Jin Feng walked slowly through the outer sect's grounds, his hands clasped behind his back as he thought about his situation.
"Grade three resources." he muttered under his breath, careful to keep his voice low. "Two months to find something that costs dozens of contribution points each. The math just doesn't work."
He paused beside a small pond, watching the fish swim in lazy circles. A few months ago, he would have been content with such simple scenes. Now they only reminded him how trapped he felt by circumstances beyond his control.
"If I stay an outer disciple, the highest value missions available are worth maybe two to four contribution points each If I am lucky. Even if I completed one every day, which is impossible, I'd never earn enough." He kicked a small stone into the water, disturbing the fish. "And that's assuming I could maintain the pace these two months."
The reality was stark. Outer disciples were limited to gathering herbs, hunting weak beasts, and performing menial tasks. The truly valuable missions the ones that offered real rewards were reserved for inner disciples and above as a way of luring the fish with the bait.
"I never wanted to climb the sect hierarchy." Jin Feng continued his one sided conversation. "Too much attention, too many people asking questions about me, my cultivation speed. But what choice do I have?"
He resumed walking, his pace quickening as frustration built inside him. The System's special meridian reconstruction offered power beyond what most cultivators could dream of, instantly catching Jin Feng's attention, like any other cultivator as a matter of fact.
"Circumstances..." he said bitterly. "Always comes down to circumstances forcing my hand." he defeatedly thought of Shen Tao's inheritance.
The path led him toward the sect's administrative buildings, and Jin Feng realized his feet had been carrying him in this direction unconsciously. If he was going to pursue the inner disciple path, he should do it as soon as possible as there was no point in delaying.
The registration pavilion was quieter in the late afternoon, with only a few disciples conducting business. Jin Feng recognized the same middle aged registrar who had processed his initial application months ago.
"Jin Feng, isn't it?" the man said without looking up from his paperwork. "Outer disciple, joined about four months ago. What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to apply for inner disciple status," Jin Feng replied, surprised the registrar remembered him.
Now the man looked up, studying Jin Feng with mild interest. "Tier two cultivation, I assume? You wouldn't be here otherwise."
Jin Feng nodded and placed his hand on the same qi orb he had used during his initial testing. The orb glowed with the steady, stronger light that indicated solid tier two cultivation.
"Impressive advancement speed." the registrar noted, making notes on a scroll. "Most outer disciples take at least a year to reach tier two from the moment you came in. You've managed it in four months, but I guess you were already close, huh?"
"I've been focused on cultivation." Jin Feng replied carefully.
"Clearly. Now, for inner disciple advancement, the requirements are straightforward. Tier two cultivation, which you've demonstrated, and successful participation in the sect tournament."
"Tournament?"
"Every few months, we hold a competition for outer disciples seeking to become inner disciples. You must win at least five matches to qualify for inner disciple status. The next tournament begins in two weeks."
Jin Feng felt a mix of anticipation and dread. Tournaments meant public displays of ability, exactly what he had hoped to avoid. But the alternative was remaining trapped in the outer sect's limited mission structure, or by stepping into shit and finding a chest full of treasures.
"How many participants typically compete?"
"Usually in a range between fourty and seventy outer disciples. Only about ten earn inner disciple status each tournament, so the competition is fierce."
The registrar reached into a desk drawer and withdrew a scroll, which he handed to Jin Feng. "Tournament rules and prize structure. The rewards are quite generous for those who perform well."
Jin Feng unrolled the scroll and quickly scanned the contents. His eyes widened as he read the prize listings:
First Place: Eight grade two regeneration stones, two grade two clear mind tonics, one grade two Ping's cultivation medallion.
Second Place: Five grade two regeneration stones, two grade two clear mind tonics.
Third through Tenth Place: Three grade two regeneration stones, two grade one mind tonics.
Even the lowest qualifying prizes would represent weeks of normal mission completion. The first place rewards were worth more than he had managed to accumulate in his entire time as an outer disciple.
"What's Ping's cultivation medallion?" Jin Feng asked.
"An ancient artifact that provides a temporary boost to cultivation speed and qi recovery by temporarily enlarging one's meridians. Quite valuable, though its effects are limited to tier two cultivators."
Jin Feng studied the scroll more carefully, noting the tournament structure. Preliminary rounds would eliminate most participants, followed by structured matches among the survivors. Five wins would guarantee inner disciple status, but the prize distribution suggested that placing in the top three would provide significantly better rewards.
"The tournament in two weeks." Jin Feng said slowly, "what's the typical strength level of participants?"
"Varies considerably. Some are fresh tier two cultivators like yourself, others have been stuck at the outer disciple level for months or even years due to poor performance. You'll face cultivators with superior meridians, rare techniques, and significant combat experience."
The warning was clear. Jin Feng's enhanced meridians and System optimization gave him advantages, but he would be competing against disciples who had access to better resources and training from the beginning.
"I'd like to register." Jin Feng said, making his decision on the spot.
"Registration fee is ten contribution points, payable now."
Jin Feng winced but paid the fee from shallow reserve, effectively halving it. The tournament was not too expensive to enter, and the potential rewards made it his best chance of acquiring the resources he needed.
"You're registered for the tournament beginning fourteen days from today. I recommend you spend the time preparing, both in your cultivation and head to head combat. Tournament fighting is different from hunting beasts or completing missions."
As Jin Feng left the registration pavilion, he reflected on how completely his situation had changed. Two months ago, he had been a nobody fleeing for his life. Now he was preparing to compete publicly against dozens of other cultivators, with rewards that could change his entire cultivation future hanging in the balance.
But beneath his determination lay a growing sense of unease. The tournament would force him to reveal his capabilities to sect elders and fellow disciples alike. Every technique he used, every strategy he employed, would be observed and analyzed.
Meaning, that in the future, if his growth is as fast paced as the System promised, questions would begin to arise, doubts and background checks placed.
The dilemma was about how to balance overachieving and underachieving at the same time with his rapid growth.
Jin Feng spent the following days doing combat preparation. Each morning, he ventured into the Eastside Forest under the pretense of hunting missions, but his true purpose was testing the System's new combat techniques on living targets.
"Combat optimization protocols activated." the System announced during his first training session. "New techniques availabale: Stone Skin Graft, Flickering Blaze Dart, Glimmering Insight, Miasma Shroud."
The Iron Back Boars became his primary training partners. Their thick hides and aggressive nature provided realistic combat conditions while their tier one cultivation level kept the encounters manageable. Jin Feng practiced Flickering Blaze Dart repeatedly as it would now become his primary attack technique
The Glimmering Insight technique proved more of a challenge. It required precise and controlled manipulation of the user's qi to enhance one's visual prowess, temporarily boosting the ability to perceive fine details in a small radius. Against the boars, the effect was minimal but noticeable.
Stone Skin Graft is a fast activation defensive move that creates a solid localized defense zone, using earth qi to transform a specific part of the user's body into a rough, stone like texture. It should only be used in the case of surprise attacks, as its defensive capabilities are inferior compared to other tier two techniques.
While Miasma Shroud is used to transform the surrounding zone of a cultivator to gain terrain advantage, it releases a cloud of cold, grey mist that slowly expands in a small radius depending on the amount of qi infused into the move. Any living being present in it's radius experiences fatigue and a dulling of their senses.
Days passed in this routine. Combat in the morning, sect missions in the afternoon, cultivation in the evening. Jin Feng's fighting capabilities improved steadily.
Three days before the tournament, Jin Feng was tracking a particularly large Iron Back Boar when the sounds of combat reached his ears.
However, instead of turning back to pursue the Black Iron Boar, he headed toward the noise.
Through the trees, Jin Feng observed the battle. A young woman, roughly his age and clearly a new tier two cultivator, fought desperately against a pack of six Jade Bone Wolves. Her techniques were competent but her qi reserves were already depleted. Even for a newly advanced tier two, her power seemed unusually weak.
The wolves moved with coordinated precision, their pack hunting instincts turning the battle into a systematic execution. As Jin Feng watched, the largest wolf feinted an attack from the front while two others circled behind the woman.
She fell, her defensive technique failing as claws raked across her back. The lead wolf positioned itself for a killing bite to her throat.
"Do not intervene." the System stated coldly. "This presents unnecessary risk with no benefit. Since full integration is complete, I can no longer provide emergency extraction capabilities."
Jin Feng stepped into the clearing anyway.
"Flickering Blaze Dart." His first attack caught the lead wolf completely off guard, the enhanced qi technique crushing its jade spine with a single blow. The remaining five wolves turned toward this new threat, their pack coordination instantly adapting.
But Jin Feng had underestimated their capabilities. These were not the predictable Iron Back Boars from his training sessions. Jade Bone Wolves were apex predators with tier two cultivation and generations of refined hunting tactics.
Two wolves attacked simultaneously from opposite sides while a third leaped directly overhead. Jin Feng's Miasma Shroud gave him the advantage, but claws from the side attackers raked across his ribs.
Pain focused his mind. These creatures could kill him if he held back.
"Glimmering Insight." The technique rendered almost useless the coordination between two wolves, causing them to stumble into each other. Jin Feng used this window to send multiple Flickering Blaze Darts, each one channeling Jin Feng's full strength.
The battle ended quickly once he stopped restraining himself. Six dead wolves lay scattered around the clearing, their bodies showing damage patterns that no conventional tier two technique should have been able to produce.
The woman, Xu Rong, stared at him with a mixture of gratitude and growing suspicion. Blood seeped from her wounds, but her eyes remained sharp, analytical.
"Thank you." she said quietly. "Impressive techniques, even my attacking technique needed multiple activations to kill a single Jade Bone Wolf."
Jin Feng helped her to her feet, noting the way she studied his movements. This woman was weak in combat but clearly intelligent.
Later, as they walked back toward sect territory in silence, the System delivered its assessment.
"Today's actions represent a significant strategic error. The female cultivator, Xu Rong, now possesses information that could compromise operational security. Your displayed power level exceeds normal parameters for tier two cultivators. She will remember this inconsistency."
"Perhaps." Jin Feng replied mentally.
"You have potentially created a future threat for temporary satisfaction. This decision may result in consequences that destroy everything we have worked to achieve, in the future you may even regret it."
Jin Feng paused at the forest's edge, looking back toward where the battle had occurred. "Regret? Why should I feel regret? I took what I thought was the best decision, what my heart told me. If Xu Rong becomes the one who will expose my secret, then so be it."
The System's response carried mechanical disapproval. "Emotional decision making leads to suboptimal outcomes."
"Emotions like sadness, happiness, greed, pleasure make us humans who we really are. Goals and desires are derived from emotions. If we eliminate emotions, then what reason do we have to be alive?"
"Survival. Power acquisition. Optimal resource allocation."
Jin Feng shook his head. "Those are means, not ends. Without emotional motivation, they become meaningless mathematical exercises."
The System processed this for several seconds before responding. "Your philosophical framework introduces unnecessary variables into strategic planning."
"And your purely logical framework eliminates the human elements that make strategy necessary in the first place."
As Jin Feng returned to his quarters, he reflected on the day's events. The tournament was three days away. Xu Rong would likely be participating as well, given her recent advancement to tier two. She would likely be watching him, analyzing his performance, subconsciously comparing it to what she had witnessed in the forest.
Jin Feng had potentially introduced an unknown variable. Yet when he examined his feelings about the decision, he found no regret as the woman lived because of his intervention.