Thankfully, all hope was not lost as he had the system. Once he reached the Foundation Establishment realm, his situation was bound to change. According to what he had managed to gather in the past month, the world he was in now was no ordinary world, but a mystical world filled with something called qi. Cultivators of qi cultivation could flip mountains with their hands and kill enemies thousands of miles away.
All of this was not Wang Chen's first hearing about cultivation and immortals—there were myths about them in his previous life, but here they were reality.
Thinking of all these things, Wang Chen continued to browse through the status window and finally sighed when he saw his cultivation was still stuck at Rank 4 Qi Refining Realm.
Damn, here I was thinking one year of cultivation should be enough to reach the late stage of Qi Refining Realm.
Thinking of all these things, Wang Chen became slightly dejected, but in the end he was an optimistic person and soon cheered up.
Once he was back in the center, he took a look at the empty place and sighed. Even though the young Phoenix and Dragon Daycare Institute was located deep in the alley, it was neat and tidy, with an area of over two thousand square feet, divided into a reception and practice hall, playground, library, and all sorts of weird equipment like swords and spears, and a few sets of tables and chairs.
As he looked at the fee structure, Wang Chen let out another sigh:
One spiritual stone for every hour.
Spiritual stones were the currency of this world, mostly used by cultivators for exchange.
As the spiritual stones were naturally produced when the qi present in the atmosphere solidified—a process taking thousands, if not millions of years—they were incredibly precious.
For a no-name daycare center to charge so much, it was no wonder it was empty.
Realizing this problem, Wang Chen had tried to communicate with the system, but the system would not respond at all.
On top of it, it had issued a quest as well:
As an aspiring ultimate daycare center manager who desires to reach the apex, how could you not have at least one customer using your services? If you can get your first customer within a month, as a reward your cultivation potential could be increased by a tiny bit.
Although the mission was merely optional and issued at random, its reward excited Wang Chen. If his cultivation potential could be increased, he might be able to cultivate faster and easily reach the Foundation Establishment realm.
Still, like a perfect manager, Wang Chen took a seat in his office and waited.
Although the business was not booming, he had to pretend everything was okay.
As the famous saying went: Fake it till you make it.
As such, he sat in the office with a professional smile on his face.
Time continued to pass, and soon the sun started making its way downward. It was already 5 in the evening—it was time to close the daycare center.
With that, Wang Chen got up from his seat and started closing the chairs, neatly arranging them right below the tables, dimming every qi lamp one by one.
Just as he was about to close the gate of the facility, he noticed two figures suddenly standing right in front of it.
One middle-aged man and a young boy who looked eight or nine years old.
However, the condition they were in caused Wang Chen's eyes to narrow.
Both figures were drenched in blood, seemingly running away from pursuers.
This world was a ruthless, dog-eat-dog world with no mercy for the weak. Seeing their condition, Wang Chen became even more alert.
These two are definitely trouble. I have to stay away.
Although he needed customers to complete his mission, these two didn't look as if they could pay.
His judgment was too ruthless, considering the condition they were in. As someone born and raised in the twenty-first century, he should have raised a helping hand.
He would have, by calling the ambulance—but this was not Earth, but a cruel and selfish cultivation world where one wrong step could lead to death.
His mental state right now raised one question: with this thinking, how did he have the "Caring Heart" talent?
He was too ruthless.
Just as he was about to close the facility door right in their faces, the space in front of him twisted and a pale blue window appeared. The content made Wang Chen's heart skip a beat.
The middle-aged man, bleeding from his seven orifices, gently nudged the young boy to move forward while saying in a voice like refreshing spring wind:
"Young Master, go."
Hearing the voice, the young man's eyes showed ripples, and trembling ran down his spine.
He could feel that this was going to be the last time he was going to see his uncle.
Thinking up to this point, the corner of the young man's eyes unconsciously turned wet, and tears slid down his cheeks.
Just then, the middle-aged man's gaze—sharp as a sword—landed on Wang Chen's figure. However, Wang Chen was too shocked to care at this point.
The middle-aged man found Wang Chen's reaction within his expectations and wasn't surprised.
Although right now he was almost at death's door, his gaze was not something that a weakling like Wang Chen could bear.
The next moment he continued, his voice indifferent:
"Giving shelter to the Young Master will be the blessing of your nine generations."
The middle-aged man declared, as if giving protection to his so-called Young Master was Wang Chen's fortune.
However, Wang Chen just stiffly stared at the sign in the air and pointed in the direction of the fee structure in the distance:
"One hour—one spirit stone."
These words were clear as day. To someone like the middle-aged man, he coldly snorted and threw a pouch filled with spirit stones in Wang Chen's direction.
Wang Chen instinctively caught it, allowed the young boy to come in, and closed the door.
Seeing the Young Master finally inside the fated location, he should be able to survive the calamity.
With that, the middle-aged man didn't dare to linger around any longer. The next moment, a gust of cold wind blew and he was gone.