Trained as a cripple [4]

"Old man! I think I found my inspiration" Yang Ding came in banging the door behind him. The old man was sitting beside a table. He had a pestle in his hands with which he was crushing herbs in the mortar to a paste.

On Yang Ding's intrusion, he turned around.

"I see"

"So you can fight now?"

"I think yes"

"Well, that's good. If you can fight now I have nothing more to teach you"

"Huh?"

"Come closer young man"

He beckoned Yang Ding to come closer. Yang Ding has question marks on his face but he complied and walked close.

The old man took his right hand and checked his veins.

"Your murdy veins have got cleaner now. You can cultivate better than before"

"I see"

"You are a hardworking man. You might have done mistakes in the past but I believe everyone deserves a fresh start"

The old man didn't stress the meaning behind his words and instead placed his two fingers at the back of his palm where the Tai Chi tattoo was ever-present.

A gush of energy exploded from the old man's body. It was a mixture of yang and yin energy in perfect harmony.

Yang Ding was awestruck in witnessing such a perfect harmony between the two complete opposites.

The Yang energy pushed backward while the ying energy pulled closer. Yang Ding was in a weird sort of position.

The old man's ponytail stood erect in the air as it floated defying all sense of gravity. The crusher that was kept on the table along with the herbs swayed in the air as well.

The old man's eyes lit up.

Yang Ding could feel the immense amount of Ying and yang energy entering his hand and circling the tattoo.

He gritted his teeth bearing with the turbulence in his veins.

[System reset initiated… System reset initiated…]

[All tally reset to zero]

[User is no longer identified as a sinner]

[Shop unlocked]

[Skills tab unlocked]

[Congratulations! User has completed a tough and challenging training upholding the virtue of patience and preservence]

[User has received 10 shop points]

*cough*

The series of messages ended with a deep cough that jolted Yang Ding back.

"Old man?"

The old man was coughing up blood. His hands and mouth were smeared with his blood.

"I guess I used too much of my vitality for that"

"What do you mean?"

Yang Ding might have not understood what he meant but he did figure it out. The old man's whole body was turning semi-transparent and his image was becoming thinner and thinner every minute.

"What happened to you old man?"

"My time has come. I have to leave you on your terms. Stay strong and never falter"

The crusher and the herbs that were floating till then crashed to the floor splurting the green paste in it on the floor.

The old man smiled.

That smile was the last thing Yang Ding saw of him as he dispersed into particles and disappeared into thin air.

"Did he die because of me? Weird… so weird"

"I have never seen anyone dispersing like this before. I have seen people cut into pieces and dying but not this. All of this is so surreal"

Yang Ding held his head.

"Ah, the more I think about it the weirder it gets"

Then Yang Ding checked his tattoo.

"I was right the old man knew about my system and could even control it. Just who was he?"

Yang Ding shakes his head and then operated his system.

[User: Yang Ding]

[Race: Human]

[Cultivation level: 2nd stage of Ice profound Realm]

[HP: 100]

[Strength: 73]

[Agility: 62]

[Stamina: 108]

[listed Tally:]

[Wrath: 0]

[Envy: 0]

[Greed: 0]

[Lust: 0]

[Sloth: 0]

[Pride: 0]

[Gluttony: 0]

[Shop]

[Skills]

Yang Ding raised his brows.

"Is this what he meant by a fresh start?"

All of his sin tallies were back to zero.

And he had two more slots.

Shop and Skills.

"I want to check out what this shop thing is"

As soon as he thought that the system blurred and another window popped up.

[Shop]

[Your Shop Points: 10]

[Physique Strengthening Pill: 10 SP

[Physique Restoration Pill: 100 SP

[Skill Strengthening Pill: 20 SP

[Skill Restoration Pill: 80 SP

:

:

:

Locked

Locked

Locked

"Physique Strengthening Pill what's that?"

*ping*

Another message popped up

[Physique Strengthening Pill: An easy way to increase your Physique without advancing in cultivation. Consuming one pill can increase any desired stat by two points]

"Physique Restoration Pill"

The system responded to his call.

[Physique Restoration Pill: A miracle pill crafted from the essence of the reptilian dragon granting the regenerative power of the same. Can restore lost body parts, limbs, eyes, damaged body parts, etc.

Warning: Do not consume if one's strength stat is lower than 50. If did so the body won't be able to cultivate the dragon's essence and will burst into pieces]

"What!"

Yang Ding couldn't believe his eyes.

"Old man you are now messing with me!"

He didn't know what he should feel. Elated cause he has found a way to restore his lost leg? Or angry at the old man for keeping such important information to himself!

One thing he was sure of was that the old man was the cause due to which this shop appeared in his system.

"He knows a lot of things but he kept them from me! And now he has disappeared"

Well no matter how angry Yang Ding felt he couldn't hide his happiness.

His lips arched into a slight smile. But immediately after that, a thought surfaced.

"One hundred shop points! ISn't That a lot! And how do you even obtain these points?"