Su Ming opened his eyes with a loud gasp. Before he could even figure out where he was, steam of memories entered his mind and within three seconds, he understood his position in this world.
Here, he was occupying the body of a handsome youth coincidentally also called Su Ming. He was also an orphan who had accidentally stumbled upon some fortune and ancient texts related to cuisines in his early teens.
Using these resources, he opened a restaurant called 'Cuisine Pavilion' four years ago, and over time, it became incredibly famous all over the world. Especially their sweets which attracted many ladies.
The original building of the Cuisine Pavilion which has gone through massive changes since its opening was located in the capital city of Dali Kingdom.
Su Ming was now about to reach twenty.
He also understood the kind of world he was in.
It was a world of martial arts, where the strong ruled over everything, even the lives of others. Law existed but in front of strong, it bent regardless.
The strong here however wasn't as exaggerated as in Xianxia novels. While they could destroy houses with a swing of their sword, they couldn't destroy mountains, split oceans or fly in the air like immortals. Even the strongest people couldn't live for more than 300 years!
In the Zhenbai Province which was administered by Beibei Sect, there were a total of 5 Kingdoms and 2 Empires. The people of the Beibei Sect or any sect for that matter regarded Kingdoms and Empires of the secular world as money banks and inferior beings.
It was like those Murim Worlds but here, the existence of Martial Artists wasn't hidden from common people.
While Martial Artists paid attention to their cultivation realms, they were also very attentive to the martial arts they practiced.
Dark martial arts and artists were condemned and the Martial Arts Alliance, a top-class federation who deems themselves 'just' and protectors of justice aims to vehemently eliminate every single Dark Marital Artist!
≪Ding! Teleportation successful!≫
≪It has been detected that there are 5 Daughters of Luck in this world!≫
≪Ultimate Mission: Make all 5 Daughters of Luck your Devil Servant!≫
≪Mission Reward: To be decided at the time of completion, based on system evaluation!≫
≪Failure Penalty: Host's soul is obliterated!≫
≪Time Limit: 18 months!≫
"My god, system, are you crazy? I don't even know who these Daughters of Luck are or where they are! How am I going to find and make them my servant in just 18 months!" Su Ming immediately protested in injustice and voiced his concerns.
≪That is for the host to figure out!≫ The system replied in an oddly cheerful voice.
"Come on system, I am but a weakling with no cultivation. Give me something to make me powerful at least." Su Ming pleaded.
≪Ding! The three drops of Devil Supreme Blood are unused, use them?≫
"Wait, they haven't been used? Why didn't you say so earlier?" Su Ming was left speechless. If he didn't ask for anything, would the system never tell him?
≪Host is in too much hurry. I haven't finished going through everything, I was going to get to it!≫
"Ohh… sorry about that." Hearing this, Su Ming calmed down and apologise. He also felt that he was too hasty.
≪Merge with three drops of Devil Supreme Blood?≫
"Yes! Please!"
As he says so, a warm sensation spread all over his body. He felt itchy too. But it only remained for a few minutes. This sensation disappeared rather quickly, only leaving mild discomfort. At the same time, he felt his breath and body getting stronger rapidly.
He quickly sat down on the ground, composed himself, concentrated deeply, and began feeling the existence of this strange energy moving in his body. An hour later, he opened his eyes. A hint of red was infused within those black pupils of his.
≪Ding! Host strength is now at the Mid Stage of Harmonious Spirit Realm!≫
"Mid Stage Harmonious Spirit Realm… I feel so powerful." Su Ming looked at his hand, loosened his fist slowly, and then clutched it once more tightly. He felt like he could easily lift a car with one hand and destroy large boulders with a punch.
"System, what are the realms of cultivation in this world?" Since this was a Tier 0 world, Su Ming felt that the Martial Artists of this world shouldn't be that strong!
≪Ding! The cultivation realm of this world is divided into three realms: Vein Opening, Harmonious Spirit, and Core Formation! They are further divided into Early, Mid, Later and Peak. The strongest people in this world are at the Peak Stage of the Core Formation Realm!≫
"Core Formation… it's still far away." Su Ming sighed.
The strongest person in the Dali Kingdom, the Chief Commander of the military was at the Peak Stage of the Harmonious Spirit Realm, so while Su Ming couldn't be considered a powerhouse in the scope of Zhenbai Province, within the Dali Kingdom, he could roam unhindered.
If he showed his strength in front of the kingdom, he could get a high-rank noble title and land to rule, he can even court princesses but Su Ming has no interest in that. If he couldn't complete the ultimate mission, his little life would end, how could he waste time on these things?!
His first priority is finding the 5 Daughters of Luck and his second priority is increasing his strength. He wasn't a noob who didn't understand that strength mattered the most in these Wuxia worlds.
≪Ding! Host, you have an unopened mystery pack!≫
The system interrupted Su Ming's line of thoughts. He said: "Ohh, open it. Let's see what I'll get!"
≪Mystery pack is opened!≫
≪Ding! Host received Genesis-Level Cultivation Technique: Deep Devouring Technique!≫
≪Ding! Host received 10 Devil Cards!≫
≪Ding! Host received 5 Devil Pills!≫
≪Ding! Host received Earth-Level Sword Martial Art: Three Sword Killing Arts!≫
…
Hearing this, Su Ming was stunned. Those names… don't they sound pretty powerful? Did he get lucky?! And what the hell is Devil Cards and Devil Pills? He quickly asked the System for more information.
≪Deep Devouring Technique: A powerful cultivation technique that allows users to cultivate using the aid of Devil Pills!≫
"Using the aid of Devil Pills? Does that mean I won't be able to cultivate like normal cultivators?" He asked apprehensively.
≪You are correct, host. If you choose to cultivate using this Cultivation Technique then you can only increase your cultivation realms using the aid of Devil Pills!≫
"What? Isn't that bad?" Su Ming frowned, he felt like this Cultivation Technique has very tight restrictions.
≪While this technique does impose restrictions, it also comes with massive unprecedented benefits!≫
"Like…"
≪Like facing no bottlenecks when entering new big realms, the dream of all cultivators. Also, Devil Pills are ten times more powerful than Qi Stones present in this world, and you can consume these Devil Pills ten times faster than Qi Stones! Qi Stones is rarely available in the secular world, so I think it is quite suitable for you. Of course, if you want to spend time meditating 20 hours a day, please don't hesitate to not choose this technique!≫
≪This Cultivation Technique will be trashed in 5 seconds. Please make a decision whether to cultivate this technique or not? Three! One!≫
"Cultivate! Cultivate! Please let me cultivate in this!" Su Ming was scared and convinced. No bottlenecks, welcome aboard.
"Also, where the fuck is five, four, and two?!" He felt like this system was too deceiving.
≪Deep Devouring Technique information is now being imparted to host!≫
Immediately, a vast amount of information poured inside Su Ming's mind, and he gained all the mysteries of the Deep Devouring Technique!
"Alright, next. What is a Devil Card?" After half an hour, Su Ming opened his eyes and asked.
≪Devil Card the currency inside System. You can use it to upgrade Cultivation Arts comprehension level, buy things from the store when it unlocks, and really, it has a lot of uses that will be revealed later on!≫
"Interesting…" Hearing this, Su Ming understood the value of Devil Cards. It seems that it shouldn't be spent thoughtlessly.
"Explain about this Three Sword Killing Arts."
≪Ding! Three Sword Killing Arts is a formidable Earth-Level Cultivation Art. It contains three one-hit killer moves: Executing Earth, Murdering Heaven, and Asunder Heaven and Earth! Learn it?≫
≪Cultivation Arts are divided into four levels in this world: Yellow, Black, Earth, and Heaven. Earth-Level arts, however, could be counted on one hand! And there are no Heaven-Level arts!≫
"Is there a reason to refuse?" Su Ming said strangely. Why wouldn't he want to learn it?
Again, streams of knowledge poured inside Su Ming's mind. Alongside, he also felt his muscles shifting, and becoming stronger in certain positions.
When he checked it out, he found that he indeed gained more muscle and strength.
"Fuck your mother, if I learn Cultivation Arts, my muscles would automatically shift themselves so that I can perform that Cultivation Art's full might? Isn't this wonderful?" Su Ming was pleasantly surprised and couldn't help but curse out loud.
≪Ding! Host, it is a one-time thing. Please don't expect the system to help you from now on≫
The sweet voice of the system poured a bucket of cold water on the dreams of Su Ming.
"Sigh, alright, show me my complete stats!"
…
Name: Su Ming
Age: 19
Cultivation Realm: Mid Stage Harmonious Spirit Realm
Cultivation Technique: Deep Devouring Technique
Cultivation Arts: Three Sword Killing Art (Initial)
Devil Cards: 10
Devil Pills: 5
Devil Servants: 0
Inventory: Empty
Store: Locked
…
Su Ming looked at his stats attentively and spotted something strange.
"Initial? What does that mean?"
≪There are six stages that show the degree of understanding of a Cultivation Art, they are Initial, Intermediate, Advanced, Late, Peak, and Quintessential!≫
≪As a reminder, Host can use Devil Cards to increase his understanding of a Cultivation Art!≫
"Oh, how much does it cost?" Su Ming asked curiously.
≪For Earth-Level Cultivation Art, it takes 10 Devil Card to increase one stage. And to increase from Peak to Quintessential, it takes 100!≫
Hearing this, Su Ming almost vomited. Doesn't that mean that he will require 140 Devil Cards if he wants to take Three Sword Killer Art to the Quintessential stage?
"You robber of a system!"