Jin Feng sat cross legged in his room, hands resting in the traditional meditation pose as qi flowed through his meridians in steady, rhythmic pulses. The small room was silent except for his controlled breathing, each exhale expelling nervousness and each inhale inviting calmness.
"Integration status: sixty percent." the System's voice echoed in his consciousness. "This represents the maximum compatibility your current cultivation level can sustain."
Jin Feng felt the difference immediately. Where before his qi had moved sluggishly through his inferior meridians like water through a clogged pipe, now it flowed with surprising smoothness through the sixty percent of his meridian network that had been enhanced by the System's presence. The improvement was dramatic enough that he could almost forget about the remaining forty percent that still functioned at his original, limited capacity.
"The enhanced meridians are adapting well to my optimization protocols." the System continued as Jin Feng maintained his meditation. "Your cultivation speed has increased by approximately three hundred percent in the affected pathways."
"Three hundred percent." Jin Feng mused without losing his concentration. Even with only sixty percent of his meridians enhanced, his cultivation seemed more stable and powerful than ever. The grade one regeneration stone he had consumed earlier was being processed much more efficiently, its energy being distributed through his enhanced pathways, resulting in the regeneration stone's effects seeming underwhelming.
"I am currently lacking cultivation resources, I need to complete a few missions to exchange for regeneration stones..." he sighed, retrieving his outer disciple token and checking the available missions.
The mission board in the outer disciple pavilion offered various tasks suitable for tier one cultivators. After studying his options, Jin Feng selected a resource gathering mission in the nearby Eastside Forest. The task was straightforward: collect medicinal herbs and hunt rank one beasts for their cores and materials. The pay rate was one contribution point per rank one item recovered.
The forest began just a few li from the sect's outer perimeter. Jin Feng made his way through the well worn paths, noting how different this felt from his desperate flight through the ancient forest days earlier. Here, he was a legitimate sect disciple on an official mission, not a fugitive running from powers beyond his understanding.
"Jin Feng." the System spoke as he searched through a grove of pine trees, "your enhanced qi flow will provide significant advantages in combat situations. The improved efficiency should allow for a better qi output and techniques that otherwise wouldn't activate, but even so you should avoid combat at all costs."
Jin Feng nodded absently when he spotted his first target. Under a fallen tree trunk, several stems of bitter weed grew in two colors, easily identifiable by their distinct red and yellow leaves. The plant was moderately poisonous to level one cultivators if consumed directly, but valuable as an ingredient in various antidotes and purifying tonics.
He carefully harvested four stalks, wrapping them in cloth to preserve their potency. The System's enhanced meridians allowed him to maintain a more efficient protective qi coating around his hands than usual, preventing any accidental poisoning from the plant's toxic oils.
Moving deeper into the forest, Jin Feng encountered his first ever rank one beast, a crystal horn rabbit, its translucent horn was glinting in the sunlight. The beast was known for its speed and agility, typically requiring several tier one cultivators working together to capture.
Jin Feng crouched behind a tree and observed the rabbit's movement patterns. With the System's enhancement, he felt confident enough to attempt a solo hunt.
"Piercing arrow." he whispered, channeling qi as a small beam of qi stroked towards the crystal horn rabbit at an impressive speed. The technique was basic but effective, and with his enhanced meridians, the qi cost was significantly reduced.
He burst from cover, moving towards the crystal horn rabbit. The rabbit detected him and tried to flee, but Jin Feng's piercing arrow move suddenly came from the opposite side and intercepted the rabbit's fleeing path. His move connected solidly, killing the beast instantly.
"Fortunately, the crystal horn wasn't scraped by my move." exhaled Jin Feng.
"Impressive." the System observed. "Your qi expenditure for that technique was forty percent less than it would have been previously."
Over the next several hours, Jin Feng continued his systematic hunting and gathering. He found three more Crystal Horn Rabbits, a young Iron Back Boar, and an additional six stalks of bitterweed. He also discovered several fire moss clusters and a small cache of blood bush that had been overlooked by previous disciples.
By late afternoon, he had accumulated enough materials to easily exceed his contribution point goals. The mission that should have taken him two days was completed in half the time, thanks to the System's enhancements.
Returning to the sect, Jin Feng submitted his materials to the mission pavilion. The evaluating elder examined each item carefully before tallying the final count.
"Four Crystal Horn Rabbit cores, one Iron Back Boar hide, ten stalks of two colored bitterweed, and miscellaneous materials." the elder announced. "Total value: fifteen contribution points."
Jin Feng accepted his payment and immediately visited the sect's resource exchange. After studying the available items, he made his selections: two grade one regeneration stones and one grade one mind enhancing tonic.
"The mind enhancing tonic will increase your concentration during cultivation." the merchant explained to Jin Feng after he completed his purchase. "It is particularly useful for breakthrough attempts or for learning complex techniques, but it can also be used during normal cultivation. However, in my opinion, it is a waste to use the tonic that way."
Back in his room, Jin Feng examined his new acquisitions. The mind enhancing tonic was a pale blue liquid that gave off a sharp, almost medicinal scent. According to the instructions, it would provide enhanced mental clarity and focus for up to six hours after consumption.
"System," Jin Feng said as he took a cross legged position. "how long until I can attempt breakthrough to tier two?"
"Based on your current progress and the efficiency improvements from our integration, approximately four months. However, this timeline assumes consistent cultivation and regular use of enhancement resources like regeneration stones."
"Four months instead of six." Jin Feng murmured. "The integration is proving even more valuable than expected. But now my limiting factor is regeneration stones. I need to take more time for my qi to recover than someone with superior type meridians."
"Indeed. However, be aware that as your cultivation advances, the disparity between enhanced and unenhanced meridians will become more pronounced. The meridian reconstruction I mentioned becomes more critical with each advancement."
Jin Feng crushed one of his new regeneration stones and consumed the mind enhancing tonic. The combination created an unusually clear and focused mental state, and he could feel his qi responding with greater precision than ever before.
Three months later.
Jin Feng sat cross legged in his familiar cultivation chamber, but the atmosphere was different now. His qi reserves had grown substantially over the months of consistent cultivation, and his understanding of the System's enhancements had deepened considerably.
Before him lay his carefully hoarded resources: two grade two mind enhancing tonics and two grade two regeneration stones. These represented months of mission completion, careful resource management, and strategic exchanges. Each grade two item was worth several grade one equivalents, and Jin Feng had saved them specifically for this moment.
"System," Jin Feng said quietly, "my meridian integration has reached ninety nine percent over the past months. I'm ready for tier two advancement."
"Confirmed. Integration status: ninety nine percent. Upon successful advancement to tier two, full integration will be achieved. Warning: the breakthrough process will be significantly more intense than a standard tier advancement due to the simultaneous meridian optimization completion."
Jin Feng nodded grimly. He had been preparing for this moment for weeks, studying every aspect of tier two breakthrough he could access in the sect library. The process was already dangerous for normal cultivators, with a ten percent failure rate even under ideal conditions.
He consumed one of the grade two mind enhancing tonics first, feeling the powerful mental clarity wash over him like a cold mountain stream. His thoughts became razor sharp, his focus absolute. Then he crushed both grade two regeneration stones simultaneously, flooding his system with more qi recovery than he had ever experienced.
"Beginning tier two advancement protocol." Jin Feng announced, settling into the deepest meditation posture he knew.
The breakthrough began gradually, his qi circulating faster and faster through his meridians as he guided it according to the advancement techniques he had memorized. But as his cultivation level began to shift from tier one to tier two, something extraordinary happened.
The ninety nine percent of his meridians that had been enhanced by the System suddenly flared with activity. He could feel them transforming, not just from the natural tier advancement, but from the System's optimization protocols finally completing their work.
"Integration reaching completion." the System's voice echoed in his consciousness. "Meridian enhancement at one hundred percent. Total cultivation speed multiplier now: five hundred percent."
Jin Feng's eyes snapped open as intensity flooded through his body. Where his meridians had previously appeared as thin white channels when he examined them with his spiritual sense, they now glowed with a distinct light blue color. The transformation was visible and dramatic.
But the enhancement came with a cost. Despite the grade two mind enhancing tonic, Jin Feng found his thoughts becoming scattered and unclear. Sweat poured down his face as his body struggled to adapt to the simultaneous tier advancement and complete System integration. The strain was enormous, far beyond what he had anticipated.
His breathing became rough, his hands trembling as waves of disorientation washed over him. The enhanced mental clarity from the tonic was barely keeping him functional while fighting with the intense assault on his body and mind.
Hours have passed in a flash. Jin Feng's consciousness drifted in and out of clarity as his body underwent fundamental changes. The light blue color of his meridians deepened and spread, the channels themselves were restructuring.
After two and a half hours that felt like an eternity, the transformation finally completed. Jin Feng's meridians had stabilized into their new configuration: light blue channels that were five hundred percent more effective than normal inferior type meridians. They weren't quite as effective as superior grade meridians, but they were definitely better than medium grade ones, thanks to the System's enhancement.
"Assessment complete." the System announced as Jin Feng's breathing gradually returned to normal. "Tier two advancement: successful. Meridian enhancement: complete. Your cultivation channels now exceed medium grade specifications while remaining below superior grade thresholds."
Jin Feng examined his transformed cultivation base with spiritual sense. The improvement was remarkable. His qi flowed through the enhanced meridians with an efficiency that made his previous cultivation seem laughably primitive.
"The five hundred percent speed multiplier." Jin Feng said weakly, still recovering from the ordeal. "How does that compare to what I had before?"
"At tier one with sixty percent integration, you experienced a three hundred percent improvement over your original inferior meridians. Now, with complete integration and tier two cultivation, the improvement is five hundred percent over standard tier two inferior meridians.
Jin Feng slowly stood, testing his new cultivation level. The difference was incredible. Not only could he sense his qi more clearly and manipulate it with greater precision, but his overall physical and mental capabilities had improved dramatically as well.
"Is it the time for meridian reconstruction?" Jin Feng asked, though he already suspected the answer.
"Affirmative. However, based on performance and pain perception, true optimization requires the reconstruction procedure. Thus, your performance has significantly changed the requirements."
Jin Feng's heart sank. He had hoped the System's enhancements would eliminate the need for the dangerous procedure entirely.
"The fifteen percent survival rate?"
"No longer applicable. Your tier two cultivation and enhanced meridian structure have improved the odds considerably. However, the resources required are now more substantial. You will need grade three regeneration stones and a grade three mind enhancing tonic to survive the process safely."
"Grade three resources?" Jin Feng's voice carried disbelief. Such items were typically reserved for tier three cultivators. The cost would be astronomical for him.
"The enhanced meridians require proportionally enhanced support during reconstruction. Grade two resources, while sufficient for your breakthrough, lack the potency needed for complete meridian restructuring."
"Although we could have performed the meridian reconstruction before reaching tier two, I decided that the safer method was to do it at tier two, even if this required more preparation."
Jin Feng sat back down heavily. Grade three items were worth way more to exchange for than grade two items, far beyond what he could earn through normal missions.
"What would be the survival rate with proper grade three resources?"
"Approximately seventy percent. The reconstruction would create meridians surpassing even superior grade specifications, potentially approaching the legendary Heavenly Grade meridians mentioned that only few lucky ones are born with."
Heavenly Grade meridians. Jin Feng had read about them in the sect library, theoretical constructs that existed more in legend than reality. Cultivators with such meridians could advance at speeds that defied comprehension.
"I'll need time to acquire such resources." Jin Feng said quietly but with a burning passion in his eyes.
"Indeed. However, the reconstruction window remains open for another two months after tier two advancement, considering your cultivation speed. Beyond that point, the meridians become too stabilized to safely modify."
Two months to acquire grade three resources. If grade two resources could be traded for their grade one counterparts on a ratio three to one, grade three would be a ratio of five to one.