What was that for?

' Alright system, hand me my rewards'

[ 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]

[ Status: Completed]

[ Would you like to retrieve the rewards?]

' Daa obviously' he replied rudely.

[ Tsk! you don't have to respond like that, yes or no would suffice] 

' Daa obviously'

[...]

[ Fuck You! Go kill yourself]

" Pufff " he burst out laughing. 

Somehow, he couldn't help feeling satisfied from annoying this rude system.

Strangely, her reaction was too amusing for him to hold back.

[ Rewards will now be distributed]

 A prompt appeared before him!

" Huh" Suddenly, he felt warmth spreading throughout his body as if he were flying among clouds. The warmth passed through his qi veins into the dantian located in his abdomen.

The massive amount of energy almost made him feel addicted, wanting to quickly get more of it but he knew if he let it become an addiction, he would become a slave to it.

However, his moment of pleasure was interrupted by excruciating pain.

"Aughh" he groaned, tightly gripping his hands.

Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fists, and his nails pierced his skin, causing blood to drip.

After the pain subsided, he panted heavily. "What was that for?"

[ Hmph! I thought you liked making fun of others, so I thought maybe I should also try it... I had a blast]

The system laughed at his sweating face as he rolled his listening to the system.

As he received his rewards, he couldn't help but feel a mix of satisfaction and annoyance towards the cheeky system. 

' Don't do that again' he said before passing out from exhaustion. 

...

Next morning 

The muscles of Zu Chen twitched before he suddenly woke up.

Remembering what happened last night, he suddenly frowned, but he shook his head trying to forget how the system purposely tortured him. 

After opening his stats, his qi went from 4.9 to 14.9, he was almost halfway from breaking through the second stage to the third. He also had 230 system points remaining but decided to use them later in case of an emergency. 

Despite the discomfort, he couldn't help but chuckle at the unexpected turn of events. The system's mischievous behavior made his life more cheerful contrary to the darkness and isolation he was used to.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Zhu Chen composed himself and addressed the system with a firm tone, 'Let's stick to business from now on. No more surprises or pranks, understood?'

The system responded with a playful beep, indicating agreement. With a nod, he decided to head out to eat something, although low-level cultivators could survive without food for much longer than ordinary mortals, it wasn't recommended due to having severe consequences in the future.

This ability was only accessible to high-level cultivators, who could face the penalties with no issue.

However, for those with cultivation similar to his, their bodies could survive without nutrition for no longer than three days and it had been almost two days since the last time he ate.

After taking out a few gold coins, his predecessor hid in certain places, he decided to have a feast for himself tonight.

Although his body did have some muscles, he could still see his ribcage and not to mention he was on half health from all the beatings he received and immediately needed herbs and some medication to recover. 

In his memory, he gained from the previous owner, he had always wanted to try the food in a particular restaurant but decided to save the coins instead of splurging.

Usually, he ate the fish he cached from the river and used a few seasonings to add flavor but most of his free time was devoted to cultivation inside the hut, constantly trying to break through without the resources given by the sect as they were taken away by other disciples. 

' Maybe I should also start doing that,' he mused. 

This stash of gold coins took him roughly two years of saving and only managed to save 173 gold coins.

A hundred gold coins were equivalent to one qi stone in the mortal world but in the sect, gold coins were very favorable on things that didn't revolve around qi and were even encouraged by the sect by allowing their disciples to bring money so they wouldn't have to do odd jobs just to feed themselves. 

Although this may sound like a noble cause, the sect just wanted to make mortals splurge their wealth and help them just get richer.

After arriving at the restaurant called Phoenix Restaurant, he calmly entered but was inwardly amazed at the sheer size and the attention to the details of the art hung on the walls for decoration. 

Each piece is just as or better than Monalisa back on earth. 

Somehow, he gulped thinking he might have fewer coins than needed, he didn't know if it was the insecurity passed down to him or if it was his own.

" Excuse me Is there a free table available?" he asked the restaurant attendant seated in front of the counter. 

The beautiful female attendant frowned as she looked at him from head to toe.

She looked disgusted at his dirty, smelly clothes but knew better to say it out loud. She retained her smile and professionally answered. 

"Of course, sir. We have a few tables available. Please follow me," the restaurant attendant said politely, leading him to a clean and well-kept table near the window.

He took a seat and glanced around the restaurant, taking in the elegant decor and the tantalizing aromas wafting from the kitchen. 

As the attendant handed him the menu, his eyes widened as he looked at the array of dishes available however when he glanced at their price his heart sank.

The cheapest dish was for three qi stones let alone the highest one which cost even more. 

" Um- Is there anything cheaper" he asked, his voice tinged with a hint of embarrassment.

The attendant, still maintaining her polite smile, nodded understandingly." The dishes you are looking at are made from the meat of magical beasts which taste really good and provide health benefits. 

 However, if you turn the menu over, you can see options that are affordable but unfortunately are made from the meat of wild animals, which provide no such benefit.' 

Having a good look, he ordered "I'll have the spicy, fried duck with wild deer meat soup. For the drink, I'll have just water."

 After waiting a few minutes, he started devouring everything and in no time, all that remained in front of him were the unclean dishes and bones.

He quickly gave her gold coins and left the restaurant in satisfaction.

He may have spent fifty gold coins in a single day, but the money was well spent.

Next stop, medicinal herbs