting really strange."
"I'm fine. Better than fine, actually." Chen Wei looked down at his hands. They were shaking slightly, but not from fear, it was from adrenaline and anticipation. "
His mind continued to work, there were about two hundred outer disciples, then you had the inner disciples, the core disciplines and the elders. There were hundreds of people in this sect, most of them probably stronger than Chen Wei. If only he could fight them, he would be able to develop his techniques while also gaining spirit cores.
In the mornings, most outer sect disciples went to the training hall to practice and spar, but with Chan Wei's reputation and cultivation level, they were unlikely to want to spar with him. The cruel ones would think it was beneath them to fight him and the kind ones would not want to hurt him.
If he wanted them to spar with him, he needed to get stronger first, he needed to prove he was worth fighting.
Which meant dual cultivation was his only way to get stronger now. But how would he find a girl willing to be with him?
But who? Chen Wei had no friends, his memories were full of rejection and loneliness, there were very few people who had shown him kindness.
Yet something gnawed at his mind, as if it was important and could help him, but as he tried to focus on it, he was broken out of his thoughts.
"Come on," Liu Feng said, putting a hand on Chen Wei's shoulder. "Let's get you inside before you freeze to death. And you need to get those ribs looked at."
Chen Wei let himself be led toward the outer disciples' quarters. But his mind worked thrice as hard trying to remember the important information.