Strength

I throw a glance at Irina.

Another panel abruptly pops up.

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[Irina Nelson]

Remaining plot armour left: 1800

To extract more plot armour value, secure the opportunities of the target's growth.

Warning: Doing so will result in the change of the target's destiny.

Opportunities List:

-Subjugate the monsters invading a village. (0/40)

-Investigate the recent cannibalism case. (0/1)

-Secure first place in the monthly swordsman tournament. (0/1)

-Secure first place in Akatski Academy. (0/1)

-Discover the hidden sword artifact and make it recognize you as its master. (0/1)

---------------------

...

So I can squeeze her dry up till the very end.

A change of destiny can mean anything, even death. But that does not matter. Nothing is more important than the lives of my family and me. In this world, kindness belongs only to the strong.

As I walk past Irina, I can still feel her gaze. A butler steps down from the carriage and said something to Irina before she heads back into the carriage.

The carriage gallops past me.

"Tch, I'm wearing sandals," I mumble.

I tap the tip of my sandals on the floor to discard the rocks flown into my sandals from the carriage's movement.

...

Seeing that I have no reason to stay in the capital, I went back home.

A barrier is surrounding our cabin, restricting any intruders. I walk past it and open the door.

!!

"Loi? Back so soon?"

I smile. "Yeah, why?"

...

"Okay, take a shower. Afterwards, I need your help to look after your sister." My mother says.

"Alright," I reply.

My mother is trying to hide it, but I know. She is worried. After all, when I am young, I would be constantly training and swinging my sword passionately from morning till dawn. The only reason why I will return early is that I was bullied.

But no, that's not it this time.

As I activate the water scroll above a tub, I start to think about my next move.

------------

I walk out of the cabin and to the back. There's a patch of flat dirt where laundries are hung on.

Christina can be seen drawing on a paper laid on a stump.

As of now, peace is here. However, in the distant future, a war will break out. I need my family to become stronger... Strong enough to defend themselves.

I walk to Christina. "Ah! Brother!" Christina stands up and runs to me. I carry her by her arms and lift her.

"Hi, Christy! What are you doing?"

"Drawing! Look!"

I walk to the stump and see what's on the paper. There are three small stick figures at the bottom of the paper. Two of them have short hair while the remaining one has long hair. In the middle of the paper is two figures, one is wearing an apron and the other is wearing a breastplate with a sheath. The last one is a big stick figure at the top, wearing a huge golden armour with a large sword.

"See! Mama!"

Christina points to the one in the middle. "And brother!" Her finger shifts to the stick figure beside.

"Then we have Christy, Mane, and Lee." Her finger shifts to the stick figures below.

"And then Daddy!"

Finally, her fingers shift to the one on top.

I smile. "That's a nice drawing."

"Ehehe..." Christina smiles brightly.

...

I gulp.

"Say, Christy. Do you want to learn how to fight?"

"Eh? Like, brother and daddy?"

"Mhm, like brother and daddy."

"I want to... But mommy says that I shouldn't learn..."

...

I extend my pinky finger out. "This will be our little secret then."

Christina smiles and interlocks her pinky finger with mine. "Okay."

I look around.

"Let's go deeper into the forest. Hold my hands and don't let go."

We walk until a mountain is visible. There's another flat patch of dirt here, this used to be my training place.

Christina is currently 4 years old. Her body won't be able to handle excessive physical movements and mana circulation.

So right now, I can only prepare her.

"Christy, you are still too young now, so training will be a bit boring but it will benefit you in the long run."

Christy nods. Her eyes are shining with anticipation.

"The first step for every novice is the ability to feel mana. Sit down."

Christina sits and crosses her legs. "Now, close your eyes and focus. Touch, smell, taste, and hearing. Focus on these four, it is similar to meditating but you are trying to acknowledge the mana in the atmosphere."

"...What?" says Christina.

ugh... yeah she is a bit too young.

"Nevermind, have mom ever taught you how to meditate?"

"mhm."

"Try doing that."

"Okay."

Christina closes her eyes and controls her breathing. 

I place my arms on her back and slowly inject a tiny bit of mana into her body. This helps her body becomes used to mana and her ability to feel mana will manifest faster-

"brother, I feel something tingling and it is cold...?" says Christina.

...eh? So fast?

"T-That's mana..."

What the...her talent is... amazing! This is the first time I've seen someone able to feel mana within seconds. 

"The next step is absorbing the tingling, cold, thing into your body. Think of yourself as a vacuum, and those tingling cold things as blue balls. Imagine yourself as a vacuum absorbing all of those blue balls." I say.

After a few seconds, her breathing stabilizes and her body emits a soft glow.

I widen my eyes. 

Wow... my sister is very talented. She might even be on par- no, she might be better than Irina at this rate.

On average, a beginner takes 1 month to feel mana and another to be able to cultivate mana.

It took me 1 year to feel mana and 2 years to cultivate mana. I sigh and smiled. My sister will have a good future. Anyone who dares to harm her will have to face me first. Her talent will attract a lot of harm... I've seen countless disgusting jealous and selfish people targetting geniuses.

I sit down beside Christina and begin cultivating. 

There are a few stages to master before using mana: 

1. Feeling mana

2. Absorbing mana

3. Storing mana

4. manipulating mana

As I am well versed with the fundamentals behind each stage, I was quickly able to create mana storage in my heart. 

Thousands of years ago, the method of cultivation was known worldwide by proclaimed martial artists from the world called "Murim". Those people might be the "protagonists" I am looking for. Finding them will be like finding a jackpot treasure as their plot armour must be huge... Even at present, those people are still alive and kicking, Cultivation is incredible... 

Still, can there be multiple protagonists? The stories I've read only had one.

---------------------------------

There can be multiple protagonists existing in a world. As long as the individual's destiny involves changing the flow of the world or achieving something impossible, the person can be classified as a protagonist.

----------------------------------

Oh? a panel pops up to answer my questions immediately... how convenient. 

Then, what would my role be?

----------------------------------

You are currently a disposable background character.

-----------------------------------

wow, harsh.

It's true though.

Those martial artists claimed that the mana we know is called "qi" and is the prime reason for strength. The techniques they pass down surpass every known technique in this world.

I've managed to get my hands on some and I still remember them vividly. However, I fear that the backlash of those techniques may be too much for Christy to handle... I will teach her a physical cultivation technique first and let her master it before i start teaching her mana cultivation techniques.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. 

"The way of life is like destiny," I mumble. "It flows like a river and never stops. The same goes with meridians. All impurities must be washed out to allow smooth sailing of mana."

I absorb mana into my upper meridians and move it down, forcing impurities to be washed along. Afterwards, I direct them to my fingertips. 

I hold out my right hand and black goo starts coming out of my fingernails, dripping onto the ground.

It's complete. I should be able to absorb mana smoothly now. 

Currently, there are only 4 layers of cultivation known in this country:

Qi condensation, Foundation establishment, Core formation, and Nascent soul. 

The martial artists who came to this world were in the Nascent Soul realm. According to them, there are many more layers of cultivation beyond the Nascent souls such as the Golden Physical realm and Emperor Immortal realm.

I stabilize my breathing and cut all my senses, only focusing on absorbing mana.

I felt a small impact in my chest once I start absorbing mana for a few minutes, I entered the first stage of Qi condensation. There are 10 stages in each layer that cultivators have to break through. 

I smile. The current technique I am using is used at the Core formation, making it very effective at Qi condensation, River flow cultivation technique is its name.

Irina is in the 4th stage of Qi condensation, and Carl at the 2nd. 

The first stage should be enough for a "trash" like me; I cannot attract too much attention and stand out just yet, I am still very weak.

Next is sword cultivation. 

The most desired stage is the supreme sword realm. Irina is at the 4th stage of the sword intent realm.

The lowest realm is sword intent, one can manipulate the mana and fuse it into a weapon, creating a deadly enhancement to the sword.

I need to get to the first stage to defeat Carl.

At my peak, I could only reach the 3rd stage of sword intent. But...

I stood up and hold my wooden sword.

Immediately, a red aura engulfs the wooden sword, with a little aura extending outwards from the tip of the sword.

I've immediately attained the third stage of sword intent because of my comprehension from my previous life.

Now, let's test out this talent thing I extracted from Irina.

There was a piece of advice I received in the past that I'm still puzzled about: "The sword is you and you are the sword."

Wait a minute... I-I suddenly understood it??

The sword is me... Meaning that I must treat the sword as if it is a part of my body, and move my body with the sword like the gentle flow of rivers. Only then can I truly understand sword intent.

!!!

The aura on my sword glows stronger and thicker. I've attained the fourth stage of sword intent.

Holy shit... having talent is amazing...

Christina gets up at the moment and sees me.

"What's that red thing?" she says and tries to touch it.

"Hey hey, that's dangerous don't touch it." 

I show her what I meant as I touch a stump nearby with the sword and it immediately cuts through.

"W-Woah..."

"Now, let's go back, it's getting late. Remember, don't ever practise this at home, I will do it with you."

"en!"

"Good girl." I pat Christina's head.