Recovering Memories

The more he read, the more his eyes shone in excitement and delight.

'Alright system pull up my stats,' he told the system. 

[Name: Zhu Chen] 

[Age:17] [ Remaining Lifespan: 36]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 1]

[Cultivation: Body Tempering Second Stage]

[Spirit Veins: Mortal]

[HP: 9/20]

[Qi: 4.9/30] (Qi needed to advance to the next stage)

[Strength: 2.5]

[Agility: 1.9]

[Vitality: 1.3]

[Intelligence: 1.6]

[Stamina: 2.0]

[ Skills: Swordsmanship (Basic)]

[Abilities: None]

[ System points: 100]

Having a good look at his stats, he moved on to studying the other functions. 

Each one of them could literally make anyone drool as they thought of different uses. 

Finally, after having learned about the rest of the functions, he decided to check out the mall for last.

rows of items appeared in his view but all of them were only the things he could buy with his available points.

' System can I have a look at the other items instead of those I could buy?'

[ You can just remove the item filter option, and everything will appear to you in a list of the priciest items to the least] 

He followed the system's instructions and removed the item filter option, causing a new list of items to appear before him.

The items ranged from powerful artifacts to rare cultivation manuals, each one pricier than the last.

As he scrolled through the list, his eyes widened in amazement at the sheer variety and potential of the items available. From legendary weapons to mystical talismans, there was no shortage of choices for him to consider.

However, with the current amount he had, he could only afford a basic-level sword at best.

Sighing he closed the system panels. ' System is there a way I can retrieve the memories of the previous host?'

The system remained silent for a moment before responding.

[ Host with enough system points, you could do anything, even retrieve the memories of the previous host]

' I see, so how many points do I need?'

[ The memories and experiences of beings are stored inside their souls and since the soul of your predecessor has already left the body, it would take at least 95 system points to retrieve that information]

Hesitating for a moment about spending that much, he thought he could recover it in no time later after killing a few beasts but that only meant after truly knowing their value.

[Ding]

[ A quest has been created]

[ Mission: Retrieve the memory fragments of the previous host]

[Description: Just like what the mission says, get the memories of the previous host. They could be of great help to you in this unknown world]

[ Rewards: 225 System points, + 10 Qi]

[ Would you like to accept this quest: Accept/ Reject]

He smiled in relief ' Accept.' 

[Ding! Quest has been initialized] 

' Alright do it, ' he said confidently.

[ Alright brace yourself, this might hurt a little]

The system warned.

' Huh! wait! You never said anything about-' Before he could give a piece of his mind, his body experienced a painful shock causing him to roll on the ground in pain as images and memories flooded his mind.

He saw flashes of battles, training sessions, and moments of joy and sorrow from the perspective of the previous host. The pain was intense, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

In those fragments, he learned, that Zhu Chen was born in a small mortal village located on the outskirts of the kingdom.

Once as a kid, he wandered into a forest alone and was attacked by a wild beast. Fortunately, before he could get hurt, a cultivator passing by saved him with a swift strike from a sword, leaving him in admiration and desire to walk on the road of cultivation.

Coming back from the forest safe and sound, he told his parents of what happened, and a cultivator saved him.

The parents were in shock for a while but were grateful to their benefactor but did not want him to walk on such a dangerous path. 

Both of his parents were mortals but that didn't stop him from training.

Finally, after a few years of hard work, a cultivator arrived from the sect to test the younger generation from their village, if they had a Qi vein and the potential for cultivation, he would ask them to come to the peerless sword sect as an outer disciple.

Along with him, his childhood friend Lin Yan, whom he had a crush on, both were found to have met the necessary requirements to join the sect.

Because of his hard work, Zhu Shen was the strongest kid around, and Lin Yan also started developing feelings for him, thinking he would always protect her.

However, the moment they arrived at the sect, both learned that they were frogs in a well and soon had to face reality. Additionally, he started getting harassed and beaten to the point he had to stay in bed for weeks.

His defeat caused the strong, manly image he had in her mind to slowly disappear to the point she started holding a grudge against him for holding her back.

The only reason, he was lacking in cultivation was because most of the resources he received from the sect were used to aid in her cultivation in their early days since her talent was inferior to his.

Eventually, a rich young master fell for her beauty, and she did not hesitate to take advantage of this God-given opportunity to change partners and use him and the resources he gave to aid her in her cultivation to the point she was now ranked among the hundred disciples with the highest strength out of ten thousand outer disciples. 

After finding out her true nature, he was grievous and frustrated and soon started fully using the resources allocated to him. However soon the disciples started forming groups to steal their resources in the name of " Protection."

Many disciples along with him complained to the elders but they thought, this would be considered good training to sharpen the disciples, so all the complaints went deaf ears, and told them to deal with it. 

Because of these conditions, his cultivation had been stuck at the second stage for three years and eventually, he ended up offending Xiao Liang, thus getting a good beating from him, who was six stages higher than him.

...

After having absorbed all his memories, his heart became cold as ice. 

Zhu Chen felt a mix of emotions as he processed the experiences of his predecessor. The pain and hardships he endured, the sacrifices he made, and the ultimate betrayal he faced at the hands of someone he cared for deeply.

As he lay on the ground, his mind reeling from the flood of memories, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of empathy and sorrow for the previous host.

He understood the challenges and obstacles that he had faced, the moments of weakness and vulnerability that had led to his downfall.

' He was just like me but somehow, he didn't give in to the darkness, how admirable but he was too naive for his own good.' 

Despite the hardships and betrayals faced by the previous host, he couldn't help but admire his resilience and determination.