System missions

"Where am I?" Ace thought aloud to himself, his body wincing in pain when he attempted to move.

"You're finally awake?" The person who spoke was a middle-aged man with distinctive features. His white hair was tied up neatly into a ponytail, he had sharp eyes, and even though he was wearing a long robe, it didn't conceal his years of training. If it weren't for one eye that was scarred by a sword wound, he would have been perfect.

At this point, memories flooded into Ace's mind like a tidal wave. From the time period, when the old man barged into the town and commenced a killing fest to the time period when the old man was slain by him personally. The memories came by in a flash, but the eternal pain would remain etched in his mind.

Yes, the people of the town might not have been close to him, neither did they treat him with the respect a human should deserve, but all his memories up until now was given to him by the town.

"Can you step out first?" Panting heavily, Ace begged the man with his head slightly lowered. Even though Ace knew that he should be showing gratitude to this man who saved his life, he needed some alone time to recollect his thoughts before anything else.

"If you need anything, just call for me." The man told Ace before leaving the room.

Poor child...to think that they have already extended their reach to these towns...

To the northern side of the Breezy town, there was a majestic city. The city was renowned for the delicacies they provide, many people from other countries and cities flock here just for the food. Thus the name Glutton City. It was foolish, but the essence of this city held to its name.

Ace was situated in the Glutton City right now, it was a foreign place, but it was also the place where he would carve his legend into the historical records.

Father...I'll make sure to fulfil your ambitions one day. Based on what Ace knows, his father had one dream which he had yet to fulfil. His father wanted the Gale family in the Breezy City, to return to the main family, that was situated somewhere far away.

I may not know which kingdom the main family is, but I'll make sure that they pay a price for this. Clouded by revenge, his rationality was affected for a split moment before he realized that he needed to reset his mindset.

Ace resented the main family that didn't provide any assistance to the Gale family in the Breezy Town. If they truly cared about the lives of his father and the other family members, then someone would have arrived to provide assistance. But the main family members were too materialistic and saw no reason to save them, wasn't it hilarious that the same blood flows in their body?

Years of training thought him that having a calm mind was of paramount importance and without any hesitation, Ace crossed his legs and sat on the comfy bed in a meditation position.

After some time passed, Ace knew that it was time he took the initiative to grow stronger and he had an advantage over others, the system. Ace wasn't sure how he knew what it was called, but his instincts told him that it was a 'system'.

Thinking about it, how do I operate this system?

"System open!"

"System page!"

"System help!"

Even after trying for tens of times, Ace was unable to open the system panel. Unwilling to give up just yet, he gave it a final try.

"System status!"

The next moment, information organized neatly flooded into his mind.

Host: Ace

Cultivation: Body Tempering realm, stage of muscle enhancement

Cultivation technique: None

Martial skills: None

Sect status: Yet to awaken

<For more info, please open up the system guide>

"System guide open!"

"Due to certain restrictions, only the first system shop would be opened up for now."

After gaining a rough understanding of how the system operates, Ace thought in his mind,

"System shop!"

The next moment, a shop full of cultivation manuals, martial skills, and elixirs opened up.

Low mortal grade martial skill: 100 system coins

Low mortal grade cultivation technique: 150 system coins

High mortal grade martial skill: 400 system coins

High mortal grade cultivation technique: 600 system coins

Looking at the price, Ace understood that the price doubled with an increase in each minor tier. As for the price increase for each major tier, it was out of his concerns for now anyways. What caught his eye was something else.

Body Tempering pill: 10 system coins each

Body Tempering pill: Helps to strengthen the foundation of each step in the Body Tempering realm, has been customized to the host's current body state where the Body Tempering realm only lasts one year starting from last night.

In the Body Tempering realm, it was divided into six parts.

Firstly was the flesh enhancement stage where physical training was the most important thing, the development of the arm muscles, leg muscles, core muscles, and every single muscle group in the body. Not only that, but it also included the control level of the muscles to perform a task with the least amount of strength.

Secondly was the Bone refining stage in which one would have to increase the intensity of their physical training, to a point where the bone receives the training effect as well. To target the bones with the muscles strong enough at this point, weight training and defensive training would play a huge role by bearing impacts and weights from external forces.

Thirdly would be the Blood conditioning stage. This was the easiest stage in the Body Tempering realm, but it was also one that would affect the locating and awakening of cultivation acupoints. For this stage, one's blood has to be at its peak constantly, one example would be a constant state of adrenaline rush. While some with strong willpower constantly got into battles to circulate their blood without even closing sleeping, it was defined as impossible by most geniuses, until one man truly rewrote history.

Fourthly would be the organ strengthening stage in which a cultivator would strengthen their internal organs such as the heart, liver, and stomach. In simple terms, their internal defence. If the inside of their body was destroyed even though they appeared fine on the surface, wouldn't it be foolish? This was especially true in the higher realms in which cultivators' internal body doesn't receive many benefits from cultivation.

Fifthly was the sense sharpening stage. It was the point of time in which a cultivator would focus on honing their five senses. Their sense of sight to locate an enemy, their sense of hearing to capture unexpected attacks, their sense of touch towards spirit energy, their sense of taste to identify the poison, and their sense of smell for unknown gases. Of course, there are many other scenarios these five senses can be possible, making it of paramount importance as well.

Last but not least was the purification stage, also known as the meridian cleansing stage in which one's body would be rid of impurities. To trigger this, one would have to allow their body to absorb spirit energy constantly. It was a painful process since one's spirit core would remain dormant until one reaches the age to step into the foundation realm.

"To open up the sect shop, the sect must be established."

"Cultivation timed quest has been released!"

Details: With only one year in the Body Tempering Realm, how far can you go with a much stronger foundation than the rest?

Rewards: Dependent

Penalty: None

Mother, just what did you leave behind for me...

"Main storyline mission has been released!"

Details: What's a sect master without strength? What's a cultivator without resources? In half a year, save up a thousand low-grade spirit stones or ten middle-grade spirit stones.

Reward: Basic sections of the sect system will be fully booted up, 200 system coins

Penalty: A lone wolf for life

"What the hell is this!" If not for the fact that he was injured, he would have jumped and crashed his head against the ceiling.

Ace was able to understand the mission and the reward itself but wasn't the penalty just adding salt into his wounds. Even so, he was helpless against the system which had entered his mind. The sword had vanished, taking on the form of the system.

Leaving the room, Ace was formulating a plan to maximize his cultivation in the Flesh enhancement stage. The details were known to him thanks to the cultivation experience his mother had left behind for him in this stage.

Closing the door behind him while locking it with the key the man left on the table, he headed downstairs only to see a spectacular scene that caught his attention.

"Boss Loh, isn't it the time of the month for you to surrender the protection fees?" Standing before the counter was a faction member that was threatening the owner. The customers pretended that nothing happened and ignored this, even the cultivators that were sitting on the benches turned a blind eye to this.

The reason was simple, the insignia on the man's robe represented the Sky Hawk faction that was being led by a Martial Master. Even in a city, a Martial Master holds some authorities unless those above them decide to interfere.

"Sir, please spare me! The protection fee that you're asking for is just way too much for a small business like mine to handle!"

Smack!

The boss of the inn crashed against the aged wood behind him, a slap mark was imprinted deeply into his skin as he covered it up while begging with tears.

"Please, I really can't afford to…"

Smack!

This time, the faction member slapped the other side of his face.

"Boss Loh, bargain with me again and I'll make sure that this inn of yours closes down." As the faction member spoke, he released his aura towards everyone.

"No way! Even a faction member collecting protection fees is at the late stage Martial Apprentice realm!" One of the cultivators who was here expressed in shock before making his way out of the inn, the rest following his decision soon after.

If they couldn't intervene, it would be better to leave immediately lest they get into unwanted trouble.

"What's with my luck today!"

"It seems like Boss Loh business is done for!"

"Man, I liked the food here…"

Even though the customers were leaving and some felt sentimental towards the inn, none had the intention to help Boss Loh. This was the cultivation world and

"So? What's your decision?" The faction member asked again, his right palm clutching the neck of the boss of this inn.

"Release your hand!" Unable to watch from the stairs any further, Ace decided to intervene.

"Seeing that you're so young, I'll give you a chance. Leave right now before I turn nasty towards you." The faction member broke out into laughter, his behaviour angering Ace.

The way he released his grip ever so casually, the way he was clutching his stomach while laughing with his yellow teeth revealed disgusted Ace who took all this into his vision.

"Youngster, I would advise you to not touch that child." It was the voice familiar to Ace, especially the cold aura that he would slightly elude that lowers the temperature around him.

"Who are you?" The faction member asked as he took a step back, his feet pointing towards the exit.

"Ever heard of the Aurora kingdom?" The man asked the faction member casually, a lotus made of ice forming itself on his fingertips.

"A kingdom!" To a faction member like him, just the mere mention of a kingdom could condemn him to death, not to mention someone who was possibly from one of the higher-ranked kingdoms.

"I'll leave right away!" The faction member took off immediately upon saying so, but the entrance doors closed with a swing of the robe from the man.

What happened there? The faction member opened his eyes in shock as he fell backwards, his bottom making contact with the wooden planks.

"You startled this kid here and injured the boss, shouldn't you pay the price?"

Without hesitation, the faction member fished out six spirit stones from his body before scurrying away frantically from the scene.

"Boss Loh, sorry that I was late to help you. You can have this spirit stone, it should be enough for you to refurnish this inn."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Boss Loh, would you sell me ten percent of the shares to your inn if I can increase the income of your business exponentially?"