Chapter 20

Kelvin stopped what he was doing as he turned to give Jason a look when he heard him ask that question. Ever since knowing Jason, he has never shown an interest in herbs so hearing him asking, he became suspicious of him.

"What's the matter Kelvin, why the strange look could it be that I said the wrong thing" Jason asked when he saw the way Kelvin was looking at him.

"It's nothing, I'm just confused as to why you suddenly showed interest in studying herbs" replied Kelvin as he went back to his study.

"It's nothing special, it Just hit my head so I decided to come to you since you are more knowledgeable in that field" said Jason.

"Well if you put it that way, then I think I might be able to help you" replied Kelvin.

"I know I can always count on you Kelvin, which is one of the reasons why I decided to befriend you and I don't regret it" said Jason with a wide smile on his face as he began to shower Kelvin with praise.

"That's enough Jason, I'm in the middle of studying this plant and you are kind of distracting me" Kelvin ordered him to stop.

"Sorry about that okay" replied Jason with a smile as he finally shut his mouth.

Kelvin decided to show him the pictures of herbs that could cause diarrhea as well as to tell him what herbs could be used for and the effect of taking too much of it before driving him out of the room as he kept the space to himself.

After being sent out of the room by Kelvin, Jason begins to go through the pictures in his head and cannot help but feel like he has seen some of the herbs before but does not remember where.

"guess I would have to check to confirm if that's the herb I saw. And now that I've found the ingredients for my plan, I need to think of a way to place them inside the cooking pot" Jason muttered to himself as he began to head back to his hut.

Later in the night when everybody was sleeping, he sneaked his way out again as he continued with his training and this time around he was able to complete the mission with a shaking hand as he brought out the interface to claim his reward. Just like before, the pain was intense when his body began to undergo some changes until the process was complete.

Feeling the energy flowing through his body, Jason could not help but wonder how powerful he is compared to Kristopher who happens to be the strongest among their group.

Having obtained a boost in his realm, Jason threw a punch at the tree as it let out a vibration while experiencing a little numbness in his arm unlike when he was still at the second stage of qi condensation where his arm would be useless for the day.

"The more I increase my realm the stronger I get. Maybe I would be able to leave this place if I get strong enough to take flight like that old man" said Jason.

With motivation derived from a breakthrough into the third stage of qi condensation, Jason opened the interface once more to see what the requirements were to breakthrough to the fourth stage and he almost bashed his head against the tree when he saw what it was.

"I think you are going too far here, Miss System" he said with a pained expression on his face.

"I'm sorry but if the host wants to dominate the world in the near future, then he would have to test his endurance by getting beaten" replies the system.

"you want to test my endurance you say, didn't I punch this damn tree? Isn't that a good example for testing my endurance" asked Jason with a tearful eye.

"You can choose to ignore the task and find another way to breakthrough to the fourth stage but I guarantee you that it's not going to be easy for you" replies the system.

Knowing that it won't be easy for him to cultivate in the slave quarters with the little amount of spiritual energy flowing there. He let out a sigh as he resigned himself to fate as he took another look at the mission.

[Cultivation base quest ]

"fourth stage qi condensation – condition: get beaten by stronger opponents".

Jason looked at the quest for a long time before resigning himself to bed. The next morning, while they were making preparations to go to the farmland for their morning duties, Eric was left speechless when he saw Jason and could not help but ask.

"What is wrong with you Jason, have you started stealing some nourishment from the quartermaster's hut?".

"who has the guts to steal from the quartermaster's hut, do I look like someone who is seeking death" Jason decided to answer his question with his very own.

"Sorry about that, I was just wondering how you get so robust with smooth skin like someone who has been taking pills to nurture their body" said Eric.

"Come on man, I'm not taking such things. I think my condition has to do with the work I've been doing on the farmland. I mean, you weren't like this when you first came here right" asked Jason with a smile.

"You are right about that but unlike you, I didn't change that much" replied Eric with a sigh.

They chatted for some time before finally leaving for their morning duties and as for Jason's features, it was all thanks to the refinement his body undergoes after making a breakthrough as he's been cleansed of every impurity but he wasn't aware of this.

Going from one plant to the other as he tried to find the herb Kelvin showed him and after searching for a while, he was able to locate two of them growing together with the potatoes.

"I knew I saw it somewhere. Now I need to think of how to put it in the food meant for the sect leader" said Jason with a happy expression on his face.