Lin Feng's new home was a testament to his lowly status. The "living quarters" were a single, spartan room in a long, barracks-like building on the sect's outermost edge. It held a wooden cot, a small table, and a meditation cushion that was thin and worn. The air here was thinner, the Profound Energy noticeably fainter. This was the slum of the Azure Cloud Sect.
He dismissed a nervous Xiao Hai, telling the boy he would summon him if needed. Alone, he finally allowed himself a moment of pure, unvarnished reaction. He slumped onto the hard cot, his hands trembling slightly. The weight of it all—the transmigration, the System, the humiliation—crashed down on him. He was a stranger in a merciless world, his only anchor a glitchy-looking blue screen that lived in his head.
Okay, Lin Feng. Breathe. Analyze, he commanded himself, falling back on his professional training. What are the facts?
Fact One: He was in a cultivation world where strength was everything.
Fact Two: His innate talent was, by all accounts, garbage.
Fact Three: He possessed an external variable—the System—that could potentially bypass Fact Two.
He pulled out the small pouch given to him by the sect. He upended it onto the table. Three dull, pebble-like objects clattered out, along with a single, wilted-looking herb. These were his monthly resources: three Low-Grade Spirit Stones and one Whispering Willow Leaf. He could feel a faint trickle of energy from the stones, like the hum of a distant power line.
[ Analysis Complete: Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Purity: 12%. Optimal use: Direct absorption to supplement cultivation speed. Estimated efficiency for Host: 3%. ]
[ Whispering Willow Leaf. Low-Grade Spirit Herb. Efficacy: Can slightly soothe mental fatigue. Not recommended for primary cultivation. ]
Three percent efficiency. The numbers were dismal. He picked up one of the spirit stones, clutching it in his palm as he sat on the meditation cushion. He tried to feel the energy, to draw it in as he'd vaguely understood from the entrance ceremony speeches. For an hour, he sat in focused silence. Nothing. The energy remained stubbornly locked within the stone, and his own body felt like a sealed vault.
Frustration gnawed at him. He had the will, but he lacked the method. The "how."
[ Suggestion: Purchase the Basic Qi Gathering Technique from the System Shop. It is the foundational method for all cultivators and will allow you to efficiently absorb ambient Profound Energy and the energy from spirit stones. ]
Of course. The System shop. He pulled up the interface.
- Basic Qi Gathering Technique: 50 Points
It was exactly half of his current points. A significant investment. But what was the alternative? Wasting away as a Level 1 disciple until he was expelled? He focused his will on the purchase.
[ Purchase confirmed. 50 System Points deducted. ]
[ Transferring knowledge... ]
A flood of information poured into his mind—complex meridians, esoteric breathing patterns, methods to sense and guide energy. It was no longer text on a screen; it was instinct, a deeply ingrained understanding of how to pull the world's energy into his body. It was the most fundamental key to this world, and he had just bought it for the equivalent of a few spirit stones.
He immediately closed his eyes and began the technique. It was like a blind man being given sight. The faint, ambient Profound Energy in the room, which he had only been able to vaguely sense before, now became a tangible river of light. He guided it, pulling tiny, shimmering threads into his body, circulating them through the pathways the technique had outlined. It was agonizingly slow, the energy trickling in like sand through an hourglass, but it was working. For the first time, he felt the energy not just around him, but within him, a fragile, nascent power growing in his dantian.
After several hours, he was drenched in sweat and mentally exhausted, but he felt a profound sense of accomplishment. He had taken control. He had actively changed his circumstances.
[ Ding! New Quest Generated! ]
[ Quest: A Hunter's Initiation. ]
[ Objective: Venture into the Whispering Woods and slay a single Raging Boar. Collect its Tusks as proof. ]
[ Reward: 100 System Points, Minor Healing Poultice x2. ]
[ Failure: None. A hero must learn to face danger! ]
A hunting quest. It seemed straightforward, almost video-game-like. A Raging Boar. It sounded like a low-level mob. But the word "slay" carried a weight that the System's cheerful tone couldn't mask. This wasn't a game. This was real. He would have to kill something.
The next morning, after a fitful sleep, he sought out Xiao Hai. "The Whispering Woods. Where is it? And what can you tell me about the Raging Boars there?"
Xiao Hai's eyes went wide. "Young master, you cannot be serious! The woods are forbidden to new outer disciples! The beasts there are fierce! A Raging Boar may be a low-level beast, but it's incredibly strong and aggressive. Its hide is tough, and its tusks can gore a Qi Condensation Level 3 disciple! Please, it's too dangerous!"
The boy's fear was genuine. This was not a trivial task. The System was sending him into a life-or-death situation.
"I need resources, Xiao Hai," Lin Feng said, his voice low. "The sect's allocation... is not enough."
Understanding dawned on the boy's face, mixed with pity. Many disciples risked the woods for extra resources, but they were usually in groups and far better equipped. Lin Feng had nothing but his robes and his wits.
"At least take this, young master," Xiao Hai said, hurrying off and returning with a simple, unadorned iron dagger. It was cheap and poorly balanced, but it was sharp. "It's not much, but it's something."
Lin Feng accepted the dagger, a lump in his throat. This small act of kindness in this brutal world felt more valuable than any spirit stone. "Thank you, Xiao Hai. I will return."
The path to the Whispering Woods was a well-trodden dirt track that quickly turned wild and overgrown. The air grew colder, the light dimmer as the towering trees formed a dense canopy overhead. The cheerful sounds of the sect were replaced by an eerie silence, broken only by the rustle of unseen things in the undergrowth. His modern senses, honed for city life, were screaming at him that he was in a predator's domain.
He moved cautiously, his ears straining for any sound. The System provided no mini-map, no enemy indicators. He was on his own.
A twig snapped to his left.
He spun around, heart hammering against his ribs. A massive shape burst from the thicket. The Raging Boar was nothing like he had imagined. It was the size of a small bear, its body a slab of muscle covered in coarse, black bristles. Its eyes were small, red pinpricks of pure malice, and two curved, yellowed tusks, each as long as his forearm, jutted from its snout. It reeked of musk and raw aggression.
It didn't hesitate. With a ground-shaking squeal, it charged.
Time seemed to slow. Lin Feng's mind, trained for crisis management, kicked into overdrive. Charge is linear. Unstoppable force. Cannot block. Must evade.
He threw himself to the side, the boar's bulk tearing past him, the wind of its passage buffeting his robes. It slammed into a tree behind him with a sickening thud, the trunk splintering. It shook its head, unharmed, and turned, its beady eyes locking onto him again.
Fear was a cold knot in his stomach. He couldn't outrun it. He couldn't outfight it. He had to outthink it.
The boar charged again. This time, Lin Feng stood his ground until the last possible second, the dagger held tight in his sweaty palm. As the tusks were about to impale him, he dropped into a slide, going underneath the boar's massive head. He thrust the iron dagger upwards with all his strength, aiming for the soft flesh of its throat.
The blade bit deep. A hot, foul-smelling liquid gushed over his hand.
The boar let out a gurgling, agonized scream, its charge turning into a stumbling, crashing fall. It thrashed on the ground, its life bleeding out into the leaf litter.
Lin Feng scrambled back, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his entire body trembling with adrenaline and shock. The coppery smell of blood filled the air. He had done it. He had killed.
He stared at the massive, still-twitching corpse. There was no victory cheer, no sense of triumph. Only a hollow, cold realization of what this world demanded. This was not a game. The blood on his hands was real.
[ Quest: A Hunter's Initiation - Completed! ]
[ Reward: 100 System Points, Minor Healing Poultice x2, has been added to your inventory. ]
[ Congratulations, Host, on your first victory! A true hero is born in battle! ]
The System's congratulations felt obscene. He forced himself to move, to kneel by the boar. Using the bloody dagger, he sawed at the base of the tusks. It was gruesome, difficult work. When he finally pried them free, they were heavy and stained crimson.
He stored them in his System inventory, the tusks vanishing from his hands. He then took out one of the Minor Healing Poultices—a simple cloth bundle filled with green, fragrant paste—and applied it to the shallow cuts and bruises he'd received. A cooling sensation spread through his muscles, the minor injuries knitting together with visible speed.
He stood up, looking down at the dead boar. He had survived. He had passed the System's test. He was 100 points richer and had gained invaluable, brutal experience.
But as he turned to leave the woods, the image of the boar's red, hate-filled eyes was burned into his memory. This was the path of a "hero." It was paved with blood, and he had just taken his first, trembling step.