Yi Tian was 18 years old when he finally discovered the truth that he wasn't the "untalented", "waste of air", "human trash", and "Yi clan's greatest mistake" as everyone in his family referred to him.
The Yi clan in the Qiao City was known throughout the land for their powerful bloodline which enabled them to rise to power and become a dominant force in the East within a few generations.
As the son of the great hero Yi Pengfei and Yi Zhu, the daughter of the clan leader, the expectation for the baby in Yi Zhu's belly was extremely high.
If it was a boy, it was even expected that he would eventually grow up to become the next head of the family.
However, fate wasn't so kind. Just because the math added up did not mean that the logic was foolproof.
Not only was Yi Tian born without the high-quality spiritual roots that every member of the Yi clan possessed but his dantian was incapable of accumulating qi.
"You should've never been born."
"Consider yourself lucky. If it wasn't for your mother's backing, I would've killed you."
"Don't show yourself in public. You'll only disgrace our clan's name."
"The day I become the clan leader, my first course of action will be to exile you."
These were the sort of things he had typically heard from his fellow clan members since he first started understanding the language.
Abandoned by his father who took on Yi Zhu's sister as a concubine, going on to have five children with her, Yi Tian would've taken his own life long ago if it wasn't for his supportive mother.
She didn't view him as a disappointment and never complained about the lack of talent.
She only saw him as one thing — her precious son.
As mentioned earlier, Yi Tian was 18 when he discovered that he wasn't a disappointment.
It was just that his talents lay elsewhere.
Rather than the typically spiritual roots, bloodline, and innate cultivation talent that defined the potential of cultivators, his talent came in the form of a system.
The day he awakened the system was the day of his 18th birthday.
[Host is now of age. Perverted Energy activated. Perverted Energy (P.E.) minimum reached. Dual Cultivation System activated.]
"Eh?" Yi Tian muttered in the middle of the night just as he was about to head to sleep.
A voice had said something in his head causing him to open his eyes.
There was no one else in the room with him.
"What's this?" he asked as he looked at the screen in front of him.
[Yin-Yang Method of Harmony (lvl. 1)]
[Master Method of Domination (lvl. 1)]
[Soul-Snatcher Method of Death (lvl. 1)]
[Leech Method of Drainage (lvl. 1)]
[Perverted Energy: 5]
Dual cultivation wasn't something that he was unaware of.
But he knew that it was an art that only those of the Evil faction would use because it drained the life force of the partner.
Just as he was about to sit up, a wave of information rushed inside his head. It felt like his head was being split open but he was unable to scream because he couldn't move a single part of his body, including his mouth.
He just had to lay there in agony as more and more information dashed to his mental library.
It was an hour later when the influx of knowledge stopped.
Sweating like hell, Yi Tian was finally able to move his body.
As he stood up, he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
Mentally, he felt completely drained, and yet — he had a massive grin on his face.
* * *
[Cultivation Level: None]
[Cultivation Method: Dual Cultivation System]
[Spiritual Roots: None]
[Martial Arts: None]
[Techniques: None]
[Breathing Exercises: None]
[Alchemy: None]
[Inventory: Pill of Awakening]
Understanding how the system worked from all the information that had been forcefully shoved into his brain, Yi Tian couldn't help but scoff at how pathetic he was.
If he didn't know any better, he might've mistaken the stat screen in front of him to belong to a toddler.
"At least now I have this," he smirked as he reached into his inventory which was like an interspatial ring but one that belonged to his body and couldn't be accessed by others, even if he were to die.
From the inventory, he pulled out the only thing that was in there.
The Pill of Awakening.
"I don't know how you ended up in my inventory but I'm glad that you did," he said as he didn't hesitate to toss it into his mouth.
It felt like he had swallowed a coal.
When it made its way down to his stomach, his internal organs felt like they were starting to heat up.
Even though he was in his room with the windows open and the cool wind blowing in, it felt like he was sitting on top of an active volcano.
Sitting in the lotus position, he held tightly onto his knees while bent over, his face scrunching and contorting from the pain.
'Hold it in. Hold it in,' he told himself.
He had to endure this pain otherwise the pill wouldn't work.
When he mustered up the strength to straighten his back, he saw his reflection in the mirror again.
His eyes were bloodshot red, sweat and impurities were pouring from every single one of his pores, and all of his veins looked ready to pop.
'Endure it Yi Tian!' he told himself. 'Haven't you had enough of people belittling your mother because of you!? Haven't you had enough of being the butt of every joke!? ENDURE IT!'
* * *
It was the next morning and Yi Tian was walking around his garden with a smile on his face.
His thoughts were more complicated than usual.
Normally around this time, he would be drinking his miseries away or spending money on courtesans but satisfied with the results—
[Cultivation Level: Early-stage Qi Condensation]
—he wanted to spend the day away from his vices.
As he was about to leave the garden and head to his room, he felt the presence of someone approaching him from behind.
Their steps were silent but as a cultivator now with the ability to use his qi, he was able to notice it.
But he pretended that he didn't.
"Rare to see you home."
Turning around, he looked at the person who had rudely entered his private quarters without permission.
As expected, it was Yi Lihua, his cousin.
She was four years older than him and if it wasn't for the fact that she adored Yi Tian's mother, she wouldn't have bothered interacting with him.
Unlike the other family members who loathed the useless Yi Tian, she was simply indifferent about him.
To her, he was simply a means to connect with her favorite aunt, or as she once said, "You're like air. You're there but I don't really see you."
Yi Tian understood that their relationship was extremely shallow since he was young so he never had the false belief that she truly cared for him.
Normally, he wouldn't mind entertaining her presence because at the very least, he wasn't lonely but at the moment, he honestly wanted to be alone with his thoughts as he was hungry to test out the system.
Yi Tian wanted to tell her to get out of his private quarters and leave him alone but then a screen suddenly appeared before him.
[Yi Lihua]
[Inner Thoughts: Today is my lucky day. I was hoping to find Yi Tian at home today instead of at the red light district like he usually would be. I know Mother says to stop hanging around him but... he's so handsome. If only he was able to cultivate even a tiny bit, I'd ask for his hand in marriage.]
[Love Points: 100 (MAX)]
[Cultivation Level: Late-stage Qi Condensation]
[Cultivation Method: Eternal Fist]
[Spiritual Roots: Balanced Eternal Yi Roots]
[Martial Arts: E-Kido]
[Techniques: 12 Eternal Punches, 7 Eternal Kicks, Revolving Eternal Footwork]
[Breathing Exercises: None]
"Yi Tian. Yi Tian?" she called his name, waving her hand around.
Coming back to reality, he pretended to have not just read what he had just read on her screen.
'You're telling me that she's in love with me!?' he was screaming internally.
Because of the distance she had put between the two, never before did he see her as anything more than someone who happened to share the same blood as him.
But after reading her inner thoughts, he couldn't help but start seeing her as a member of the opposite gender.
Yes, he admitted that it was a little scummy of him but he couldn't help it.