I feel like that creature, Leamas, has done something to me. Throughout our conversation, he was in my head, dictating my thoughts. Not taking control as Sith and other Force users do, no, he was interfering with my mind in such a way that I barely noticed his intrusion. And that's only because I don't normally think like that. I can only hope that the effect is not permanent.
"Rise and shine demon! Congratulations on gaining incredible powers!" - MeiMei shouted in my right ear, "Now you and I are connected, and I will live on! By the way, how do you like my new look?"
I turned around in her direction and saw before me a hovering female mini version of myself or rather my new body. However, in addition to the characteristics of my current physique, she had taken something from my past Zabrak appearance as well, namely the crown of small horns on her head.
Long scarlet hair, a cute smile, and sparkling golden eyes. Altogether, she looks a lot like a cupid from Italian Renaissance paintings, if they were painted as demons of course.
Wait, what Italy, what Renaissance? Leamas has definitely done something to my consciousness.
"Tell me MeiMei, why do you look like that?"
"Master has bound you and me together. Now we're not just system and host but like brother and sister."
"Who is he? What do you know of him? And why do you call him master?"
"Remember I mentioned that I'm from an organization that operates in the Interworld? Well, we're not the only ones. You know how big the galaxy is, but what about the size of just one universe? They come together to form multiverses, and collectively they form much larger clusters. My previous organization, which by the way is simply called Organization, is just one of countless similar ones. Master Leamas, on the other hand, is one of the most powerful beings that has ever existed."
"How powerful?"
"I am unable to imagine. I'll just list the facts for you. He bypassed all the Organization's security systems and put you in a body that was already reserved, and he did it without anyone even batting an eye; he ripped me out of the Organization's general information stream by sending them a signal that I was destroyed, understand, I'm dead to them, no one will ever come here from them again, at least not for us, and they didn't notice; what's more, he gave me a soul! Therefore, he is the master, for that should not be possible!"
"What can I say, congratulations. Apparently, he had a more informative conversation with you. I'm even a little jealous. From what you've already said, he did something else to me, right?"
"I don't know everything. He said that from now on, you and I are among the agents of his will and he'll reveal more information to us as time goes on. First, as he says, we'll have to prove ourselves."
"I have some strange information in my head right now that I'm not supposed to know, is it his doing?"
"That's right, he reworked the system and gave us a piece of his revelation. But here, I think it's best if you take a look for yourself. Open your character's sheet."
"You mean that blue window that was in front of me, by the way, where did it go?"
"Just think about it."
I decided to get out of bed and sit in the chair by the window. The next moment the familiar message window lit up in front of me:
System successfully installed!
Would you like to open a character sheet?
Yes. No.
Yes.
***
Character sheet
Name: Sheng Jian (Maul)
Nickname: Sword Genius, Genius that is born once in a 1,000 years, Leamas's homeboi
Age: 5 years
Gender: Male (Cis? ?)
Race/Species: Human (Don't lie to yourself!)
Bloodline: Chosen Peasant, Skywalker Dragons (mwahahaha)
Stats:
- Health Points (HP): 100 (You are just 5, don't get yourself killed)
Calculation:
Age * 10 + Constitution * 10
5 * 10 + 5 * 10
- Qi Points (QP): 0 (You are a muggle, Harry)
Calculation:
(Base for a cultivation realm ^ # of stage) * (Intelligence * 10)
(0 ^ 1) * (31 * 10)
- Stamina: 7 (You can almost run a marathon)
- Strength: 7 (If you do everything right, you can kill a grown mortal man with your bare hands)
- Agility: 9 (Almost peak mortal human condition, at 5 that's impressive)
- Constitution: 5 (You are very sturdy, for a kid)
- Intelligence: 31 (Didn't know you are so smart)
- Wisdom: 13 (You have seen some shit in life)
- Charisma: 10 (Don't let it get to your head, you are just a pretty boy. Your social skills are awful)
- Luck: 3 (I am the best thing that has ever happened to you, in both lives)
Body characteristics:
- Height: 120 cm / 47.2 inches
- Weight: 25 kg / 55 pounds
- Hand reach: 130 cm / 51.2 inches
- Leg reach: 65 cm / 25.6 inches
- Assigned weapon reach: N/A
Cultivation:
- Spiritual root: Holy Purple (Tier 2 out of 13, your elder brother is still better than you and your parents probably love him more)
- Cultivation realm: None (Start already!)
- Cultivation method: Strengthening the Body for the Smallest (Progress – 0%, you didn't even start properly)
Fighting styles:
- One Sword Method (Progress – 5%, that guy, Yishu, helped you out a lot, otherwise it would have been 0)
- The Way of the Sword (Progress – 0%, it's a bit early for you, your dad said it)
Special techniques:
Force-based abilities:
- Telepathy – It's dangerous to be near you. They can keep their secrets only if they are strong enough.
- Motion manipulation – You can increase the speed and power of your movements or leap at high distances. The higher the level, the better the results.
- Telekinesis – You can control different objects without physically touching them. The stronger you are, the bigger the mass.
- Force sense – Nothing and no one can hide from you. The stronger you become, the more headaches you will have.
- Battle-Farseeing – You can predict the opponent's movements. The stronger you become, the further you can see. At one point sharingan will be useless against you.
- Soul-consumption I – You can consume the souls of lesser creatures to power you up for a short amount of time. This ability is upgradable.
Qi-based abilities:
- None
Status:
- Buffs: None
- Debuffs:
Newborn – You have just awakened the Isekai OP3C, XXVYM69 (Xianxia Villainous Young Master 69) system. Your head hurts, that's it.
Seed of Wisdom from an Old One – It is just a seed that had not been cultivated. Sometimes you will make out-of-place remarks about things that do not exist in your universe. That's a debuff because it is weird and people will not understand you most of the time. So, keep your mouth shut!
***
Did he leave this personally? I feel like I'm gonna have a hard time with this system.
So, after asking MeiMei more questions about the system, we sat there for another hour. As it turns out, in the Stats parameters, 10 points is the peak of a mortal man. So, such a high score can only be explained by the Force. After all, Force users are known for being a lot more intelligent than everyone else. All other stats are also probably boosted either by Force or Qi. I was not surprised by the low luck score.
I was also very intrigued by Bloodlines. As MeiMei explained to me, by starting to develop them I will be able to open new abilities that are stored in my blood. Increasing this indicator will be possible with the help of missions.
Speaking of which. Leamas has completely changed the system. Now I have only 4 tabs - Map, Character Sheet, Inventory, and Missions. All other options have been cut out. As MeiMei quoted him as saying, "Isn't that a little too much?"
"Overall, he said this system is even better. You won't just like it, you'll need it."
"What exactly did he mean by that?"
"I have no idea," MeiMei answered honestly.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door of my room.
"Come in."
The door opened and an old man with a mighty and commanding appearance stood before me. He has silvery white hair, cascading down his back in a long, flowing mane. His beard, equally white and well-kept, reaches his chest, giving him a venerable appearance. His eyes, a piercing shade of gray, seem to hold the storms of countless battles and the calm after them, reflecting a life of profound experience. His skin is weathered and tanned, marked with the wrinkles and scars of many years, yet his posture remains erect and his movements agile, betraying the immense power that still resides within his aged frame. He wears simple, yet elegant robes of dark blue and silver, adorned with cloud and lightning motifs that, I guess, symbolize his mastery over the elements. In this world one's appearance always reflects the life of the person. A simple-looking sword hung diagonally on his right hip, in a scabbard, and on a special harness. He's probably left-handed.
"My name is Lei Feng, young master. I was assigned to you by your father. I am to monitor the progress of your training and education and to keep you safe from enemies and other dangers until you are strong enough and fully independent. My life is in your hands as much as your life is in mine from now on."
"Nice to meet you, Senior Lei Feng. To say I'm surprised is tantamount to saying nothing. I'm only a five-year-old child and as far as I know, no one has been placed behind my brother at that age. May I ask what has my father told you and why have you agreed?"
"First of all, your latest adventure has made your parents very worried. You were lucky last time because the head of the Ju family, Yang Ju, is a good acquaintance of your father, so you managed to get home unharmed. If it had been another person in his place, most likely, everything would have ended poorly. After all, your family has many enemies, both inside and outside the sect. Your older brother was being looked after by your uncle. As for why I agreed. It's simple, my cultivation path was unfortunately cut short while I still have a son. I need to accumulate as many resources as possible to pass on to him as soon as possible. Right now, I'm at the 2nd stage of the Nascent Soul realm. I have about 50 more years to spare and I'm strong enough for most opponents. People that are higher level won't infringe on your life personally. Moreover, you see my scars, I have a lot of combat experience that I can pass on to you. For my knowledge and labor, your father pays a generous reward."
"I understand. In that case, I will rely on your support, senior," I said and bowed respectfully.
I'm not going to object to such a gift from my father. Even if it's not now, I'll need people in 10 years. No matter how strong a person is, even in this world, immortals establish their own sects and organizations. In order to become stronger and protect my interests, I will need followers. The stronger they are and the more of them there are, the better. Based on the sword and the fact that father chose it, he should be good enough at using it.
"I haven't had breakfast. Let's go eat and then we'll start training."
"Understood."
***
On the training ground, since it was daytime, the moonflowers had turned into the common greenery. It all began with a standard warm-up and a comprehensive set of physical exercises my father had taught me. As for my previous Sith training, I think it's a bit too early. I had spent a couple of hours doing the exercises. Afterward, it was time to continue what had started yesterday.
I decided to start with what Yishu talked about. The power of imagination, let's check it out. I closed my eyes as if I was in meditation. First, I decided to imagine that my opponent was the same height as me. Then I began to go through each move trying to get a full sense of the intent behind it.
The first move was a simple forward sword lunge. I tried to visualize all the possible scenarios after the lunge. In the best-case scenario, the opponent will not have time to move and will be impaled on the blade in the mouth area. What happens if he dodges? There are three possibilities. First – he will lose his balance and fall, second – he will retreat back or to the side, third – he will parry and counterattack. The question is, how exactly would he dodge? Maybe I should go over all the steps again. Yeah, that's what I'll do.
I opened my eyes again. Lei Feng was sitting in the shade of the gazebo in the northwest corner of the training ground, peacefully drinking tea while observing my practice. You could see in his gaze that he was evaluating me. He had probably already heard rumors. Probably something my father told him. It's known in the sect that the second son of Sheng Yuchen has a talent for swords. Some even call me a genius. He is certainly assessing what is my worth.
After a brief glance at him, I started going through all the motions. There are 21 in total. Instead of perfectly memorized fast movements, I decided to walk slowly and methodically, trying to understand their essence. After going through them once, I started to get an idea. Walking the second time, I realized more clearly the whole combination, which is exactly what the One Sword Method is. A very simple combination, apparently designed for complete beginners. The third time I decided to speed up, to understand the extent of smoothness of all the movements. On the fourth time, I closed my eyes again and imagined the opponent in front of me. The one against whom this combination was intended. With my eyes closed, I again went through all the stages at high speed. Naturally, the opponent was defeated. But something would not let me rest. The blows were poorly timed. Right…
I opened my eyes again and looked at the practice blade in my hands. It's not a lightsaber that lacks mass and cuts through everything with just a touch, no. This is a sharp stick made of metal, as Yishu put it. In addition to mass, this stick has a point, central ridge, fuller, and edge. It has a strong part and a weak part. Not to mention the grip and its components. From this side, it's not just a stick, it's a work of art designed to kill fellow human beings. Heh, it really is incredibly simple.
After taking into account the complex structure of the sword, I closed my eyes again and fell into a state of deep meditation. The world around me ceased to exist. Neither the sounds of Lei Feng sipping tea, nor the chirping of birds, nor the rustle of my own feet entered my consciousness. The smell of grass, strong green tea with chamomile flowers, and my sweat did not penetrate it either. There is only my body, my sword, and my consciousness. The force advised me that this was the last effort, and so I decided to try to strengthen my movements with it. At a speed I had never tried before and a power I had never shown before, having calculated all the necessary points of contact, I began this deadly dance.
It was more than successful. Without opening my eyes, I mentally called up the character sheet. Heh, naturally - One Sword Method (Progress - 100%, that was quite fast, impressive).
I turned around to look at my new caretaker. He was no longer sitting and drinking tea but was standing at full height and looking in my direction with his eyes wide open as if I was the 8th wonder of the world.
"Young master, how long have you been practicing this method?"
"Not more than a couple of days, why?"
"Forgive me for my mistrust. The rumors about you turned out to be true. My son is believed to be one of the most talented sword masters among all the disciples in the inner sect. He was talented enough to become the personal student of one of the elders. It took him a month to fully master the One Sword Method, and it is considered to be very fast. The heavens are indeed benevolent towards your family."
"Thank you for your kind words, senior. But, isn't it time for us to call it a day? You are free to go. I don't plan on going outside the mansion and I have yet to visit my mother."
"In that case, I'll take my leave. Tomorrow, I'll come for you at the same time."
It was time to deal with the matter of yesterday's girl. I remember both her parents were cultivators, so she must have talent. I already have plans for her...