The effect of the providence stat as it was displayed was simply one word, Luck.
And that one word was all encompassing and represented numerous things. Fortuitous encounters, opportunities, escape from otherwise impossible circumstances…. A series of coincidences that ultimately lead to one's favor.
Providence!
It is said by cultivators that strength is the most valuable thing in this world, followed by the talent needed to attain said strength.
But was that really the case? Absolutely not. In many situations, that single word, Luck, was ultimately the deciding factor for those who reached the peak and those who didn't.
Were the cases of geniuses who died before they could reach their full potential too little to count? And hadn't some great powerhouses who ruled over the lives of millions still meet a dreadful demise?
No and Yes, respectively.
They say absolute strength can break through all situations, but absolute luck can do the same as well.
With enough luck, even the most run down, average, despised human being can turn into a peerless genius of his generation. Possessing a momentum that seemed to crush everything in its path. And Tian Long was such an example.
His root bones were average, his life was that of a below-average commoner with little talents to speak of whatsoever. If they followed the normal route, then in a world as dreadful as this, there were only two fates awaiting him in this life.
One, die to some random incident or a large-scale calamity. Two, manage to drag out his years, live a normal life and die at an old ripe age.
But despite being so ordinary, so plain, with not one thing to speak for him. Not talent, not background, not strength, he had one thing that millions of others did not. He was born with a providence value of 17
Luck! That's right, luck!
This same luck had carved out a third path, which was unavailable to the vast majority of the world. And it all started, the day his home was invaded by mountain bandits.
Due to sheer luck, he had managed to escape the clutches of death, but
he was pursued, fell off a cliff and lost consciousness.
The moment he lost consciousness, a full 10 points of Providence was deducted from this score. And before he could ultimately plunge to his death, his falling body suddenly froze in midair.
The collar of his old, patched and worn out shirt was being held by a firm yet slender arm, preventing him from falling to his untimely demise. As for the owner of that hand... he had gorgeous blue eyes, short curly hair and an otherworldly countenance which carried a trace of intrigue.
Apart from Larson, who else could it be? Larson, who had been released into the world to gain experience by his guardians a few days ago, sized up the scrawny little man with interest.
What could be the reason for this kid to fall off a cliff towards certain doom? Looking at his clothes and physique, a few thoughts flashed through his mind.
He quietly made his own assumptions from his shabby look, such as this being a suicide case. It was possible that this young man had jumped off the cliff to commit suicide, as he was tired of living such a frugal life.
As soon as that thought appeared, whatever interest Larson had developed a moment ago disappeared without a trace. If it wasn't something that could interest him, then why should he bother?
Since the young man had decided to take his life, then wouldn't stopping him from doing so be a sin?
Just as he was about to toss him away, a notification appeared in his line of sight, making him halt his actions.
[Congratulations, you have absorbed +10 points of Providence for saving Tian Long]
[Alert: You have encountered a son blessed by the Heavenly Dao. Current providence: 7]
".... huh?.. Wait! Someone else has this stat? No freaking way?"
Ohn!
This was.... Interesting.
Larson had seen this stat before. Quite frankly, he was the only one he had seen who had this attribute. This was a passive stat that he couldn't activate manually.
Since as long as he could remember, not even his guardian's stats had the word providence among them. This had left him wondering if he was unique.
Now, it seemed that wasn't the case. However, different from this fellow, his luck was initially as high as 113.5 points. And as for the uses, he had already experienced some small deductions, after which he found some good fortune.
"The notification said he is someone blessed by the Heavenly Dao.... so he was blessed by the heavens itself. That explains why I haven't seen it in anyone else".
Lars nodded. Not everyone could be blessed by the heavens, but those who were, would basically receive its protection. Their lives would be filled with all sort of lucky coincidences, and they would achieve great things in their lives.
Although this was all a myth with no actual verification, he had heard of it from his guardians. After all, there was a famous line which said, "To cultivate is to go against the heavens".
"So I absorbed ten points of his providence by saving him. But..... If he is really a heavens' child, then why did he jump off a cliff? If I wasn't passing by, he would have definitely fallen to his death. Unless his fortuitous encounter is somewhere at the bottom of this cliff, and he won't die".
Lars mused. At the moment, his brain raced like rapid winds, trying to find the answer to this question.
"No! If he was supposed to fall, then why would I get his providence? That doesn't make any sense unless..... I'm supposed to be his fortuitous encounter".
Thinking of this, he looked incredulous. His guardians had also told him similar stories of people on the brink of misfortune suddenly coming across a strong and powerful senior.
If his thoughts weren't wrong, then he who was more powerful than Tian Long was supposed to be the latter. So, what now? Was he supposed to save him and help him to become stronger or give him something precious?
Most importantly, why did it feel like he was being toyed with? Larson's eyes turned cold and the way he looked at Tian Long carried murderous intent.
Unlike those who had no idea, he was a supposed child of heaven as well, so based on the facts that he had on hand, the so-called "Heavenly Dao's" existed. Although he had gained extra providence, he felt like all this was just an arrangement from the heavens, and he was merely another chess piece it was using to accomplish a task.
This was something that he detested greatly. He hated being used, even if it was by the heavens itself. And that was precisely what was happening right now.
In fact, Larson had guessed correctly. He was indeed deemed by the Dao of heaven as Tian Long's "lucky opportunity". If he hadn't appeared today, then Tian Long might have died already.
"However, the guardians said that in the legends, the Heavenly Dao was somewhat all knowing. If I deliberately let him die now, would it mess up with its plans?"
He couldn't help but wonder. As for the young man's life and death, he couldn't be bothered. If he was supposed to save Tian Long's life, then something was definitely wrong.
In the first place, Larson never intended to save him anyway. If not for the appearance of the notification, then he would have thrown him down to his death after he lost interest. Bestowing him a lucky opportunity was out of the question.
Why would he help a random stranger he had never met before for no reason whatsoever? That wasn't his nature.
Had the heavens miscalculated? It could be said that despite his guardians training him in different fields for years, they had never taught him anything concerning this. Who would have expected him to encounter such a situation?
He pondered deeply as he looked at Tian Long's body.
What effect would it have if he killed him? Would there be a reaction for killing a child of heaven? Was the Heavenly Dao like a human entity?
Suddenly, his murderous expression changed as his eyes lit up.
"Hehe..... In theory, those blessed by the heavens would become great figures in the future. I've never tried this ability of mine before, mainly because I never found someone truly suitable and there was never a need. But now...".
Larson laughed loudly while looking at Tian Long as if he were looking at a guinea pig.
"Don't you want me to give him a fortuitous encounter? I'll comply with your intentions. Let's see who will truly be giving whom".
A smile appeared on his face. His eyes changed colors, and a ray of silver light shone from between Larson's brows and flew into Tian Long.
This was one of Larson's special abilities which he hadn't had the chance to use. Due to this idea, his thoughts to just kill Tian Long and see what effect it would cause was temporarily thrown to the back of his mind.
This guy was someone with a providence stat, just like him. For this reason alone, he was already considered a "rare breed" in Larson's eyes.
How could he just kill him without first milking some benefits from him? If that were not the case, it would truly be a waste.
"How interesting". With a smirk on his lips, Larson flew upward with Tian Long to the top of the cliff. He quickly reached the top in seconds and casually tossed Tian Long's body over to the floor.
"Well, I hope you enjoy the "Gift" I have given to you. Nevertheless, if you use it well, you might ultimately end up making a name for yourself in this chaotic world. Although your end won't change, at least you can contribute your life in becoming my first human tool".
Larson said lightly. His eyes were bright like stars as his fingers glowed and slightly, he injected a few points of soul energy into Tian Long's body, rousing up his consciousness. Then, he flew away and disappeared.
His work was done, and he didn't need to interfere much. Concerning the territory of the heavenly Dao, there was a lot that Larson didn't know. This was an area of expertise that he knew too little on, and finding out had just been put in the priority list.
As for why he was able to absorb the providence of Tian Long, he had no idea. He had always regarded this ability of his as something he knew too little about, but since he didn't know, he shouldn't be bothered much.
If the Heavenly Dao was certainly real, then his actions might have certain consequences. Interfering with the fate of one of the sons of heaven would definitely stoke its anger.
But was he afraid?
Pfft! Hahaha
The consequences be damned.
At least he was also someone blessed by the heavens. Even if he wasn't, he wouldn't take lightly to being used by anyone.
What he didn't know was that concerning the consequences of his actions..... he was thinking too much.
However, that would be a story for another day.
A few minutes later, the scrawny kid started moving. Tian Long slowly rose from the floor as he regained consciousness.
His expression became panicky for a moment, but when he saw what the environment looked like, he was utterly bewildered.
"Didn't I fall down from the cliff accidentally? How am I suddenly on the cliff again? How am I still alive?"
Tian Long questioned himself in a low tone. There was a bit of lingering fear in his heart as he tried to process the situation.
Thinking hard upon what happened the few moments before he lost consciousness, he suddenly saw something.
Raising his head up, he saw some 'words' floating on air in front of him.
He closed his eyes and opened them again. The words didn't seem to change in any way.
As he shook his head, massaged it and scratched his eyes. Yet, to his horror, the words didn't change in the slightest. They just kept floating there.
[You have several unread messages]
Reading the messages, Tian Long was stunned beyond words. What the hell was this? Why was he seeing this?
"Did I fall and hit my head, so am I hallucinating? What's with these messages?"
As soon as he said those words, the words on the screen changed.
[Congratulations, The Soul Records have appeared on the Martial continent. Your quests to become stronger are awaiting.
Your status can now be viewed with a thought.]
......
A month passed. The scene of a young man running through the back pass of the woods played out. His clothes were soaked in sweat as he moved his lanky physique.
Although he wasn't fast, for someone with such a scrawny body, the endurance he had shown so far was worth complimenting. As he ran, he avoided every obstacle in his way with an instinctive reaction almost akin to predicting the future.
After bypassing the last group of trees in his sight, he hurriedly ran back towards the clearing where his run began.
Plop!
Despite trying his best to stand upright, his body that was now exhausted beyond degree directly defied his orders as he fell to the floor and took heavy pants.
"Huh.... Ah..... Mm mm…"
<< Daily Quest complete: Run 40 kilometers (40/40) >>
"It's even longer than yesterday's quest".
Tian Long groaned reflexively.
<< Daily Quest is now over >>
<< Complete 1000 Sit-ups (complete) >>
<< Punch Hard wood a thousand times (complete) >>
<< Run 40 kilometers (complete) >>
[Distributing rewards]
[Note: Daily quest will no longer appear from today henceforth]
As soon as the last line appeared, Tian Long was shocked before quickly becoming panicky.
No way, he was just complaining habitually earlier. Don't tell me it actually takes offense? It doesn't right?
Tian Long tried to jump up and protest, but his body wouldn't listen to him. He was like a rubber band stretched to its limits at the moment. Anyone could tell from his profusely sweating body and his badly bruised fists that constantly bled.
Tian Long felt like if he didn't get immediate treatment, then he would certainly die of blood loss. It can't be helped.
He had punched hard wood nourished by the world's Mana Qi a thousand times today. It had directly doubled yesterday's quota, leaving him with no choice but to complete it.
If not, the penalty was dire. And that was the loss of the Records. It had been a month since the incident at the cliff, and Tian Long's livelihood wasn't any better than it was a month ago. The only change was the addition of the soul Records, which seemed to have a death wish for him.
At first, it was still manageable, but the intensity in the last week had spiked intensely, almost to the point of doubling every day. The past month was like hell on Martial continent compared to the rest of his life.
And every day, the rewards, and penalty were the same. A meager 2 points of soul orbs per day as the reward, while the extermination of his life as well as the disappearance of the records as the penalty.
Even a fool would know which one to choose. Tian Long humbly picked to train himself to a state of near death each day.
It was so bad to the extent that he had already begun to develop faint body odor from the excessive sweating.
With his poor and common background, he barely had anything to eat on normal days. How could his regular meal sustain his new high-speed practice routine?
Tian Long had to sleep in hunger many nights. The starvation from the high intensity daily quests had almost driven him to the point of madness. To sustain himself, he resorted to something he had not done before.
Stealing.
In the small town of Moon wind city, who would care for a common man without any redeeming qualities? Even Tian Long's decent looks had been hidden underneath his impoverishment.
So, Tian Long stole.
From the baker, from the butcher, from the tailor, from merchants, he stole from them all. Just to satisfy his hunger, he stole from whoever he felt he could get from.
Occasionally, he was successful. Other times, he was caught and given a severe beating.
With the fatigue and injuries accumulated from the training alongside the injuries accumulated from beatings, Tian Long was nearly driven to death during the next day's daily quest.
Luckily for him, a merchant group appeared near the town the next day and on their way leaving, one of the medicinal healing pills had "accidentally" fallen off the trunk.
<< Providence expended 0.7 >>
With that, Tian Long had barely managed to survive. It was also through this circumstance that he met the son of the Yang family patriarch, Yang Cai.
Yang Cai happened to be passing alongside one of their shops that day when he caught Tian Long sneakily stealing from it. Enraged, be order his gene forging guards to give the latter a good beating.
Thankfully, their levels of gene forging were rather low, so he was able to escape with his life.
There were times when he wanted to give up. At a point, he wished that he had never come in contact with the soul records. At first, even if he was skeptical, he stilled held a trace of optimism.
Perhaps ... Maybe, just possibly, he would be able to encounter a change. Well, he did receive a change, just not the type he was expecting.
This past month could be considered the worst time of his life. Still, that trace of optimism hadn't disappeared. There was still hope... hope that this record wasn't just trying to work him to death.
So, seeing that notification, Tian Long's expression turned unsightly.
"Hehehe..... so it really was all for naught. Hah..... well, I never pictured dying like this".
Tian Long said with a despairing chuckle. He could feel it, his body functions were shutting down. Perhaps due to a month of pain, stress and hunger, he had accumulated internal injuries.
Not only was his body lacking in energy, but he was badly injured on the inside and out. With his financial situation, how could he even think of affording medicine?
So today's quest must have been the final nail on the coffin. His body finally couldn't take it anymore and was probably minutes away from collapsing.
[Congratulations on finishing your one-month training]
[Obtained +10 Soul Orbs, obtained 1 Primitive grade Gene forging serum]
[Your physical body is in terrible condition. Commencing automatic breakthrough now]
"Huh?" Looking at the notification, Tian Long grew surprised. For the past month, his reward for completing each quest was always a measly 2 soul orbs.
Even until now, he had yet to find the use for it. However, he had gotten 10 Soul orbs today, a five times multiplier. Not to mention, an item was among the rewards.
"Gene forging serum? Isn't that supposed to be.... Wait! What's an automatic breakthrough?"
Before he finished his words, a dark red aura enveloped him, another system notification appeared informing him of his status. Tian Long could only see his soul orbs rapidly decrease.
[Soul orbs: 0]
"Shit! What the hell was... Argh!"
Tian Long, furious for the sudden depletion of his soul orbs, was about to curse when a wave of pain spread through his body. Coupled with the pain from earlier, he felt like he was about to die.
Luckily, the pain didn't last long. It was only for a few seconds before he experienced a different feeling. This one was complete polar opposites with the pain from earlier.
Instead, it felt like warm, gentler and soothing to the soul. Tian Long's mouth hung wide open as he could feel the miraculous effects all over his body.
His heart was beating faster than before, and his brain buzzed slightly. He felt all the fatigue, all the pain, all the mental stress and muscle cramps in his body slowly disappear.
Followed by another surge of energy. This one seemed to feel..... Empowering. His muscle tensed up as the energy hit him. He suddenly felt like he had boundless strength, his scrawny shape took a brand-new look as muscles appeared all over his arms and abdominal area.
If he could look at himself, Tian Long would discover that he had grown in height as well.
"This... This..... What is this?" Tian Long was stupefied. Wasn't he going to die a minute ago? Why was he suddenly unharmed in the blink of an eye? The energy surge gradually faded, leaving tian Long a little rueful.
He looked at himself from head to toe, several times over. Although he was still dirty and his clothes were as bad as ever, he could feel the obvious changes in him. Unlike before, where he looked malnourished, now he had the physique a man in his mind twenties was supposed to have.
His clothes now seemed a little too small for him.
With countless thoughts buzzing through his mind, Tian Long stood in place for good knows how many minutes. After a while, his muscles started trembling.
And before he knew it, he... cried.
That's right, Tian Long's first action wasn't to scream in delight and excitement over the new changes. Instead, he sobbed bitterly.
He didn't even realize it until hot tears were streaming down his cheeks. Suddenly, it felt like all the anger and frustration he had felt over the last month and the last few years of his life had been vented.
A smile appeared on his face. It was one of both joy and sorrow.
[Tian Long
Status: Healthy
Cultivation: Gene forging 27%
(Primitive bloodline essence Qi)
Race: Human
Bloodline Potential: Elementary (8%)
Soul Orbs: 0]
Looking at the soul records, Tian Long's eyes suddenly lit up. They burned with a blazing, fervent passion it never had before.
For the past month, he had truly experienced life at its lowest. With his weak strength, he was destined to die in this world.
However, things had changed. Now, he had something to rely on.
Thinking about all the suffering he was out through in the past month, Tian Long's expression turned cold.
He never wanted to go through that experience again. If he had the strength he had now, would he need to steal from others?
Strength, I need strength. Tian Long roared in his heart. No matter what he had to do, no matter what, he absolutely would not return to his previous position.
Presently, Tian Long seemed to be able to see the future. He saw a bright and promising future ahead of himself, causing him to clench his fists in agitation.
[Providence value: 6.3 – 5.1]
Little did he know that due to his breakthrough, he had lost something.
Meanwhile, back at the ruins in Starfall Valley, Larson watched everything with an indifferent expression on his face. It seemed as if it were a lake that wouldn't form a ripple, no matter how many rocks were thrown in it.
Suddenly, the indifferent expression had a change. A warm smile appeared on his dazzling lips. This small smile would probably have a fatal attraction to any female who arts their eyes on it.
Larson, who was truly happy at the moment, looked at his notifications and smiled with glee.
[For presenting Tian Long with an opportunity, you have acquired Tian Long's providence. You have received 1.2 points of Providence]
"Well, well, so I finally figured how it works, huh!" His eyes glowed before returning to normal, thereby cutting off the scene of the images.
"I've stopped giving him quests to leech off my soul orbs. Now, it's time for this human tool to farm some soul orbs for me".