[ Ding! The information absorption of the Lin Family Library is now processing... ] said the system.

Tian Long was overjoyed as he heard the system's words.

'Wahahahaha! With this function, my information gathering technique has almost reached the apex! All of you peak powerhouses in this world, be careful and be sure not to let me inside your libraries and other information repositories or else! Hehehe' he laughed maniacally in his mind as he started daydreaming.

No one would ever think that such a ridiculous ability actually surfaced within this world.

The people in the library didn't even see, feel. or hear anything different in their surroundings as the invisible and omnipresent aura passed through them and spread out to every nook and cranny inside the building.

This function from the system was simply monstrous, it's basically impossible to obtain such an ability anywhere in the Boundless Heaven World.

As the invisible energy spread out to every corner of the library, Tian Long remained composed and wore an indifferent expression on his face., although, he was laughing hysterically in his mind right now.

It was as if he wasn't the one that activated the magical ability and that it had nothing to do with him at all.

He perfectly sold the role of a random bystander! What perfect self-control! Even Tian Long was surprised at his self-discipline

'It must be because of the improvement of my soul due to the {Everlasting-Soul Manual}.' he thought.

One of the perks of having an improved and enhanced soul was being able to control oneself better. Be it the control of the physical body, expressions, and even one's state of mind, they all become easier once one's soul improves.

And the {Everlasting-Soul Manual} was a unique Divine Grade soul cultivation method that could be considered to be at the peak of this world!

Tian Long is really lucky to obtain all kinds of mysterious and powerful techniques and skills. (1.)

He stood there with a book about the different types of beasts in his hand and was skimming through it while waiting for the system to finish gathering everything.

The book's name was 'Record of Myriad Beasts' which was a fairly common book that was available almost everywhere within the Boundless Heaven World.

The book contained information about the types of demonic beasts that lived in this world.

For example, there was a powerful beast called Infernal Lion. It was a dangerous beast which lives in places called Infernal Plains which is a mysterious continent that was easy to enter but near impossible to exit.

Another example was a beast that Tian Long had heard of which was the Vermillion Bird. It was considered as one of the four symbols of the Chinese Constellation back on Earth. Its considered a Saint Beast and a Sacred Beast which represented the element of fire.

As Tian Long read through the book, he was fascinated at the sheer amount of the beasts that lived in this world. There were countless numbers of them that were recorded within the book, and this was just one of the most common books that were available for the public!

Tian Long couldn't even fathom the information within other books that were more advanced and classified that wasn't for the eyes of the public.

While continuing to read, Tian Long suddenly remembered the mystery pet egg that was being incubated within the World Tree. He wondered what kind of creature will come out of the egg.

He looked forward to it's hatching and prayed for it to be a formidable beast that would help him on his journey to the apex of this world.

If other people knew what Tian Long was thinking then they would probably vomit buckets of blood. 

That damned egg enjoyed all kinds of heavenly resources that was almost impossible to find in the world! It would be a god sent miracle if it didn't become an overlord in the future. A ruler of the myriad beasts!

"Hmm, I guess I should get more materials and resources to further nurture the egg, just to make sure that it will have a great potential in the future..." he muttered to himself.

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry." Tian Long shrugged.

...

5th Floor of the Library.

[ Ding! Information gathering process is currently 75% complete, please wait patiently for its completion! ] said the system to Tian Long after he asked the status.

It's been two hours since the system started to gather the knowledge and the information within the library.

Tian Long started reading as well while waiting for it to finish. From the first floor to the fifth floor, he had been skimming through random books that caught his eyes.

He read books such as: "The Mysterious Plants and Herbs Book", "How to improve your Physique akin to a Dragon!", "Tactics of Dating and Courtship", "10 Ways to Make Her Fall for You", and so on. (2.)

Tian Long was totally absorbed as he read through those books with a serious demeanor, planning all kinds of things in his head.

He found an isolated place with a big and golden table and chair when he looked around. He carried the books and sat down there and at once, started reading.

Suddenly, the atmosphere on the fifth floor immediately changed once Tian Long sat down on that place and started reading without a care in the world.

His action caused all the eyes present to focus on him. Every person on the floor was looked towards him with all kinds of expression on their faces.

Some had sympathetic expressions, some were gloating and mocking, some were shocked appalled, and some were curious and excited.

"He actually sat down at that place! How brave!" said someone.

"Oh no, he's screwed, everyone knows that no one should take Lin JiaHao's seat!"

"Hmm, I don't think he's from around here..."

"He's probably someone from a different city since everyone knows that Lin JiaHao is one of the Six Young Masters of the Coiling Dragon City and no one would dare provoke him here." (2.)

"Let's see what'll happen, I wonder how that guy would react when he finds out that someone actually dares to take his seat."

Whispers and conversations suddenly filled throughout the floor within a blink of an eye. Everyone looked at Tian Long with anticipation.

With his powerful soul, Tian Long captured their expressions and heard all of their discussions.

He simply smiled and shook his head, ignoring everyone. He didn't know that the seat he took was already taken by someone else.

But, he didn't care anyway, no one would get mad at such a little thing and look for trouble, right?

And even if he does make a big deal about it, Tian Long didn't give a single sh*t. He'll just smack that fellow senseless if he dared touch him.

After laughing for a few seconds, he then went back to reading those important books...

All kinds of plot and scheme filled his head as he started planning about something.

This novel has been rebooted, look up Apex System if you're interested in reading the new version!

I scrolled to biology class with me head up high confidently. I held my books with one of my hands while the other held a notebook full of biology notes. 

When I mean full, I wasn't lying. The notebook had almost 80 pages and from how many pages I know I have filled, it should be around 79/80 pages filled. The last page of not-notes-filled page was probably my page of messy panic of the exam coming up. 

While heading to the biology classroom, I kept on peeking back at my notebook that was flipped to a page of notes about cells or something like that. 

I was actually trying to test myself to recite my notes. Every single word and comma precisely like a perfect speech those presidents would say when announcing something. I was almost forgetting a word or even a phrase so I had to peek back at the notes occasionally... or maybe constantly. 

Today was the day my last biology test of the year would take place, also known as the most hardest exam of the year. After this big exam, I'll be able to have a long, long break before being promoted to grade ten. 

Of course, I wasn't excited for the getting promoted to grade ten, the higher the grade meaning more work. That also means more stress in life, that I don't want to experience! 

I was mostly excited for the long holiday. The holiday would be so long, so nice and so calming. I would take it as a stress relief pill, except it wasn't a pill. 

Imagine where I would go in the holiday, what will I do to spend the months? I was just thinking about getting the exam over with with hopefully flying colours then I could enjoy. 

I studied so much yesterday, actually even starting last week. I never really studied that much, it's surprising for me that I made it through even two days straight of studying. 

I peacefully made my way to the classroom while flipping to the next page about DNA. 

"BUMP!" 

I bumped into something and fell back on the floor. "Ouch," I cried while rubbing my knee. 

"Snow, what made you SO distracted that you bumped into my table?" A sarcastic voice asked full of laughable sarcasm. I recognised the voice, it was the usual Ms. May. 

I bit my lip while rushing to stand up. I made eye contact with Ms. May who was staring at me. I looked around confusedly and in a lost manner, to be honest I was very lost. 

I saw a few students staring at me from the door. I felt embarrassed. Then I immediately realised all my books were scattered all around the floor and that was why nobody was coming in. 

After picking up my books, everyone started to walk to their places. I stood in front of Ms. May like a statue for an entire whole second before rushing along with the crowd to my seat. 

"Wait," Ms. May stopped me. I turned around and looked at her. 

"What book were you holding in your right hand just now?" she asked me straightforwardly. 

I picked up my book from my desk I had put them on and showed her while explaining nervously, "These are my notes..." 

I was worried, why would she stop me to ask about my notes out of nowhere? Did she find a mistake in them or did she not like it? My mind thought of endless reasons that stressed me out. 

Then my face suddenly brighten up like a light bulb being recharged back into its usual bright brightness. 

"I didn't expect you to have notes, I'm so proud of you Snow!" Ms. May exclaimed brightly and proudly like a proud mother. I smiled at her and tried to show the 'better' side of me. 

"You've finally became matured!" She continued. My smile dropped. Everyone in the class laughed at the back of me. I felt so so so embarrassed!

How would you feel for your teacher to hint that you weren't matured for the 15 years of your entire life? Especially in front of your class, urgh. 

I couldn't even look at Ms. May again, instead I just went back to my seat and continued to read my notes. 

Honestly, I only studied this much because of one reason. 

***

"DING DONG, DING DONG" 

I rushed down the stairs to see who was at the door. Obviously the maid had already checked out the visitor but I wanted to peek. 

It was a true and usual habit of mine. Whenever someone rang the bell, even a delivery, would make me curious. Every time I heard that iconic ring, I would have to rush down the stairs to see. 

"Joon Woo is here," the maid told me while opening the front door for Joon Woo. Joon Woo walked inside and I waved at him while he did too. 

We headed to my room and talked for awhile. 

"You should've told me you were coming, I would've cleaned up my room," I said while opening my bedroom door. Through the door was my room, my messy room. 

"It's fine," Joon Woo brushed off while sitting on my bed and helping himself to a plushie to hug. 

I sat down beside him and waited for a conversation to come up. 

"So what test do you have coming up?" He asked while looking at my pile of books sitting on my table. I was thinking whether I should tell him or not, if I did, he would most probably make me study when I honestly don't feel like it. 

"No-none..." I uttered nervously. I looked away and tried to ignore the fact that there were piles of books on my table. After a long chain of silence, I decided to change the subject. 

"What do-" 

"You only take your books home when you have a test coming up," Joon Woo interrupted while walking to see the books. 

"I know you enough," he claimed while I just mumbled to myself. 

He flipped a notebook open and read out from my book, "Next Tuesday Biology Exam Nooooooooo?" He smiled and said, "Come on, we are going to the library!" 

I slid carefully to the corner of my room and was ready to tug. 

"Oh come on, you're no fun!" I said while trying to be as convincing as possible. 

"Fine, if you pass the test with an A, I'll give you something." Joon Woo told me while smiling strategically. 

"Fine!" 
***

Then that week on, I studied as much as possible with him. We would study until night at the library everyday. Then Joon Woo would walk me home since it was so dark in the alleys and street. 

Ms. May distributed the 21 paged exam paper to all the students while they sat quietly and obediently. Most students were preparing their stationaries or closing their eyes to pray for good results. 

On the other hand, I took out my notes and went over them. I actually liked my notes. When making the notes, Joon Woo suggested to make my notes colourful and bright, now I understand why. 

Ms. May looked at me while slowly putting my paper on my table, she then walked to the front of the class after giving everyone a set of papers. 

Ms. May looked at the clock and announced strictly, "Everyone put your notes and books on the table." Everyone followed the instructions and Ms. May walked around to take the books away. She locked them into her cupboard and checked the clock once again. 

"Okay everyone, you can start." She announced again. 

I picked up my pen and started to read through the first few questions. I felt lucky, all the first few questions were the things I studied the most for. 

I started to do the first question. Then the second, to the third and so on. I felt confident and impressed with myself, I didn't expect to answer questions so fast. 

Then after my streak, I stopped at question 10. "Huh, what does this even mean?" I wondered stressfully. My mind was lost and my hand straight away put down the pencil to think.

Snow had always knew that her parents weren’t her real parents. She knew that they just raised her after her mother had passed away on the hospital bed when she was only two. Nevertheless, she still pretended that she didn’t know about the adoption, even if she knew very well. Her adopted parents were doctors from top hospitals and were very serious and strict about not only their jobs but also their entire life. One day in Snow’s  childhood, she was chasing after a fluffy but big dog and bumped into a boy. That boy’s name was Joon Woo. Ever since that day, the two became the bestest of friends who were unseperable. One day, when Snow was just twelve and Joon Woo was sixteen, Joon Woo joined a boy group to be an idol. As he wanted to share the news with his best friend, he failed to. He had a gut feeling that if he did tell her, their friendship will drift away to different worlds. He knew very well that Snow was never comfortable around people who were ‘better’ than her in fear of constantly being compared. He never told her years and she never found out. Even though she noticed their similar features, she always told herself the two people were different. However, Joon Woo started to always act weird. For example, he would try to hide his face when they were out in public and his schedules were always cramped and busy. She always kept her head with the thoughts but whenever he ocasionally comes to her school to study with her, her uneasiness faded and she could only smile. A new transfer comes to the school and he is very handsome, soon he comes to like Snow. Joon Woo being protective, he makes sure that the new transfer student won’t touch her and a love triangle starts to take place.  Meanwhile, all was going well until the day Snow’s parents were involved in a medical incident which made them go to court. All Snow could do was to cry even though she actually knew the truth about the incident and how her parents were innocent but there stood her childhood friend. Joon Woo dragged her to the court to say what she knew before Min Jun could help her and he got the idea. On the other hand, she did but before the court was settled, people had already seen Joon Woo’s face. Facing the rumours and gossip wasn’t easy as Joon Woo told her not to believe them. She wasn’t sure what to believe. She finally concludes that her best friend was hiding things from her. What else did he hide from her? Through all the pressure and stress, Snow fails her exam and was scared to face her parents. She knew that she would be lectured and this time, she didn’t have the courage to face Joon Woo for help and motivation. Not knowing what to do, Snow runs away from home and stays at a small cottage for a year only to chase after a fluffy and big dog that looked like the one that brought her to meet Joon woo. Coincidentally, Snow bumps into the same friend she broke ties with a year ago. As she forgave him for the secret he hid from her , the two get mixed up in each other’s life again and gets even closer this time.

I want to run. To anywhere but here. Anywhere but this small town. I live in Sunside Valley. A small town. And it's summer. My 5 best friends Tre, William, Sandra, Ryan, and Vanessa are out of town. The only bestie in town is Dylan. He works during the summer at our bookstore our parents own. Me and him also work during the school year but I get summer off. So I'm alone in this empty small town. Everyone's gone. I have this ache in my stomach from missing someone from so long ago as I ride my bike to the bookstore where I spend most of my summer with Dylan because no one else is here.

I arrive at the Bookworm bookstore. I smile because I already get the warm feeling of that small bookstore that's filled with million books. I lock up my bike and notice Dylan is reading through the window not even noticing I'm outside. I knock on the glossy glass window. He looks up from the book in shock and looks straight at me. I see his bright warm smile and I smile back.

I open the door and the coolness of the AC hits me finally somewhere cold other than home. It's burning outside kinda wish I brought Penny along. I see Luka Dyl's dog run to me and I smile. He bend down and he licks my face.

"Hey Luka. Who's a good boy? You are!" I pet behind his ear. He's a beautiful Golden retriever who I've known since he was a puppy.

"Morning L." He greets me and it's vacant in the store. I smile at him. 

"Morning Dyl whatcha reading?" I ask bouncing up and leaning against the counter.

"My favorite of course." He says.

"Why I should have known. You always read the time of day." I smile. "Got anything good for me today?"

"Yeah actually." He reaches under the counter where we puts all books we recommend to each other and slides it onto the counter. I pick it's up and read the title. 

"Dusk till Dawn." I say out loud. I turn it around to the back to read the summary.

"It's about a warlock named Quin and a werewolf named Kaylee. Best friends and they were ripped apart because they are different. But they are in love and the the werewolf is determined to find him." He explains. Then I feel this weird feeling….Dylan really….I know he doesn't know about the boy. But this book is my life with a bit of a twist that they can't be together and get pulled apart by their parents. But the fact I'm looking for someone. I'm the werewolf and he's the witch.

"Can't the boy just use a spell to find her?" I ask. Thinking about how that boy should be looking for me but I don't know that. 

"No, her parents put a cloaking spell on her." He says. Sometimes I wish I was in books because it would be easy to forget or come up with reasons he may not be looking.

"You sure it's good?" I look down at the book and notice how thick it is.

"Yes and I know you read books fast but this one is 2,000 pages and I know if you really wanted to you can finish that easily. But it's better if you don't trust me." He smiles at me. Dylan is always right about books but should I trust him? This could make me break down.

"Look L, I love the book and I think you will to you can keep reading The Fire while you're reading it but come on give it a chance." He tries to convince me. I take the book of the counter and it's a bit heavy. I put in my brown leather sachal and take out The Fire. 

"Read both at the same time?" I question kind of.

"Come on I know you read like 10 books at once." He says. And of course he's right. I can't help but giggle a bit.

"You know me too well." I playfully punch his arm.

"Yeah sure come on." He gets from behind the counter to the door and flips the sign to closed. 

"Come on I got a hour brunch break." He smiles.

"There is no such thing." I smile. 

"Come on my parents won't mind they have real work to deal with." He says. 

"Fine." I say. I never understood why his parents let Dylan and I get our dream and bought the shop when they work. His dad is a doctor and his mom is a graveyard nurse every other night. His mom is always home in the morning sleeping. And really just because this is Dylan's shop it's also mine in a way. Dylan is practically family. Our parents grew up together. And when we were 12 we had this dream to open a bookstore. Our parents split the cost put it under their names and bam. Our dream came true.

"Come on Luka!" Dylan calls and hooks him onto a leash. His tail wags and I pet the top of his head. He opens the door and he locks it behind us. It's a sunny day and I see the rays glowing through the trees. Very little cars pass and I wish everyone didn't leave for the summer. 

"Wait L, you biked huh?" He asks. 

"Yeah but come on we can walk." I smile. 

"Hmm ok right across the park and get some crepes and have picnic?" He asks. 

"Of course. The Breakfast picnic everyday." I smile.

When a girl named Ella has a past that haunts her and made promise that she doesn't know she can keep. When she get's the power to see future, present, and past clips in her dreams, ahe starts to wonder maybe she can keep that promise. Her and her friends go on a wild adventure to try and forfill that promise. She stumbles upon a world she never imagined was real.

The closer we got to Matebelmam more flying humanoids can be seen. Avian was the language Jodroun wanted Mark to learn. Could these be birdmen? Land of myths, so will I get to meet a harpy or other similar beings? Arriving at dock you can see about a third of the buildings are taller then the rest. Landings can be seen around these buildings making one think of aeries. A rope is pulled out of nowhere tying down the boat to dock. Inventory space something Mark would like to obtain somehow.

Jodroun suddenly shouts a few words to his clan, then turns to Mark. "We'll be settling in, then you and I will head out to buy a few books for you." Of course the fee will be added to your debt."

Great more debt, at this rate I should find some way to just join the clan. Based on the 25 copper per day fee, books are expensive here. Though if I am correct about this civilization then only the rich can read and write. I need to assimilate the latest book, but having a 2nd one while doing so will double my training.

"Since I am going further into debt can we look at new clothing and maybe gloves to prevent additional books from fading?"

Arriving at an inn just then, Jodroun turns "That actually sounds like a great idea!" Stepping inside to arrange rooms. Each room has a cost of 10 coppers for doubles while Jordoun's room costs 22 coppers. Must be equivalent to a suite in value. Looking around Mark realizes that 4 dwarfs stayed back at the boat. With 5 doubles apparently Mark gets to share a room with someone he can't communicate with sheesh. With no personal belongings doesn't take long to settle in and wait for Jodroun in the lobby.

"Ready to get materials to train with?" "I think we will get 4 books of 3 different languages. May place you in a position to help pay off your debt to me quicker."

"Yea debt, I would really like some way to communicate with other people then just you." "If I can read then I can write but what is the average literacy in this region?"

"Nobles and rich merchants usually can read and write their native tongue. Unless some special reason arises most others aren't very literate."

Frowning contemplatively Mark accompanies the dwarf to various shops. Most of the books cost 5 silver a few were more. Altogether he is now 1 gold further in debt. Though he has learned that 100 copper equals 1 silver and 100 silver equals 1 gold. Any additional currencies most likely follow that same process. Along with the books 2 sets of clothes and 3 pairs of gloves were also purchased increasing debt by 35 silver.

Back at the inn Mark takes his new belongings to his room. Taking his new gloves off and holding a random book. Upon entering his meditative state once again surrounded by a darkened region. As expected dwarfish was raised to 4 and once the headache fades avian is learned to 1. Checking time looks to be no decrease this time. Grabbing 2 more random books the night goes by. By morning Mark has realized that through meditation actual sleep is unnecessary.

????? soul level 1

Sojourn level 1
Clock - 1

Library level 1
Download Book - 1
Text translation – 1
Dwarfish – 4
Avian – 3
Harpy – 1
Cherubim - 1

Mapping level 1
Current location - 1

Chat level 1

Energy scanner level 1

"-Daily assimilation complete-"

The results as expected are double what a normal soul practitioner could accomplish. No improvement in meditation timing. If he could improve this to the 2 hours that Jodroun stated, even a slight increase in training speed would be worth while. That law of 5 needs further explaining as Text Translation didn't raise in level? Though maybe it is a multiple of 5 if so then my next meditation will result in an increase of level. Just as this thought occurs numbers begin to appear in similar position as the map and clock from before.

2*5=10

"AUG!! a calculator why is that a skill NO! NO! NO!" Mark shouts waking up not only the dwarf sharing his room but also those in adjoining rooms too. As they all come in to ready for battle and find nothing but a screaming human. Once things settle a dwarf pulls on Marks shirt pointing down stairs. Following the rest while calming down from his disappointment. Everyone gathers in the dinging area for breakfast. Along the way a bath section was pointed out.

As everyone finishes their meal up Jodroun asks. "So how close are you to being able to translate my avian books?"

"If I am correct then I just one more session will do it. Though I noticed with the dwarfish that a few words still cause me trouble."

"That is fine, you will still be able to tell me enough to properly price them for sale. Also reduce the chance of these birds from cheating me." "Come to my room once you are ready, I have something I want to try."

Slowly returning to his room the disappointment not fully gone. Calculator! How is a calculator skill going to help me survive this world. How am I going to learn to communicate with others? I need to somehow learn fighting skills, how do I accomplish that? Well studying will be easy as I can learn to read and write multiple languages in days rather then years. Eventually his mind settles and he can meditate once more. This time there is no headache when the book fades from his hands. While the fading and changing of words is skipped. It would appear that things are settling around the increased training process.

????? soul level 1

Sojourn level 1
Clock – 1
Calculator - 1

Library level 1
Download Book - 1
Text translation – 2
Dwarfish – 4
Avian – 4
Harpy – 1
Cherubim - 1

Mapping level 1
Current location - 1

Chat level 1

Energy scanner level 1

"-Daily assimilation complete-"

Coming out of meditation still no reduction in time. Yes the translation level went up, so it is multiple of 5. That damn calculator took up a training space. Hmm 9 books have been absorbed does that mean next time Download level will go up? What will the result of that be I wonder? Well lets go see what Jodroun has for me other then translating those books.

Knocking on the door Mark enters once Jodroun speaks aloud. "Enter find a place to sit at the table." The voice coming from the other room . Sounds like he is moving things around. After a couple of minutes Jodroun appears with several soul stones in hand. Oh no what has he in mind, those things already caused me enough trouble that I haven't completely worked out.

Stepping closer to Mark "I want you to hold one of these and concentrate on the hunter's book flowing into it." Jodroun explains quickly. Reaching out trustingly Mark barely touches the soul stone when something strange happens. Words appear directly ahead where the original ones from day 1 appeared. What the?

"-Chat connection available-"

"-Add Jodroun Hillbrew as chat member?-"

"-Assimilate answer Yes / No-"

Though Mark is dumb founded this situation can only happen so many times before the speed of resolution improves. Thus after only 5 seconds max Mark concentrates on a yes answer. Jodroun has been helpful even if it can all be boiled down to business. Curious on how a chat function operates without the internet. While also pondering how many 'friends' he can add. Will this sub skill be equivalent to a magical social network? Excitement wells up in Mark as this is a soul skill that has close ties to life on earth. Of course not both parties appear to be happy.

"NO!!! I will not swear to any liege soul holder!!!" "How can you have a liege soul and scholar soul!"

"Calm down Jodroun, I don't know what a liege soul is but this function is merely the ability to communicate with each other from a distance." As Mark attempts to explain the chat function, he steps outside the door. However no matter how much he thinks about the way to use a chat room nothing happens. All the excitement from a skill representing home fades to dust. Entering the room once more "Well looks like there is yet another sub skill needed to communicate." Calming down from Mark's antics Jodroun realizes there was no vow request on his end.

After that Mark translates 3 books for the dwarf. The atmosphere between the two a little more tense then it has been. Remembering the process Jodroun did before to assimilate English Mark takes the soul stone with him. Another random book and Download skill should level up time to meditate.

????? soul level 1
Sojourn level 1
Clock – 1
Calculator - 1

Library level 1
Download Book - 2
Text translation – 2
Dwarfish – 4
Avian – 4
Harpy – 1
Cherubim - 2

Mapping level 1
Current location - 1

Chat level 1
Jodroun Hillbrew - 1

Energy scanner level 1
"-Daily assimilation complete-"

So the connection is there, but no chat function. O.K. Social networks back home required a friends request be made that must be the connection. So obviously there is another sub skill to be able to communicate. Looks like the download book skill went up a level, not sure what can be done with that right now. Lets take some time to really think about these prime skills and how to improve them.

Mark operates a online stream debunking many of the myths throughout the world. latest target the supposed vortices in Sedona Arizona. Yes great place to practice yoga but no portals to other dimensions here. RIGHT???

Little did he know that picking up a random rock would transport him to a land of myths dwarves, elves, goblins. All the things he does not believe in will become reality.

In order to prosper he must learn how to level up his soul practitioner skills.

They went over to the reading rooms, and sat down. 'Finally', Dante thought. 'I finally get to become a summoner! I just need to learn all about it in this book…'

With three giant books in front of him, Micheal was indecisive. 'Where do I start?' Eventually, he just picked the book on pathways and started skimming through.

With a flip to the table of contents, his gaze was drawn to "List of Pathways and Steps. (Known in the Kingdom of Lunalla)" 'Known in the Kingdom of Lunalla? So this implies that there's more pathways than even this kingdom knows!'

Flipping to the page, a table soon greeted Micheal. Neat and orderly, a simple table with many sections that start at Step 1, and into higher steps. Although this was a simple table, its contents filled Micheal with reverence. 'Every Step…. Clearly organized and defined.' Looking through the steps, Micheals expression kept changing between fear, awe, and worship. "Step 3 Polymath" Looking at another section, "Step 5 - Four Leaf Sorcerer." 'Just these lower level steps have such dominating names… how do you become them!'

Flipping to the page where they are elaborated on, there was a sentence at the top. "Due to dangers associated with high level steps, the methods to rise above Step 2 are not public information." 'This… the dangers!? What kind of dangers could there be?' The sentence had a page number attached to it which lead to the middle of the general information section. It read, "Death, explosions, going insane, turning into a monster, natural disasters, and more. These are various examples of what can happen to those who experience complications in advancing through the steps. The higher the step, the more chances of problems occuring, and can lead to tragedies. The most famous example is the Demon Lord. Experiencing problems when he tried to ascend, the monstrous tyrant who killed millions appeared."

'These dangers… if going up the steps can cause this… is it worth it? I thought I would postpone my new goal in life until I know more, but I was leaning towards becoming powerful through the steps. Who wouldn't want to have these amazing powers! But now…. I don't know what to do. Lets just keep reading more steps, those were interesting.'

"Step 7 Voidwalker" "Step 8 Walking Disaster." As Micheal kept looking downwards, his attention was soon brought to the grand, shining silver letters near the bottom.

"GOD"

"G-g-god!?" Micheal couldn't help but exclaim out loud! 'You can become a god through this?! T-t-this… this is' 

"Dude, what the fuck" Dante said due to his reading being rudely interrupted due to the human next to him being unable to control himself. Micheal looked at Dante and simply uttered, "Sorry". He was in the wrong after all. 'Alright, I don't think I can handle the mental shock I would have from reading the names of the God steps right now… but I'm still curious! One step below god, Step 10. Let's read!'

"Step 10 Universal Exploiter. Step 10 Author. Step 10 Miracle Invoker"

'These names…' Micheal stared at those names before deciding not to even try to understand them, and just read the rest of them. 'Alright. My curiosity has been sated, but what I need to memorize is general information and my own pathway! Lets see here... '

"Step 1 Fortune Teller"
"Step 2 Trickster"   
"Step 3 Deceiving Wizard" 
"Step 4 Anonymous"   
"Step 5 Bizzare Mage" 
"Step 6 Soothsayer"  
"Step 7 Voidwalker"  
"Step 8 Histories Administrator"  
"Step 9 Otherworldly Pinochet"
"Step 10 Miracle Invoker"

"God" Micheal was hesitant to look, but eventually steeled his resolve.

"God - Unthinkable Undefined Symbol"

'That name…so… strange!'

.........

Time passed as the two were engrossed in reading. Church bells rang once in a while, and after a few rings of the bell, a young boy in scholarly clothes walked in. "Excuse me, everyone, the library closes in a few minutes. Be sure to put borrowed books back in their respective places or give them to the librarian, or if you paid to take them with you, then please take good care of our books." With that, the boy walked back out.

Micheal slowly was brought out of reading and looked up for the first time in hours, and no longer saw Dante anywhere. 'Seems my journey with that orc has finally come to an end. We coincidentally met, and turned out we were both hero descendants! Hero descendent, heh, he certainly didn't act like one.'

'Take the books out for a fee… I barely have any money! I can just come back tomorrow to go more in depth in this knowledge.'

Walking out from the library, Micheal debated where to go next. 'According to books, most people live in a rented out place, rather than owning their own house. Should I check the rent prices? I also need a job…'

As he walked, he remembered he was holding a paper in his hands. 'The king's notice of gathering the strong and the heroes descendants! I actually forgot to read this since I was so focused on the books!'

'Let's see…'

"Official notice from the king and the great churches. Through the history of our land, many great occurrences have been witnessed." 'Wait a minute… this is useless information!' Flipping through the paper, near the back he found the important information.

"This mission regards the safety of our land, stemming from occurrences related to the ancient Demon Lord. For specific information, please show up at the palace to gather, effective from June 1st to July 1st" We call those who are strong, have a unique skill, or descend from the respected heroes to rise up and protect our land in this mission. Ample rewards will be given
just from participating, and more depending on the situation. During this period of time where we wait for participants to gather, housing will be provided if necessary."

'Ample rewards? Housing! I must check this out!'

While walking to the gathering spot, Micheal internally went through all his recently acquired information.

'Alright, so the main points to remember are:

You can only be on one pathway, and attempting to go to another pathway's steps will result in catastrophic results. Ascending through the pathways can also have disastrous results if they go wrong, so public knowledge of how to ascend stops at step 2.

The Great churches are all massive powers spreading across nations, each worshipping a god.

Our nation of Lunalla is the biggest center of pathway knowledge, located at the southern tip of the northern continent.

As Micheal finished organizing his thoughts, he had arrived at the palace entrance.

Meeting on the Road to the Capital to Lunalla, what awaits Micheal and Dante in this world full of pathways and monsters, bringing with them all sorts of mystical occurrences and figures. The Ancient Demon Lords return, the legend of the three heroes, descendants of legendary figures, and new, rising legendary figures. How will all this play out to those who just had a simple dream?

After dinner, Landon decided to continue writing books on all the knowledge he acquired from: his past life as an engineer and from the system rewards.
Ever since he finished the farming mission a while ago, he had been writing daily on : Farming, Basic Chemistry and Mathematics.
He had been using the system's time capsule, for 3 hours a day in the real world (** 15 days in the time capsule) alongside a concentration speed pill.
1 concentration speed pill allowed him to concentrate and write super fast for 1 hour in the real world.
After taking the pill, he realized that in 2 hours (10 capsule days), he had written 5 books. Landon was pleased with the pill.
So far, he had written 32 copies of basic chemistry, 25 copies of introduction to farming, 39 copies of Basic Mathematics and 3,000 timetable parchment papers for each student.
Today, after his morning teaching session, he decided to continue making more copies. His goal was to have: 60 copies of basic Chemistry, 50 copies of introduction to farming and 60 copies of basic Mathematics by Friday.
Once all the copies were done, he would allocate them to schools and all industrial departments in Baymard.
He also decided to continue writing and re-adjusting the laws in Baymard, as well as the military rules for soldiers.
Baymard was sort of a ruleless city. Since the empire stopped caring about the place, the nobles who lived here before, just did what they wanted and also took what they wanted.
'They were just bullies'. Landon thought.
And just like that, Landon's week flew by fast.
He spent his days: writing, teaching, assisting in farming, building mud houses, fishing, training and building gigantic furnaces for different departments in the construction industry.
Occasionally, he would also visit the mines and the alchemy laboratory, to see how they were doing.
By the time it was Friday, he had accomplished all his goals.
Out of the total copies he had, he kept 30 Basic Chemistry books, 30 Basic Mathematics books, 30 Introduction to farming books and 2000 copies of the timetable in the school storage room.
In Baymard, every student would get 2 parchment paper timetables for free.....But if the student loses them, he/she would have to buy one from the school or ships in the central region. 2 of them would cost 1 copper coin.
As for the rest of the books, he decided to distribute them to all supervisors and overseers within all the industries in Baymard.
On Friday, Tim came back with a large wagon filled with pickaxes. They were unloaded and neatly arranged in a tool storage facility for the workers.
Thinking about it now, Landon thought it would be a good idea to build a locker room where everyone could keep their tools in it. Of course building it, would be the duty of deoartment 4, when they start working.
Landon gave 10 copies of basic Chemistry,10 copies of basic Mathematics and 300 Timetable sheets to the construction industry.
Since all the supervisors already know how to read and write, as well as do math, he decided to give them the copies. Be it the alchemists or even Tim's group of people. All of then knew how do read
Hence, each supervisor was to keep 1 copy and read and fully understand them.
In the future, although these courses will still be taught in school, if the employee doesn't understand something at work, it is the duty of the supervisor to explain it to him/her.
Back on earth, supervisors and overseers knew the how's, the what's and the why's.....Why they kept the temperature low in some procedures, why the pressure was high, the dangers of doing certain things, and so on.
Engineering itself is a very risky field. Some compounds and chemicals, can only be kept or worked on, at certain pressures and temperatures.
Higher pressure's, could cause explosions in the tank, killing everyone instantly. Afterall 95% of chemicals are flammable at specific entropys, pressure's and so on.
Hence, in Landon's mind, the supervisors and overseers must be knowledgeable enough to explain and assist the workers. They must act and guide all those under them.
He also gave 10 copies of basic Chemistry, 10 copies of basic Mathematics and 300 copies of the Timestable to the Qlchemy Industry.
As well as, 4 copies of basic Chemistry, 8 copies of introduction to farming, 4 copies of basic Mathematics and 300 copies of the timetable to the Food Industry.
His reason for giving the food industry Chemistry and Mathematics books, was simple.
Very soon, Baymard would start processing canned tomatoes, tuna and many more. As well process their own spices and food preservatives.
To make all this happen, chemistry plays a major part in it, talk less of Mathematics.
Once the night came, Landon jumped onto his bed and closed his eyes immediately.
---------------zzzzzzzzzzz' --- finally, the little king was fast asleep.
Again, the days flew by fast, and just like that, Monday was here.
'Let's make some glass' Landon thought.
Gunpowder was a delicate thing.
To make it, one needed saltpeter, charcoal and PURE sulphur. The purer the sulphur, the stronger the explosive effect of the gunpowder.
So far, there was saltpeter and charcoal available, but pure sulphur was a different matter on it's own.
Pyrite rocks (called the fool's gold) is formed when Iron ore and sulphur, fuse together naturally with time. Since Iron is silvery and sulphur is yellowish, the rock is a blend between the two colors and can easily be spotted in the mines. Hence the name fool's gold.
Most Pyrite rocks have 53% sulphur, in them.
If Landon just threw these pyride rocks in with the charcoal and saltpeter, the gunpowder it would produce would be trash.
He needed at least 97% of pure sulphur, for it to be extremely powerful. Hence extraction was the only way.
Landon could have used the clay pot method to extract the sulphur but that method was unsafe and not practical for industrial use.
Generally, when Sulphur is being extracted, a very poisonous and toxic gas called H2S is released.
When using the clay pot method, there is no real safe way to dispose of the H2S, making the workers breath the poisonous gas.
Large amounts of H2S can instantly damage your health, but small batches will not cause a lot of harm.That's why people only use this clay pot methods in small batches (5 to 6 stones) a time.
Landon didnt want to risk the health of his workers health, so the clay pot method was off the table.
How could he let them breath in poisonous gases? The workers would be producing gunpowder for god know how long. At leafy it should be safe.
Hence, he decided to build his own apparatus using Iron and glass. He wanted to create a safe way to dispel the H2S gas, as well as carry out an industrial scale batches (150-300 stones).
If he was going to build something, why not make it industrial scale? What's the point of throwing 5 or 6 rocks there, when you could throw 100's?
It didn't make anything sense for Landon, who had hired more than 100 workers to just through a few stones a day. He wanted a mass production of sulphur, not a tiny sample.
'Go big or go home', he thought.
He also decided to build it in a way that was easy to manually control for now.....But when electricity would come...hehehe.....he would attach temperature sensors, pressure sensors and other devices to a control room.
'Ahhhh...the future is so bright..... I cant wait to build a food processing plant.... oh wait!!....I miss toothpaste maybe a...no no no...I'll do an industrial paint making plant first.' Landon thought while drowning in his futuristic fantasies.
.
.
Little did he know, that dangerous forces where gathering in the shadows.Waiting to make their move.


Chu Yi dies in a car crash and becomes Landon Barn, the illegitimate son of king Barn, ruler of Arcadina. Because his mother was a maid and the king’s greatest disgrace, his father had always despised him. The same could be said for his half-siblings. 

When he turned 15, his father had announced that the city of Baymard would be given to him, and would no longer be under the empire's control. It was a well known fact that Baymard’s lands were barren, and poverty stricken.... For god’s sake, this was banishment.

His deadbeat father had indirectly banished him from the empire.

Chu Yi woke up in a carriage, on his way to Baymard with a system

"So what if my father hates me? So what if I’m banished?.... I will turn my territory into a modern society"

  
.
.
Author here, thank you all for tuning in..... english is my second language... so I promise to try my best.

P.S, please dont compare my Novel to others... not all world development novels have to have the same format.

"Ding...Loading Completed"

"Welcome to Immortal System!"

As the saying goes, happiness appears when one least expect it. 

Tian Feng had long forgotten the idea of getting a system. But suddenly, he received one today and he didn't know how to feel about this.

There was an interface appearing in front of him with many menus but most of them have a lock icon on its name and greyed out.

Menu
Character
Inventory
Shop
Skills (Locked)
Mission (Locked)
Friends (Locked)
Party (Locked)
Maps (Locked)
...

He can see his status and the current clothes that he's wearing showing in the system as well. This is similar to the interface of a game that he used to play long ago.

Status
Name: Tian Feng
Age: 2

Cultivation: None
Strength: 0.01
Agility: 0.01

Race: Human

There's also an inventory icon. He raised his hand to touch it but his hand went through the interface screen. He tried saying "Inventory" but nothing happened either. Finally, he tried to open it using his thought and it worked.

Tian Feng was just like an excited kid unboxing his first toy car. Well, he was a kid after all.

There's nothing except one skill book [Steel Body] and a beginner gift box. Focusing his mind on the skill book, there's a dialogue appeared.

Item Details
Name: Steel Body Manual
Tier: Bronze

Effects: Practitioner's skin will be more hardened with each increase in level. Practice to the maximum will grant the practitioner a body as hard as steel.

Side-Effects: 100 points to view.

Below there are two buttons, "Learn" and "Discard"

Intuitively when he wanted to know his point, he looked at the top screen. He then saw his point as expected which is zero. He didn't worry since there's a point system, there are bounded to be ways to earn points.

The physical skill book in his hand had long disappeared. An idea comes to his mind, he tried touching another book to test if it'd only work on skill books. Tian Feng glanced around and decided to pick a history book which he has finished reading.

In any case, he has already read that book. Even if it's disappeared, there won't be a problem.

The book stayed in his hand for a short moment before disappeared. [It seems I can control whether or not I want to put it in the inventory.]

With a thought, the book disappeared from his hand and reappeared in his inventory. Focusing on it, a new dialogue showed up.

Item Details
Name: A Brief History of Sun Clan
Description: Sun Liang wrote this book in the year 918 describing the affairs of the Sun Clan from his personal experiences. 10 point to read more.

Below there's only one button "Discard"

[There is a difference between a skill book and a normal book after all.]

He closed the dialogue and return back to the main screen. Tian Feng continued browsing around for a while. He was a programmer, someone from a world of technology. Facing this new interface, it was like a fish got into the water.

Tian Feng immersed himself with the system interface. Fifteen minutes later, he finally let out a sigh.

"This system is way too expensive...It should be named 'Rich Kids' system instead."

His new system has many functions which make him exhilarated even if most of them are still locked right now. 

There's even a function that'll give him various psychic abilities. The Maps is still unusable. The mission is locked so he couldn't check it. The shop, friend and party, he knows about it even without checking. Most of them are similar to a typical MMORPG.

Tian Feng didn't have an excited expression on his face anymore. He looked rather solemn. Like someone who's deeply thinking about something.

The reason that made him looked like this now is because of the PRICE. Each of those functions either required points to open or use. He didn't even have a single point right now. It's like having a roasted chicken in front of him, but he's only allowed to stare.

To open a skill fusion menu, he needs around 30000 points. To unlock the one seemingly cheapest psychic ability required around 80000 points. The price of the items in the shop is astronomical.

Recalling the gift box inside the inventory, he decided to open it. Some items popped into the inventory slots and there are 10 points to his previously 0 points.

Although he had 10 points now but compared to those prices, this is still nothing. It's like comparing a firefly to a bright moon in the sky.

What can he do with these 10 points?

[I need to earn more points... just that I don't know how to earn those point at all. What should I do?]

Tian Feng had search almost every crook and cranny inside the system to find a way to earn points. However, he didn't find anything useful. He speculated that if he completed missions and the such, it should reward point. But he didn't have enough points to unlock the mission so he could only shake away this thought.

Tian Feng turned from the points to look at the items in the inventory. There's something else from the gift box. It's a book. [The system manual book?]

Focusing on it, it's really a manual book of the system. The book seemed to be different from the normal book as there's another button beside the 'Discard' button. 

'Absorb' 'Discard'

He quickly tried to absorb it, but there's also a price for the absorption. It's exactly 10 points. 

He wanted to take the book out to read but it cannot be taken out. Thus he decided to absorb it. It's only natural that the system's property shouldn't be taken out lightly. Tian Feng understands this because of the knowledge of many novels he read on Earth.

"Such a stingy system! Give me 10 points just to spend with you."

Information started rushing into his mind at a fast speed. Tian Feng felt paralyzed for like a second. He wasn't sure whether it was caused by the system. 

He didn't think more into this matter since he doesn't have any points to try it again anyway. As a lazy person, he wouldn't do something repeatedly or something useless.

It didn't take long before the knowledge got assimilated and he can access it as he had read about it. They are only knowledge about how to use the system. Most of which, he had already known while exploring the system earlier. 

The book has disappeared from the inventory as expected. He closed the interface and walk toward his new cultivation books. 

---

Somewhere in the dark, a female's laughter could be heard. She was giggling as if a cute girl watching something funny. "It took me a lot of effort to build this thing that you want. So, you will have to work harder."

---

Tian Feng picked up one of the cultivation books that his mom bought for him and started to read. Barely after skimming through for a while, his expression turned to look like a depressed baby. 

Those cultivation books don't teach any techniques at all. 

With a gloomy face, he kept those book into his inventory and then went to sleep. The books weren't worth securing but he just wants something to fill those empty slots in the inventory.

In the next day, he awoke even before his mom come to wake him up. He looked deep in thought while lying on his bed. Nobody knows what he's thinking about. 

Tian Feng had been browsing through the system shop since he woke up this morning. If there's really no technique in any of the cultivation books, this system 'learn' function might be his only hope.

Tian Feng grinned as he stared at an item in the system shop. [I found it!]

He found the cultivation book that he could practice in the system shop. It is 10000 points so he still needs to find a way to earn more points.

---

In front of the city gate...

A group of people was seen discussing something. They exuded a righteous aura surrounding them. 

All of them were wearing the same style of robe in different colours. With just a look, one could tell that they are anything but ordinary people. After entering the city, they had been walking in the direction of Tian Lang's restaurant.

"Big Brother! There's a restaurant over there." said one of them.

"Let's go there!"

When the group of five entered the restaurant, a waiter welcomed them respectfully. While the waiter might not know of their identities, just by merely looking at the robe coupled with the aura coming from them is enough of a reason to respect them.

The waiter swiftly led them to a table and waited on them.

Tian Feng was reading his book as usual when he suddenly heard a system notification.

"Ding...Detected presences of celestial beasts."

Being caught off guard while he was focusing on reading, he startled [Celestial Beasts...? What's that?] 

Without waiting for the reply, he scanned his surrounding. [Where's it? Why didn't I see any beast? Not even a cat.]

However, it's hard to ignore the system notification. If the system had to warn him about it, those beasts must have had a bad intention.

According to the system manual, the system would protect him from harm until he had gained a certain level of strength to protect himself.

Recalling the system, he remembers that gaining new knowledge is also gaining points. Besides, there are still many activities that he can complete to earn points.

According to the system manual, the methods to earn points will be updated according to his age and power.

Activities
Walk 1000 steps. (127/1000) 100 points
Run 50 meters. (0/50) 50 points
Jump 3 times. (0/3) 15 points
Read 1 book. (0/1) 100 points
.
.
.

It was said that the task will upgrade when it's completed and the reward will update accordingly.

What Tian Feng didn't know was that as soon as the notification rang, an inviolable aura was exuded from his body.

The eyebrow of the man who led the group here shot up in alarm. He turned to the one next to him slowly and said in a low voice, "It seems we'll have to find another location."

The others also noticed the aura and nodded fully understanding the complications of the matter. They act normally and finished their meal before leaving silently.

Tian Lang also sensed the aura but he thought it to be from someone in the restaurant so he didn't pay much heed. He only called in the waiter and told them to be careful.

As Tian Feng didn't have any cultivation yet, he wasn't able to sense the aura as everyone else. Oblivious to everything, he simply gave up on finding the celestial beasts and continued reading.

He gauged that the system should have differed them from any actions.

3 year later...

Tian Feng finally got enough point to buy a cultivation skill.

While the activities to earn the point may seem simple, it was easier said than done. His body is too weak and he can't even complete 1000 steps on that day three years ago. 

The accumulation over the years is not a small amount. Besides, as he grew older and stronger, the points he could earn in a single day is more than before.

One day, he had enough points to learn the 'Steel Body' but, 

"Host is required to have a cultivation of at least level 1 to learn this skill."

As he garnered more and more points, he didn't want to buy that 10000 points book anymore. He wanted the best cultivation book for himself so he set his goal for a Heaven Tier cultivation book which costs 90000 points.

He had read many books over the three years and thus he had learnt a lot of things about cultivation in this world as well as cultivators.

While the previous book was cheap and not bad, it wasn't good enough. Practising that would only waste his time. 

He had already wasted 3 years doing nothing but waiting for a cultivation technique so he didn't want to waste any more time.

Status
Name: Tian Feng
Age: 5

Cultivation: None
Strength: 0.3
Agility: 0.4

Race: Human

His strength and agility increased quite a bit. From the manual, he knows that 1 point of the attribute is equal to an average healthy adult. 

Consider that a 5 years old kid possessing around one-third of an adult's strength, it's pretty astounding.

Because he executed all the activities suggested by the system, Tian Feng had become stronger than most kids around his age even when he didn't have any cultivation.

In the restaurant, two kids were seen playing the Run And Catch with each other happily. They were Tian Feng and Da Jing. For the past 3 years, this restaurant is almost the only place that Tian Feng hang out.

He never saw his grandparents. He never saw any relatives. Every new year, his family would spend time together, just the three of them.

Tian Feng knew that his parents from the previous world were orphanages but at least they still have relatives. He didn't feel upset or lonely because of this. 

Tian Feng is not the kind of person who would accept friend readily. He could take a long time before he accept anyone into his life. But in order to earn the system points, he forced himself to play with a kid.

As time passed, he had come to really enjoyed it. Sometimes he even forgets that he's an adult. His family could be said to be one of the happiest families in the world. 

Just that something is different from Earth. If everything related to him is still the same, his sister should have been born when he was three years old. 

However, she's nowhere to be seen. Thinking about it, he really missed her. Although he almost always argues with her he still loves her.

"Xiao Jing! I'm going home." Tian Feng shouted.

"Er..." Da Jing shouted back.

Da Jing is the son of a new waiter, Da Fang. He's one year younger than Tian Feng. His father, Tian Lang thought that his son is always alone and won't go play with those children on the street so he allowed Da Fang to bring Da Jing to work.

Of course, he knew that he's actually a young man but seeing his small body, who would care so much about that story.

"Ding...Talking with a friend for 100 sentences completed. Obtained 100 points."

On the motorbike, Tian Feng sat in the front seat. He still likes that seat regardless of his age. His head had already become tall enough to block his dad's vision. While they're riding back home, Tian Feng was excited about his first cultivation book. 

Opening his system interface, he saw his total points of 90254. He felt quite happy with this. Turn to the shop menu, he opened it.[Finally, I'll be able to cultivate.]

The book that he wants to buy is "Celestial Immortal Art: Qi Condensation".

"Host obtained 'Celestial Immortal Art: Qi Condensation'"

"Obtained 9000 points and 10% discount badge (1) for making the first purchase."

He was excited for getting 9000 points but he paid it no heed. Tian Feng hurriedly switched to the inventory to see his new book.

Item Details
Name: Celestial Immortal Art
Tier: High Heaven

Effects: Practitioner's Qi absorption speed will be increased with each increased in level. Practitioner's Qi will become purer and thicker.

Practice to the max level will enable Qi to circulate around all 108 acupuncture. The practitioner will be able to absorb Celestial Qi.

Side-Effects: 1000 points to read more.

"Learn" or "Discard"

Tian Feng immediately chose 'Learn' without any hesitation. He did have a thought of taking it out to read but he afraid that it might not work and end up losing the book. Besides he was too excited to start cultivating.

Instantly, three options appear, "Memorize 100 points", "Learn 1000 points" and "Quick Learn 10000 points"

"Hais... fortunately system gifted back 9000 points otherwise I would have to wait a few days before I can start." 

Tian Feng was speechless. This system is just expensive. Everything requires points. He remembered those systems from the novels that don't require MC to pay anything. 

Does this system eat points or something?

Waking up in a new world, Tian Feng finds himself become a 1-year-old child once again. Along with this weird phenomenon, a seemingly omnipotent system awaken within him. 

To become the most potent being, to live without regret; Possessing this OP system, he thought it would be smooth sailing. Little did he know that it couldn’t be further from the truth.

This is a melancholy story of a man and his companions, adventuring from one world to another; Discovering the meaning of life and regret.

Eleanor organized her thoughts in a moment and began:


"The three of you are being trained to fight a war in our Lord's name. Every time that the concentration of dark mana in the air hits a certain point, an army of the dead march north from the Whispering Forest, killing every living being and tainting the land with their mana."


{I never heard about an army of the dead coming from the south. And I don't remember Erika's stories ever mentioning it.}


[We can ask her about that, but it could be that the last event is so old that there are not many stories about it, or that the stories were too dark for a toddler]


"Few people in the Azure Kingdom know that there were no Lords and Fiefdoms for more than a century after our founding. Something happened in the southern part of our continent that raised the first wave of undead. The Azure Kingdom almost ceased to exist altogether, achieving a pyrrhic victory in the end when a party of heroes found the undead base and exterminated their leader."


"On the dawn of the last battle, the survivors understood that it was impossible to fight the undead with only one big army. The reliance on a single authority back at Azurehall doomed thousands of lives in the west, as all the villages and towns had sent their soldiers to the capital. The Marsastor family at the time only managed to survive because they moved all their population further to the west after allying with the dwarves from the Yelling Mountain Range. The combined forces of the Marsastors and the dwarves held the undead until their demise."


"The survivors at the time devised a new political system. They theorized that the division of the land in fiefs and the decentralization of power would allow the Azure Kingdom to hold the undead without as many sacrifices as when they first attacked. A century passed, and another wave of undead came from the south. This time the Azure Kingdom lost less than a third of its forces and a negligible number of castles and forts."


"Back in Azurehall, the group of scholars that set on studying the event after the first wave announced that the second wave came when the dark mana concentration in the air hit the same level as the first. The third wave came and proved that the scholars were right. The kingdom, this time, was ready and performed even better."


"We are on the verge of the fourth wave. All Lords of the Kingdom have been preparing for this war for the last forty years, smoothing out the preparation cost over a long time period. But as we get closer to the dark mana threshold that will trigger the fourth wave, we now know our preparations will not be enough."


{Why wouldn't it be enough? If they knew the size of the wave and the probable date, what could have gone wrong?}


[I think I know. Remember the story Erika told us about that event that forces monsters to evolve? The name was Evobomb.]


He gulped at the possibility that Friday was right.


"The dark mana concentration rate of growth had a sudden spike a few years ago, which means that the fourth wave will hit us a few years before the previously estimated date. This time, the fourth wave will happen in the same year as the Evobomb."


{I hate when you are right.}


[Then you must tell me how you manage to live feeling hateful 24x7]


He pretended not to hear her failure of a joke and raised his hand.


"How long do we have before the fourth wave? Where will we be deployed? And why did we have to take an oath before hearing about it? We should tell it to everyone so they can prepare for the worst."


"We have something between 15 and 17 years before the fourth wave if nothing changes. You took an oath because should this information leaks, do you see the population banding together to fight the enemy or running for their lives? Should we just hand half the continent to the dead then? And what if having more land makes them stronger and even harder to defeat?"


He conceded, people would run for sure, which would make the problem even harder to solve in the future.


"Now, for your second question, I don't know the answer. All I know is that the Lord is not telling anyone about your role in it. We know it won't be in the main force, because he would have no reason to withhold the information if it was the case. Our family thinks he plans on either sending you to the Whispering Forest to investigate it as a party, or making you join one of the elite regiments, but it is all pure speculation. He is a cunning man, and his plans are undecipherable."


"That is all for now. You may return to your rooms. Keep all you heard to yourself and train as hard as possible in the following years. If not for Marsastor, do it for your families."


The kids just nodded and did not dare utter a word about what they heard, Riwall, as he was mentally older, was the one more worried about the future.


-------------------------


After this whole affiliation and oath ordeal was dealt with, Riwall's life fell into a comfortable yet demanding routine. Hellen and Erika got authorization to visit him once every month, but could only do so under the watch of a guard. 


The first significant change was their status; all the people Riwall mentioned to Eleanor gladly accepted to become temporary affiliates of the Farsteels.


Their new status forced all factions to tread carefully around them, no one in the barracks wanted to be the reason for Eleanor's rage, they all saw how poor Joshua had to stay in the infirmary for three months after angering her for some reason no one knew about. 


Meanwhile, the Farsteels were growing more prosperous and stronger by the day. Their loyalty to the Marsastor family was adamant and ingrained in every member of their family. They never refused a task, always overperformed their duties, and more often than not, they would do something for their Lord that would strengthen the ruling family prestige among the population, like purging a pesky monster's nest or destroying a bandit camp while telling everyone they did it on the Lord's order, even if he never commanded them to.


-------------------------


Both Edward and Eleanor pushed Riwall to his limits, and they even taught some advanced combat techniques that allowed him to cap all of his combat skills at level 50 after two excruciating years. If not for Friday's use of the nights to create a simulation for Riwall to train these techniques, capping the skills would have been impossible.


They shared with him that a person's real strength was not on the skill level alone, but in a mix of different factors. Some were more relevant than the others, and they stressed a thousand times that he should watch for them. 


First was his level, the higher it was, the more his attributes would show their worth. If a person with a Strength of 5 could lift 50 Kg at level 1, he would be able to lift 75 Kg on level 2. The formula had a diminishing return aspect, so the difference between higher levels would fade. But there is a catch; the higher the attribute, the longer it will take for the diminishing returns to show its claws. If you would compare two people at level 50, one with a Strength attribute of 6, the other 5, the former could lift as much as 10% more weight than the latter.


Then one should look at the person's battle experience. Usually, people with high skill levels would have fought for years, so they would not lack in battle experience, but this did not apply to Riwall. In the long run, he would definitely be stronger, but for now, he would have his ass handed to him by any experienced fighter with skill levels as low as half of his. No skill would teach a person to read the flow of a fight. When do I push forward? Should I back down? When should I start playing dirty? Only a vast experience in these scenarios could answer these questions.


A person's equipment was another critical factor. The wrong armor or weapon for the place or the weather could spell doom for a person. Try fighting goblins in a cavern using a greatsword, or maybe try exchanging blows with a far away mage using only a short bow, or try wearing heavy armor in a swamp. No skill level will help you in these scenarios. Adaptability beats specialization in 9 of 10 fights.


And the last important tip they shared was. Never go alone. The party system exists to cover for all your deficiencies, be it a lower level, a low attribute, the wrong equipment, or a bad matchup against an enemy. A good party with above-average synergy and teamwork can take down foes that are many times stronger than them. Otherwise, no human would have ever downed a dragon.


-------------------------


Things with Hector progressed even better. He took a liking to the boy and his ability to produce high-quality books by reading dozens of bad ones. Their relationship went beyond matters related to the classes, often Hector would debate with Riwall about a myriad of subjects, like philosophy, math, economics, and others.


Per Riwall's request, he was allowed to train his magic skills in a specialized training court under Hector's supervision. At first, the elf was astounded by his seemingly unlimited mana reserve when casting big spells. But soon he understood that Riwall lacked the finesse required to cast small but potent spells, as that was not a problem that took priority when compared to everything else, he barely tried to address it. In his mind, the boy had his plate full already.


Much to Riwall's disappointment, he did not let him try Light and Dark spells, much less Negentropy, and Entropy aspected spells. He had read about them in some books and asked his teacher, this was one of the few subjects that the elf absolutely refused to let him dabble before having the right mindset.


From what Friday could put together from the occasional fragments she found, the two 'duos', Light/Dark and Negentropy/Entropy had the effect of exponentially powering up spells.


Light and Dark powered spells produced different effects based on the compatibility between these concepts and the intent from the first phase. These two would usually become more prominent during the third phase of spell casting, the "mana" phase.


Negentropy and Entropy were a more complicated case. The first was related to order; the second was related to chaos. By tapping on these concepts, it is possible to enhance the strength of the first phase of spell casting, the "intention" phase. It is the most advanced application of magic in the world, and only masters with decades of research can safely use spells powered by these two concepts. Not much else was mentioned, as most authors from the books he read were far from being capable of studying it.


After analyzing more than 100 books on magic and combining it with philosophical concepts from Earth, Friday was confident in handling both duos of "advanced magic", Light/Dark and Negentropy/Entropy.


Nevertheless, Riwall would not endanger his relationship with Hector to get a new skill, no matter how positive the gains could be. He focused all his attention on improving his finesse, which was much worse than he initially thought it was. And, by the end of the second year, he had capped all his elemental magic casting skills as well.


-------------------------


The trio of kids was not much close at the start, but as the months went by, a strong bond began forming. Edward and Eleanor quickly took notice of their potential as a party and changed their schedule to accommodate training sessions that would improve their synergy and deepen their bond even more. They even taught the three how to cast the |Panel| spell and keep track of their progress. Although Riwall found the whole process of chanting bothersome, so he just memorized it, never intending to actually cast spells through chanting.


Anna took a liking to melee combat and began specializing in fighting using short weapons and a buckler, with a couple of daggers as backup weapons. Her fighting style was more akin to that of an off-tank, she could use her buckler and hold her ground for some time, or she could dart through a fight hitting as many unaware opponents as she could. She said she would rather be a pure harasser, but understood how being an off-tank would be more useful to the party.


Gregory was a ranged all-rounder. His use of all kinds of ranged weapons and proficiency in quick casting spells was uncommon. Edward theorized that this would take most enemies by surprise, as most physical ranged fighters rarely would be good spellcasters, and that he should capitalize on it to deal some serious damage before focusing on keeping the enemy at a comfortable distance. He couldn't pack a punch in close quarters, but his spells were more than enough to let him widen the gap to the enemy to bring his strong spells to the game and recover some stamina in prolonged fights.


Riwall was the most extraordinary of the three. His battle awareness, focus, skills for close and long-range fights, leadership and strategical planning, made him the central pillar of the party. He excelled in baiting his opponents in ways that would leave his friends in very advantageous positions, usually by providing Anna with different angles of attack and keeping the enemies within Gregory's optimal strike range. And he did all of that coordination without leaving the fright as he always led his companions from the front.


After two years, he had a proud smile on his face while checking his panel.


-------------------------
------Panel------
-Name: Riwall Madec
-Age: 10
-Level: 01 (0%)
-Mana purity: 100% (Prismatic)

-----BLESSINGS-----

---Temelth's Blessing---
-Languages - MASTERED
-Unknown (locked)
-Unknown (locked)
-Unknown (locked)
-Unknown (locked)

 
-----ATTRIBUTES-----

--- Mental Attributes---
-Intelligence:10
-Wits:10
-Resolve:10

--- Physical Attributes---
-Strength:10
-Dexterity:10
-Stamina:10

--- Social Attributes---
-Presence:10
-Manipulation:10
-Composure:10
 

-----SKILLS-----
 

--- Mental Skills---

--Academics Branch - Level 5--
<Scribing> - Level 26

--Wellbeing Branch - Level 6--
<Meditation> - Level 25

--Elemental Magic Casting Branch - Level 10--
<Fire Magic Casting> - Level 50
<Water Magic Casting> - Level 50
<Wind Magic Casting> - Level 50
<Earth Magic Casting> - Level 50


 --- Physical Skills---

--Melee Combat Branch - Level 10--
<Edged Weapon Combat> - Level 50
<Blunt Weapon Combat> - Level 50
<Pole Weapon Combat> - Level 50
<Unarmed Combat> - Level 50
<Parrying> - Level 50
<Blocking> - Level 50
<Dodging> - Level 50
<Footwork> - Level 50

--Ranged Combat Branch - Level 10--
<Archery> - Level 50
<Axe-Throwing> - Level 50
<Spear Throwing> - Level 50

--Physical Finesse Branch - Level 8--
<Acrobatics> - Level 50
<Stretching> - Level 50
 

--- Social Skills---

--Negotiation Branch - Level 3--
<Bluff> - Level 8

 --Arts Branch - Level 8--
<Drawing> - Level 42

--Leadership Branch - Level 3--
<Small Group Leading> - Level 29

 
-------------------------

The dawn of Emotion Based A.I.s is here, John is the fifth test subject to have an AI implemented in his brain, and so far the first one to survive.

Blinded by the dream of immortality, the researchers push the tests to inhumane standards. John is obligated to take part in sessions of torture designed to test the limits of the AI influence over the physical and mental health. What was supposed to be a new beginning in life turns into living hell.

An (un)lucky twist ends his life. John then reincarnates with his AI in a new world where a System influences the interaction between Magic and Matter. With seemingly limitless potential and a game-like system influencing the world, the hero sets on his journey.

--AUTHOR NOTE, PLEASE READ--

I will state here my promises to you, potential reader:

1. No harem! I don't trust myself to make a harem feel natural or healthy, I never met any person who has a personality that can adapt and live in a harem for reasons that are not monetary, so I can't draw inspiration from real life. Sorry!;

2. The enemies will not be bland and illogically mean. Some may feel like that at first, but I will take great care in fleshing them out, trust me. You may end up hating some, but you won't be able to deny that they had their reasons for what they did;

3. I am using a paid (and expensive) automated editor tool, and I take longer to write because I take my time in editing the stuff I write. I am aiming to improve and I will not shy away from constructive criticism, nor take offense for no reason;

4. Characters will die and will suffer, some will get over the tragedies and improve, others will not be as resilient.

5. This novel has a lot of ground to cover, it is neither a short story, a manual on crafting, or the script of some action scene. There will be both time skips and oversimplifications of some actions for the sake of moving the story forward. Time skips will be more prominent in the first 30 chapters. I will describe crafting processes and fights with more detail if they are essential for the chapter;

6. If I took my time describing something, it's because it is important. I hate novels that wastes time describing useless stuff. If you skim over something, the chances are that something in the future will not make sense. I am an adept of "Chekhov's gun" principle;

7. If in the future Webnovel comes to offer me a contract, I will first reach for the readers to know their opinion and see if they want to donate through other sites or not. It would be a dream come true to live of writing, but not if the cost is the alienation from the people that supported me along the way;

8. I already have 31k words on my auxiliary documents, I have a plan for the story, and I will not be making changes even if someone ends up noticing some foreshadowing and figures out what will happen. The story comes first.

9. I have a wife, a job that demands 9h every day and courses related to my job (lawyer) three days of the week, it's unlikely that I will be able to do mass releases at all. I will have a healthy amount of chapters to be able to post at least 1 chapter every day continually. Don't worry.

10. I will read all the comments. I will listen to all you have to say and will try my best to accommodate demands as long as they do not hamper the path I prepared.

11. There is an arc that spans the entire novel. Each volume will be an arc in itself while progressing a little bit of the main arc. Every arc will have one or more main antagonists.


I think that's it! Thank you for reading it all. Have an awesome time reading my first novel!! <3

From what I've been seeing, there are multiple books on this site with manipulated reviews. Bad reviews have been deleted and thus the books themselves appear better. Although I can understand that a review made based on ~10 chapters of a book with over 1,000 chapters may not be accurate, it is still an opinion. 

People keep on saying that authors are deleting reviews, but as far as I can tell, I do not have that ability (it might also just be because I'm not partnered). Maybe those reviews are being reported as inaccurate by fans (yeah probably not). 

The only thing that deleting reviews does is angering the reviewers. On a site like Webnovel, where everyone can review a book an almost infinite number of times, it's just a matter of time before such a book is flooded with bad reviews. 

Advice for Webnovel, don't reward reviews with xp and limit the amount of reviews per book. A review is something that should be taken seriously and I find it highly unlikely that anyone would be willing to read a new book every single day (at least for an extended period of time).

Feel free to leave any kind of comment you want from questions to facts/spam.

A mishmash of random things. 
Daily chapter guaranteed.
Currently every new chapter will be focusing on a random topic. I will try my best to keep them interesting and short. 

(Pretty certain there's no duplicate content)

Join the discord server to receive updates on new chapters and talk about books: https://discord.gg/jGCnyZj

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