Chapter 2:Calculted Steps
Chen Ye sat cross-legged on his cultivation mat, eyes closed, but his mind was anything but calm.The morning sun had barely risen, yet he had been awake for hours. Sleep was a luxury he couldn't afford — not when he had ten years to compress into accelerated growth. The system's quest glowed faintly in his mind's eye: reach Foundation Stage within one month.In his previous life, he had achieved it in six months through honest effort and steady cultivation. Now, with the Chronicle's guidance and his experience, he could do better. But rushing cultivation was dangerous. Too fast, and his foundation would crack. Too slow, and he'd waste precious time.Balance, he thought. Power means nothing if it crumbles under pressure."Chronicle," Chen Ye whispered, his voice barely audible in the quiet room. "Analyze my current cultivation status."[Analyzing Host's Cultivation Base...][Current Stage: Awakening Stage - Early Phase]
[Foundation Quality: 47% - Substandard]
[Meridian Purity: 52% - Below Average]
[Veil Core Stability: 61% - Acceptable][Assessment: Host's cultivation was rushed in early years. Multiple impurities remain in meridians. Recommend: Purification before advancement.]Chen Ye's jaw tightened. He remembered now. In his previous timeline, he had been so eager to prove himself that he'd consumed low-grade spirit stones without properly refining them. The impurities had accumulated, limiting his future potential. It was one of many mistakes that had led to his mediocre peak.Not this time."Show me purification methods available at my current level."[Searching Database...][3 Methods Found:][1. Standard Cleansing Method - Sect-approved technique. Time: 3 months. Efficiency: 65%][2. Moonlight Essence Breathing - Rare technique. Requires moonlit cultivation. Time: 6 weeks. Efficiency: 82%][3. Abyssal Tide Circulation - Forbidden technique. Painful but effective. Time: 2 weeks. Efficiency: 95%. Warning: Risk of cultivation deviation if interrupted.]Chen Ye's eyes snapped open. A forbidden technique. In his past life, he would have rejected it immediately — too dangerous, too against sect rules. But that Chen Ye was dead. This Chen Ye understood that rules were written by the strong to control the weak."Details on Abyssal Tide Circulation."[Abyssal Tide Circulation - Ancient purification method from pre-Veil era. Simulates drowning to force impurities from meridians. Requires: Absolute concentration, pain tolerance, and uninterrupted cultivation sessions of 4+ hours daily. Side effects: Temporary weakness, intense pain, possible permanent damage if performed incorrectly.][Success Rate for Host: 78%]Seventy-eight percent. Not guaranteed, but good enough odds. Chen Ye had endured far worse pain than cultivation — he'd felt his throat being cut, his life bleeding away. What was a little more suffering?"I'll use Abyssal Tide Circulation," he decided. "But first, I need resources."He stood and moved to the small wooden chest at the foot of his bed. Opening it revealed his meager possessions: three low-grade spirit stones, a worn cultivation manual, two sets of outer disciple robes, and a basic iron sword. The wealth of someone at the bottom of the sect hierarchy.Chen Ye smiled coldly. He knew exactly where to get more.The outer sect's Mission Hall was already crowded when Chen Ye arrived an hour later.Dozens of outer disciples clustered around the notice board, competing for the best assignments. Missions meant contribution points, and contribution points meant resources. It was the lifeline for disciples without wealthy backgrounds or powerful connections.Chen Ye pushed through the crowd, ignoring the annoyed glares. His eyes scanned the board quickly, searching for one specific posting. There — in the bottom corner, half-hidden by other notices.[Mission: Clear Spirit Rats from Warehouse 7]
[Difficulty: Easy]
[Reward: 5 Contribution Points]
[Note: Must be completed within today]It was a trash mission, the kind desperate disciples took when nothing else was available. Spirit rats were weak but numerous, and the warehouse was supposedly infested. Most disciples avoided it — too much effort for too little reward.But Chen Ye knew something they didn't. In his past life, he'd ignored this mission completely. It wasn't until years later that he learned the truth: Warehouse 7 wasn't just infested with rats. Hidden beneath the floorboards was a small cache of mid-grade spirit stones, forgotten during the sect's relocation fifty years ago.Chen Ye memorized the mission details and turned to leave, only to collide with someone."Watch where you're going, trash," a sneering voice said.Chen Ye looked up at the speaker — a tall youth with an arrogant bearing and expensive cultivation robes. Wang Ming, an outer disciple from a wealthy merchant family. In Chen Ye's memories, Wang Ming was a minor bully who picked on weaker disciples.In the past, Chen Ye had avoided confrontation. Now, he simply stared at Wang Ming with cold, emotionless eyes.The older disciple faltered slightly under that gaze. Something in Chen Ye's expression was wrong — too calm, too predatory for someone supposedly weaker."What are you looking at?" Wang Ming demanded, trying to reassert dominance."Someone who will be irrelevant," Chen Ye said flatly, then walked past without another glance.Behind him, he heard Wang Ming's outraged sputtering, but Chen Ye didn't care. In ten years, Wang Ming would still be an outer disciple, crushed under mediocrity. Not worth the energy to antagonize or befriend.Focus on what matters, Chen Ye reminded himself. Everything else is noise.Warehouse 7 was located at the edge of the outer sect's territory, a forgotten building that smelled of dust and decay.Chen Ye pushed open the creaking door and stepped inside. The interior was dark, lit only by cracks in the walls. Wooden crates and barrels were stacked haphazardly, and the skittering sounds of spirit rats echoed from the shadows."Chronicle, scan for the cache location."[Scanning... Multiple life signatures detected - Spirit Rats, Awakening Stage equivalent. Threat Level: Minimal.][Secondary scan... Detecting concentrated spiritual energy beneath floorboards. Location: 7 meters ahead, 2 meters left.]Perfect. But first, he had to deal with the rats. Not because they were dangerous, but because failing the mission would draw suspicion.Chen Ye drew his iron sword — a basic weapon, but serviceable. He moved through the warehouse systematically, using footwork techniques from his past life. Each strike was precise, economical. No wasted movement, no flourishes. Just efficient killing.The rats, despite their spiritual nature, were barely a challenge. Within twenty minutes, the warehouse floor was littered with small corpses. Chen Ye's breathing was steady, his cultivation robes barely disturbed.Too easy, he thought. In my previous life, this fight took me over an hour and left me exhausted. Experience is its own kind of power.With the mission technically complete, Chen Ye moved to the location the Chronicle had identified. He knelt and examined the floorboards carefully. There — slight discoloration, wood slightly newer than the surrounding area. A repair job from decades ago.Using his sword, he pried up the boards. Beneath was a small cavity, and inside it, wrapped in oiled cloth, were fifteen mid-grade spirit stones. Each one was worth twenty low-grade stones. A fortune for an outer disciple.Chen Ye's hands trembled slightly as he lifted them. Not from excitement, but from the weight of possibility. With these, he could accelerate his cultivation significantly. The Abyssal Tide Circulation would be far more effective with proper resources.But as he wrapped the stones carefully and hid them in his robes, Chen Ye's expression remained cold. This was just the first step. One small advantage among thousands he would need.That evening, Chen Ye sat in his room with the mid-grade spirit stones arranged before him.The temptation to begin cultivation immediately was strong, but he forced himself to wait. Rushing was how mistakes happened. First, he needed to understand the Abyssal Tide Circulation technique completely."Chronicle, display the full cultivation method."[Accessing: Abyssal Tide Circulation - Complete Technique][Warning: This technique simulates drowning through controlled meridian flooding. Host must maintain absolute concentration throughout the process. Loss of focus will result in severe internal injury.][Step 1: Flood primary meridians with spiritual energy]
[Step 2: Circulate energy in reverse flow, creating 'tidal' effect]
[Step 3: Force impurities to surface through intense pressure]
[Step 4: Expel impurities through controlled breathing]
[Step 5: Repeat cycle until meridians achieve 90%+ purity]Chen Ye read through the instructions three times, memorizing every detail. Then he activated another system function."Chronicle, initiate simulation. Show me the consequences of performing this technique incorrectly."[Simulation Mode: Activated][Scenario 1: Concentration lost at 40% completion...]Chen Ye's vision blurred, and suddenly he was experiencing the simulation. Pain exploded through his meridians as spiritual energy ran rampant, tearing through his pathways like a flood bursting through a dam. He felt his cultivation base cracking, his Veil Core shattering—The simulation ended. Chen Ye gasped, sweat dripping down his face. It had felt completely real.[Scenario 1 Result: 78% chance of permanent crippling. Death probability: 12%]"Again," Chen Ye commanded through gritted teeth. "Show me scenario 2."[Scenario 2: Interrupted by external force at 60% completion...]More pain, more failure. Chen Ye forced himself through five different failure scenarios, experiencing each potential disaster. By the end, his hands were shaking and his clothes were soaked with sweat.But now he understood. He knew exactly where the technique was most dangerous, where he needed absolute focus, where a single mistake could end everything."Final simulation. Show me perfect execution."[Scenario: Optimal Performance...]This time, Chen Ye experienced success. The precise control needed, the rhythm of energy circulation, the exact moment to push and when to release. When the simulation ended, he felt like he'd already performed the technique once.[Simulation Complete. Success probability increased to 89%]Chen Ye smiled grimly. Eighty-nine percent. Those were odds he could work with.He picked up one of the mid-grade spirit stones, feeling its cool weight in his palm. In his previous life, he had been cautious, afraid to take risks. That caution had kept him alive but mediocre.This time would be different."Let's begin," Chen Ye whispered to the empty room. He closed his eyes, crushed the spirit stone to release its energy, and began the Abyssal Tide Circulation.The pain hit immediately.It felt like drowning from the inside. Spiritual energy flooded his meridians in reverse, creating pressure that made every nerve scream. Chen Ye's jaw clenched so hard he thought his teeth might crack. Sweat poured down his face.Focus, he commanded himself. The pain is temporary. Weakness is forever.He maintained the circulation, forcing the energy to crash against his meridian walls like ocean tides. Each cycle pushed impurities to the surface — black, toxic residue that had accumulated from years of improper cultivation.Time lost meaning. Chen Ye existed only in the rhythm of energy circulation, in the careful balance between progress and destruction.Finally, after what felt like hours, the first cycle completed. Black sweat oozed from his pores as impurities were expelled. The smell was terrible, but Chen Ye barely noticed.[Abyssal Tide Circulation - First Cycle Complete]
[Meridian Purity: 52% → 61%]
[Warning: Host's body requires rest. Recommend 8-hour recovery before next cycle.]Chen Ye opened his eyes, his body trembling from exhaustion. But despite the pain, despite the fatigue, he was smiling.Nine percent improvement in one session, he thought. At this rate, I'll have pure meridians in two weeks. And then... then I can truly begin.Outside his window, night had fully fallen. But Chen Ye didn't sleep. He cleaned himself, changed into fresh robes, and began planning his next moves.He had one month to reach Foundation Stage. Two weeks for purification, leaving two weeks for actual advancement. It would be brutal. It would be painful.But Chen Ye had already died once. Everything after that was borrowed time.And he intended to make every second count.