Wake-Up Call

<<You sure taking your sweet time to come back here. Don't you know that the path of cultivation is arduous?>>

The Reliance System was lecturing him the moment it appeared. Although it still had the appearance of an infant, it looks much more energetic than before.

Furthermore, this place was an independent realm of his own. Thus it allowed the Reliance System to move here unhindered and free. Without even asking for Yanglin's permission, the infant hovered around the hand is holding the Blood Foundation Pill and ate it.

"Hey! How can you eat the Blood Foundation Pill without my approval?" Yanglin complained. He did not expect that the Reliance System would eat the Foundation Pills like sweets.

<<Why can't I eat it? These pills were my nutrient to grow faster and get stronger>>

"If you're eating it like this, how am I going to use the resources to solidify my foundation? Don't you know that an average cultivator would take close to a thousand of the Foundation Pills to advance from nothing to the Early-Layer of Spirit Foundation Stage?" Yanglin said.

<<Close to a thousand? You're mistaken. It's five thousand. To solidify your cultivation, you'll need at least five thousand Foundation Pills to get there.>>

The Reliance System seems to know something Yanglin doesn't. But it was pretty secretive as it kept being playful instead of telling everything he has to learn right on the spot.

"You still haven't told me what the system's ability is. Don't you think we should communicate with one another and get to know each other better?" Yanglin hides the remaining Clarity Foundation Pill inside his waistbelt's pocket.

This bead here was part of his hard work.

<<Have you ever play games, Yanglin? Those that requiring you to repeat the same thing day by day until you level up.>>

The Reliance System asked.

"No-Not really... What's about it?" Yanglin stuttered a while before answering. It was not that he never play games before, but because he sucked at them.

Be it from shooting games to strategy games, he's always the one to get wiped out first.

<<Looks like it will take us some time to get on with it then. Since you know the meaning of words, I'm sure that you understand the importance of "Reliance" in your dictionary.>>

<<I am the gift of the realm creator for you, but the law existed here too. Thus, you're not allowed to exploit me for your selfish uses. But as the person chosen by this Reliance System, I can let you be too shabby either.>>

The Spiritual Soul Infant's answer sounds rational, but there's also a hint of ridicule behind its words. It seems to have some contempt regarding Yanglin's ability.

Yanglin was not an idiot either. But his personality was too passive due to the way he lives in the past 32 years. How could he not have realized that there's plenty of bones hidden behind the sentence said by the Reliance System?

"What about we get straightforward with our words? Just let me know what is in your mind." Yanglin held his fist hard while struggling to finish his sentence. It was like he returned to the Yanglin that was working inside the company once more.

<<Fine. You've asked for it.>>

The system looked happy to be given a chance to bring up everything in its mind.

<<What were you doing until now? Unwilling to move on from your past life? Or there's a regret in you that made you lost the flame of youth?>>

<I thought I found a suitable host this time. Who would have guessed that you're not even comparable to a dog by the street? At the very least, that dog would have fought for a chance and not giving up its life to how heaven has decided.>>

The Spiritual Soul Infant bashes Yanglin ruthlessly for his passiveness. It was like a bucket of cold water poured all over his face to wake him up from his slumber.

The scolding seems to be effective as Yanglin tries to remember how he was when he's younger. He's not athletic, but at the very least, he managed to finish the challenge given by the teacher. However, he was a few lessons slower than the others.

But that was not the problem as long he managed to complete them. Although he was lack of friends, it wasn't like he had none either. It was his attitude that pushes them away just to not becoming a bother to them.

He had a girlfriend but died as a virgin just because he's respectful to her wishes for not having intercourse before marriage. Although it was foolish, at the very least, he upholds his promise until the woman breaks up with him before his death.

Was there a meaning to it?

There might not, in the eyes of the others.

But to Yanglin, there is.

Persistence. Effort. Belief. Self-Confidence. That was what kept Yanglin stays strong until now.

"You're correct... I shouldn't stay like this just because of a failure and lost my life because of this. It will be an insult to me for losing hope just because of a failure in my life." Yanglin told himself.

<<At least... Now you looked much more like a human being...>>

The Reliance System smiled. It was happy that the depressing energy enveloping Yanglin from head to toe slowly vanished and with a layer of light.

No longer dwelling in hopelessness and sorrow, Yangling looked like a beetle that had broken out from the cocoon that's covering him. The comfort zone protecting him has now torn apart, revealing him once again to the world outside of that cocoon.

<<I think you're ready to talk now. What is in your mind, host?>>

The system smirked while hovering around his eye level. From the look of it, the Reliance System looked happier than before.

"Teach me how to cultivate. What should I do from now?" Yanglin smiled and took the Clarity Foundation Pill out from his pocket. It seems the wake-up call made him remembered another sentence written in the books he copied.

(The Spiritual Soul and Foundation Pill cannot be separated from one another. Spiritual Soul helps its host create the Foundation Pill, and the Foundation Pill help stabilized the Spiritual Soul of the cultivator.)