[Roots: Primordial Light (42%)]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation - 1st Stage (0/100)]
[Body Cultivation: Qi Condensation - 1st Stage (0/100)]
[Soul Cultivation: - ]
[Constitutions]
-------------------------------------------
[Otherworldly Light Body (Unawakened)]
[Progress: 8.05%]
[Power: Extremely High]
[Bloodlines]
-------------------------------------------
[Primordial Chaos Dragon (Dormant)]
[Concentration: 1.04%]
[Power: Extremely High]
Just like the System said, his cultivation was dispersed. Even his body cultivation was at the 1st stage of the Qi Condensation realm. Thankfully, the XP bar didn't display any scary numbers. Only 100 XP! Such a far cry from half a million XP!
However, that wasn't what he was worried about. The problem was his spiritual roots.
'Well, there's the word Light right there. Primordial or not, it should be a Light element, right? Surely...'
With great caution, Han De immediately attempted to cultivate the Starfall Scripture. The origins of this scripture were a mystery. Not because it was a mysterious scripture, but because the cultivation idiot never bothered asking about it. Han De naturally followed the cultivation idiot's footsteps and did not make any inquiries. Ignorance was bliss.
He aborted his first cultivation attempt halfway into the cycle. Circulation of the spiritual energy caused an unprecedented resistance in his body. According to the cultivation idiot's memory, this was a telltale sign of the method being incompatible. Han De's grandmaster level experience concurred with the cultivation idiot's assessment.
The Starfall Scripture wasn't the only Light element cultivation method that Han De had. He also tried a few of the random Light element methods he learned from the archives. Neither the Luminous Clouds nor the Light Through a Single Thought could be cultivated. He did not try others because the risk of Qi deviation had successfully spooked Han De the Grandmaster.
After the initial surprise, Han De started to realize the consequences of the situation. Without a Primordial Light Qi compatible scripture, his cultivation was sitting ducks. This problem wasn't something that could be solved in the short term. Creating a cultivation method was harder than creating a martial arts method, after all.
'Let's ignore that for the time being. I can use non-elemental cultivation methods in the short term. They'll be much weaker than my older methods, but that doesn't matter. Some power is better than no power at all.'
Treebeard's cultivation scripture was non-elemental, but Han De rejected it instantly. Poor guy couldn't even put a single sentence together for weeks. Cultivating such a stupid method was a no-go from the start.
'Thankfully I prepared a few non-elemental scriptures for the disciple starter packs. Maybe I should use a Derive Cultivation Token on them. I still should have some Profound Poin-'
[Calibration Complete]
'…Let me guess, [no changes detected] right? Whatever…'
[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Jin Shu successfully reached Foundation Establishment Realm!]
[Issuing 1000 Profound Points as a reward.]
[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Yao Qing successfully reached Foundation Establishment Realm!]
[Issuing 1000 Profound Points as a reward.]
[Congratulations]
[All disciples have successfully reached Foundation Establishment Realm!]
[Issuing 250 Profound Points as a reward.]
'...Wow, they work hard huh. Nice, points came just at the right time.'
[Checking primary requirements for privilege upgrade]
[1. Direct disciple scripture mastery requirement met]
[2. Direct disciple skill creation requirement met]
[3. Direct disciple scripture creation requirement met]
[4. Direct disciple Dao requirement met]
[5. Direct disciple enlightenment requirement met]
As the System kept enumerating, Han De narrowed his eyes. Some of the requirements were clearly stretched. He certainly didn't remember guiding anyone about Dao, at least. Was it counting his bulls#$% Xianxia quotes?
[Checking secondary requirements for privilege upgrade]
[1. Life order requirement met]
[2. Direct disciples' minor realm difference requirement met]
'...'
[Checking tertiary requirements for privilege upgrade]
[1. Grandmaster level comprehension requirements met (Current: 5 | Required: 1)]
[2. Master level comprehension requirements met (Current: 103 | Required: 5)]
'Grandmaster requirement is just 1? 1?! Only 5 master level comprehension required? No matter how I look at it this is just sloppy design. In what world 1, ONE, Grandmaster level comprehension is difficult to achieve?! Just grab any random scrip-…
Oh…'
Almost everything Han De found so far was labeled as 'Extremely Weak' by the System. He had a grand total of 2 [Very Weak] scriptures. The only 'Weak' method he encountered was Ning Bi's self-created Cosmic Destruction Scripture, which required an absurd amount of Profound Points just to learn an incomplete version of it.
Han De's gamer intuition guessed that the Profound Point curve of the more powerful scriptures was most likely exponential. Grandmastering a legendary '[Power: Average]' scripture was probably impossible, even if he had saved every single Profound Point he earned so far.
In Han De's imagination, this was yet another example of the System randomly flexing.
[Checking quaternary requirements for privilege upgrade]
[1. Bloodline requirements met]
[2. Constitution requirements met]
[3. Divination scripture requirements met]
[4. Interference limit requirements met]
[Upgrading host's Privilege Level]
'This is getti-'
[To prevent permanent soul damage, the host will be put in sleep mode]
[Time Remaining: 347:13:19]
[...]
* * *
[...]
[Time Remaining: 00:00:00]
[Level 3 integration in progress]
[Error: Modifications in progress]
[Awakening Host]
'-ng tiresome…'
[Notes: Further upgrades to the Privilege Level will require offline maintenance.]
[Privilege Level: 3]
[Profound Point Shop Level 3 is now active (Suspended)]
[Unlocked Intermediate Level Disciples Panel (Suspended)]
[Unlocked Beginner Level Sect Panel (Suspended)]
[Unlocked Leaderboards]
[Unlocked Dao level comprehension]
[Unlocked Level 1 Knowledge Impartation feature (Suspended)]
[Unlocked Profound Point conversion feature (Suspended)]
[Scripture Creation feature unlocking requirements not met]
[Scripture Modification feature unlocking requirements not met]
[Level 2 Status Check function pending secondary upgrade]
[Level 2 Disciple Evaluation function pending secondary upgrade]
[Evaluating Host's performance]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Submitting score...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Error: Cannot establish a connection]
[Loading cached records...]
[...]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 1000000]
[Rewarding host with 5 Profound Points]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 100000]
[Rewarding host with 10 Profound Points]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 10000]
[Rewarding host with 20 Profound Points]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 1000]
[Rewarding host with 40 Profound Points]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 100]
[Rewarding host with 80 Profound Points]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 50]
[Rewarding host with 160 Profound Points]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 25]
[Rewarding host with 320 Profound Points]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 10]
[Rewarding host with Tier 7 Exchange Token]
[Host's name will be recorded in the Hall of Fame!]
[Congratulations!]
[Host has entered top 5]
[Rewarding host with Tier 5 Exchange Token]
[Host's name will be recorded in the Hall of Fame!]
[Congratulations!]
[Host is holding 1st place]
[Rewarding host with Tier 3 Exchange Token]
[Host's name will be recorded in the Hall of Fame!]
[Profound Points: (+2885) 861 -> 3746]
[Unrivaled Master System Level 3 Leaderboards]
------------------------------------------------------
[1st Place]
[Name: Han De]
[Age: 27]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation 1st Stage]
[Fate: Calamity Attractor]
[Score: 2]
[2nd Place]
[ - ]
[3rd Place]
[ - ]
[Sync point confirmed and verified]
[Secondary upgrade started. Timeframe unknown.]
[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Yao Qing successfully reached the Mid-Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm!]
[Issuing 1500 Profound Points as a reward.]
[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Jin Shu successfully reached the Mid-Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm!]
[Issuing 1500 Profound Points as a reward.]
[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Yao Qing successfully reached the Late-Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm!]
[Issuing 2000 Profound Points as a reward.]
[Profound Points: (+5000) 3746-> 8746]
[Fame: Cloudy Mountains: (+2413) 382-> 2795]
[Calibration restarted...]
The overwhelming amount of information ended up invoking a healthy dose of panic within Han De. The Leaderboards box was flashing on top of everything, therefore Han De opened it by instinct.
[Level 3 Leaderboards]
------------------------------------------------------
[Divine Alchemist System] - [Entries: 86,843,714]
[Divine Slayer System] - [Entries: 35,131,729]
[Undying Demon System] - [Entries: 18,694,314]
[Supreme Buddha System] - [Entries: 16,852,135]
[Divine Formation System] - [Entries: 16,487,960]
[Scroll to expand]
'86 million Divine Alchemists. Damn… That's a lot of Divine Alchemists…'
[Divine Alchemist System Level 3 Leaderboards]
------------------------------------------------------
[1st Place]
[Name: Bai Wuying]
[Age: 181]
[Cultivation: Immortal Realm - Early Stage]
[Fate: Heavenly Emperor]
[Score: 2,719,738]
[2nd Place]
[Name: Xiong Xieren]
[Age: 135]
[Cultivation: Immortal Realm - Early Stage]
[Fate: Heavenly Alchemist]
[Score: 2,697,414]
[3rd Place]
[Name: Dong Chen]
[Age: 259]
[Cultivation: Immortal Realm - Middle Stage]
[Fate: Heavenly General]
[Score: 2,679,195]
[Scroll to expand]
'What the heck with the scores man... What's with the fates as well?!'
Han De scrolled down as a reflex. He scrolled and scrolled, but all scores he saw were in the millions.
[3919th Place]
[Name: Gu Shun]
[Age: 347]
[Cultivation: Dao Seed - Late Stage]
[Fate: Hell Temple Sect Master]
[Score: 2,344,837]
[3920th Place]
[Name: Pan Zhi]
[Age: 1219]
[Cultivation: Divinity Formation - Early Stage]
[Fate: Crazy Pill Master]
[Score: 2,344,837]
[3921st Place]
[Name: Cao Yi]
[Age: 680]
[Cultivation: Ancient Realm - Late Stage]
[Fate: Poison Immortal]
[Score: 2,344,837]
The list truly felt endless after a few minutes of scrolling. Han De went back to the leaderboard panel and started scrolling down there. Surprise and curiosity had replaced his panic at some point.
[Level 3 Leaderboards]
------------------------------------------------------
[Godly Doctor System] - [Entries: 16,157,664]
[Supreme Puppeteer System] - [Entries: 16,157,664]
[Undying Body System] - [Entries: 16,157,662]
[Divine Sealer System] - [Entries: 16,157,661]
[Godly Cooking System] - [Entries: 16,157,660]
[Divine Cooking System] - [Entries: 16,157,660]
[Legendary Pet System] - [Entries: 16,157,660]
[Ultimate Evolution System] - [Entries: 16,157,659]
[Heavenly Beauty System] - [Entries: 16,157,659]
[Demonic Gourmet System] - [Entries: 16,157,657]
[Scroll to expand]
All names followed the adjective plus function rule. Most likely there was some internal ranking between the adjectives, but it was hard to tell. Which one was better, divine, or godly? Was legendary better than both?
'Probably not just ranking but affects the System in some way...?'
Han De kept scrolling without reading anything. Occasionally his eye caught some questionable ones. Ultimate Transactional System, Divine Writer System, Godly Shovel System, Impenetrable Wall System… They all had 10 million plus entries.
He decided to check some of the odd ones later when he was bored.
There were some Systems that broke the 3-word structure as well. The Greatest World Domination System had 11,309,877 entries. The Farmer System had 11,309,524 entries.
[Level 3 Leaderboards]
------------------------------------------------------
[Handsome Husband Gathering System] - [Entries: 1,074,786]
[Supreme Bragger System] - [Entries: 1,074,782]
[Ultimate Sealer System] - [Entries: 1,074,781]
[Advanced Scholar System] - [Entries: 1,074,521]
[Perfect Copying System] - [Entries: 1,074,520]
[Indomitable Asura System] - [Entries: 1,074,433]
[Ultimate Athlete System] - [Entries: 1,071,958]
[Unrivaled Master System] - [Entries: 1]
Han De's face involuntarily twitched after seeing his own System on the list. It only took him half an hour of solid scrolling to get here. The sharp drop-off gave him mixed feelings. Out of curiosity, he looked at the eye-catching Handsome Husband Gathering System first.
[Handsome Husband Gathering System Level 3 Leaderboards]
------------------------------------------------------
[1st Place]
[Name: Shao Ru]
[Age: 142]
[Cultivation: Immortal Realm - Early Stage]
[Fate: Elegant Fragrance Sect Founder]
[Score: 3,691,346]
[2nd Place]
[Name: Fu Feng]
[Age: 135]
[Cultivation: Immortal Realm - Early Stage]
[Fate: Empress of the Undying Lands]
[Score: 3,690,244]
[3rd Place]
[Name: Qiao Xuefeng]
[Age: 126]
[Cultivation: Immortal Realm - Early Stage]
[Fate: Empress of the Myriad Realms]
[Score: 3,683,939]
'Wow, these people are really dedicated. The top 3 have higher scores than the Divine Alchemist leaderboards. They are way younger too...'
Han De closed all System windows.
Though he didn't have access to the so-called Hall of Fame, seeing the Leaderboards confirmed some of his 'suspicions'.
Naturally, leaderboards were a form of competition. And competition in a Xianxia universe would always be exceptionally violent. Considering the fact that all of the participants' names were open, the violence was clearly encouraged. Or so Han De thought.
'This leaderboard is a huge repository of MCs. Categorized and logged for convenient tracking.
S#$%… Doesn't this mean if the System actually manages to submit my entry, the others will know my name?'
Disbelief? Suspicion? Doubt? Fear? Those were only momentary emotions. Han De regained his calm quickly. Because this situation was included in his contingency plans!
Han De keenly remembered an important detail from the past. Specifically, the failure condition of his first quest.
' [Failure: Removal of the System. As the System is completely integrated into the host's soul, removal will result in said soul's dissipation] '
'... Meaning, the System could be forcefully removed. If it can be removed, it can be integrated into others. That means it can be used for trading. Meaning, the System actually has monetary value…'
Immediately, Han De's mind produced millions of System scavengers that hunt and extract Systems to sell them to the highest bidder. Then he imagined other System users that hunt and collect other System users to increase their privilege levels.
'I see. So it has finally come to this. I expected something like this could happen.'
Han De made a mental note to expand his 'PvP in a Xianxia Universe, and How to Avoid It'' series of plans. He sighed, then closed his eyes.
Correct prioritization was key to prolonged survival. And right now, he needed to prioritize the present. The System errors, PvP, losing his cultivation base, were all problems reserved for the future Han De.
"What is the condition of this body?"
This worthless servant has never seen a quasi-Nascent Soul body this perfect.|
'… Quasi Nascent Soul?'
Han De inadvertently narrowed his eyes. He wanted to ask more. Much, much more, but considering his image, and the shaky relationship he had with the leviathan, he reigned his curiosity.
Of course, that didn't stop his mind from going wild.
'Suspicious. Very suspicious. Almost an MC-like development.
Nope. Nope. I don't like this at all.'
Losing power and regaining it in bulls#$% way later? That was MC 101. It was the bread and butter of all Xianxia. Clearly, something was wrong.
"Where is this place?"
Answering to your excellency's ques-|
"Stop with that your excellency and worthless servant stuff. Be. Concise. If you want to be respectful call me young master."
The leviathan bowed respectfully, but unfortunately, Han De couldn't see a thing in the dark cave. Getting used to people calling him 'Young Master' was easy thanks to the cultivation idiot's memories, but getting called 'Your Majesty' was truly giving him the creeps. There should be a limit to sucking up, he thought.
Young Master, this is one of the remaining pieces of the ancient world array that was destroyed a month ago. In relation to the intact array, it is the 314th part to the 94th junction.|
Han De knowingly nodded.
'What the hell is an ancient world array?'
This leviathan detected two higher beings' energies. This ancient world array was caught in the crossfire of their battle. The sealing arrays were activated at the right time and saved a small fraction of plates.|
Han De nodded once again.
'Sealing arrays? Am I in the same place? Wait, sealing arrays?!
… Ugh… No wonder I couldn't get a response with the communication jade.'
Starfall Mountain Sect and the Han family were getting ready to leave the planet anyway. It wasn't hard for Han De to fill in the blanks.
'I disappeared. In that pandemonium they must've retreated to safety. My soul light should still be lit, they should know that I'm still alive. It is only a matter of sending a message…
Wait, this world was nearly destroyed? Why does this sound so familiar?'
It was yet another almost MC-like development. Not quite there, but it definitely ticked some of the boxes in the tragic back story category.
Lost all cultivation? Check. Destroyed home? Nope, even better! Destroyed homeWORLD!
'S#$%, there was even a grandpa. F#$%...'
Han De decisively prioritized this problem for the future Han De.
"Can you bypass the seal?"
This leviathan can break, but cannot leap through with the seal intact.|
"… Stop referring yourself like that..."
As you wish, young master.|
In the dark cave, it was impossible to see the leviathan. With the way it talked, combined with the tone of its voice, Han De was reminded of the stereotypical anime butler template. Composed, attentive, patient…
"What is your name?"
Leviathans do not have names, young master.|
Han De fought the urge to sigh with frustration.
'I don't have time for an exposition dump, sorry.'
He waved his hand dismissively for effect.
"You are Sebastian from now on."
Sebastian was the most butlery name he could think of. It was also a potential fix for a potential problem. Dealings with the netherworld were one of the taboos of righteous sects. Though he wouldn't fool any high-realm cultivator, at least he could avoid making a blunder by calling it Sebastian the Butler.
While giving the leviathan a name was only a matter of convenience to Han De, but for the leviathan in question, receiving a name wasn't a simple affair. To be named by a higher entity was to receive their favor.
The leviathan- no, Sebastian, was no stranger to the concept of being a frog in the bottom of a well. Above the heavens, there would always be even higher heavens. The fact that the void entity ran away after angering the young master was the ultimate proof for Sebastian.
The name Sebastian, slowly seeped into the very core of the leviathan. It felt as if it could hear the name, even if it was uttered at the very end of time and existence!
Unfortunately, Han De couldn't care less about the intense spiritual experience that Sebastian was going through. Rather, he was thinking about something that had been on his mind for a while. After deliberating the pros and cons of receiving unsolicited exposition, he decided to ask anyway.
"… Why are you even called Leviathans anyway?"
We were named as such by the person that brought us into the netherworld.|
Han De had braced himself and was ready to cut off Sebastian at the first sign of trouble. Strangely though, the dreaded exposition dump never came. Sebastian stayed silent.
'Damn, this leviathan learns fast. I'm impressed, that was really concise.'
Sebastian received a mental thumbs up from Han De. Perhaps the Primordial Whatever bloodline was useful after all. He decided to look at the positives instead of focusing on the ever-present feeling of impending doom.
[Phase 1 Complete]
[Issuing First Phase 2 Quest]
[Quest: A Master to Look up To]
[Difficulty Level: Rating Requirements Not Met]
[Status: Issued]
[Summary: Your beloved disciples have surpassed you in their cultivation levels! A joyous moment for any master@__!
__ ___ ____ ____ _______ __ __ ____ __ _____ ___ ______ __ ____ __ ____ _____ ___ ____ _____ __________ _____ ___ _____ ___________________ _____ ______ ______ ______ _ ____ ______ ____ ___________
Hiding your strength can become a weakness in the end! Increase your visible cultivation level by [ph_str_hghst_dscpl_mjr_cltvtn + 2] to prevent your disciples from getting complacent. Create and use a new cultivation art while you are at it to further emphasize the immensity between Heaven and Earth![aff_low: ("Put them in their place.")]]
[Bonus: Create a [ph_str_hghst _scrptr_mjr_qlty + 1] quality cultivation method]
[Time Remaining: 18 days]
[Success: __ Profound Points_ .]
[Failure: Privilege level strike (Current: 0/3)]